We shot a 1,000 yards today in Cuyama, CA. in some serious winds and iffy weather. I was shooting my newly re-barreled 6.5x284 and dialed in 4 MOA before my first shot, We had strong winds coming out of the hills that was gusting 2-3 minutes at every shot. You could see the effects of the gusts when a couple of times in each string everyone on the line would throw a shot into the 8 or 9 ring, at the same time.

What was odd was that there were sudden pressure changes from the storms trying to build up and the entire line would shoot 8-10" high all at the same time and then 2 minutes later the shots would drop back in at the correct elevation.

I shot a 368 out of 400 possible which wasn't bad for the conditions.

I bought a new camera and I wanted to see how it did at 1,000 yards so here's a picture from the line with no magnification and the second picture is zoomed in at 58X.

I wish I could get 368 on a dead calm day! The contrast twix and 58 is dramatic.

Your shooting the "darling" of long range shooters with the 284/6.5 caliber, fine long range caliber. Did you see much mirage during the match?? Does not appear to be a sunny/hot day, but just curious for reading the mirage, if there is any to read, can help with those unexpected gusts. Old "trick" but if you are seeing any mirage through spotting scope, and then don't see it, wind speed is most likely more than 10-12mph. Hold up. Do you have an estimate as to the wind speed, direction for the first half of the distance? You many not have any appreciable wind in the first half of the range, and strong out at the target area and that is difficult to make a good wind call.
Shot NRA Long Range(600-1000yds.) sling/mat/irons for number of years and every match would see something that was just enough different that I would have to re think what I was doing. Fascinating being able to control that little bullet at long range. If it were easy everyone would do it. Good shooting in those conditions.

I've been shooting the 6.5x284 since it was a wildcat and this is my third barrel on this gun. It's my favorite for long range shooting.

There was no mirage at all visible, it was 50 degrees and cloudy with occasional drizzles. The wind was varying below 10 and up to 20 MPH. At the start of the match I had 4 MOA of right windage dialed in and added another 2.5 MOA as we shot the second relay an hour later.

The wind was 90 degrees at the targets and 60 degrees at the 600 yard line and 45 degrees at the firing line.

It was a lot of fun, I love it when the conditions get challenging.

3 targets
Was there only three shooters?

Six shooters in two relays of three.

Interstate 5 and Hwy 33 from southern California were closed due to flooding/mudslides so none of the shooters from Los Angeles could get to the range that day.

Sounds like an interesting experience for sure; thanks for sharing. I would guess the vertical you were seeing was more due to head/tail wind than pressure changes. Particularly with that rise shown in your picture. At our range, there are multiple shooting platforms at different ranges from the pits, and with head/tail wind there is quite a bit of vertical. I think it's the wind going up and over the terrain. On some days you can focus closer and watch the mirage doing interesting things as the wind swirls around and over the rises. Like you mentioned, sometimes the whole line will shoot off the bull in the same direction--pay attention to those situations and see if you can work out what caused it!

Frank, a 368 under those conditions is outstanding! Did you win the match? Tell us more about your rifle and optics.

Actually a 368 is barely competitive in this club, a 381 won the match. We have the past US National Women's F Class Champion and other world class competitors who shoot at our little club.

I'm shooting more of long range hunting gun rather than a dedicated F class rifle. I only shoot these competitions to keep my eye calibrated for hunting. My gun is built on a left handed Montana Rifle Co action, with a 28" Bartlien barrel and an Accurate Innovations stock using a Nightforce 5-22X scope with a NPR-1 (MOA/MOA) reticle.

The serious guys are shooting custom actions with 30" bull barrels and a lot of 8-32X and higher power scopes. The number of custom built bipods that you see on the line is amazing sometimes.

Frank, you have some serious wind-dopers in your club!

Yep, the only match that I've ever won here took a 399. And that was on a dead calm day when I got extremely lucky.

Thanks for sharing Frank.