Quick Drop vs Danger Space

[solarshooter]

to add to this, dispersion hasn't been mentioned yet as a source of error if compounded.
a 1.44" solid zero group is .4 Mil cone of fire, or 1.08" = .3 Mil.
Extrapolate that out to range and start adding fudged corrections, variables and other errors.

I would say that it's precisely BECAUSE of all the other dispersions/errors present that QD works well in hunting scenarios on hunting sized targets. All that other noise means the loss in precision from QD has a much smaller or harder to detect effect on the overall achieved precision. Range error, wind error, position error, aiming error, environmental error, stress error, we suck error, all combine to turn your 0.4mil benchrest system into a 0.8-1mil plus system in hunting scenarios under pressure. Another 0.1-0.3mil variable dispersed in there doesn't materially change the overall cone of fire.

That's also why QD does not work as well or is not as recommended for precision/competition shooting on smaller targets. You would notice the error much more/it would make more of a material difference in hit rate.

 

[Chris in TN]

Look at the cold bore challenge hit rates.

My premises are these:
Shooters suck
Danger space calculates the size of permissible error on the shot that will still result in a kill.
At 400, 2 moa field efficiency means roughly an 8” group.
At 500, 2 moa is 10”.
Past 400 the danger space shrinks quick enough that available range of error diminishes quickly.
Quick drop adds uncertainty to the equation.
Using good dope reduces calculation errors.

Conclusion:
When it comes to quickly shooting, MPBZ is the go to method for realistic shots you can make quickly.

Get a flat shooting cartridge for longer MPBZ and for larger “danger space”.

Use a ballistic calculator, it can be done as fast as ranging plus waiting a half second for the dope.

.....and to top that off, mark yardages (or meters if that's how you do it) on your elevation turret.

 

[longrangelead]

I would say that it's precisely BECAUSE of all the other dispersions/errors present that QD works well in hunting scenarios on hunting sized targets. All that other noise means the loss in precision from QD has a much smaller or harder to detect effect on the overall achieved precision. Range error, wind error, position error, aiming error, environmental error, stress error, we suck error, all combine to turn your 0.4mil benchrest system into a 0.8-1mil plus system in hunting scenarios under pressure. Another 0.1-0.3mil variable dispersed in there doesn't materially change the overall cone of fire.

That's also why QD does not work as well or is not as recommended for precision/competition shooting on smaller targets. You would notice the error much more/it would make more of a material difference in hit rate.

at range QD is most often applied by those that know their limit, I'd agree.
I just wanted to point it out as the error we all start from, that and we suck under pressure.
We tend to obsess over the minutia of data, scope tracking, etc, but the hard errors like base accuracy and skill don't get talked about as much, more lately, but the other sources get mentioned far more it seems.

 

[Macintosh]

Well, yeah, thats precisely why I mentioned it, and its also in part why I asked how far people were stretching QD. I know few of us can say our dope is PERFECT, I cant. Nor is my gun perfect given I havent met one yet that one-holes every shot. Any error we introduce by virtue of using a “close enough” shortcut is going to be adding to our imprecision. And my own error is on top of all that. Personally, I count on all of these errors being cumulative. That is certainly the worst case, but you can rely on that happening some portion of the time.