A few weapons yes, ballistics, not so much. I've only used a single shot 12 gauge and a 30-30 Winchester I use for deer hunting.
So it sounds like you're more accustomed to close in work, probably in fairly dense woods and vegitation.
I've never fired a 30-06 because I don't see the need for one.
Actually, the 30'06 is the most versatile cartridge in the world. You can get everything from 110 gn 'plinkers' (for small game like rabbits) all the way up to 200 gn. round nose for 'brush cutting' on caribou and bears.
I do just fine with my rifle and it's easy to carry.
I'm sure you do, and I'm sure it is.
If all the above info is going through your mind before you take a shot it sounds like you are over analyzing the situation to me. A 100 yd. shot under the worst of conditions isn't really difficult, at least the ones I've taken with an open sight.
To you it may seem that way, but I was trained as a Sniper by the military, that was my profession for most of my time in the military, and those are just a few of the calculations that go through my mind EVERY time I pull the trigger on a rifle. I also account for temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, direction of the sun, and windage everywhere from the muzzle of my weapon all the way to the target, and that has been up to over 1 mile away (in competition shooting), which is why I can still routinely put 5 rounds inside a 1" paster at 300 yards (with none touching the edges), and 5 rounds in a 6" grouping at 1000 yards.
A wolf can run 35-40 mph for short period of times so it's not a 90 mph shot.
Actually, depending on which way the wolf is moving in relationship to the aircraft, it can be MORE than 90 mph. If you're moving one direction at 90 mph, and he's going the opposite direction at 20 mph (a comfortable loap), the closing speed would be
115 mph. If he's running in the same direction, it would be a closing speed of 70 mph.
5-6 seconds is a long time for sighting a target. IMO.
I didn't say you had 5-6 seconds to sight your target, I said that you had
"5-6 seconds to calculate all that information, acquire your target, bring your weapon to your shoulder, get it in your sights, and squeeze off your shot." That means that, if you're good, you've really only got about 2-3 seconds to get him in your sights and squeeze off the shot,
after you've seen him
and brought your weapon to your shoulder.
Granted you are on a moving platform but your target is going in the same direction as you are, and you're using a high powered rifle at 100 yds, which means you don't need a precision hit. Anywhere you hit it there is a pretty good chance it's dead.
I didn't say you were shooting at 100 yards, I said that you were at 200 feet and your target is 100 yards away. What that means is that you're really shooting at a moving target at 120 yards, at a downward angle of 34 degrees, with a closing speed of 103 fps (70 mph), which means that you've got to lead him by almost 26 FEET to even hit him at all, and that's not counting the fact that you've got to allow for a good 6 inches above him to account for shooting at such a steep downward angle, and ALL of that is assuming that the aircraft isn't bouncing around too much from ground turbulance. Using your 30-30 for that shot, you'd have to lead him by more than 35 feet, and you'd have to hold over by almost 10 inches to hit him at all.
Now, all of that to say this; it's one thing to go out into the woods on a cool, crisp fall day, climb up in your deer stand, and wait for Bambi to stroll by where you can put one in him from 30 FEET, so you'll have something to hang on the wall, and bragging rights with your buddies at the bar, but it's an
entirely different subject when you're talking about
precision shooting, and that's
exactly what this is. The State of Alaska isn't going down to the local watering hole, and grabbing just any a-hole with a rifle to go shoot wolves, the men who do this are
professional marksmen who do this for a living.
If you want to try a little experiment to see exactly how difficult this really is, on a REALLY windy day, go to the range and try to shoot some skeet...
with your rifle, and see how many birds you can hit. When you get to the point where you can hit 20 out of 25, then you'll
begin to understand the physics of what's going on with precision shooting.
