Think your rifle shoots at distance? It doesn't unless you know minute of angle like a Palma shooter knows minute of angle.
“What you have to have is a rifle/ammo combination that you could consistently shoot into 1/2 minute of angle or less with iron sights at 1,000 yards if there were no wind. An impossibility you say? Not so. Most of the top 30 or so long-range shooters in the country end up as members of the U.S. International Palma team. In the Palma match, these shooters consistently shoot scores above 440 … . Do you think these shooters can judge the wind to within 1/4 MOA? … [W]hen they shoot scores on the order of 447 or better with a high X-ring count in really strong, tricky wind, they would have to be judging the wind that closely to keep 42 out of 45 shots in the 10-ring … . I may be wrong, but I don't think anybody is that good a judge of the wind, not at 1,000 yards. In my opinion, without a half-minute rifle, that kind of score is just a dream.”–Randolph Constantine, Modern Highpower Competition, From Beginner to Master, from the chapter “Long-Range Competition”
Iron sights, 1000 yds, and 1/2 moa? I can appreciate the authors enthusiasm and even the literary flourish for affect, after all she is selling her article. However, at 1000 yds, the front sight will cover up a Volkswagen bus. So not to overstate the obvious, but what is the purpose of the article except to hawk a book….