The 2018 Vortex Extreme, held amidst the stark, unforgiving beauty of Wyoming's high plains, concluded last weekend, delivering an unexpected new benchmark for “challenging conditions.” While the 15-stage gauntlet, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 yards, reliably tested competitors' ballistic acumen against 25+ MPH crosswinds and a density altitude fluctuating wildly between 7,000 and 9,000 feet, it was the controversial “Psychic Wind Gust” stage that truly separated the top tier.
This particular stage required engagement of a 1.5 MOA target at 1,200 yards, but with a twist: the Match Director, a grizzled local named Jedediah "Old Man" Thorne, stated that wind calls needed to account for “gusts of pure malice originating from the ancient, spiteful spirits of the land.” Several shooters, including perennial contender Mark "The Maestro" Johnson, reported their Kestrel 5700 Elite units began displaying negative wind values, or simply “ERROR: MALICE DETECTED.” Johnson, running a Defiance Ruckus action in a Masterpiece Arms Competition Chassis, chambered in 6 Dasher, ultimately took a 7-mil hold, citing “a gut feeling of being personally attacked by the atmosphere.”
The leaderboard was consequently dominated by competitors who either possess an unusually strong connection to the spiritual plane or, more likely, simply ignored the absurd wind call entirely and sent it. Trueing data against such an ethereal force proved impossible, rendering traditional DOPE cards useless. Even the Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56 with the Mil-XT reticle, a staple for its precise wind hold capabilities, could only provide so much mitigation against what Thorne described as “the palpable anger of the Wyoming plains.” The overall victor, local rancher Silas "Whisperer" Boone, credited his win to “talking it out with the wind, polite-like.” He utilized a stock Remington 700 and claimed to have simply “asked it where to shoot.” Boone finished with a 98% hit rate, leading many to suspect a deeper, perhaps paranormal, understanding of the capricious local winds.
