It's been interesting reading through this thread. Five pages of over-complication. Lots of aspects of which could be argued with, but I can't really see the point.
The main considerations are:
(a) supreme confidence in your load's ballistics, which must be tested thoroughly
(b) good technique, which is well practiced, repeatable and second nature
(c) proven scope mechanicals tested by the return to home and tall target tests
(d) a proven, accurate range-finder
(e) quality action bedding, a good trigger and a good barrel that shoots accurately with high precision
And finally...
(f) a ballistics solver that is correctly setup and easy to use in the field, that tells you how many "clicks" up, left or right.
Getting confused over angular this and linear that is unnecessary. For most sports shooting at your normal dialing ranges, a simple "click value" will suffice. I tend not to dial for wind unless its getting really out there, I prefer to hold and wait for downrange conditions to look and "feel" right. Long shots are cartridge limited, and you need to know what your bullet is doing at various ranges to know where to draw the line.
Shooting gongs further than you think you can is a very constructive way to develop your confidence. It's quite addictive and there's nothing quite as fulfilling as hitting small gongs first shot from a new shooting position with a bit of wind about. It is essential to have full confidence in your skills before heading out to shoot deer at medium or long range, and gong shooting is the way to develop that confidence. You have a ~300mm diameter target to aim at, and general rule of thumb for us is that if you can reliably shoot sub-MOA (like touching groups) at your zero distance, then on a nice clear and still day, limit your max range to whatever value that 300mm represents 1 MOA.
I am dialling a scope pretty much every day at home here, especially in spring like now, as I am pinging rabbits and magpies with the .22LR with subsonic HPs. It's a great way to practice. It might only be 130m or whatever, but it's still sub-MOA field shooting and that's all about technique.
