A personal statement:
(most of it has been written in this thread already, but I think the importance justifies the redundancy
)
I'm a fervent believer in "knowledge is power", a numbers fanatic and staunch supporter of diligent methodology.
But when it comes to gunnery, there is the danger of overdoing such things.
One should have a good idea of ballistics and the specific problems of airborne gunnery, but in the end it's much more about getting the right
feel for it than anything else.
Sometimes players tweak their convergences endlessly, even setting up very different patterns for different planes, sortie types and so on, constantly in search for the legendary "best setting" that will make them great shots and their enemies fall from the skies in droves.
Been there, done that.
But there is no such thing.
Extreme settings aside, convergence doesn't matter as much as it's sometimes propagated, particularly for new players or average gunners. If you can't kill your targets with conv=350, you won't kill them with conv=300.
A reasonable middle-of-the-road setting
that is kept for a long time (such as the AH standard setting in the hangar) and perhaps flying planes with the same armament only will help you a lot. It allows you to get a mental picture, to get the right
feel for shooting. Get out and practice as much as possible, in the TA with lead computing sight as well as in "live combat" (try not to get used to the lead computing sight too much). Film your fights and then review them afterwards to find out by how much you really missed and how much more you will have to lead next times.
Stick to the (already mentioned) basic principles:
"Get close, then even closer" / "Aim small, miss small" / "Estimate the necessary lead, then double that distance"Only once you have become a really good shot I would recommend reviewing your convergence settings again. You will then be able to tweak them based on your actual experience and knowledge about your own fighting style. And only then you may actually utilize the advantages.
Just two cents from someone who can shoot
p.s:
my own personal settings: 350 for everything in all planes, except for:
Me 262 - Extreme shotgun pattern, 600 & 200 yards
Planes with rifle caliber armament (for example Hurricane and Spit 1), in which I only shoot at close ranges: 250.