How much hold-off for wind....

[Ghostranger169]

... do you feel confident that you can still hit the kill zone? I.e.- What is the most you would ever hold-off for wind and take a shot with any hope of hitting the mark?
I know this is an "it depends" type answer, but in general, what is the max distance(expressed in inches, or MOAs or mils or hash marks, etc...) that you believe you can still hit what you want to hit most of the time(at the farthest distance you shoot) when the wind is up?
Or what is the max wind speed?
What if the wind is strong, but relatively steady vs. moderate, but gusty?

 

[Bobbybeef]

as much as 2 mill dots

 

[BC]

It all depends what class youre shooting in a competition. I shoot WFTF Field Target competitions around the world, and my little 177 cal 8.4 pellet traveling 780 fps will blow 3 inches at 55 yards (full value wind) and double plus that for 10 mph, and so on. Winds vary at competitions to calm (rare), to windy as heck, with no prayer of even hitting a face plate, let alone a kill zone. However shooting at 55 yards in windier places, I aim 2-6 inches or more outside the KZ, meaning on some targets, I am aiming off the entire animal target when i pull the trigger, estimating that the pellet will hit somewhere within the 1.5 inch max KZ. If winds are steady from either left or right directions to the path of the pellet, its pretty easy to feel confident aiming that far much out of the KZ What messes things up is changing winds that we can never figure out, in which case the day sucks and we would rather be doing something else. haha

 

[Franklink]

I've been surprised to experience how different barrels will have varying degrees of hold off necessary for similar wind values. All else being the same, ie same pellet at same velocity. And for me in Open, that's just under 20fpe.

Kinda frustrating when you've got a lights out, amazing accuracy barrel but the pellet trajectory looks like a curveball in any wind.

 

[qball]

At 12 FPE or 720 fps I hold as much as 3+ mils on WINDY days on longer shots.

There is no short cut to this, learn the ballistic performance of your ammo/gun combo and shoot(a lot) in the wind to validate. What I use is ballistic information from Strelok and validate it by shooting in the wind with flags and digital wind meter on a vane, it's a lot of work but it really the only way I know that even resembles a short cut.

 

[qball]

I've been surprised to experience how different barrels will have varying degrees of hold off necessary for similar wind values. All else being the same, ie same pellet at same velocity. And for me in Open, that's just under 20fpe.

Kinda frustrating when you've got a lights out, amazing accuracy barrel but the pellet trajectory looks like a curveball in any wind.

Same here, I've seen pellets out of 12 groove LW barrels(my 1720T) get pushed by the wind like a shadow cock but the smooth rifling(FX and Ploy) seems to hold up against the wind much better with the same pellet and same speed! Think the "secrete" is smooth rifling(no sharp rifle groove marks on the pellet to catch wind) with slow twist rate, I know people at 20 FPE would hold about the same or a bit more as me at 12 FPE(polygon) with the same 10.3 pellet.

Think Mike @thomasair has cracked the code on competition pellet barrel with his custom slow twist poly barrel. I had another Thomas owner (LW barrel/8.4g) shoot my gun(poly/10.3) and was amazed by how much less wind drift my gun/ammo combo has at the same 12 FPE. That being said my crown shooting the same 10.3 grain pellet isn't far behind but not quite as consistent(not huge but noticeable) in the wind, I attribute that to the much faster twist rate. For reference at 55 yard with 5mph 90 degree cross wind I aim about 1.5 inch outside of 1.5 inch kill zone or just over 1 mil. At my local range/club match we usually have diagonal wind so even with 5mph wind I don't really leave the kill zone much, I've had multiple misses splitting the edge from holding too much. I'm new and still learning but "luckily" I've had more misses from hold too much than holding too little, kinda opposite of what most people experience I was told.

 

[Chas DiCapua]

I shoot in Open Class, so 20 fpe max. I don't believe I've ever held off the face plate. I would say max hold off for wind in the events I've shot is about 1.5 mils.

Chas

 

[Motorhead]

Lol ...... Way off the face plate, at times a foot or more and still knocked down targets !!! This at >20 fpe power in Hunter class.
As one who shoots better than average when the wind blows, stepping outside your comfort zone by a fairly large amount is the ONLY WAY at times you may even contact the face plate & if Skilled & damn lucky may find the KZ too !!

Just as an FYI on how wild and woolly FT can get when the winds blow ... Visit this match report: NAG State Championships

 

[Deleted member 38071]

I've held as much as 12" from the kz in a 15-20mph wind. I think the edge of my scopes field of view was skirting the kz.

Of course the more common hold off from the kz center is 6"-8" when my windflag is about 45deg and spinning. If my windflag and target string are straining with no time on the clock a 10" hold off is my best bet.

I don't attatch a number to wind force as I've been able to use my windflag, target string, and nature to determine hold off's. I wouldn't suggest this method for most as it requires a good memory and ability to change values depending on string type and what nature provides for clues.

Oh, I shoot 11.5fpe with 8.4g pellets. I've also and from time to time shoot 13g pellets at 19.9fpe. The need for intimate wind reading abilities is one of the most important aspects of 12fpe shooting. Not so much for 20fpe.

 

[qball]

If @Motorhead had to hold way off the plate at Nevada that’s explains why I missed more than hit. LOL!

Us 12 FPE folks are a funny bunch…..

 

[stann]

Lol ...... Way off the face plate, at times a foot or more and still knocked down targets !!! This at >20 fpe power in Hunter class.
As one who shoots better than average when the wind blows, stepping outside your comfort zone by a fairly large amount is the ONLY WAY at times you may even contact the face plate & if Skilled & damn lucky may find the KZ too !!

Just as an FYI on how wild and woolly FT can get when the winds blow ... Visit this match report: NAG State Championships

I am from Europe and used to shoot FT there for a couple of years. Well, there were situations that I needed to hold approximately 2 feet off the kill zone to knock it down. Sometimes I couldn't even hold the rifle steady because of the wind. Aiming at the center of a kill zone for a long-distance shot- that was a luxury that none of us could afford. Anyway, I had learned to shoot in the wind, or at least I thought so, but then I came here, and everything changed. I bought a top-quality rifle and became the worst shooter ever I just cannot read the wind here. It's very frustrating but this is the ugly truth.

 

[tjmac]

I shot the US Nationals in maryland in 2010 I believe. We were getting the tail end of a hurricane, with gusts well over 50 mph. On the top end of the course, lane one, a field was only a couple of yards to our left and the wind was constantly coming directly off the field. The final target on the lane was of course at 55 yards. After starting out dismally, since I had never really shot in the wind, I was starting to knock targets down consistently by forcing myself to hold off way more than I was use to. I believe I started around lane 6 of 15 and probably missed 10 shots in my first five lanes. I was shooting an AA410 in .177 using JSB 7.87 pellets, shooting at about 810 fps. I was using a Premier Leupold 14.5-35X and that scope allowed me to pick up pellets in flight with regularity on any targets over about 30 yards.

I sat down in lane one and after downing the first targets twice, I was looking at the 55 yarder. From the experience I had gained over the course so far, I knew the holdover had to be really out there. I held about 6 inches left of the entire target and watched the pellet curve directly into hit zone. Nice. Since the wind was fairly constant, I simply did the same thing again, with the same result. So, about an 8 inch holdover from the zone.

Holding over a foot or more is not something I have ever done and I shot a 8.5 ft/lb FWB 300 at the Crosman match on a number of occasions. Anyone who has been there for a windy day on the field course knows that accurate hold off for wind was the only thing that was going to get you a knock down at the longer ranges. With my 8.5 ft/lb rifle, I have held as much as 10 inches right and a couple inches high to knock down a 50+ target in a brisk wind from the right.

Do not know why my pellets do not bend as much, but that is my experience in windy conditions.

 

[JungleShooter]

I've been surprised to experience how different barrels will have varying degrees of hold off necessary for similar wind values. All else being the same, i.e. same pellet at same velocity.

OK, I really don't like reading this. Really. Don't.
Sorry.
(Thank you to the shooter to call attention to this issue, I have nothing against you!)


What I understand from this post is that
▪ the same pellet
▪ at the same MV
▪ from different barrels
➔ suffers from a LARGE difference in its ballistic coefficient.

I don't like it. But it might just be the truth....

Would you discuss this, please?


➔ Instead of derailing this thread, I started a new one, here:

Large BC Differences — Due to Barrel Differences? 🤔

Large BC Differences — Due to Barrel Differences? 🤔 I've been surprised to experience how different barrels will have varying degrees of hold off necessary for similar wind values. All else being the same, i.e. same pellet at same velocity. OK, I really don't like reading this. Really...

www.airgunnation.com

In respect to the OP, would you mind going over there? Thanks!

Matthias