Just looking for info from others on their experience reading wind. I have the most trouble when its coming straight at me. Hopefully we can benefit from others tips to improve our shooting in windy conditions.
Thanks
Thanks
Hardest wind to conquer
- Thread starter sonny
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Quarter wind has always been the hardest to read for me. I can holdover or under and left/right but a combination I just drift all over trying to find the aim point. Using open sights. I don’t have much experience with scopes yet
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Same here, a quartering wind gives me the most trouble. Yesterday I shot some groups at 40 yards in a 20 mph wind blowing from my right. I was surprised at the groupings as I thought a wind that strong would open up the groups. Learned something yesterday.
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Switching winds!
My problem is more a lack of patience to wait till the most prominent condition comes back. Especially if I'm laying down prone while shooting off the bipod.
In FT I try to get a quick shot in when the wind string on my rifle either lies down or goes straight away, but the kill zones are usually generous enough that if I aim for the middle and the wind comes back I often make a hit anyway since it doesn't matter which side of the KZ the pellet hits, all that matters is that the target falls.
For benchrest reading the condition just right is critical! With a pellet gun shooting at 100Y it's very hard to keep track of all the flags and execute "THAT" chosen condition fast enough to get a shot off, or all the shots off fast while that condition remains. Just yesterday the wind was mild but switching, and varying in speed from 0 to 6 mph, adding the widest I needed to aim was 1.6 mils/5" worth at 100Y! When the flags went flat I'd have to stop shooting because if the wind comes up while I pull the trigger the pellet could strike 2.5" off center in either direction, which scores a 6-7,so not good.
My problem is more a lack of patience to wait till the most prominent condition comes back. Especially if I'm laying down prone while shooting off the bipod.
In FT I try to get a quick shot in when the wind string on my rifle either lies down or goes straight away, but the kill zones are usually generous enough that if I aim for the middle and the wind comes back I often make a hit anyway since it doesn't matter which side of the KZ the pellet hits, all that matters is that the target falls.
For benchrest reading the condition just right is critical! With a pellet gun shooting at 100Y it's very hard to keep track of all the flags and execute "THAT" chosen condition fast enough to get a shot off, or all the shots off fast while that condition remains. Just yesterday the wind was mild but switching, and varying in speed from 0 to 6 mph, adding the widest I needed to aim was 1.6 mils/5" worth at 100Y! When the flags went flat I'd have to stop shooting because if the wind comes up while I pull the trigger the pellet could strike 2.5" off center in either direction, which scores a 6-7,so not good.
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Unfortunately the chart above is for bullets (slugs). It is the opposite for pellets. I think quartering wind coming at you that quickly changes from 10:00 to 2:00 is the hardest to shoot in...
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Our hero Ted from Ted's holdover mentioned in one of his videos about setting charcoal briquets in a big circle on a day with steady wind. He then got into the center of the circle and observed how the wind affected the point of impact from different angles. Haven't tried it myself, what works best for me is to stick with one gun for a period of time and shoot it in different conditions in the areas I hunt. This gives me info on what happens in the wind. If I shoot every day for a few weeks I can get pretty accurate at reading wind. I think for me the quartering cross wind is the toughest, but I'm not pushing out much further than 50-60 yards.
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Unfortunately the chart above is for bullets (slugs). It is the opposite for pellets. I think quartering wind coming at you that quickly changes from 10:00 to 2:00 is the hardest to shoot in...
Thanks for the correction!
This was posted somewhere on an airgun forum previously and I thought it was a good visual aid. I guess it's irrelevant if shooting pellets? I never tested it myself seeing that most of my shooting is 50 yards and under and I just compensate the difference between POA and POI when shooting. I'm just shooting in my backyard for fun. I apologize for leading anyone the wrong direction.
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I get the chart above is for bullets but I'm curious, why aren't the 5 & 7 o'clock positions and the 10 & 2 o'clock positions just mirror images of each other? Is this chart based on left twist rifling as opposed to right twist rifling or vice versa? Not very well versed in the physics involved but it made me wonder about the mirror image thing. Anyone know?
Edit: while I was posting the post above me showed up. It DOES have to do with direction of rifling. THANKS.
Edit: while I was posting the post above me showed up. It DOES have to do with direction of rifling. THANKS.
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Here is a very good article on the subject. https://hardairmagazine.com/ham-columns/now-its-easy-to-find-bob-sternes-airgun-technical-posts/
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Steve, I'm assuming that chart is for LEFT (counterclockwise) rifling as it conflicts with the RH bullet chart. Correct?
That was supposed to be "Strever"
That was supposed to be "Strever"
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I used to do both rimfire and CF benchrest. Conditions identify the real shooters quickly; I was never among them! We used flags with propellers, and they worked well. But, trying to identify the same condition for each shot is a real challenge, especially with one eye on the clock. My best results were usually just trying to wait for something as close to calm as the day would offer, and then rip off a group quickly. I shot only group competition, so reading the wind perfectly wasn't as critical as in score shooting, but consistency was more important. Doesn't make any difference where the group is, as long as it's one hole. On the other hand, one bad shot doesn't necessarily kill you in a score match, but it always will in group shooting. I can't say that any one wind condition was the most difficult for me, trying to find consistency was the elusive quarry. Nowadays, if the wind blows, I throw a tin can down range and try to knock it around from positions. Fun to watch and listen, and no paper trail to show my incompetence!
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One of the things that makes this site great is the willingness people have to share their hard earned knowledge, I'd just like to say thanks to all.
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At the end of the day, the best way to judge wind is to learn how to shoot in it.
Charts, graphs, apps etc., is all well and good and provides you basic theory. But until you apply yourself, you won't really know what works and what doesn't.
Here in NE Oklahoma, a calm day would be, winds below 10 mph and granted, winds approaching and above 20 mph is darn near impossible. Not only does it have an effect on the projectile but you trying to steady the gun.
The last couple of years, we've traveled to a prairie dog hunt on the plains of Kansas. Tallest thing there was a T-Post holding up a barbwire fence. Beforehand, we picked days for practice that were going to be have similar wind conditions as we would experience on our trip. In the beginning we missed but by the time we were ready to leave, our POA to POI was greatly improved. We were going there to shoot PD's not AT them. And anyone who has been on a PD hunt knows if you get shots inside even 75 yards you are lucky and they are stupid.
Good luck !
Charts, graphs, apps etc., is all well and good and provides you basic theory. But until you apply yourself, you won't really know what works and what doesn't.
Here in NE Oklahoma, a calm day would be, winds below 10 mph and granted, winds approaching and above 20 mph is darn near impossible. Not only does it have an effect on the projectile but you trying to steady the gun.
The last couple of years, we've traveled to a prairie dog hunt on the plains of Kansas. Tallest thing there was a T-Post holding up a barbwire fence. Beforehand, we picked days for practice that were going to be have similar wind conditions as we would experience on our trip. In the beginning we missed but by the time we were ready to leave, our POA to POI was greatly improved. We were going there to shoot PD's not AT them. And anyone who has been on a PD hunt knows if you get shots inside even 75 yards you are lucky and they are stupid.
Good luck !
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I did a few prairie dog hunts in CO, with my BR gunsmith. We started early, usually by mid morning the wind made the beer cooler look pretty appealing. The good news, by then we had usually shot a couple hundred rounds and were ready for a break.
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It’s strange that no one mentioned a wind on your back “tail wind” especially when structural components come into play? Even with flags you can get eddies and swirling that is not picked up by the flags? it’s the tail and head winds that are very hard for me to get a handle on. JMO.
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here is a correct pellet clock
This is the correct diagram for PELLETS with a RH twist. Thanks!
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I had a lot of fun shooting in the wind today. I'm not particularly good at reading the wind but I enjoy getting better at things that I'm not very good at. The wind was really up (about 10-15 mph) and was swirling at times. I wanted to magnify the effect of the wind and was shooting 177 Cal 7.5 gn flatheads at 50 yards at 800 fps. I would wait for the wind to come up and then I started shooting as fast as I could while still being under control and would watch the pellets in flight.
I was shooting at a 6 inch round steel plate. It was really fun watching the pellets move from right to left as the wind would build up and then watch them go the other way as the wind died down. I kept the point of aim the same so that I could watch what was happening and saw some of the pellets miss as much as 6 inches left and 6 inches right depending on what the wind was doing.
I was using a 24X scope and it was really cool watching the pellets curve in the wind.
I was shooting at a 6 inch round steel plate. It was really fun watching the pellets move from right to left as the wind would build up and then watch them go the other way as the wind died down. I kept the point of aim the same so that I could watch what was happening and saw some of the pellets miss as much as 6 inches left and 6 inches right depending on what the wind was doing.
I was using a 24X scope and it was really cool watching the pellets curve in the wind.
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