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Reading the Wind

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Urimaginaryfrnd View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Urimaginaryfrnd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Reading the Wind
    Posted: July/31/2011 at 19:42




Wes, I replaced your URL because it was out of date... no longer accessible  This young lady is a better advocate than any other I could find...


Edited by Kickboxer - October/13/2019 at 19:10

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/31/2011 at 20:03
Good aid, Wes.  Much obliged...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Urimaginaryfrnd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/01/2011 at 20:21
Thanks I stumbled across it and wanted to put it somewhere that I could find it.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sparky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2011 at 00:00
Thanks I have been looking for something like this.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/02/2011 at 14:07
That's a nice, descriptive chart Wes. Thanks.
Reaction time is a factor...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sgt. D Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/06/2011 at 09:29
I appologize for hi-jackin your thread UMF but, who has experience with some of the latest wind/pressure calculators or gadgets? I'm going to get something in the near future and want to make an educated choice. For budget I don't know yet. I'll just have to see what is recommended and go from there. I've build two 1K+ rifles and want to get supporting tec/gear.
Thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/06/2011 at 10:21
Mark, 
I've used most of the wind meters on the market, at one time or another. I settled on Kestrel.  HOWEVER, it must be understood, and I know you do, that wind at point of fire is NOT the complete solution and actually not a lot of it.  Sometimes corrections have to be made at several points in the trajectory in order to find a "final"... and that is variable.  
The best features of a Kestrel... say 4500-type, are temperature, humidity, pressure/density/altitude, you can even get wet bulb temperature.  Again, variable over extreme range, but much less so than wind.  The Kestrel has good error values, it is not too cumbersome, long battery life, can be had with red backlight for lowlight/night use.  It is a pretty good tool.  As with most tools, it is not the do all/end all solution, but it is certainly better than nothing. 
The newest version, while a bit expensive, has a ballistics calculator built in.  I'll probably have one soon, I'm a sucker for hi-tech and trying to get the most out of it.  Word has it, you could effectively place the Kestrel downrange and have it feed you downrange conditions via bluetooth to your smartphone.  That is pretty powerful.  I have not used this version, yet, so it is still just "hearsay" to me. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/21/2011 at 14:23
Very nice.

I am continuously in the process of trying to teach myself to read wind. Mostly with little luck.

ILya
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/23/2011 at 14:08
Some of the things that have benefited me are:

  • The WWII training video on shooting the M1 Garand

  • Palma shooter Bryan Litz' comments, especially how he will read flags all along the course. Now, obviously most of us when shooting will not have any flags at all. But there may be something downrange moving that you can see like trees.

  • From other comments, playing around with ballistic calculators and paying attention to it at the range, the wind up range closest to you will affect the trajectory the most. So if the target is sheltered, e.g. an antelope on the leeward side of a hill 300 yards away and you're lying prone in the open inching up to the edge of a windy draw, you've got to be aware of of that. I've taken shots that traveled 200 or more yards across an opening with a 40-mph crosswind then spent the rest of the flight in relatively quiet air.
Reaction time is a factor...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote G Kurtz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/20/2011 at 09:03
Of course U know these two ya?

Apparent angle from vertical:

- of smoke, flags, or short light rope U keep in ur fingers / 4 = windspeed mph
- of mirage / 8 = windspeed mph
 
AA angle must be read at 90, ie with the wind blowing directly from h3 or h9, so turn your arm or spotting scope as necessary
 
K
 
PS: ya,ya, the Kestrel is nicer, and more precise, but U know: old/simple systems ... sustainability ... no batteries ... environment's friendly ... hahaha (just kidding). And the bluetooth range of the Kestrel is just around 30 feet. The mirage,  flags smoke etc if lucky U can read at 600yd> 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Rancid Coolaid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/20/2011 at 09:21
Wind reading is among the first skills to go when practice/use slows.  I was once very good at it, now I suck.

Lucky for me my Kestrel is quite good at reading wind at my position, then it becomes a matter of reading along the bullet path, which can be a challenge.

This is a good start.

And if you want to read wind well, do it allot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote G Kurtz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/20/2011 at 10:19
HI RC!
Frankly speaking I'm still using an old japanese thing giving thermo and baro-altimetric ... MANY years of good service and still functioning! Windspeed the even older system, wet thumb etc. haha
However I've seen those Kestrel and they are really nice ... mmhh 500 $ ya?
K
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/20/2011 at 10:21
best to watch bullet strikes, rare instance that civilian shooters need first shot stuff and just as rare for people who do need them to get them past 800 yds. If your shooting in a open desert canyon winds are more important than initial wind conditions, and sometimes nothing to read except mirage. Also if you are behind the gun strike corrections are a lot easier with todays reticles .
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote G Kurtz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/20/2011 at 10:28
O yees sure! Bullet strikes is the MOST precise correction, including for not-civilians. U see the impact point (better, the spotter see it and call it) U double it FAST. However this not always feasible, moreover first shot is first shot, u know. And hunters also, they need first shot ethical kill
A+
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/20/2011 at 17:45
someday I will
1) shoot at a range that has grass from the firing line to the targets
2) be flat
3) has tiny colored flags showing wind changes
4) other people that change the targets
5) ALL of the above at onetime
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steelbenz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December/22/2011 at 21:17
Dale, Do you really think there will be a range in Heaven?

Here's the closest thing to me.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote bas121 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/18/2012 at 08:31
Very nice.and Thanks very much.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Stevey Ducks Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/05/2012 at 00:45
Look carefully before taking the shot and it really helps if you have shot at that location before. If you have log what sight settings you have used to make hits.
 
A handy method that I have used for years is:
 
((range in yards/100) X wind velocity)/ pre determined divisor) = wind deflection in MOA
 
some "pre dedetermined divisors" that I use:
 
15 - .308 168 gr @ 2850 -- .30-06
19 - 6.5 mm 123gr H AMax @ 3000 -- 6.5-06
15 - 6.5 mm 100gr H AMax @ 3300 -- 6.5-06
12 - .224 53 VMax @ 3700 --.22-.250
 
These values check out and were derived using values from the Sierra Ballistics program
 
For example -- .30-06, 168 match bullet, 2850 fps, 8 mph wind @ 3 or 9, range 585 yds -- firing solution
 
585/100 = 5.85, 5.85 X 8 = 46.8
 
46.8 / 15 = 3.12 MOA correction (3 MOA on windage)
 
for wind directions @ 2 or 10 or not right angles multiply MOA by either .6 or .8 depending
 
Determination of wind velocities between you and your target is a real art - mirage, wind flags, alfalfa plantings, corn stalks, leaves, waves, and ripples and above. Look across a 600 yd alfafa field and see the individual little plants bending in different directions as the wind swirls and eddies across in different directions then think about shooting in the early am before the wind acts up.
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stickbow46 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/06/2012 at 09:55
Great info,Thanks to all.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TV-PressPass Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/25/2012 at 11:14
Great article, interesting that they have so many different levels above what I would just label as: Too Flippin Windy 
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