Understanding The Winds Influence

Thanks for the share. Can use all the help I can get with another antelope trip to Wyoming coming up soon. I hear it can be breezy occasionally out there! :rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the share. Can use all the help I can get with another antelope trip to Wyoming coming up soon. I hear it can be breezy occasionally out there! :rolleyes:

It is that time of year around the country! Those fall winds coming in. We will have 45 mph winds at the range again!
 
The wind is the one variable totally out of our control and even with the best ballistic programs and weather meters because as you point out in the article it can vary greatly between the shooter and the target.

Even with the best gear, reading the wind down range by studying its effects on the things we can see like mirage, trees, grass etc is mostly about feel when you get right down to it.

There have been times when shooting at a running coyote who has his back to the wind we have had to actually instead of leading the yote by moving the cross hairs ahead of him, we actually have to move it behind him because the wind drift at even 300-500yds is so dramatic. This of course runs counter to how our brains are geared which is why such shooting is so frustrating for most shooters.

Good article, it should help a lot of shooters.
 
The wind is the one variable totally out of our control and even with the best ballistic programs and weather meters because as you point out in the article it can vary greatly between the shooter and the target.

Even with the best gear, reading the wind down range by studying its effects on the things we can see like mirage, trees, grass etc is mostly about feel when you get right down to it.

There have been times when shooting at a running coyote who has his back to the wind we have had to actually instead of leading the yote by moving the cross hairs ahead of him, we actually have to move it behind him because the wind drift at even 300-500yds is so dramatic. This of course runs counter to how our brains are geared which is why such shooting is so frustrating for most shooters.

Good article, it should help a lot of shooters.

Moving Targets plus Wind is something that takes hard practice to learn! It is good to get away from holding edge, and get in to holding center, but its been taught to hold edge for a long time.
 
Moving Targets plus Wind is something that takes hard practice to learn! It is good to get away from holding edge, and get in to holding center, but its been taught to hold edge for a long time.
I grew up near Clovis New Mexico so I've had a lifetime of learning to deal with the wind. In the wind on moving targets being able to keep your scope on target is absolutely essential because you are all but guaranteed to need a quick follow up till you really get the hang of it.

Once you do get the hang of it it's mostly about "feel" much like shooting wild birds.
 
Good article!
In addition to the importance of understanding how the wind effects the bullets path, it really emphasizes the point about the ballistics of cartridge/load selection being optimized for minimum bullet flight time.
 
Good article!
In addition to the importance of understanding how the wind effects the bullets path, it really emphasizes the point about the ballistics of cartridge/load selection being optimized for minimum bullet flight time.
Yep, the quicker it gets there the less time the wind has to affect the flight path.
 
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