Which Wind to use?

[tracker12ga]

Lots of good information hear, thanks guys. Out of the three, it looks like that the wind at the target area is the least important of them. I will play it on the safe side and take into whats happening with the wind at the beginning and mid way point.

 

[BMcKell]

The bullet is affected by wind the most right before the target. That is when the bullet has the least velocity and is dropping like a rock. One way to read it is to focus on your target and the back it off so you are focused on the heat waves in front of the target. If they are boiling straight up, no wind. If they are moving up at a 45 deg. angle, 2 to 3 mph wind. If they are going sideways, at least 5 mph. The last third of the distance is the most important.

Another thing I like to do is experiment with my wind meter and see how far weeds bend or trees blow at different wind speeds. It gives you a reference when you see a tree blowing in your scope.

 

[BMcKell]

This thread got me thinking, and I didn't know exactly. I put a 1000 yard shot into my Sierra program with multiple wind directions. 3 MPH wind from 3 oclock for the first 500 yards, and 3 mph wind from 9 oclock for the second 500 yards. The bullet in my example would hit about 5 inches to the left at 1000 yards, but is angled back toward the right and would cross the line of sight again at 1400. So the correct answer is the bullet is affected more at close range. I'm glad I got into this discussion because I learned something. I was always taught not to worry about the wind at the muzzle because of the high velocity would not affect it very much.

 

[BMcKell]

I think the best way to sum it up is to say: The bullet itself is affected most by wind closest to the target, BUT the entire shot, or bullet path is determined by the wind closest to the muzzle.

 

[milanuk]

Now that last bit I could agree with. Of all points in the bullets travel, it is more easily affected when it is going slower (towards the end of flight). Wind earlier in the flight has a larger cumulative effect on the over all trajectory, as it imparts a (very small) sideways momentum to the bullet.

If you can put in multiple wind speeds from multiple directions, then Sierra has changed a *lot* since the last time I looked at it (couple years ago) - actually I wasn't aware of *any* consumer-grade programs that did that.

I really, really hope my new copy of Bryan's book shows up soon... I left my original copy with our hosts in Ireland last week - figured it'll be a while before any other copies make it that far

 

[ss7mm]

Check out LoadBase Mobile 3.0

 

[milanuk]

Very cool. Now they just need to make a version for the iPhone/iPod Touch

 

[ss7mm]

You can get a good used Dell for about $50-$60 bucks and then, with the software, you'd be in business.

 

[milanuk]

Silly question for ya... since I can't actually measure the wind down range at the different zones... how accurate can you really get with that part of the program? Not questioning the technical aspects of the program or anything like that, but have you used that part successfully in the field i.e. 'hmmm... 12 mph @ 8 o'clock here at the muzzle, looks like a little more, maybe 15-16 full-value @ mid-range, and almost nothing moving down at the target'? That stuff is hard enough for me to keep track of in my head, trying to keep track of it in a timely fashion on a PDA seems like a full-time job (for the spotter/gun-bearer )

Seems like one heckuva a 'what-if' program (which I love!) but not sure I want to deal with another M$-Windoze based pda after my encounter with a 'smart' phone loaded with their stuff... although I've heard lots of good things about the Dell Axims... maybe on the laptop though?

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Dicks already answered this question pretty well, but dittos on his wind comments. While the bullet is moving slower at the target, it's also losing velocity at a much lower rate than it does at the muzzle (lag time), and this goes into the equation. Yes, you need to be aware of what the wind is doing across the entire range, but it's the conditions closest to the shooter that are critical, as Dick explained. Another poster mentioned tricks that terrain can play, and I'd second that as well. Usually, these sort of features result in some very flukey shots. On Ft. Campbell, our sniper range was cut through a very heavily wooded section, downhill into a valley. The trees were split by a couple open areas that frequently caught crosswinds, caused odd swirls and eddies, that sort of thing. Failure to watch those winds very closely gave some odd shots indeed.

 

[ss7mm]

Practice, practice and then more practice some more. Good glass helps a lot and being lucky enough to have vegitation in the area that will let you try and read the wind. Keep notes as to how much certain vegitation moves under which wind conditions. Keep notes if you hunt certain canyons and windy areas as to how the wind typically blows and how it affects your shots. Practice reading, and learn to read, the boil during hot weather. It all helps

Remember that wind in canyon country can also effect the drop of the bullet. Check out the Home Page as there are a couple of good articles there on wind reading. Shawn explains it pretty well and if you don't have it, you should get his DVD as he explains wind reading very well.

Oh yeah, practice, practice and then find a windier area and practice some more otherwise I'd suggest that if the winds blowing, you should not take any longer shots at anything other than targets, steel and rocks.