Learning how to judge the wind

[bubbapug1]

If you are really serious about wind reading buy the book

"The wind book for rifle shooters" by Linda miller and Keith Cunningham.

Your next step would be to set up at a range with some flags and a 22 at 200 yards, determine flag positions for wind speed , run a windage chart for your ammo at the 0-max speeds you think you will see, and practice hold offs for each condition. Granted you could do this with a 5.56 or a 308 but at 200 yards windage isn't too great, and you won't be penalized for guessing wrong.

Once you get 22lr down extrapolate to your caliber at longer distances.

It's always good to know the "bracket " or variances caused by various wind for the distance you are shooting, and than hold iff or dial in the required correction.

One example would be 80 grain SMK's at 2650 fps at 600 yards is about .5 Moa per mph. The trick is to determine the wind speed and direction.

A little knowledge of trig helps too, but for the most part just break wind direction into 4 variations - 12 o'clock, (0degrees) (33 degrees - 54% wind value) (66 degrees - 86% wind value ) and 90 degrees (full crosswind - 100% wind value) (sin33) (sin66) (sin90)

Once you understand all of the variables and underlying physics it's just a matter of practice, time, and money.

You could just go out and wing it, but without understanding the basics behind what you are "winging" you will take much longer to learn, and waste a lot more time, money, and ammo..and perhaps never really get there. Sure, its somewhat an art, but with all art, there is a hell of a lot of science behind it.

And once you see the bracketing required for your bullets, you will see a better ballistic coefficient gives you smaller variances per unit wind speed, which makes your margin of error less for a given unit of wind.

[vliberatore]

Kestrels are nice but they only tell you what the wind is right there, not what it's doing between the muzzle and the target.

Save the $$$ and spend it on the range, shoot on windy days and the more flags you can use the better.

Watch this space next year for the Wind Clinic run next year at Sacramento Valley as sign up.

This.

Shot a match on Memorial Day weekend and the wind was ~8mph head on at the firing line but ~10-12mph right-to-left where the targets were. A couple guys have their Kestrels out but ended up putting them away when they noticed what the wind was doing.

My dad has taken the wind clinic at Sac Valley and said it was very helpful. I would love to take it if I could.

[Timberwolf]

Reading things such as FM 23-10 is a good place to start. But like everything else practice makes perfect. I learned to read wind as a kid from my Dad and uncles by looking at tree branches, leaves and grass. I grew up hunting and shooting with irons. As I got older, more experienced I learned to read mirage. I still use a combination of all the above plus range flags if during match.

[RobG]

Practice shooting in the wind. There is NO substitute. Many have tried to learn wind reading in other ways, and ALL have failed. It is more of an art than a science.

Yup. No book, Youtube video, or training will help you more than actually doing it. Like the man said, it really is an art.

[killshot44]

And Lane is an Artiste.

Onsite advice made a huge difference in my approach to deal with conditions.
Very grateful still.

[JMP]

And, this why I have an unpopular opinion. I think it's best to start out with a cartridge that isn't ballistically efficient. Namely, I suggest learning on .223 because you need to be very mindful of the wind if you are shooting 50gr 500+ yards. This always you a lot of cheap practice at a practical distance that shouldn't be too difficult to find. From there, moving up to rounds that offer better ballistics is an easy adaption.

Use the wind where you are shooting, then adjust based on additional factors that require judgement, such as wind at target and wind between you and the target. Then, the convection currents picked up in your scope give you additional information about the wind characteristics.

If you are going to shoot long range (1.5 km +), then it gets really tough no matter what. When you leave your bullet in the air that long and covering so much ground, there are just too many different cross currents to perfectly account for it. For close up shooting to 1,000 yards, it's significantly easier as you don't have to worry nearly as much since conditionals remain a lot more stable over the shorter distance.

[WolfInSheeple'sClothing]

I did my senior thesis (physics) on ballistics, and I pretty much strayed away from wind drift. If the wind was constant in one direction (even if different at multiple distances) it would be one thing. However, the honest best way to go about it is to "learn" the wind. 5 yrs. of books is nowhere as useful as 25 yrs. of trigger time, and I know from experience. I guess at some point it just became natural, just like making the perfect single leg in wrestling, or nailing a 10 stair kickflip first try. Nowadays, I watch the various foliage bending in the wind and adjust accordingly, or my shot placement and go from there. Ymmv. I know that wasn't very helpful, sorry.

[WolfInSheeple'sClothing]

And, this why I have an unpopular opinion. I think it's best to start out with a cartridge that isn't ballistically efficient. Namely, I suggest learning on .223 because you need to be very mindful of the wind if you are shooting 50gr 500+ yards. This always you a lot of cheap practice at a practical distance that shouldn't be too difficult to find. From there, moving up to rounds that offer better ballistics is an easy adaption.

Use the wind where you are shooting, then adjust based on additional factors that require judgement, such as wind at target and wind between you and the target.

Pretty much this. Albeit, I left out the part about convection, as I believe judging windage from surrounding foliage or dust blowing, etc. is much easier, and the OP seems to be fairly new to this.

[Scotty]

[Ahhnother8]

We shot out to 600 yards today at Sac. It was somewhat breezy today, and some read the wind ok, while others got hammered. It's fun to watch the mayhem. Will be doing it again tomorrow. Then on Tuesday at 800-1000 yards.

[LCU1670]

I first bought Major Plasters book, bought it on-line used, here is his websight: http://ultimatesniper.com/,

After that, I was up to speed, then I took a course.

A friend later gave me Brian Litz's book (http://artoftherifleblog.com/book-re...rian-litz.html) and I went over that. He talks about shooting a 22 cal rifle at a fair distance so you can get a feel of adjusting for windage at a low cost, shorter distance.

The combo worked well for me, I tend to be right on a 18" plate up to 800 yds with a 308, first strike no matter the conditions. Up to 1000, at the most a second shot. But I found it is MUCH easier shooting off a pack (back pack) then a bipod.

If you haven't, get the basics at an Appleseed shoot!

p.s.: I went from Mil dot reticle, MOA turrets to: mil dot retical to MIL turrets, adjustments are more quicker/easier if your scope is: moa/moa or mil/mil.

[6114DAVE]

windometer is a good idea BUT...like in the Marine Corps and we had to qualify ..soetimes the wind was very light from your shooting position but the wind near the target would be stronger. best way to learn judging the wind? shoot in windy conditions...preferably
with a buddy and a spotting scope

[toby]

I don't always shoot in the wind but when I do I shoot with the wind. Shoot straight my Friends.

[1CavScout]

Like others have mentioned, the wind from your shooting position can be different than what it is down range. Shooting out here in the AZ desert we get swirling strong winds than can blow from different directions and at different speeds in a relatively short distance of a few hundred meters. Sometimes trying to read and hold for wind can be difficult to almost impossible depending on where you are shooting.

[LynnJr]

I read right here on Calguns that you need to shoot a 22 rimfire for 3 years at 300 yards then you'll know how to shoot like a true operator and of course you'll never miss your first shot from a cold bore.

Then I woke up and that nightmare was over or was it.

In the eastern part of the US which is flat as a pancake the wind blows one direction for about 16 hours a day.It will vary 2-3 mph and the direction will change 2 degrees.

In the western part of the country(California)the wind will change speed 23.5 times an hour and direction every other minute.

If your going to buy a "Wind Book" buy one from a shooter in your area.

From personal experience wind books are extremely helpful for insomnia.They will put you to sleep in 3 pages or less.

My best advise is to shoot in the wind and learn from your mistakes.Next never shoot against Jerry Tierney on a windy day in Sacramento.