When do you worry about wind?

[HawkMan]

I'm not a long range shooter. The furthest I've shot is 100 yards, mostly with .22 LR and .223/5.56
When do you need to worry about wind?
I was told that for .22 LR I don't need to worry about wind from 0-100 yards, is that true?
What about .223/5.56?


Of course I know this is slightly subjective, as a 5000 mph wind will make a difference at 50 yards, but a 5000 mph wind is very unlikely, lol.

So within reason, what calibers can be effectively shot at what yardage without worrying about wind?

[beanz2]

I worry about wind if my spotter is crouching too close to me.

[HawkMan]

I worry about wind if my spotter is crouching too close to me.

Haha, well at that point I'd certainly be worried about gas!

[Bigtwin]

As far as 22 long rifle goes, I was shooting groups at 50 yards and all 10 Rounds landed I'm a one in shoot and see Target, then I moved to the hundred yard range that didn't have the protection of berms and it was probably maybe a 15 to 20 mile-an-hour crosswind, the target looked like a shotgun patterning. It's been awhile but if I remember correctly these were 36 grain bullets.

[Bigtwin]

Correction the 50-yard shots unrestricted by wind where on a 2in shoot and see not a one in.

[Bullets&Whitewalls]

Talk about a hard question to answer. I’ve noticed it at 100yds with both of those rounds myself but not really knowing or having a wind speed gauge I couldn’t say what mph makes the difference. I guess when the ear plug bags start blowing off the bench it’s time to switch to handguns lol

[RandyD]

The wind will move a .22 LR round off the X and 10 rings at 50 yards. Shooters in a smallbore competitions, know that a slight wind if not read correctly will cause lost points. If you are shooting informally at large targets off hand, most likely you will not be able to attribute a miss to the wind.

[tradecraft]

You know when you have a bad day shooting? That's when you blame the wind.

[PatC415]

223: You're probably looking at roughly 3"@100yds with a 20mph crosswind.
Today's newer longer heavier projectiles offer better wind resistance. IE 77gr

22: some .22 ammo is just plain bad out of the box for accuracy, and low velocity certainly hurts, but yeah past 50yds things can get pretty sideways with a .22 and heavy wind.

Good accurate ammo suitable for higher winds is a good starting point.

[audiophil2]

Inside of 100 yards I do not worry about wind on anything but 22lr. I shoot subsonc gemtech out to 500 yards and can stay on a 24" plate if I wait for no wind. I shoot pistols off hand out to 150 yards and the wind has almost zero affect but keeping steady is very difficult. I was ringing my 12" plate at 150 yards with my AK last Sunday using a railing for support and it was pretty easy but off hand was maybe 1 out of 10 hits. Even with the wolf ammo and using the rail I could see obvious powder inconsistencies that had nothing to do with aim or wind as I could hit 5 in a row and then have a flyer about 20 inches away.

My range has a consistent 7mph cross wind. At 1 mile I am aiming 16 feet to the left for my 6.5cm but that is small compared to the 141 feet of holdover.

[mach]

[ChuckDizzle]

For .22 LR at super sonic velocity you're going to have a bad time in wind at 100 meters.

Most common .22 LR loads will criss the sound barrier and lose some stability just short of 100 meters. Heavy winds compound this problem.

The only caliber I leave home when very windy is .17 HMR, the little 17 gr bullet can get pushed pretty easily even at just 100 meters.

[NorCalFocus]

223: You're probably looking at roughly 3"@100yds with a 20mph crosswind.
Today's newer longer heavier projectiles offer better wind resistance. IE 77gr

Just pulled the numbers off my ballistic calculator.

With a 20mph wind at 90* I'll get 1.8 MOA of drift at 100 yards, .9 MOA drift with a 10mph wind. Thats with a Hornady 68g BTHP Match bullet.

M193 ammo I got, 1 MOA for 10mph and 2.1 MOA for 20mph.

You were just a little high at 3". But for the OP you can see at 100 yards with .233 you don't really have to worry much about wind. If your shooting golf balls at 100 yards you likely would just have to hold off just to the edge or bit further. For shooting gongs and stuff, just let em rip.

[solidfreshdope]

[alpha_romeo_XV]

A strong head wind or tail wind have negligible effect - consider it compared to the speed of the bullet.
Its the component of wind perpendicular to target that pushes bullet sideways you compensate for.
I've shot in windy service rifle matches where we needed 7 to 8 minutes of windage to hit 10 ring at 600 yards for a 77g 223. That means without the adjustment you'd even miss the target frame.