Wind kicks my A$$

[Long Range 338]

First real opportunity to go out last weekend and try for some LR steel, very disappointed with my results. 15-20 MPH winds and instead of using my brain, I got worked up and just let 'em fly... what a waste of 20 rounds! The bad part is that the targets are 5' off the ground with no mounds behind so a wind call that was close on a small target looked like elevation issues. I need to trust my info and pay more attention to the wind. Once I finally got on target the groups were pretty good but by that time the wind had already made me its Beatch....

 

[Huskydriver]

First real opportunity to go out last weekend and try for some LR steel, very disappointed with my results. 15-20 MPH winds and instead of using my brain, I got worked up and just let 'em fly... what a waste of 20 rounds! The bad part is that the targets are 5' off the ground with no mounds behind so a wind call that was close on a small target looked like elevation issues. I need to trust my info and pay more attention to the wind. Once I finally got on target the groups were pretty good but by that time the wind had already made me its Beatch....

Damn brother... Targets without a berm at long range are tough to call misses especially if your don't have a great spotter. Next time your down this way holler and we will go out to a mile plus.

What caliber were you shooting?

 

[Long Range 338]

6.5CM and I was spotting (or not) my own shots so it was a tough day.

 

[Long Range 338]

Damn brother... Targets without a berm at that range are tough to call misses especially if your don't have a great spotter. Next time your down this way holler and we will go out to a mile plus.

What caliber were you shooting?

Sounds like fun. I'll have to bring the 300NM.

 

[Vodoun daVinci]

Wind kicks all of our asses and is, for me, the hardest aspect to learn and get proficient at in this Precision Shooting Game. It's just hard to estimate and hold for.

VooDoo

 

[Steel head]

I learned a bit about wind in eastern Washington.

10-15mph was the norm there.

Sometimes that often steady wind was less difficult than the mild swirling wind I get in the mountains where I currently shoot.

Here I have to pay more attention to what I feel, mirage, grass, bugs and trees to an idea of what happening

 

[Milo 2.5]

First real opportunity to go out last weekend and try for some LR steel, very disappointed with my results. 15-20 MPH winds and instead of using my brain, I got worked up and just let 'em fly... what a waste of 20 rounds! The bad part is that the targets are 5' off the ground with no mounds behind so a wind call that was close on a small target looked like elevation issues. I need to trust my info and pay more attention to the wind. Once I finally got on target the groups were pretty good but by that time the wind had already made me its Beatch....

Sometimes targets with a berm bite harder than w/o, esp in dry conditions when dust is immediate. You did right by hugging the ground with your plate, nothing worse than over shooting a plate and seeing splash under it, that's 4 extra shots in the making. Target placement when learning will always be the key, and sometimes bigger plate helps. Most targets have stands or bases, and shooting at those where they intersect the ground can reveal a lot.
We have targets where they are set on humps and cattle have trampled the berms, bullets landing way beyond plate don't paint the correct picture.
Plus different wind patterns may enter the range as you go out, say you can beat a plate up at 600, but 800 seems futile, sometimes going to 1K to see the full effect of the winds at distance will help you come back and make the right corrections.
Reading wind or terrain does not happen overnight, and if you are not great at spotting your own shots, get friend and a spotting scope, throwing lead just to do it is just that. If you do not learn every outing, this is not the game for you.

 

[Lowlight]

Find your rifles MPH then do multiples of it...

We regularly shoot in 12 - 18MPH and continue to teach our classes in it, hits are no problem.

308 shooting 175gr = 4 MPH

600-yard target in 12 MPH wind is 3x, so .6 Mils x 3 = 1.8 Mil Hold

Increase the wind to 18 MPH and that is 4.5x bigger, .6 x 4.5 = 2.7 Mils

Having a foundation and a plan helps a ton, just get that first number in your G1 BC and you are off to the races.

 

[Long Range 338]

Sometimes targets with a berm bite harder than w/o, esp in dry conditions when dust is immediate. You did right by hugging the ground with your plate, nothing worse than over shooting a plate and seeing splash under it, that's 4 extra shots in the making. Target placement when learning will always be the key, and sometimes bigger plate helps. Most targets have stands or bases, and shooting at those where they intersect the ground can reveal a lot.
We have targets where they are set on humps and cattle have trampled the berms, bullets landing way beyond plate don't paint the correct picture.
Plus different wind patterns may enter the range as you go out, say you can beat a plate up at 600, but 800 seems futile, sometimes going to 1K to see the full effect of the winds at distance will help you come back and make the right corrections.
Reading wind or terrain does not happen overnight, and if you are not great at spotting your own shots, get friend and a spotting scope, throwing lead just to do it is just that. If you do not learn every outing, this is not the game for you.

Lots of brush up to 2-3 ft tall so the targets have to be placed in the air to even see them - not ideal but you gotta do what you gotta do. But it was exactly as you stated changing elevation and shooting high but the splash looks low (made more than 4 extra shots for me).

The realization that I didn't stick to my plan is what irks me. I had the data, should have trusted it and known it was a minor wind adjustment. Instead it turns into a full blow "WTF is going on here" when I really knew better.

Find your rifles MPH then do multiples of it...

We regularly shoot in 12 - 18MPH and continue to teach our classes in it, hits are no problem.

308 shooting 175gr = 4 MPH

600-yard target in 12 MPH wind is 3x, so .6 Mils x 3 = 1.8 Mil Hold

Increase the wind to 18 MPH and that is 4.5x bigger, .6 x 4.5 = 2.7 Mils

Having a foundation and a plan helps a ton, just get that first number in your G1 BC and you are off to the races.

I thought I had this down too, but theory and practice tend to bring reality in a hurry. I was shooting a 6.5CM so I was using a 5MPH number. Target wasn't very generous and the mental acuity just wasn't where it should have been. In the end I have the excuse I need to go get in more trigger time.

@Lowlight, thanks for educational insight and the podcast is awesome by the way.

 

[Milo 2.5]

Lots of brush up to 2-3 ft tall so the targets have to be placed in the air to even see them - not ideal but you gotta do what you gotta do. But it was exactly as you stated changing elevation and shooting high but the splash looks low (made more than 4 extra shots for me).

Sorry, I went back and re-read, I thought you posted 5 inches, 5 feet will pork you unless on a hill. Bullet bypasses the target for quite a distance that high, which can in turn skew what you see wind wise.

 

[uncle_smokey]

Where we can shoot 1,000+, we have to shoot across 2 different ravines, so anything above 5mph at our firing position does strange things to smaller rounds-even heavy 300wm rounds. We are getting close to figuring it out completely, but Mother Nature can be mean sometimes.

 

[FLEric308]

When you can figure out wind, share with the rest of us. Wind is a great reason to maintain a good data book. You should never be wasting rounds. If you fire a round, hit or miss, you should try to learn something from it. A good way to test wind is to set up wind flags when you can and try to shoot on paper so you can track your impacts and measure them.

 

[Long Range 338]

When you can figure out wind, share with the rest of us. Wind is a great reason to maintain a good data book. You should never be wasting rounds. If you fire a round, hit or miss, you should try to learn something from it. A good way to test wind is to set up wind flags when you can and try to shoot on paper so you can track your impacts and measure them.

Well I guess I figured the wind out today - I got out before there was hardly any wind !

I reworked my range in the opposite direction so I'm actually shooting slightly downhill and it actually extended my range out past a mile if I can do my part. Cold bore hit at 525 and worked my way out without too much issue. I think the barrel on my 6.5CM is breaking in and speeding up as all the data was too high... Grabbed another rifle and the data was spot on so something amiss there but generally a much more productive outing.

I'n never experienced this before but in shooting slightly downward (less than 3 degrees) I was able to spot my own misses and actually tell elevation even without mounds behind the targets. It was more difficult after 1k but much improved overall.

Clouds rolled in just as I as wrapping up so it was great to focus on the wind after I had already been able to firm up the dope. Almost felt like redemption...

 

[Jscb1b]

Well, here goes my stupid question. What did lowlight mean by finding the rifle's MPH?

 

[Long Range 338]

Well, here goes my stupid question. What did lowlight mean by finding the rifle's MPH?

Its a method for using the first number of your bullets BC as a quick wind method. There was a thread on it a while back, I'll try to find it.

 

[Long Range 338]

It looks like its all here

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/moa-wind-math.6917057/

 

[Jscb1b]

Thank you!