Doping the Wind Question

[Dbez1]

We want to start shooting longer distances (80-120 yards) now that the weather is warming but have a question for those of you with experience in this area. Where is the best place to position the flag?  My guess is near the firing line since just a little off there results in a lot off at 100 yards. I could also see the benefits of placing it near the target as there’s less momentum there and and the pellet should be more vulnerable to wind drift.  I could ask some of my long range powder burner friends but I have a feeling that airguns are a whole different ball game.  Thanks for the advice.

[Motorhead]

generally mid way to @ 2/3's .... law of averages between wind where shooting from and at target.

IMO having done AG bench rest

[Dbez1]

generally mid way to @ 2/3's .... law of averages between wind where shooting from and at target.

IMO having done AG bench rest

Thanks Scott. As always, I appreciate your advice.

[be4meliz]

I have 100 yds. range, but vortex conditions( bench-wind -left to right) so use ribbon near target(which might be calm or left to right- (pellet will be more influenced as speed diminishes) Mildots are your friend. Rarely do I have a calm day. Check out my N.U.A.H target( 1st 2 in bull & touching-Next 3 in group but 1 mildot off_ all horizontal, so wind
 

[Dbez1]

That’s a good looking target from your Gauntlet Steve. Think how good it would be without the wind. They might all be X’s!👍

[Ribbonstone]

Over those ranges ...lets say 100yards.. will go with 3 flags if I can (or just sticks and lengths of yarn). One just ahead of the bench (but in the clear of the wind shadow of the bench area), one about 1/2way, and one a couple of yards before the target. 


It's like a live thing....never quite the same each time when you really look at it over all.  Not usual to find the 3 flags don't quite match (having all three indicate the same direction and strength is unusual)....can even have one indicating the opposite direction.

  Of the three, pay a bit more attention to the first two.

Actually find that ranges that aren't so well maintained and have  a few tall weeds here and there work well...think of them as dozens of wind flags. Still see the sometimes conflicting directions, but get more of a sense of the overall picture.

Best shooting has been when I take a good long 10min. or so to just watch the wind.Don't care about the folks ignoring it and all the shooting going on around me; I'm not on a time limit when shooting for the best I can manage.

There is often a pattern...and that pattern often repeats itself. IF you can identify the pattern, then adjusting for just that pattern and waiting for it to repeat is probably the safest time to let loose a shot.



BUT...

If you hunt, you are under a time limit (critter ain't going to wait all that long to get shot), so you will have to quickly judge the wind (without wind flags) and let loose the shot pretty quicky. No time for contemplation or scope adjusting, you just have to quickly figure out where to hold and shoot...or let the critter go for another try some other day.

[rsterne]

The closer the crosswind is to the gun, the more effect it has on the deflection at the target.... While 3 flags, positioned at Ribbonstone suggests are probably the best setup, if you only have a single flag, maybe 15 yards out is probably the best spot.... Consider these diagrams....

Crosswind 10 mph all the way from gun to target....



Crosswind 10 mph from 0-25 yds, no wind from 25-100....



As above, crosswind reversed from 75-100 yards....



Note how important the wind is near the gun, and how relatively unimportant it is near the target....

Bob

[VillageSniper]

I just feel the wind on my face and body up close (use your ears too, as the wind blows through grass and trees) and watch a flag close to 2/3 down range set to the left a little, so I can have my face close to the stock and see the flag at the same time off to the side.  Every range is different in terms of winds and swirling patterns, and the wind is likely not consistent in speed or direction all the way to the target.  You will have to study your range at different times of day.  Night time shooting can be some of the best.

Vs 

[Dbez1]

Bob (Rsterne)...I’m assuming that pellet weight would impact those grafts. Would fps have an affect also?  I guess my next question is; will wind have less impact on a faster pellet?

Thanks to all for your advice.

[rsterne]

The BC of the pellet, and of course the wind speed, will affect the ACTUAL drift.... However, the relative effect of the wind at different ranges between gun and target would be similar.... The effect of velocity is not linear, there is actually a "sweet spot" in velocity for pellets of about 800-900 fps, with the drift increasing either side of that.... Pellets at 600 fps or 1000 fps will have more drift....

Bob

[Dbez1]

What impact does the wind have if coming directly toward you from the target?  How about directly away from you?

[Mod90]

For zero value winds if the wind coming directly at you from in front of you or from directly behind you, neither will make so much of a difference that they really should be accounted for unless you're shooting REALLY LONG distances and the winds are really high.

[Ribbonstone]

My problem seems to be that I very seldom get a real true headwind....it's seldom straight in my face or straight from my back.  More like 5 30 swinging to 6 30 or 11 30 singing to 12 30. (and most often back and forth)...and it's real hard to judge.

Actualy a "switch wind" (one that actually swaps from a bit left to a bit right) seems to be my down fall.

[Mod90]

shifting winds are everybody's worst nightmare when it comes to long range shooting. just no way to really tell precisely what direction it'll take or the effect it'll have on a pellet at any given point during its flight.
but still,  can't let a little moving air stop us from doing our best.

[Slavia]

I just feel the wind on my face and body up close (use your ears too, as the wind blows through grass and trees) and watch a flag close to 2/3 down range set to the left a little, so I can have my face close to the stock and see the flag at the same time off to the side.  Every range is different in terms of winds and swirling patterns, and the wind is likely not consistent in speed or direction all the way to the target.  You will have to study your range at different times of day.  Night time shooting can be some of the best.

Absolutely.  By listening you can hear gusts approaching, and maybe choose to delay your shot for a bit.  On hot days look for mirage effects.  I like dawn or dusk, because the air is calm and there is still enough light to see what I'm doing.  I like conditions a couple of days after a rain, because I can see little puffs of dust in the target area.  (Watch for leaf deflection also.)  At my range conditions between the firing line and target area will be different.  Conditions change from day to day, and probably will even change over the course of a shooting session.
 

[subscriber]

Ted Bier provides a lot of useful advice in this video, including how he used windy conditions to his advantage.

From 9 minutes into the video, Ted explains the wind doping technique that enabled him to win Extreme Benchrest 2016:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNONcrNmWDE