Playing the wind?

[sloan]

How do you practice it real world,No spectualtion ,Scenario-yote hangs up at 450 you squeeek him to400 an there he sits an barks,Wind gusting full value 10-25-gusts an he;s still there,...thanks from vermont....

[LR1955]

How do you practice it real world,No spectualtion ,Scenario-yote hangs up at 450 you squeeek him to400 an there he sits an barks,Wind gusting full value 10-25-gusts an he;s still there,...thanks from vermont....

Sloan:

With the Grendel load I trust -- 120 SMK @ 2600 fps -- I would use 1/2 MOA per MPH full value. I would dope for a wind condition I am comfortable in being able to identify when it occurs, then wait for that condition to shoot. May or may not put the wind on the optic. In this case probably would then use slight holds for the shot. Gusting means quickly changing and I am sure the wait won't be particularly long.

In field conditions I go primarily with how it feels on my face for direction and speed. I will look for natural phenomena too but most likely you won't find anything out there that is honest aside from telling you the wind is primarily right to left or left to right.

I have two ways of doing this but the easiest is 1/2 MOA / MPH Full Value from about 200 - 600 and 1 MOA / MPH Full Value from about 600 - 1K. I have a more refined version of this but normally fall back on the 1/2 or 1 MOA per MPH of Full Value. Oh yes, it works on targets like you have chosen.

The more anal you get over this stuff, the more you get distracted and lose trust in your judgement. You won't drag out a calculator, anemometer, I Phone, etc in gusty winds. You will go with what you trust.

Now, where in Vermont can you see 450 yards?

LR1955

[warped]

Most likely the power lines or old logging roads

Pat really hunts hard, he also is damned good at ranging.

[sloan]

!20 berger hptbt 28.2 tac mag length.rules my corn field, We have dairy farms with huge fields,swamps an surgar bush,After 830 in the morning the wind allways blows...be safe pat....

[LR1955]

!20 berger hptbt 28.2 tac mag length.rules my corn field, We have dairy farms with huge fields,swamps an surgar bush,After 830 in the morning the wind allways blows...be safe pat....

Sloan:

No matter your load or bullet. Go with about 1/2 MOA per MPH of full value and you will be fine. A bit more detail would be about 1/3 minute per MPH of full value from 200 - 400; 1/2 MOA from 400 - 700; and 1 MOA from 700 - 1K with every cartridge I shoot.

LR 55

[LR1955]

Most likely the power lines or old logging roads

Pat really hunts hard, he also is damned good at ranging.

Randy:

No, I think more likely pasture land. There is a lot of pasture due to the dairy farms. I doubt there is much logging in Vermont anymore. Their government is almost totally communist (environmentalists) and I am sure they have eradicated the logging industry more thoroughly than in Washington State.

LR55

[pappy42]

Sloan:

No matter your load or bullet. Go with about 1/2 MOA per MPH of full value and you will be fine. A bit more detail would be about 1/3 minute per MPH of full value from 200 - 400; 1/2 MOA from 400 - 700; and 1 MOA from 700 - 1K with every cartridge I shoot.

LR 55

Dang, LR; I like the way that you put "stuff" into words that penetrate my thick skull.

[LR1955]

Dang, LR; I like the way that you put "stuff" into words that penetrate my thick skull.

P42:

He, he, he. That's why I get paid for what I do. Putting esoteric concepts into a format that people can understand well enough to confidently execute in real conditions.

I believe that some in the shooting community, particularly those who charge for their training, deliberately make the simple complex in order to appease their ego's and to show power over those who they charge for training. If you think about it for a while, it does make sense as if a outfit trains their customers well enough the first time, they won't get the same back for a second time. I don't take that view so there you go.

The problem with the wind doping rule of thumb I gave you is in trusting that it works. This can become problematic if the shooter brings a rack grade blaster with Wolf Ball and a cheapo optic or sighting system to training. If however they bring a quality rifle with quality ammo and a quality sighting system to training, they will see how much the wind actually does move the bullet. Even if their marksmanship ability isn't top notch. Goes back to my philosophy on good equipment verses ability.

This is also where a reticule with some sort of pattern comes in handy. As an example, lets say you were blasting at about 550 yards and using a MIL reticule. With most loads, use the 1/2 MOA per MPH of full value rule at that distance. Since one MIL equals about 3 1/2 MOA, one MIL equals about 7 MPH of full value wind in this example.

Finally, I have found that guys get very confused about wind doping not only because they don't trust it works but also because they have no process to follow. So, I go with wind speed, direction, convert to full value, index or hold, and either shoot or wait for a condition. It is a logical, step by step process resulting in an answer one can apply. Again though, if a guy has a four minute blaster combination, not even any sense in going through the process as they won't see a result well enough to convince them it works.

LR55

[mtn_shooter]

1/2moa per mph does sound about right for that range area. I was shooting in some decently high winds (I esestimate from 5 to 20mph throughout the day. I didn't shoot when it was real bad, but I did try to get a feel for it in the moderate stuff. At 567yd I was holding between 2 and 6 moa to get hits. It also seemed that wind at the muzzle has more effect than wind downrange. I would feel a lull at my position, but see the mirage blowing Steadily right downrange, hold 2moa left and hit on the left side of the target, or miss it to the left. Definitely something I want to play with some more.

[skyfish]

I just want to say thanks to 55. This post helped me more on wind doping than anything before. Simple is the name of the game, and I will agree, many seem to want to make it complex. Simple and practice that is.

[warped]

If you understand and practice what Gene just said, it will become natural and a reflex to correct for wind.

Then all you need to do is understand ranging and determine the direction of wind along the course of the bullet.

It may sound difficult but it must be practiced in order for it to be a natural process, in the end it makes it easier, if we must think about it hard we miss the shot or miss the opportunity as it presents itself.

I don't think Gene or many others in our level of experience really think too hard on it anymore, it just feels right.

It is also why there are no bad days to shoot, we must practice in different physical states as well as environmental states.

[sloan]

Had achance to test out LR instructions yesterday.10 mi wind steady right to left 8in steel plates, 4 out of 8 nice centerhits,other rounds on left edge ,gust to 20 ,oh yea range 500yds,Got a long way to go. thanks LR.... SLOAN