How to tell windage in the field

[Mr Renwick]

I am working on improving on my windage calculation skills. What kind of resources(books or websites) do you guys recommend?

 

[MGD 45]

Buy a Kestral....get the cheapest one that you can afford....keep it with you and constantly check the wind when your outdoors with it & notice the trees, grass, dust...etc....

There is nothing you can read that will help you more than actually doing this.....you need to see what an 8mph wind looks & feels like....then compare it to a 15 mph wind one day.....priceless.

or check this site out.......it might help a little too.

http://www.kitepower.com/beaufort.html

 

[Sir Aardvark]

You can find handheld windmeters online for less than $30.00 - this is about the simplest, easiest method - all you have to do is read a screen.

You can always place windflags where you shoot. Flags are good because you can have them at different distances on the range. The wind blowing where you are standing may not necessarily be the same as the wind blowing downrange at your target. You can compare the flags with your meter to get an idea of what is what. Eventually you will learn how to read the flags and not have to rely on the meter.

You can also do the old, "throw a handful of fine dirt in the air and see how it blows away" trick. Do this with your meter a few times until you sorta get it figured out - very low tech and works wherever you find dirt.

Equally simple and low tech is the, "feel the breeze on the back of your neck" trick. This works well since it is a "handsfree" option.

Out in the desert, I have had someone try to convince me that you can tell how the wind blows by the way the Mirage dances around - I feel that this method got a little bit too metaphysical for me because what I was being told did not jive with the conditions I was seeing. (Mirage is caused by temperature variations, not wind)


Here is something from CMP:

http://www.odcmp.org/1206/USAMU_Wind1.asp

http://www.odcmp.org/0107/default.asp?page=USAMU_WIND2

 

[caribou]

Ive shot my rifle/shotgun so much, wind drift or leading a moving /flying animal is second nature.
If the target is moving, I fire on the leading swing, if its windy, I Imagine the same lead, but I dont swing, just still as I can be.
With winddrift I dont mind a "steady' abut a 'Gusty' day is awfull for shooting, so I try to get closer, and wid often helps that.

 

[MinnMooney]

After buying a Kestral & carrying it with you for awhile :

There is nothing you can read that will help you more than actually doing this.....you need to see what an 8mph wind looks & feels like....then compare it to a 15 mph wind one day.....priceless.

I didn't want to shell out the dough for a kestral so I bought an old-fashion John Deere wind instrument. It's made of steel and has a plastic arm that swings higher on the scale with brisker winds. Fairly accurate from what I can tell and it has temp. & a rain gauge to boot. I have a mount on my prairie dog shooting table so it's constantly visible. $6 or $7.

 

[MCMXI]

Out in the desert, I have had someone try to convince me that you can tell how the wind blows by the way the Mirage dances around - I feel that this method got a little bit too metaphysical for me because what I was being told did not jive with the conditions I was seeing. (Mirage is caused by temperature variations, not wind)

Did you read #5 and #6 in the second link that you posted?

5. Determine the accuracy of the mirage. Mirage is the reflection of light through layers of air that have different temperatures than the ground. These layers are blown by the wind and can be monitored to detect wind direction and speed.

6. Focus your scope midway between yourself and the target, this will make mirage appear more prominent. I must emphasize the importance of experience when using mirage as a wind-reading tool. The best way to become proficient in the use of mirage is to correlate its appearance to a known condition. Using this as a baseline, changes in mirage can be equated to changes in the value of the wind. Above all, you must practice this skill!

 

[Mr Renwick]

Thank you guys very much for the info. I read the two links and they were very helpful. I will probably end reading them ten more times lol. I am looking forward to getting a grip on all of the variables involved in long range shooting . There is something strangely addictive about long range shooting. Where I shoot we have a human silhouette that has a 4"x4" head and 1'x18" body. My goal is to consistently keep it within the head at 500yds and body at 1000yds. I realized the great need for education on the environmental factors the last few times we went out there because my groups are 3" at 500 and 15" at 1000 but it took me 20 rounds to hit the 3 silhouettes at 1k and 1 out 5 head shots at 500. I know my gun is accurate enough I just have to get my crap together. Thanks again for your time and input.

 

[Shadow 7D]

for you
Lick your finger
for distance, get the reference chart
things like how far grass bends, the way birds fly, leaves on trees, pine trees bending, small bushed, etc.

There is an actual chart.

 

[Mr Renwick]

Lick my finger? You don't by chance know the name of the chart or a search to get me there do you?

 

[22-rimfire]

Like MGD, I think the best way is to put up wind flags of some sort and then take measurements with an anemometer or hand held air flow meter. You need to develop an internal scale based on observation as to the amount of wind flow and the meters give you the cheapest way to do that.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Shoot a LOT...and document EVERYTHING, from how the sweat was dripping off of you when the shot broke to how your coffee tasted that mourning! hehehehe

Seriously, wind flags, wind meters, and a great deal of boring study on mirage will have you hitting more shots than yesterday!

BUT, the MOST important aspect of wind doping... shoot in it a LOT and document it ALL, the smallest variance from one session to the next makes the biggest difference...after a while of data compilation you'll have enough in-depth data to see patterns and anomalies...pure witchcraft!

 

[Shadow 7D]

Look up the military long distance shooting manual, and Airborne operations, I actually learned the basics from working with Pathfinders setting up drop zones, when I was a Medic with the 82nd. Our snipers went on for some length about mirage, and along with other indicators (grass, dust, leaves etc.) they didn't miss. But, as I have never really been a long distant glass shooter, never had reason to learn mirage, but I do know you have to take barrel heat into account, because a hot barrel produces the first mirage you have to look through. Like every body has said, something you have to see and learn.

 

[gun guy]

depending on how long the shot is, look for downrange signs, tall grass's etc. gusting wind is by far the worse. i've seen a 3" lateral drift on a 100 meter shot in a wind gust. gizmos are neat, but, alot just comes down to experience, kentucky windage, and guesstimation.

 

[dagger dog]

The wind on your face is the first line in doping wind,constant cross winds at the muzzle will deflect the bullets flight the worst, the farther the target the longer the wind can act on the bullet pushing it farther away from its intended impact on the target.Constant winds are easier to dope than gusts.
You can start by not letting off that shot when there is a wind gust at the muzzle.Then you have down range winds to make it even worse.
But doping wind reliably takes a WHOLE LOT OF SHOOTING, and if you have several rifles in different calibers this even takes longer.

 

[Sir Aardvark]

Here is an article by Gail McMillan, of McMillan Fiberglass Stock fame, that gives some tips and tricks on how to read mirage, and how you can practice to minimize the effects of mirage.
In this article, Gail never comes right out and says exactly how to read mirage; he sort of teases you with it and leaves you once again with that sorta metaphysical feeling about how it should really be done - basically, he tells you to practice until you've got it figured out on your own...
The article does show that mirage is more than just an indication of which way the wind is blowing:

http://www.6mmbr.com/readingmirage.html

 

[esheato]

Beaufort Wind Scale

 

[DRYHUMOR]

Mirage reading pretty much coincides with the value scale on one of the links above. Full, quartering, etc. McMillan's article above is a good one.

The key is to observe the mirage over the range of the shot, which requires focusing and de focusing, from muzzle to target. A gap in the trees or terrain 2/3rds out may have a full value wind blowing across, which is more than enough to blow a bullet off target. A good spotting scope is worth the cost. If your scope has an AO or parallax adjustment you can do nearly the same thing.

Learn by logging the mirage, taking the shot, and evaluating the impact. Then readjusting if needed, all the time logging what you see and how you are performing. Before long, it'll become second nature.

Heat makes mirage, there's not much of it in winter, but there is a little when the sun gets up....

 

[Shadow 7D]

I hate to disagree, I can tell you most defiantly that there are mirages in winter, try shooting the 300 yard target with a hot barrel in -60 weather, kinda hard to see through all the wavy stuff and breath fog. Mirages are from temperature differences, actually refraction differences due to density due to temperature. Winter just tends to have a more uniform temperature.

 

[xphunter]

There are ways to take care of barrel induced mirage.
BR shooters use the shields all the times. May not look cool on a LR hunting rig, but for multiple shots, when practicing, not a bad idea.