Testing new loads and wind (rule of thumb?)

[jb27]

Just got into reloading a few months ago and absolutely love it. Bad thing is this time of year its hard to find a day that is not windy (10-20 mph winds). I've been hesitant to go out to the range to test loads i've made trying to find 'the one'. I've been avoiding if winds are supposed to be above 10 mph.

I've only been shooting at 100 yds. I just don't want to sacrifice the hours i've spent at the reloading bench trying to find the load that produces the tightest groups to have the results skewed.

At what point do you consider it too windy to rely on the results? Should I even be concerned with this at 100 yds?

 

[243winxb]

Wind is not a problem if its at a steady MPH & direction. Wind flags can be a big help and can be made at home. These work for me or you can buy some.

 

[j2crows]

I figure I need every adbit of help I can get. So...If the wind is blowing at any speed I just stay home or go to the range and pistol shoot.

 

[Walkalong]

Shooting in the wind can be tough. You must understand which way the bullet will be moved (Left, right, up, down, some of both...) and how much it is being moved to shoot tiny groups or hit tiny targets. That is a learned art. Without wind flags it is even tougher.

Throw in some mirage with inconsistent conditions and things get really tricky.


As 243winxb posted, shooting in a consistent wind is not too bad. When shooting competition everyone tries to find a condition that is both prevalent and shootable. No sense trying to shoot a good condition that won't come back around often enough.

That condition might be a light wind quartering away left to right. It may be when the flags at 25 are still and the rest are showing a steady wind right to left. It could be most any condition as long as it is affects the bullet consistently and stays long enough to shoot a group, or will come back soon enough to finish a group.

It is a whole new world shooting over wind flags with a world class rifle. A whole new world.

Should I even be concerned with this at 100 yds?

Yes

 

[flashhole]

I'm in jb's camp too. I just wait for a calm day if I am evaluating a load. If I already have the load developed I go shoot in spite of the wind. I put a piece of paper machet ribbon on the target. It is a pretty good wind indicator.

 

[243winxb]

A flag at 25 yards may seem to close to the muzzle to be useful, but think this way. The sooner the bullet is pushed off course, the greater the impact will be from the group/aiming point. For targets @ 100 to 300 yds, i put flags at 25 & 60 yards. I wonder where real bench rest shooters place there flags?? Walkalong?

Throw in some mirage with inconsistent conditions and things get really tricky

Mirage is what i really hate when using my 36 power scope. I pack up and go home.

 

[Walkalong]

For 100 yards I usually put a flag near the bench, 25 yards, 50 yards, and 75 yards.

For 200 yard shooting I usually put a flag at 25 yards (or sometimes closer), around 75 yards, around 125 yards, and at 175 yards, depending on the range its self. Some ranges had little devils hiding at a certain yardage and you better have a flag there.

We had to shoot through mirage, or rain, or whatever came along during our 7 minutes. You learn to shoot through it. I have shot in mirage so bad that all I see of the target was the thick black square (That is what it is there for), and it was seriously fuzzy. Rain can be the same way. When conditions are that bad, you never know what kind of group you shot until they bring the targets back and post them.

All part of the "fun" of competitive Benchrest. That is what makes it fun. No excuses, no ut-oh's, no mulligans, no "fliers" to cull out. Any one of the 25 shots in an aggregate could ruin it.

While shooting a bug hole at the range in good conditions, with no pressure, and no witnesses, can be satisfying, it just isn't the same as doing it in competition.

It is like playing baseball. It's hard, and it is supposed to be hard. Like Tom Hanks' character said, "It's the hard that makes it great". You are going to fail a lot, but the failures and the difficulty factor make the successes so much sweeter.

 

[243winxb]

Thanks Walkalong, seems you can't have to many flags. No time limit when i shoot or pressure from Competition. Bullets still don't go in the same hole.

 

[jb27]

Thanks everyone for the responses and discussion. Now that it's mentioned, I recall reading an article recently that said the most critical place is close to the bench (maybe 25 yds or less, can't remember exactly).

I ended up going out yesterday and shooting. From what the weather channel said, winds were in the 15-25 mph range. There was a relatively constant wind with occaisional gusts. If I felt a gust, I held up on shooting. I can't say that I noticed my groups being much different than they usually are. But i'm pretty new to shooting outside of a hunting situation and far from being a good shot. I'm just using factory rifles too so I shouldn't set my expectations too highly.

I may have to look into flags. That'd be a great way to be able to make use of any free time to get out.

Thanks all.

 

[P-32]

Wind at 100 is not huge factor. It could be if you went from dead calm to a gust of 25 MPH. I too like to test loads in light to no wind conditions as it takes one more factor out.

Keep in mind I'm not trying to center the shots in the target. I won't turn knobs. I am looking for group size and if it's on the edge of the target it's fine with me. Now if I find a new load I like I will then sight the rifle to the new load.

 

[Walkalong]

the most critical place is close to the bench

The most critical place is where the switch was that you just missed and shot anyway. :banghead:

But yes, a wind up close to the bench makes more difference at the target than the same wind farther away and closer to the target.