How do you judge wind

[wjm1000]

I posted this on another forum about judging wind and was curious as to what the thoughts on this is on this board.

I've been hunting and shooting long-range for around forty years and this is my thoughts on judging wind, First off I feel the wind closest to the shooting position is the most important. The reason I say that is, as the bullet exits the muzzle of the barrel two major factors act on it immediately, gravity and wind along with other environmental factors but I think gravity and wind are the most significant. A few thousands of movement at the muzzle can be huge at 1000 yards. Having said that as the bullet moves along it's flight path it can be and will be influenced by other whim's of the wind. What I do to judge the wind at different yardages is use the parallax to get a rough idea what the wind is doing at those yardages, as the bullet gets further from the shooting position and closer to the target the less important it becomes until I totally ignore what the wind is doing at the target because the bullet is already there. I'll watch the trees, grass and if there is any mirage I'll note the direction and speed that the mirage appears to be moving,

This is a very broad view of wind reading and just some of the basic things that I take into consideration. There is an article on one of the other forums by Shawn Carlock that goes into much more detail.

Before the advent of the kestrel this is how I judged the wind speed.
MPH Calm Smoke rises vertically
MPH 1-3, smoke will show direction of wind movement.
MPH 4-7, you can feel the wind on your face, leaves rustle.
MPH 8-12, leaves and small twigs in constant motion.
MPH 13-18, dust will stir up, tree branches will be in motion.
MPH over 19 and up I usually wont shoot unless constant.

 

[jpd676]

That is a loaded question. I would refer to Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting. I would say, it just depends. What is your shot distance, speed, BC and so on? Does the bullet get pushed further off course in the final hundred yards when it is moving the slowest? There are a lot of factors that go into figuring the wind out.

 

[Hugnot]

I like this:

https://www.weather.gov/media/iwx/webpages/skywarn/Beaufort_Wind_Chart.pdf

Appy as appropriate. View effects (leaves, grass) down range with binocs or spotter. Directions & intensity may vary.

Shooting rodents with Beaufort scale 6 is a challenge.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I agree to disagree…wind along the ENTIRE path of the bullet, and especially the last third of travel, where velocity has dropped the most is the most important. I use a spotter, actually have to, it's the rules and we use flags and a kestrel.
If hunting, judging wind is even more important, you need to practice, practice, practice shooting in the wind to know what to look for. In fact, with my crew of 4-6 always scout around for a corridor to shoot in with little to no wind…this doesn't always come to fruition, so we move on.

Cheers.

 

[yobuck]

Well after more than 50 years of long range (ridge to ridge ) hunting, across valleys, sometimes very wide, and sometimes with large streams in the valleys, i am honestly no better at ( reading ) the wind than i was 50 years ago.
Yes, before we shoot we do look at the trees near the target for movement, and then make some kind of a guess as to how to compensate for that.
But there is no way of calculating for that which cant be seen.
Such as the thermals, which is what keeps those very large birds aloft for long periods with no flapping of their wings.
Same thing that keeps human hang gliders aloft as well.
Then there are the large hollows on the hillside we are going to shoot at which can and do have their own set of wind conditions. There could be several big hollows involved as well on the same hillside.
Certainly if you were to shoot at the same place often, you could gain more experience for that particular location.
But for a hunter who may not have been to a location ever before, or maybe not for several years at least, experience isnt
very likely.
Reality also is that the Whitetail buck were going to be shooting at is chasing after a hot doe. And as anyone having any experience knows a hot doe is apt to be leading that buck around like a puppy.
Meaning they are moving, moving, moving.
Which can make the data you just used to become obsolete very quickly.
Your never going to kill anything unless you shoot.
Which also solves the data situation.
It will also at least temporarily, get that puppies attention off that hot doe. lol

 

[Dirtrax]

James Eagleman has an interesting approach. I'm hesitant to speak for him but as I understand it he relies heavily on reading mirage "at the target". He has a video demonstrating the technique and the difference between measuring at the shooting location vs at the target.

 

[yobuck]

James Eagleman has an interesting approach. I'm hesitant to speak for him but as I understand it he relies heavily on reading mirage "at the target". He has a video demonstrating the technique and the difference between measuring at the shooting location vs at the target.

How much mirage will be visable on an overcast day when its 15 degrees?

 

[dfanonymous]

The whole smoke rises was an old military method. As others have said, it's has its draw backs. To be accurate, you need wind averaged through the totality of the flight. However, in addition, and this is a pro tip, you need to also need to know how to kind of guess wind at max ordinate.

Wind at the ground has more friction, vs wind up at 40 ft ( or more depending on terrain) will not only have less friction but can have shearing winds.

Mirage is another tool. Sometimes you have to see how a tree is blowing down range, sometimes you have to check the mirage above the target. Sometimes you have to look at a target surrounded my trees and know that there are swirls.

The kestrel is not the full story, but it's by far the most versatile tool for wind. While obviously, it's only useful at the shooters position, it's accurate the MPH guaranteed. That right there is worth it. That sets the base line for the rest of the flight. It can also help with timing the shot, sometimes the gust is more consistent the the low.

After that, you just need to add in the mid range and target to your estimation.

 

[yobuck]

And you also have to add in that the puppy might be getting very close to following that doe right over the top of the ridge.
Which means its over, and maybe over untill next year.
Lots of time to be thinking about the coulda shoulda woulda. lol

I can guarantee one thing, those who have experienced this type of a situation, wont be thinking about how by having another piece of equipment might have changed the outcome of their hunt.

 

[dfanonymous]

We are just talking about wind.

Most of this forum doesn't take "long range" shots far enough that it would matter so much. Hunting has an aspect of luck. If you were rushing a long range shot on a buck at 900y in a timber cut being perused by a predator…you never had a shot. Long range shooting does take equipment and time to do things right, and even then…that's assuming YOU are good and solid in technique and calculation.

The hunting aspect is another topic altogether where technique and opinions vary. I for one have immense success hunting beds from summer to October. The it's hunting feed areas until the rut. Then migrations. Rarely if ever is taking a shot on a cruising buck the way to go.

I hunt western states only, and generally works for me, but still a generalization. No hunt is guaranteed and no hunt is the same or easy.

 

[Dirtrax]

How much mirage will be visable on an overcast day when its 15 degrees?

I can't speak for him at all, but the take away is that wind at the target is what is being measured vs wind at the shooting location.
You have an interesting fascination with does in heat. The last buck I shot in that situation stopped dead in his tracks after I yelled "hey!" and never took another step. While I appreciate your input, I don't feel it's entirely pertinent to the question.

 

[yobuck]

I can't speak for him at all, but the take away is that wind at the target is what is being measured vs wind at the shooting location.
You have an interesting fascination with does in heat. The last buck I shot in that situation stopped dead in his tracks after I yelled "hey!" and never took another step. While I appreciate your input, I don't feel it's entirely pertinent to the question.

Well how far was the buck that responded to your yelling hey?
And assuming it was at a considerable distance, would he also have responded to a well placed shot at say a nearby stump?
And while were on this subject, would a shot have offered more information than simply shouting (hey)? lol
Ive been to quite a few of the 1000 yard matches over the years, mostly as a spectator, but a few times as a shooter also.
The drill is that there is a timed sighter session prior to the record target being raised, and the match officially starting.
The regular competitors will have left the elevation adjustments on their scopes from the last match.
When their sighter target comes up they will fire a few shots to confirm their zero. then they relax untill seconds before the sighter session is over before sending another sighter shot.
This is to simply check that the wind conditions havent changed.
Mind you, i said, they ( confirm ) zero, by firing a shot.
And they reconfirm zero by firing another shot.
Not by referring to some type of a device, or a chart, or by using somebodys lame opinion on how they confirm their zero.
Especially where wind is involved.

 

[44-40]

The wind...the wind across the canyon has sometimes no bering on the wind where you are at ...the wind at 1000yds or 1400 yds away is more important than the wind at your location, cause the has slowed way down and lost BC and begins to curve drastically downward and to one side forced wind and gravity during deceleration.
A wind meter at my location was ...useless. The wind would be blowing in the opposite direction across the canyon, believing the wind meter made the shot further off, than if it was fired without wind adjustment.
I do not make wind calls in MPH. I call it a 2 mil wind or 1.5 mil wind, as the scope has mil dots, and dial the 2 mils and dial the elevation...even when using MOA scope I still call wind in mils, easy to convert when practiced for years. And round off to 3.5 instead of 3.6, cause it's faster and .1 mil won't make any difference in your wind call, cause as soon as its made the wind will likely change. Hard hold, get on that target, after the shot, spotting your own shots, is key.
See impact, dial wind if it's off more than a foot.
If 4" off, hold off, and shoot within 5 seconds if impact. Slowly squeeze the trigger, and slowly getting in target, is not the key, the wind already changed...and a miss is the result. I run a 2 to 4 oz trigger...preferably a 2 oz. As soon as the bullet has impacted, the rifle loaded, reticle on, fire now, the 2 oz trigger allows the quick pull, with out rifle disturbance. When the pop can is bouncing around at 1000yds.. you're on... shoot fast 5 seconds between shots, or less. Barrel hot, smell the steel burining, pay it no mind. Only the heat waves coming off the hot barrel distorting the target, will cause me to cease fire... as well as a 6 ft miss to the right...wind changed. Shoot alot, many thousands of rds with same cartridge, bullet, powder, nothing changes in the load, with through out the life of this barrel. Use your mind, to shoot, let it work for you, like a guitar player does not think about each note in a complicated piece of music...he just plays...no doubts...and makes music. Apply that to your shooting, tons of practice, and experience, let your mind do the shooting... it becomes fast and accurate like a musician on a key board...worked for me.

 

[Dirtrax]

This thread has become oddly esoteric. So again, it appears that the wind at the target is likely more important than the wind at the shooters location assuming long distances. If the next response has someone playing a mandolin and tambourines I'm out.