Just a suggestion
 

Today is kind of cold, but WINDY!!! So since I hunt in the wind, I practice in the wind. I was shooting a traditional rifle. It was a T/C Renegade .54 caliber. I was shooting roundball.

I was surprised that the wind seemed to have very little effect out to 35 yards. Out to 50 yards, I began to notice a slight drift in them. At 75 yards, the wind was moving the ball almost an inch.

What I am getting at is, for those that hunt in the wind. If you have time, go to the target range and shoot at some of the distances you might encounter. Some of you might be real surprised when you see your target at long range.

I also did this because reading some of the information from members such as Lee, sabotloader and others, and how wind can effect things. I think it was important to see first hand what happened. A gust of wind can really slide them over. I was kind of surprised.

Always best to see for yourself I suppose.
Each person,rifle.load is different.

That is a good siggestion Dave

I try and keep hunts in the wind to a min. Now with getting the ml i might go alittle windry wo good sug. I normaly shoot when i shoot even if theres a wind just not over 15. I ant sitting in a tree with a higherwind then 15

Good advice Dave, I would add that if your shots are close when shooting in the wind wait till a calm day to adjust your sights.

A 10mph wind will run you about 10" at 200yds with a mag charge and a 250gr spire point. Something to keep in mind :D

Dave,

I went to the range once and had a steady 90 degree cross wind. I thought it around 20 mph. Anyways ... I was hitting tight 1" groups at 50 yards with my NEF Sidekick with 70 grains 3f Goex and the 385 GP. You may recall me posting about it. The centers of those groups though were nearly 3.5 inchs left of center. It surprised me to say the least so I went home and run it in the ballistics calculator and lo and behold (see attachment) the wind certainly accounted for movement of the groups. On a later trip in no wind, it was back to the center of the target.

This taught me three important things. First, NEVER mess with windage on a windy day to center on the target. Second, Its futile to adjust windage on a "gusty day" when the wind is a cross wind and fluctuates substantially. Third, if I hunted in conditions like that then I had better be close to game when I shot.

cayugad

Dave, I really think that is one of outside forces that is taken for granted most often when shooting a ML - especially @ extended ranges. I always TRY to recognize the factor when I have the opportunity, by observing the vegetation around the animal as I am looking through the scope... + trying to maintain an awareness of the hunting field. What I really like are those 35-40 yards shots when you really do not have to do any MATH at all.

4" at 100 yards when I was shooting the other day.

I was trying to time the gusts of wind. I am sure others have done that too. It was amazing to watch the difference on paper. The further back, the further the group moved to the side. Kind of like Pglasgo was explaining.

Sabotloader I know your careful. I read your reports of range time, and it seems the wind must blow a lot out there.

On my "never mess with windage" comment .... what that means is do not attempt to center POI by adjusting one's rear sights windage setting or the windage of one's scope. What that will do is leave one without a rifle sighted in for benign wind conditions. In fact, it will only have one sighted in for that particular windy condition which isn't likely to happen while hunting anyway (precisely the same way I mean).

The sights of course need to be sighted for no wind and as cayugad said practice in windy conditions to learn how the wind affects POI. Once you have done that then its quite alright to "aim windage" by pointing in a different place on the target so that POI is centered.

I didn't want any confusion about what I meant by "mess with windage on a windy day". I meant specifically do not change the settings of your sights or scopes.

The Wind BLOWS! The only thing it's good for is flying a Kite! I keep my shots to 50yds and under during winday days. As I write this, the Rut is in Full Swing and Im on this Forum insted of BowHunting as the wind is blowing 35mph+++, and Im Bumming!!! to iffy to shoot at even close ranges.
I've noticed it's hard to practice in the wind with a ML or a Bow as you just never have the (Exact) senerio when it comes to wind speed, it's still a guessing game when it comes to where your bullet's gonna hit, plus it's harder to keep steady when shooting, especially out of a Treestand when your trying to hang on for dear life.Too much can go wrong. On bigger Game like Elk or Moose it may not matter as much as you have a bigger kill area to work with. But we owe it to the Animals we hunt to make a great shot on them, sometimes you just have to pass on them real windy days.
I know this is (off the topic) but has anyone ever experienced bad results in the (Pourind Rain)? I mean really raining hard? I had a 10pt step out in the pouring rain at 70yds, and I had my shotgun, I had a good rest and fired. I missed, I fired again, I missed, I fired again, I missed!!! The Buck finally ran off accross the field for 200yds stopped, looked around and ran off and was gone. I could'nt believe I missed! I checked for sign and there was none, a clean miss all three times. The Buck was later shot about a week later by another Hunter. The only thing I could think of was the Pouring Rain had some effect on my bullet?? any thought's on this one?
(BP)

BP,

I'm going to say yes the rain affected your bullet's trajectory. I've never shot in those conditions but when its raining sheets, it would have to increase the density of the air considerably and at some level the mass of the water falling would be like wind directed at the ground. I'd bet your bullet fell short of the deer.

I know it must have had some effect as my Gun was sighted in and Im a good shot and I missed. Has anyone else had any experience with this like I did?
(BP)

I have shot in the rain, but never pouring rain. I have hunted in pouring rain but never got a shot. Sat in a blind all day and watched nothing. Now snow... I've shot and hunted, in near blizzard conditions. I laid the smack on a big doe one hunting season on my property with a muzzle loader. It was snowing so hard it was like a wonderland out there. She came in about thirty yards. I held center on her kill zone, fired and for some reason shot high, but it broke her down. And she dropped in her tracks.