Reading the wind
 

Anybody know of a good way to gauge wind direction and speed downrange? When you're in the edge of a woods it's hard to tell what the wind is doing out in the open. A while back I saw some pics / diagrams of heat waves that you could use to judge wind speed, but it was cumbersome. Looking for a better way.

RE: Reading the wind
 

I’ve never relay dealt with the wind for taking long shots but if it’s a field that you always hunt, you might want to stick pegs with ribbons at different locations to judge wind direction and speed. Just a thought.:eek:

RE: Reading the wind
 

Reading wind direction and speed is something that is learned by experience and trial and error. On extended shots over open terrain the wind speed can and often does change in direction and speed over the distance the bullet must travel to impact the target. It's not at all uncommon to have a 3 mph. from the west at your position and a 6 mph. wind from the east at the target. Heat rising from the ground is also an important factor at extended range similar to shooting fish in the water with an arrow. Reflection and refraction must be weighed and considered before you drop the hammer. At 3 to 5 mph. wind will cause leaves to rustle slightly, at 5 to 7 there will be constant movement, at 8 to 10 the limbs will sway and anything above 10 mph. you better craw a bit closer unless you are experienced and very familiar with your rifle and bullet selection.

RE: Reading the wind
 

If the wind is that important to you , there is one simple way to jugde it at the rifle ,tie a piece of yarn or lite string to your barrel . With practice you will be able to get a guess at its speed. But it can change quickly.

RE: Reading the wind
 

just how far do you plan to shoot at a deer?? with my 308 win I have never had to compensate for wind drift much out to ranges asfar as 400 yards on deer sized game. IMO i think bullet drop is more of an issue then wind drift.

RE: Reading the wind
 

HighDesertWold, try a hunt in Wyoming's open plains for antalope or mule deer in Colorado rockies. I'm sure you'll know what I mean when you experience a constant wind with gusts that will shake your rifle, even on a bipod. You have invested a couple grand for the hunt, stalked your trophy animal for a day or two and now have a shot at 250 yards with the winds they experience. A very different story even with a super fast round.

RE: Reading the wind
 

Ya know, I just saw this dandiest little wind meter in last months petersons hunting mag and it was under 20 bucks,,,,,,, the answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.......EJ

RE: Reading the wind
 

Ah, the wind. A very tricky proposition. The only way to really find out what the wind does, and how to judge it, is to spend LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of time IN the wind SHOOTING at the ranges you will encounter when that big buck stops in front of the crosshairs. Those little charts sure are nice, but are absolutely meaningless to me. I have seen winds that will swirl, then stop, then gust in a totally different direction that you think it would. Swirling winds are tricky, as it can be blowing one way here, but 300-500 yards downrange, where your target is, it can be perfectly calm, or blowing the OPPOSITE direction!

RE: Reading the wind
 

Sniper151:

You know it! While in Gillette Wyoming hunting pronghorn last October there was an afternoon when the wind was so strong that you had to lean into it while walking. I can't reliably guess what it was, but I'm guessing over 30 MPH. Happily it did not interfere with our hunting. My son bagged his pronghorn around 10 AM that day, before the wind picked up. I bagged my pronghorn the next day around 10 AM and again there was not any wind that I noticed. Maybe the wind picks up later in the day. My son's shot was at 150 yards, and my shot was at 240 yards. My shot definitely would have been affected by the strong wind IF it had been present when I shot my pronghorn. Even at 150 yards I think that wind could have affected my son's shot, the wind was so strong.

RE: Reading the wind
 

well I dont plan on hunting wyoming anytime soon, but if i had a few grand invested in a wyoming hunt. You bet your rear I will have the best cartrdige suited for those conditions something with a high ballistic coeffient and a alot of velocity for the least time of flight possible.
I'm thinking a 338 remington ultra mag loaded with lost river ballistics 250 grain J36 with about 100 grains of retumbo behind it.

RE: Reading the wind
 

HighDesertWolf. you may want to reconsider and use a 7mm Rem. Mag. with 160 gr. Sierra Pro Hunter. Your 338 UM will drift 3.2" at 200 and 7.6" at 300 in a 10 mph. breeze. The 7mm Rem. Mag. will drift 2.9" at 200 and 6.8" at 300 and you will have some useable meat after the shot.

RE: Reading the wind
 

There is not enough difference between the two regarding wind drift to make the difference!! And the Lost River Ballistics bullet is LOOONNNNGGGG, not like a typical bullet. There is an air gap in the middle. Its like a Barnes X with a bigger center, and then a larger copper tip put into there, with a gap between. The bullets have something like a .750 BC. Its pretty amazing stuff!!

RE: Reading the wind
 

Looks like we got another arm chair ballistics expert on our hands charlie.....
where did you get that data sniper??? from your exterior ballistics software?? software is not reality.......
before you go off telling me whats what........ My ears would be a little more open if you could tell me that wind drift data was from one of your shooting log books. I log all my handloads and most or there exterior ballistics if I am happy with a loads accuracy. I will tell you straight up with my experience with lost river J40 190 grain match bullets (BC is .774) and my sporterized Springfield 03-A3 ( glass bedded walnut stock, jarden trigger, shepherd 6-18x40 scope). I'll put my rifle up against any rifle of your choice in a 600 meter match you just name the time and place.

by the way the 338 cal 250 grain J36 has a BC of .661, your 7 mag with a 160 grain bullet..... (sierra doesnt make a 160 grain pro hunter) probably the best BC for a 160 grain .284 cal bullet would be a nosler partition even then its BC is only .475, a 7 mag pushes a 160 grain bullet around the same velocity as a 338 RUM with a 250 grain bullet so from experince with the J36 bullets I would flip flop your numbers around that would then make that 338 load to have better wind resistance then that 7 mag load. but either way those numbers you posted are very marginal and are not nearly enough to say one is better then the other for windy conditions.

RE: Reading the wind
 

I hunt in Wyoming all the time and I use a 7mm RUM with a 160gr Nosler Partition with 94 gr. of Retumbo powder. ;) It's fast, flat and generates it's own wind! :D j/k

Growing up in Wyoming you learn how to shoot in it. I must admit the wind really whistles in Wyo., but it usually is very constant on direction which is nice. Overall though, most of us don't think about it much unless we are shooting long distances.

RE: Reading the wind
 

Right on bud, those RUM's practically do make their own wind LOL :D:D they sure do send a bullet screaming, only thing better is Lazzeroni's firebird or warbird cartridges the firebird pushes a .284 cal 160 grain bullet at 3,550 fps and the warbird pushes a .308 cal 150 grain bullet at 3,775 fps talk about making some wind :D:D