22lr on a windy day

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Bfh_auto

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It was blowing like crazy again, so I decided to dig out my Romanian training rifle.
I flipped the leaf sights to 100m and started shooting at my torso target at 130. I was holding left shoulder to hit high COM when using CCI standard. Using Aguila subsonic, I held one torso width left and hit center belly.
Using Aguila HV, holding left shoulder got me misses over the right shoulder.
My 6 inch plate was easy to hit with CCI, but impossible with the others.
All in all, I had fun and I reminded myself why I used to only shoot CCI 22lr.
 
I went down this road yesterday, started with some test loads on 45-70, then wound down with a Japanese XXII and WZ-48. Winds are quartering from behind at about 20mph....I was really testing FPS on the 45-70 and shooting at 100 yards, so not really looking at how accurate they are....the trapdoor got pushed to the right about 1/2 inch where the 22's moved about 3x that.

I had a mix mash of 22 ammo some bulk some "good stuff".....even in the wind the "good" kept generally tighter where the bulk opened quite a bit.

I have found these old guns like slower moving bullets.....mine really likes 22 longs for some reason....shoots them better then sub sonic, you might give those a try.
 
I went down this road yesterday, started with some test loads on 45-70, then wound down with a Japanese XXII and WZ-48. Winds are quartering from behind at about 20mph....I was really testing FPS on the 45-70 and shooting at 100 yards, so not really looking at how accurate they are....the trapdoor got pushed to the right about 1/2 inch where the 22's moved about 3x that.

I had a mix mash of 22 ammo some bulk some "good stuff".....even in the wind the "good" kept generally tighter where the bulk opened quite a bit.

I have found these old guns like slower moving bullets.....mine really likes 22 longs for some reason....shoots them better then sub sonic, you might give those a try.
I have ammo cans full of 22 lr. I'm good for a while.
 
I remember one very windy day that I went to the gun range to shoot my bolt action marlin .22.
At first I thought that I would have a lot of difficulties shooting accurately because of the wind, but then I made a discovery.
The strong wind would blow hard for a few minutes then there would be a lull and a monent when the wind was calm.
That is when I would shoot at my targets. The result was my accuracey was good because I timed my shots to be between gusts of wind.
 
The wind around SW VA here in the mountains is so unpredictable, one would have to be a true SNIPER with a spotter, to
take any long shots here with any consistency. In fact I have figured out one little ridge line here whereas if the wind is at your back,
you can hunt there with ease because the approaching deer have the same sense but it is deceiving due to a high hump on one
side funnels the wind around the hump, dominates your wind pushing it aside & gives the deer a sense that they are detecting
the area ahead of them but in reality they are detecting the hillside to their hard left.
Just one of many tricks in these hills.
I have watched deer at 250 yards down a logging road with the road marker ribbons blowing every direction at once.
Around here we just hold dead on & only allow for the drop, but seldom ever get shots over 200 yards.
We have a super long clear cut beside our home which we can get permission to shoot on, in fact we are buying a big piece of
it. The wind here is a killer, I would love to watch a so called - BALLISTIC SOLUTIONS - get launched over there.
In seriousness what does one do with ZIG ZAG wind TAIL & HEAD wind.
I may start a thread about shooting in heavy rain, we have some coming tomorrow so the back window goes up.
 
[QUO
The wind around SW VA here in the mountains is so unpredictable, one would have to be a true SNIPER with a spotter, to
take any long shots here with any consistency. In fact I have figured out one little ridge line here whereas if the wind is at your back,
you can hunt there with ease because the approaching deer have the same sense but it is deceiving due to a high hump on one
side funnels the wind around the hump, dominates your wind pushing it aside & gives the deer a sense that they are detecting
the area ahead of them but in reality they are detecting the hillside to their hard left.
Just one of many tricks in these hills.
I have watched deer at 250 yards down a logging road with the road marker ribbons blowing every direction at once.
Around here we just hold dead on & only allow for the drop, but seldom ever get shots over 200 yards.
We have a super long clear cut beside our home which we can get permission to shoot on, in fact we are buying a big piece of
it. The wind here is a killer, I would love to watch a so called - BALLISTIC SOLUTIONS - get launched over there.
In seriousness what does one do with ZIG ZAG wind TAIL & HEAD wind.
I may start a thread about shooting in heavy rain, we have some coming tomorrow so the back window goes up.
Heavy rain does odd things to bullets. Expect more drop than normal.
The conditions you described are why I like a high BC bullet in a flat shooting cartridge. You just hold on its shoulder and it falls down.
If it's too far for that, you need a rest and have time to judge the wind and distance. If not, it walks.
 
What makes Smallbore Prone so challenging is that a 5 mph wind change will blow you out of the ten ring. And, you can't see 5 mph wind changes. When it gets overcast, you can't see the whirlwinds coming across the range. The things will blow you way out, correct for full windage, and then the other side visits your target, and you have all that windage you put on, but now it is in the wrong direction! Happened to me. Then I started watching the grass, held fire on the next one, and I heard a lot of squawking from other shooters as their bullets went wild.

I have shot lots of eights, either 3 O'C or 9O'C at 50 yards and 100 yards. They occur due to a pickup or a drop off that you don't see.
 
Heavy rain does odd things to bullets. Expect more drop than normal.
That is VERY true.
The best advice I ever got was from my grandfather. If you don't know how far the animal is, just never aim out of the body.
By that he went on to explain, you can hold center of the spine but no higher because it may be closer than you think & if it
is much farther than you think it will either get in the vitals or even drop below the deer if it is to far.
The rain didn't come hard enough today to try any long range shooting, I am ready when it does, it will happen in the next
few days. All the heavy rifles have my reloads of high BC setting beside the window.
I even have close range targets for the cci 22 testing for heavy rain as well. I don't expect astounding results but experience
is a teacher.
I would love to test with & without high wind with the rain. There was a steady rain today but not heavy enough for testing.
 
Just make sure your wife is awake when shooting from the window, mine came out of the bedroom ready to shoot me when I shot a deer from the kitchen window one morning
 
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