Do you use wind flags during load development ?

[ColtPythonElite]

I don't shoot test loads for accuracy on windy days.

 

[JFrank]

There is always some wind, how much it’s affecting the bullets is the question.
A slight 3 mph breeze barely detectable can move a hi bc 108 Berger about 3/4 at 200 yards, toss in a little gust at 6 mph and now that’s 1.4 this doesn’t sound like much but certainly enough to put me into last place at short range competition and by the time it reaches a thousand yards that’s 22 inches.
Myself I don’t mind shooting in the wind because I learn something each time. If we never shoot during the wind we’ll never learn how to shoot in the wind..

 

[Walkalong]

If we never shoot during the wind we’ll never learn how to shoot in the wind..

So true. I still like to pic calm mornings or evenings to test.

 

[Nature Boy]

So true. I still like to pic calm mornings or evenings to test.

Me too.

I’m trying to isolate variables when load testing. I can shoot around the wind in certain conditions, however, a fishtailing head wind or really gusty wind days I’ll wait for a better day.

 

[JFrank]

We can choose our days for testing ( and trust me I do) but we can’t change the weather at a match. Myself I need all the practical practice I can get.
One way to help mitigate conditions is to shoot round robin test groups but they needed to be shot at a smooth steady pace and lots of guys don’t want to do that, they want to wait between rounds and cool off the gun. That’s when conditions change and skew the test.

 

[Walkalong]

we can’t change the weather at a match

Amen to that, and we'll never be competitive if we don't learn the wind.

90% or better of Benchrest was reading flags. Almost everyone had equipment that could win, most had loads that could.

 

[Nature Boy]

we can’t change the weather at a match

I don’t develop loads during a match either.

If I want to improve my wind reading ability I do that at a club match or in practice with a developed load.

Again, there are conditions I’ll shoot load testing in and others I won’t. I don’t want my wind reading ability to be mixed into the results.

 

[JFrank]

Yes that’s true, some days we just pack up and go home or just do not go to the range. We want good data to make good decisions when testing loads but in the same breath there are days when I just have to get something done and having a flag of two out helps me read the results and improve my skills and lord knows I need all the improvement I can get.

 

[Nature Boy]

There’s a school of thought that says if you compete at 1k you should shoot your load development ladders at 1k. I can’t argue with that as folks that do have success with it. Doing so obviously brings a lot more environmental factors into play.

I also don’t develop my loads using the ladder method so we may be talking past each other regarding the finer points of each process.

 

[JFrank]

I must apologize to all, my intentions were not to turn the thread into a debate rather more of a poll that seems to have gone astray.

My apologies.

 

[Chuck R.]

I don’t develop loads during a match either.

If I want to improve my wind reading ability I do that at a club match or in practice with a developed load.

Again, there are conditions I’ll shoot load testing in and others I won’t. I don’t want my wind reading ability to be mixed into the results.

I normally just step out back:

Huge advantage of the home range. I've got steel at 400 and 547 out my back deck. When the wind is screwy I'll just step outside and launch a few to see the effect.

 

[Nature Boy]

I must apologize to all, my intentions were not to turn the thread into a debate rather more of a poll that seems to have gone astray.

My apologies.

They all turn into debates Jim. I don’t think this one went off the rails at all.

 

[Pat Riot]

@JFrank Thank you for posting the video by Vera Carter. I learned something today. I plan to watch her other videos.

I went to the range a couple of days ago to test some loads in my SFAR. I had some extra “full value” 8 O’clock winds. 20 mph winds with 30 mph gusts. I thought of this thread.
I decided to shoot pistol caliber carbines at steel targets for some fun.
The American flag and the “range open” flags were straight out from the poles.
Anyway, thanks for this thread. Very educational.

 

[JFrank]

Rick Graham ( SRWR holder) made my flags and when I picked them up we chatted for a while and he gave me this wind chart. The arrows indicate wind direction while the dot indicate point of impact. This chart refers to single point wind directions not multiple swirling stuff but just the basic’s . I know when my rounds get pushed or when it’s the shooter error by noting the impact.
Low left or high right is typically shooter error. We have some burms at our range that can induce vertical as well.

 

[jmorris]

Unusually windy this evening, makes it a challenge to hit the small plates on my rack at 100 with the .25 cal PCP.

A "wait for it" condition.



Get ready...



Go!

 

[Walkalong]

But it's also fun to shoot that wind when you have a flag.......

 

[Nature Boy]

It can’t get much more satisfying that reading a wind condition, holding off for it, then seeing a center X come up on the target.

The only thing that tops it is to do it multiple times in a row

 

[thump_rrr]

At the range right now.
Can’t get on the big range till noon since they are grading the road so I brought out the 10/22 Target with CCI SV.
Pretty windy gusting between 10-15 mph.
I 3D printed a couple of small wind flags to see if it would help.
I’d say the experiment was a success.
Now I need to make some much larger flags since I can barely see them at 50M.
It’s taking about five minutes per picture to load.

 

[JFrank]

Heres a link to a very good vendor, we use lighting tripods that extend.
www.brflags.com

 

[thump_rrr]

Heres a link to a very good vendor, we use lighting tripods that extend.
www.brflags.com

Those look very similar to the Graham wind flags.
I shot my first 22 competition using them last year
Edit: I just noticed that they are the Graham wind flags