Wind?

[Biathlon]

At 50 meters, shooting .22cal rifle, what happens to the bullet if you have wind coming from behind you? Does it tend to strike the target higher or lower? What happens if the wind is blowing straight at you?

[Guest]

a tailwind will cause the bullet to strike slightly higher, obviously depending on wind speed. Shooting inot the wind however will cause your bullet to drop slightly. at 50m, the trajectory is still pretty flat, so the corrections should be minimal.

[Jordan F.]

[Biathlon]

Cool chart. Thanks

[2650 Plus]

I have no idea if this applies to small bore shooting in the wind but at 600 and 1000 yds we try not to shoot in a zero value wind straight from the front or rear. This is called a boil as there is no visible movement in the mirage. And the boil can change in an instant to a three or four click change that can catch the shooter unawares before the shot can be delivered or while rhe bullet in on the way. I prefered to shoot as rapidly as posible in what I thought of as a prevailing condition. Good Shooting Bill Horton

[WarWagon]

I have no idea if this applies to small bore shooting in the wind but at 600 and 1000 yds we try not to shoot in a zero value wind straight from the front or rear. This is called a boil as there is no visible movement in the mirage. And the boil can change in an instant to a three or four click change that can catch the shooter unawares before the shot can be delivered or while rhe bullet in on the way. I prefered to shoot as rapidly as posible in what I thought of as a prevailing condition. Good Shooting Bill Horton

I definitely do it that way as well.

Its actually interesting to watch smallbore prone at Camp Perry. The good shooters will pick a condition, and as soon as the wind dies, they will go quiet. Then you hear all of the inexperienced shooters rattling shots off until it picks up again.

[isuguncoach]

Warwagon,

A general question about mirage. At what wind speed does mirage become less important?

Joe

[2659 Plus]

Mirage waves begin to flatten or streak at about 8 MPH and interpetation is beyond me after that point. I then change to range flags , debre blowing across the range. size of limbs being bent on trees, and finally tree trunks swaying , also known as a HFG. Not unknown at Camp Perry Good Shooting Bill Horton

[WarWagon]

Warwagon,

A general question about mirage. At what wind speed does mirage become less important?

Joe

To be honest, I have rarely shot in a match where things were "borderline." I've always had the privilege of shooting outdoors in either very calm conditions, or ridiculous winds, with very little middle ground.

Other than changing my actual sight picture without polarization, I don't put much merit in the mirage itself. I shoot mostly iron sights, so I find debris, grass, and range flags as better indicators. For example, if I'm shooting at 50 meters and see a gust pick up at 100 meters, I can use all of the little details to interpret how much time I have to squeeze a good shot off before the wind reaches my bullet's path.

I suppose the short answer I could give you is that I stop relying on mirage when I can no longer distinguish between individual heat lines coming from the ground.