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Learning to shoot in the wind.

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Iowa Airgunner

Iowa Airgunner

Member
Jul 8, 2024
446
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Iowa City, Iowa, United States
I have been shooting for a very long time and shooting seriously since 2008. I was blessed with a 25 yard indoor shooting range year round and if I opened the big door a full 70 yards to my fence. There was a house on one side and garage on the other with mature trees. Even though I shot 100-300 pellets a day I never shot in the wind.
Now I live in Iowa. If I don’t go to the range because it’s to windy I will never go. So I have decided to embrace the wind and look forward to just tossing lead and learning what is going on. Reading it and hold over will be like a whole new thing. Then when the wind stops I can hit stuff again.

My gun / Scope and pellet stuff is all sorted out on both my PCP for Hunter class and my WFTF springer. So this should be a fun thing to do. Like learning a whole new skill. I’m really looking forward to it.
 
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Iowa Airgunner said:
I have been shooting for a very long time and shooting seriously since 2008. I was blessed with a 25 yard indoor shooting range year round and if I opened the big door a full 70 yards to my fence. There was a house on one side and garage on the other with mature trees. Even though I shot 100-300 pellets a day I never shot in the wind.
Now I live in Iowa. If I don’t go to the range because it’s to windy I will never go. So I have decided to embrace the wind and look forward to just tossing lead and learning what is going on. Reading it and hold over will be like a whole new thing. Then when the wind stops I can hit stuff again.

My gun / Scope and pellet stuff is all sorted out on both my PCP for Hunter class and my WFTF springer. So this should be a fun thing to do. Like learning a whole new skill. I’m really looking forward to it.
Click to expand...

It's a BIG thing......really!

This post could be put in any number of forum related topics, including hunting, but i thought i would put it in the General catch all place because it really does apply to all airgun disciplines. Two months back I started a similar albeit less informed thread called "reading the wind"...
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com
 
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Reading the wind is a challenge.
The boys in San Luis Obispo were really sick at their FT matches.
The practice range was exactly 90 degrees from the actual range.
The practice range was not protected from the wind (very close to the ocean BTW).
The actual range does (did) have large amounts of trees, bushes, etc., to modify the wind.
Very much fun.
Great 🍔, too!
 
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You will have to get used to holding off the target, not just kill zone with your wftf gun. Though past 45yds, hold offs for a 20fpe gun can be substantial in the same winds. I suggest learning your hold offs for one rig. Once comfortable, work on the other. Trying to develop wind calls for a 12fpe and 20fpe rig in tandem will be difficult at best.
 
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I can see this. I race rc cars and going from a 2WD to 4wd in back to back races is very difficult.

The difference between a 12 ft lb Tx 200 and a 18 ft pound HFT 500 could be pretty big.

I am inclined to shoot the TX 200 more. But there is such limited participation. I might as well shoot the Hunter Class PCP for this.
 
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Don't worry about class warfare. Once you get used to the TX200 you'll find yourself shooting as well, if not better that the hunter class guy's. It's also more rewarding knowing you don't need the extra power to score well. I'm shooting a TX200 if wftf, and S500 in hunter class this year. There is the opportunity to place, if not win these classes in a local league. Good luck and have fun!
 
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I now have access to a 100 yard range. I am not ready to go there . But I will be putting together a bench rest gun. I mean a serous competitive rig.
So I’m debating the caliber and the slug vs pellet choice. I would go for slugs but some competition rules are for pellets only. So I need to do a ton of fun research before dropping that kind of money.
 
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1586625895_9103701585e91fd677bcc35.07291411.jpg
 
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Oh, a wind flag on your gun, that you can reference while shooting is key. While it's not going to help with down range wind, it certainly helps with direction and switching. Also try to have it located so you can see it with your non scope eye while getting ready to shoot. Having both eyes open is the best way to accomplish this.
 
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When Hammerstein wrote, "OKLAhoma, where he winds come sweeping down the plains" he was not joking. As I write this, the wind is 28 mph with gusts up to 58mph. As an Okie, when I started shooting air guns, I was a fair weather shooter. Then I introduced myself to FT and quickly realized being able to shoot in the wind was vital if I was going to experience any success.
And in FT, wind is one of your biggest adversary. And thankfully, it's affecting everybody not just you. He who learns the wind uses it to his advantage. Practice in wind conditions similar to those you may find yourself shooting in if you can. Also remember, not only is it trying to move the pellet, it's sometimes trying to move you. I would encourage you to practice shooting in wind conditions to determine what hold-off is typical at given distances. As for depending on ballistic apps to give you a hold off aim point, what they can't do is compensate for the variables in speed and direction in that given lane at that given time. IMO, if the app could aim your gun on a windy day, it would still miss. Also, published wind speeds are not determined at shooting heights. They are measured a lot higher off the ground. If you still feel the need to have some sort of equipment to assist you, purchase a anemometer. A good one doesn't have to be expensive. Amazon sells them for less than thirty bucks. But shooting in the wind can only be learned by doing.
On a wind challenge day, you may want to observe the POI on the face plates. Sometimes you will see a concentration of impacts that can help you adjust your hold off for that given target because a lot of shooters will sometimes not hold off for fear of holding off too much. Remember, your brain is telling you to hold your aim point at center of the target.
I find shooting offhand with a perpendicular wind the most challenging and most rewarding when the target falls. This is where that extra "X" determines a podium or not.
I'll go out and practice on a day where the wind is typical of what I might experience at a match. I set my targets out at the same distances I would if I were setting up a new dope card and see what type of drift I will get. I will also try to shoot with the wind at various angles. (i.e facing me, behind me, left to right, right to left) when those opportunities arise.
Best of luck and don't let the wind and weather discourage you.
 
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Iowa Airgunner said:
Wow that is very interesting. I am going to say the barrel twist rate and direction of the twist


Thanks
Click to expand...
I "believe" most all barrels have the same twist direction... This has come up in a lot of PB discussions as 'aerodynamic jump' in a cross wind and its the same hold for all rifles (powder burners). However, I could be conflating two different things...
 
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