Thread: Which is the best wind meter for wind estimation

Is it one of the kestrel bunch?

The trouble with anonometers is that you can't read them down the end of the range that really counts.

If it is just wind then any of them will be good enough, the kestrel is good if you want pressure and humidity. But if you just set humidity to 50% it will be close enough out to 1000 yds, pressure can be got from a Garmin 62s or similar, if you have one of those.
My wind meter cost $30 from memory

I have a Kestrel2500. Only just got it from off EBay the other day so can't say much else. Temp and hPa is nice to include. Just make sure ref alt is set at 0m to give true station pressure.
If its good enough for Norway then it's more than enough for me is my thinking.

Originally Posted by Rushy

The trouble with anonometers is that you can't read them down the end of the range that really counts.

Huh? Wind at the target matters... as does wind at the firing point... as does wind along the entire projectile path. I would be less worried about 1" of drift in the last 100 yards of trajectory than i would be about 1" of drift in the first 100 yards. Wind meters are great to give you an indication of wind speed at your location. You can use this information to make a slightly better informed decision about the effect of the wind along the bullets entire trajectory.

I have a kestrel 2500... it works well. I didn't bother getting one with all the bangs a whistles and truth be told i tend to use vegetation more than the kestral when judging wind effect. Norway put together a cool video demonstrating using vegetation to judge wind.

Originally Posted by stug

If it is just wind then any of them will be good enough, the kestrel is good if you want pressure and humidity. But if you just set humidity to 50% it will be close enough out to 1000 yds, pressure can be got from a Garmin 62s or similar, if you have one of those.
My wind meter cost $30 from memory

what wind meter is that Stug?

yea I had a copy of that video when I lived down in chch before the earthquakes, computer died of anxiety apparently, anyone got a copy online I can download or get emailed?

Originally Posted by Gillie

Huh? Wind at the target matters... as does wind at the firing point... as does wind along the entire projectile path. I would be less worried about 1" of drift in the last 100 yards of trajectory than i would be about 1" of drift in the first 100 yards. Wind meters are great to give you an indication of wind speed at your location. You can use this information to make a slightly better informed decision about the effect of the wind along the bullets entire trajectory.

I have a kestrel 2500... it works well. I didn't bother getting one with all the bangs a whistles and truth be told i tend to use vegetation more than the kestral when judging wind effect. Norway put together a cool video demonstrating using vegetation to judge wind.

Gillie I will bow to you considerably greater knowledge on this matter. My understanding to now has been that wind has the greatest affect on a projectile's flight at the target end where the projectile is travelling slowest and dropping quickest. What I was alluding to above was that a hand held device cannot measure wind at target (unless you happen to be at the target) and that wind variables (speed, direction) could be completely different from those at the shooting position down at the target position. Bill999, however Gillie responds to this (or not) be guided by his advice over my comments.

Sweetas Rushy your understanding is pretty good. Certainly a logical arguement... but... for arguements sake i'll pose a simple theorectical example

I shoot a flash bang calibre... that fires a bullet at 3000fps (at the muzzle), when that bullet reaches 1000m it is going only 1500fps.
I fire my first shot at a 1000m target. There is a 2m/s wind from 9 o'clock between 0m and 100m. This shifts my bullet off path by 2cm at 100m. With no other wind when my bullet gets to the target at 1000m it has drifted 20cm total.
I fire my second shot at the same 1000m target. There is now a 2m/s wind from 9 o'clock between 900m and 1000m. Ignoring slight variations in the projectiles BC due to its slower velocity because the bullet is going half as fast lets say it drifts twice as much - so 4cm total.

Yes, yes i know. What about the elevation effect of the wind, coriolis effect, spin drift.... i thought pulling the trigger harder would make the bullet go faster, the cross hairs weren't on the center of the target... that's why i said a simple example. There are some very smart shooters on here though and i'm sure they'll comment on this example

Originally Posted by Gillie

Sweetas Rushy your understanding is pretty good. Certainly a logical arguement... but... for arguements sake i'll pose a simple theorectical example

I shoot a flash bang calibre... that fires a bullet at 3000fps (at the muzzle), when that bullet reaches 1000m it is going only 1500fps.
I fire my first shot at a 1000m target. There is a 2m/s wind from 9 o'clock between 0m and 100m. This shifts my bullet off path by 2cm at 100m. With no other wind when my bullet gets to the target at 1000m it has drifted 20cm total.
I fire my second shot at the same 1000m target. There is now a 2m/s wind from 9 o'clock between 900m and 1000m. Ignoring slight variations in the projectiles BC due to its slower velocity because the bullet is going half as fast lets say it drifts twice as much - so 4cm total.

Yes, yes i know. What about the elevation effect of the wind, coriolis effect, spin drift.... i thought pulling the trigger harder would make the bullet go faster, the cross hairs weren't on the center of the target... that's why i said a simple example. There are some very smart shooters on here though and i'm sure they'll comment on this example

Well now I just won't sleep for a week. Damn you Gillie Ha ha ha ha

Not to worry Rushy. If yah missus complains she can't sleep cause you can't, just tell her this example. She should nod straight off!!

Originally Posted by Gillie

Not to worry Rushy. If yah missus complains she can't sleep cause you can't, just tell her this example. She should nod straight off!!

Might just tell it to her anyway just to see her eyes water and glaze over

Rushy, it gets a whole lot worse. Wind can be toward or away from you, left to right, or up and down ... think fluid movement in 3 dimensions.

Bullets don't actually get blown of course. Drag causes a spin stabilised projectile to turn into the wind.

Your logic works for gravity, but wind is a very different story.

exterior ballistics or Applied Ballistics by Bryan Litz

Now I won't sleep for a month. Damn science. I am surprised that a bullet can make it out of the fucking barrel now.

Not that I am great a reading the wind (its my kryptonite when shooting longrange) but Gillie is correct. The example provided is logical about the wind at the shooters end having the most effect.

kj