Thread: Wind , mirage the last Frontier

mmmm that would be hard unless someone has filmed it and can post .I suppose it depends where you shoot to what kind of vegitation you have -I have tea tree and pines but can use what Norway has posted to understand what I am looking for -everything is an estimation not an exact .Hopefully one of the guys can post something they have shot and explain what is happening ??

Originally Posted by el borracho

Hopefully one of the guys can post something they have shot and explain what is happening ??

Thats what I was hoping A series of short vids by people around the country in varying terrain/ veg/ wind with measured wind speeds would be a asset worthy of a sticky.

Originally Posted by Tussock

Not that hard. I will design a format and instructions when I am back from the bush (on IPhone in grass hut presently).

Got bone through your nose yet?

Posting on wind and mirage from my perspective would be a waste of time. I have a method and limits for LR hunting that I place on myself. Other people would easily surpass them.
Targets are where I lose any fear and experiment. I strive for cold barrel, central hits on steel/targets at any range under 1000. A number of factors, the worst being myself, influence the results, but in calm conditions it is getting to be consistent.
Wind and mirage will never be mastered they will continue to frustrate many LR enthusiasts. I have had completely opposite results in a boiling mirage to what I was taught to expect. I have had plenty of head scratching moments in LR but the fun is trying to nut them out. I have accepted the fact wind and mirage will always be my greatest limiting factor in LR hunting and shooting. I can only try to build a detailed log so that I have an idea if I ever encounter similar conditions.

!/ wind direction and strength

This may seem like the ABC to most but this is such a vital part to making sure your projectile lands on target or bloody close.I would firstly suggest watching Norways video that I posted and also on the first page the other links that are very perternentto our conversation .There is no majic only basics to follow
One could think to know where the wind is coming from its just a matter of the directional pressure you feel on your face and body, point your kestral or wind device into the wind and viol’a you got it!

If only it was “always’ that easy, some times it is but sometimes that wind is not actually doing what it appears to be doing and coming from where you think it is and discovering what is actually happening will get you to home base a lot quicker with your shot than wasting rounds unless of course you can easily see the splash of the bullet or a spotter follow the vapour trail .

On flat land it is pretty much pressure direction and speed and it works to a greater degree with hill top to hill top shooting but more often than not condition’s are less than perfect and it ends up a little harder especially with longer range shooting so different decisions need to be employed to help you gain the upper hand.


Something I try to do is getting weather knowledge be leaving home or even while at the shooting pozzy , of course this is a reference as conditions constantly change but here is a reasonable site to check Current New Zealand Weather

Before setting up I try to take a compass bearing on a high point if possible or walk to an area where I have a better understanding of where the wind is coming from so when in position I know what the surrounding conditions are displaying be that the mirage , trees , wind, pollen or any other features that may help and they all do if you can read them and “remember the condition from shot to shot “-my memory is crap so I miss a bit .Also remember you can have micro conditions happening due to shapes bumps and dips –but that’s another post

There is a spot I have shot with Spanners out to 865yards and at the firing line it can be really hard to judge the wind as I am surrounded by Tea tree and also up higher than the valley floor which is basically high pines across from the shooting position right to the grass 800 yards away and all up the side of the hill to the left of us where the wind often comes from.
I can only see just see the tops of the pines until I hit the grass land toward the end of the range at around 800y and then the grass goes up a hill side.

The bottom of the valley is open but the top is higher up and wind funnels over the top and down or in from the bottom.
How do I handle this? I get of my arse and find a spot where I can get a better bearing, I look closely at the tree tips and see what they are doing-, how hard are they swaying, I would look for Mirage and see where it is flowing but it would be right at the target and I would rather view this at mid range .I have even used the pollen blown off the pines as an indicator –anyway hit and miss there sometimes on the first shot.
I recently shot a 1km contest which was interesting from multiple positions and distances and used the thistle down to help me .I was on top of a hill so had great clear wind which was around 10-20mph at times but mostly 10 –15 or so –I watched what was happening when the wind rose above 10 and got hard –the thistle down came off and flew. When I sat down to shoot I just adjusted for 10 mph from L to R from 7.30
And put 8 out of 10 into an 11 inch disc at 1000 yards- I guess no one else bothered to really view what was happening as I got double the next best score on that section and won the whole event by a fair bit –a lucky day.

When Picking direction and strength you will not always get this correct I will testify to still get beat often but I still follow the basics and get the best opportunity for myself
the following vids are of the comp day and also one of the shooting alley at 865y - sorry but the alley doesnt appear until the very end and I shot neither of these videos

Originally Posted by R93

Got bone through your nose yet?

Posting on wind and mirage from my perspective would be a waste of time. I have a method and limits for LR hunting that I place on myself. Other people would easily surpass them.Targets are where I lose any fear and experiment. I strive for cold barrel, central hits on steel/targets at any range under 1000. A number of factors, the worst being myself, influence the results, but in calm conditions it is getting to be consistent.
Wind and mirage will never be mastered they will continue to frustrate many LR enthusiasts. I have had completely opposite results in a boiling mirage to what I was taught to expect. I have had plenty of head scratching moments in LR but the fun is trying to nut them out. I have accepted the fact wind and mirage will always be my greatest limiting factor in LR hunting and shooting. I can only try to build a detailed log so that I have an idea if I ever encounter similar conditions.

I respect you willingness not to take that shot -advice many could learn from .Even though I get my arse beat in both wind and mirage sometimes I love the challenge -all LR shooters just keep learning its just the way it is never actually arriving !!

If anyone is intending to do a wind experiment with smoke here is a very cool how to vid to watch

2/Characteristics on foliage that give away signs of wind speed

This is a fun area to study and one covered I believe very well by Norway in the video already posted but It would be good to hear other peoples views that shoot areas with different foliage .
Where I live most of the foliage I shoot in is Manuka and Kanuka -truth is I wouldnt have a clue which is who and who is what and also dirty ol pine tree.
The signs from the trees and how they move are estimates I think really to confirm the information you have gathered before the shoot on your way into your spot or from where you took some readings for direction and strength .Lets not re-envent the wheel so just watch Norways video and get the idea of what you should be looking for .I will post it again as not every body goes back and reads the other pages .
I work in areas od 0-3mph 4-6 -8-10 12-15 as these seem a little more obvious when each stonger pressure run starts up ,but then again I aint a wind meter just a guy guessing -generally pretty close though and using a Kestral to confirm your thoughs will make you a better wind guesser

As you use these signs more and more they do become more obvious as do most signs in shooting .
Thistle down appears to let loose around 12-15 mph if on an exposed area as the wind whips it around -its worth finding the consistant point in the wind before the thisstle down lets go if it is below 12 mph and only shoot when those conditions show themselves -consistancy gets more hits more often !




meters per second /mph - close enough speeds

1mps =2.25mph 2mps=4.5 3mps =6-7mph 4mps =8-9mph
5mps =11-12mph

el borracho,
Thats a pile of info, do you think caliber and projectile choice is important in windy conditions?
And if so, what cartridge/calibre/projectile/rifle combination are you running and what distance/atmospheric conditions do you find your chances of a first round hit slipping away from you.

I run a .284shehanein a single shot Barnard action with a 31inch true fligh barrel - takes about 3gr more powder than the regular .284 -54.5gr rl17 2950fps 180 berger vld pill .337 g7bc - and to answer your question it helps to have a higher bc in the wind -but you would know that as you shoot 1400 yards

What distance/atmospheric conditions do I see not getting a first round hit - any of them especially when I miss , how about you

I think the 180g Berger is a great choice for the larger 7mm chamberings, no doubt about it.

Ok we agree on that so how about sharing a little on your longrange shooting and cartridge/calibre/projectile/rifle combination you are running and what distance/atmospheric conditions do you find your chances of a first round hit slipping away from you.

Originally Posted by el borracho

Ok we agree on that so how about sharing a little on your longrange shooting and cartridge/calibre/projectile/rifle combination you are running and what distance/atmospheric conditions do you find your chances of a first round hit slipping away from you.

Mofo hot days coupled with high atmospherics are a prick

Im using a Sako 85 Finnlight 7mm rem mag with the newish Soft Touch stock, and one of the great rem mag accuracy loads of 72g of ADI 2217 (pushes the 162a-max to 3050fps.)

Breezy days 1000yrds can pull you up pretty quick, but if its dead still early morn or late afternoon those 1200yrd Sika on Ferny Ridge suffer heavy casualtys

Nice Andrew. I have always wanted the SAUM in 7 mm. Got a model 7 in .308 with an HS precision stock that could do with a make over.
I have to come up one day to have a look at some new country.

Some of the gullys and hills there would make a interesting converastion about what happens with the wind .For example if it is coming over the top of a hill into a valley say at 10mph on the top how much do you loose of the wind at the valley floor if shooting up the valley and is the valley changing the original wind angle by much by a funneling effect -of course all is dependent on width and angle for the wind to navigate