TargetTalk

Hi all,

Was hoping for some input. I've notice then when ive been shooting outdoors my groups are always significantly better in the evenings than during the day.

I believe the main reason is because the wind dies down signifcantly in the evening.

But aside from wind does the brightness of the sun off my target matter too? I notice my groups are tighter when its less sunny. Maybe mirage effect?

I'de appreciate any feed back thanks.

Wind could be a big part of it. Even a 5mph wind has a fair affect on the point of impact, especially if it is sitchy so if if you are not usually compensating for wind or waiting for good conditions that could be why.

But apart from the physical apsects that could be causing you to shoot better there is also the mental aspects. Perhaps when you go in the evenening you bring a more positive approach (i.e I am going to shoot well because it is in the evenening) and your subconciousness carries through those actions. Or maybe it is because you are more relaxed in the evenening. So there could be a few different reasons why your shooting is better than.

You might also have apertures that are too big. The need to close your rear aperture, and possibly use a smaller front aperture in brighter conditions. On completely clear days, I'm at about a 3.7 front, .9 rear, and have a polarizer on my rear sight. On overcast days, it goes to 3.8 or 3.9, 1.0, and no polarizers.

However, I'd bet more money that it's just the wind having died down.

Mirage may also be a factor.

If you want to see the effects wind has, put a 20X scope on your rifle, or borrow one, and shoot through the wind. You will immediately see what is going on without the problems of changing light with metallic.

I don't have much expierence shooting in the wind. How do you gauge it when your looking at the wind flags?

Is it practical to attempt to shoot only when the flags are still?

This is a long discussion, so I'll try to give the short version.

Plainly, it all depends on the day. Ideally, you shoot when the flags are still, but that's not always possible. The next thing to do is pick a wind condition, both speed and direction, and only shoot in that condition. Don't try to dope the wind with clicks unless you're severely pressed for time.

This is a beginner's guide to shooting into the wind. There is much more to add, but it'd be too much for you to keep track of just starting out. I'll elaborate more later.

Thanks Soupy , I can use all the advice I can get. I've been googling the subject but I couldn't find much that would help in our type of shooting.

I've been shooting indoors alot and getting quite good at it, but dealing with the wind is a completely different animal. Anyone, Feel free to overload me with info if youd like :)

The bottom line is practice in all weather conditions. Go out in strong winds and see how your shots fall and write down how far off things move. Remember winds can come from any and all directions and all will affect your shot fall. Also it's not uncommon to have wind at the target and none at the firing point and vice versa.

Have fun !

Rob.

After you have practiced watching one wind flag for a while, put two out and practice waiting for both to point where you want before shooting. Wind reading is more about patience than anything since we're not trying to make sight adjustments on the fly.

Next is mirage. This is where things get interesting. First, never shoot in a boil (mirage going straight up) unless that's the condition for the day (very unlikely). The mirage will run left or right. Some people put the clock system to this: running really fast right is 3 o’c, barely going right is 1, boil is 12 (remember, BAAAAD). No 4-8 o’c with this one that I’ve ever seen or heard of; and if I saw it, I really don’t think I would shoot in it.

You will first need to practice reading this at your home range. That is, where ever it is you practice or shoot the most. Take notes about what wind flags to watch, whether wind or mirage tells you more, and what the prominent wind conditions are. Then start keeping notes on all ranges you go to.

At my home range, the mirage at 100 yards tells you almost everything, and is easy to see just about everyday. It is standard for the mirage at 50 to be going in the opposite direction. In contrast, another range I go to regularly has a rather difficult mirage to see, but my windmill and the wind flags tell me more anyways. And yet another range I go to I watch both the flags and mirage at the distance I’m shooting, but I am most careful because the wind switches a lot, very quickly, and small changes make big differences (eg changes from 9 o’c to 10 o’c make me lose points or X’s).

Hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer any specific questions.

The sun could be causing mirage. Depending where it is in the sky, it could also be causing glare on the target, or shining into your face.

Obviously shining brightly onto the target will change the appearance, and if it's a standard black circle target on white background, the relatively brilliant white may cause eye-strain, which will obviously impair your ability to shoot straight.
Shining into your face will cause squinting and discomfort. I suspect you'd have noticed that by now though if it were a problem.

what shape are your groups... stretched horizontal or vertical?

learning to dope the wind is a black art, but for a start what you can do is shoot a shot when the wind is what you feel to be strongest, and what you feel to be lightest, and that will give you a bracket to work with.

then as you feel more comfortable, try grouping in the wind, rather than letting the shots spread.

but it takes experience to grasp the wind, and picking up signs on where it's coming from and how hard is a good skill set to learn, so look for any signs and let your body give you clues, and build up an instinctive reaction based upon your own experience.

to give you some idea, at 55yds, in 10mph of side on breeze you will be looking at about 6"+ of windage given a .177 traveling at around 800 fps...however the breeze isn't consistent and nor is it's direction... indeed at the weekend I had one shot travel an inch right out to 35yds and come back left and inch in the last 20. Fun Fun Fun :D