Wind is the least part of long range shooting that can be undervalued, and can be the most difficult to rectify once the trigger goes off.
To those who hunt and are more precise in shooting, that mismatch is the entire issue: range can be checked with a laser, elevation can be calculated with a calculator, but wind exists in layers and switches its mind between muzzle and target. The real response is neither additional technology nor conjecture. A more appropriate mental model of where wind is most important, and a disciplined approach to making decisions on when a shot is easy to make, is desirable.
The “rule of thirds” is a good structure, where the flight path of the bullet is segmented into near zones, middle zones and far zones. The near third, or the one on the shooter himself, has disproportionate impact since the push on the bullet in its entry into the air continues to manifest itself until it hits. This is the reason that a wind reading at the firing point could be better than down-range guesswork, particularly in the normal hunting range where the bullet is fairly low and the distance is not very far.
The third third includes the beginning of the long shots that become performers of a different sport. On longer distances the bullet curves upwards enough to cut in a revived band of air above the drag of ground and vegetation-just as happened also with water in mid-stream that flows faster than water close to a bank. Practically, the shooter is able to see grass on the ground and still miss what the bullet will touch thirty, fifty, or sixty feet in the air. This is one of the reasons why extreme-range wind calls require more than a single reading and a single hold.
The far third is significant due to another reason, which is time. Drag decelerates a bullet in a short distance of time and the final section of the flight is frequently the longest duration, and allows a strong wind to continue operating over the obstacles of a casual wind. It is here that even a steady appearance at the muzzle may yield late drift downrange especially when the wind is gaining, losing or reversing in pulses.
Natural indicators assist in the revelation of those changes. Optically seen heat shimmer can display direction and intensity: a “boil” which is rising primarily on the vertical is indicative of light wind, whereas a hard angle and accelerating movement indicates rising value. There is an additional layer of truth veg shows. Gentle bending of grass may signify a gentle breeze that can be disregarded and consistent swing of the branches may be an indication that it is an influential power and should be respected.
A pocket wind meter can still make its own living, it is just that it has to be viewed as a starting point and not the solution in itself. A meter is in place that the shooter is in, it does not authorize what a funneling draw, some sheltered pocket, or cross-slope thermal is doing half-way to the animal. So that it is there that the scanning of the shooter and target–instead of simply gawking at the destination–fends off a wind call turned wind call, and makes a confidence-trick.
Ethical safeguard is decision-making. Long-range hunting requires planned shooting, effective communication with a spotter, and a distance restriction that is determined by effective first-round performance, rather than hope. A single standard of the field is that of working on steel sized to the vital zone and with that repeatable effort a hard ceiling is established; the same standard on a plate of 10 inches distance gives a clean, measurable test. When the wind is complicated, when it is switchy at the muzzle, opposite at the mirage, or even visible otherwise at the target, no remedy remedies the result.
Holding with reticles is often more compatible with the realities of hunting than dialing windage when it comes time to correct the wind. Change fast, and they do not experience the usual breakdown of forgetting an already dialed correction when the next chance presents itself at a different angle. Even dialing height can be accurate and serene given time, but the unpredictable factor that castigates sluggish thought is wind. Ultimately, a shooter who continues to read, almost to the shot, near, mid, and far-right, is the most stable system.
