Balistics and heavy wind.

[nolimits]

I would like a question that I cant find answers to in searches here. Is there a specific rule for adjusting your aim in heavy wind condition? 100, 200 or 300 yards? Is there even a reasonable chance of being accurate in heavy wind?

[hoochie]

There is a very reasonable chance of being accurate in wind, but the amount of wind ( speed) and type of wind is important. A steady wind is easier than a gusting/ pulsing wind.
a full value wind ( left to right) will have more effect than a half value wind ( say 2 O'clock to 7 O'Clock)
doping the wind is very important. You can either learn to use a ballistics calculator, use Kentucky windage ( Guess), or try and shoot between gusts.
I will try and find a link to a really good training video and add it for you to see.
cheers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p026Y0WUy6Q

[.264winmag]

There's a lot to shooting in the wind, you first have to know your velocity and BC of bullet and punch into ballistics calculator. Than guesstimate the wind and punch that in also, compensate with either a reticle or windage adjustment. I'll be honest with you, and I do a fair amount of long range shooting, inside 300 yds with my fast stepping .264 I just hold upwind edge of vitals for a hunting purposes in a pinch. For example up to a 20 mph full value wind at 300 yds there's 7" of drift, so edge of vitals hold will float it into breadbasket. If time allows try and have game facing downwind so any extra drift will drift bullet in front of chest missing instead of hitting too far back. 3-500 I like to use the foliage and a wind meter to dial windage into scope, outside 500 with anything more than 5mph (barely feel wind on cheek and foliage just twitching) I won't shoot at game. I've missed too many times target practicing to feel confident at extended ranges.
There are other more experienced target shooters here that I'm sure are more successful in the wind, but this works for me.
Cheers

[SaintSix]

learning to shoot in the wind takes a lot of practice to understand where your going to hit, please don't start while your hunting. practice at the range. that being said the farther out the more its affected. aswell wind can be hard to judge due to terrain. where your standing there might not feel like any wind but down at the target there could be a lot more even change in direction. for hunting purpose, stick to a closer shot or a headon or tailwind. 200yards and under it most calibers can shoot pretty straight in any normal wind condtions.

[.264winmag]

I would say closer to 300 yds with most popular calibers that wind is not an issue. This covers the vast majority of hunting shots taken, unless of course you're looking for the long bomb. In which case you've likely done your range work prior to.

[boxhitch]

Some basic rules to keep in mind
A 10 mph breeze @ 90 deg. will move most bullets over about 7" at 300 yds , 20 mph is closer to 15"
At 5-8 mph leaves will rustle, 12-15 will shake small trees, whitecaps form at a bout 18 mph

Awhile ago I saved this article for reference
Shooting in the Wind by Bert De Vink

[Machinist]

Learning to dope the wind is something that comes with experience , I have been shooting competivly in Fclass for over 10 years now and being able to correctly read the wind is a major factor in long distance shooting , a good breeze at even 300 yds can effect your bullets path, the shooter who best reads the wind and knows his equipment is usually the one that wins on match day , Being able to read the wind / mirage correctly has made it possible for me to make success full long distance shots of over 350 yds at game, most hunters don't spend enough range time to learn to take wind shots correctly , the only rule of thumb that i use is i look across the terrain and figure out where the highest point across that distance the bullet will be travelling , that's where the wind will effect your bullet the most , the closer to the ground it travells the less it will be effected by the wind, if you ever get the chance to read Brian Litz's book he will tell you the same thing , so get out there and practise, it will make you a better shooter.

[nolimits]

In my situation I can only assume that the wind was stronger than 20 mph as to my knowledge I was missing the target by at least 3 or 4 ft at 280 yards. I will have 2 choices now, either invest in wind speed measuring device or avoiding shooting in heavy wind altogether.

[.264winmag]

Assuming you have shot at this distance before in favourable conditions with good results? 3-4 ft of drift is a hell of a lot, with a 30/06 you're talking 65mph+! What load are you shooting? Generally if it's blowing upwards of 20mph it is gusting and often swirling, tough to get a consistent reading, picking a calm break in the wind could help.

[nolimits]

I am confident shooter without any problems hitting gongs at 500 yards. Using 180g ammo in 30-06. I was shooting in a gully/small valley, pretty much at the ground level and the bottom of V. Yes, I would say it was gusting and swirling at the time too.

[.264winmag]

Seems strange to be that far off. 70mph and I'm going home not target practicing...

[nolimits]

Now, that I am considering all info provided here and that I am thinking more and more about that specific situation, I'd like to add couple of other details, as they also could be contributing factors in this case. Shooting was done at fairly high elevation of above 7500 ft and low temp of around 4 deg C. Is it possible that it was combination of it all, that made it miss by that margin?

[.264winmag]

Nope, higher elevation and lower temps result in slightly less bullet drop and wind drift, as opposed to lower elevation higher temps all else being equal.

[Stormy]

As others have said "doping" (judging) the wind isn't always easy, even more so if it's gusty and not exactly at 90 deg accross.

There are many days that mirages and foliage movement will show where thermals are pulling off rock faces, and these in themselves can cause wind velocity changes in very localized areas - some times in very narrow bands and other times in much broader bands... Your projectile passing through these areas will certainly be effected.

I tend to watch birds, an upward spiralling hawk / eagle is a dead give away, look below it and try and figure out where the rising bubles of hot air are coming from, then look at the foliage - sometimes you will see the breezes (thermals) running up the side of a hill / mountain, sometimes while standing on a mountain edge / lip, you will get hit with a strong breeze coming straight up the face, a few minutes later it will just fade and die, then return - you can actually time these cycles if you keep an eye on them, using a piece of marking tape tied to a branch or something. Using a wind meter (facing directly into breeze) you can easily determine the thermal strength.

I always carry a radio with me, by tuning into the metrological broadcasting services - you can get all kinds of great information about the met in your area, dew points, high and low pressure systems moving accros your area, all play into your decision making for that day in the field.

anyhow, this all adds into making a day out hunting more enjoyable.