First attempt to make wind flags. Prototype pics included.

S

Saigashooter

New member
Well is seems that wind flags are necessary to shoot accurately but they cost so much that I decided to build my own with the help of my dad and these are what we came up with. Right now they are just pivoting on the delrin shoulder but we are doing another that will ride on ball bearings. We will also be adding a tail at the top once we are happy with the results.
 

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Saigashooter said:
Well is seems that wind flags are necessary to shoot accurately but they cost so much that I decided to build my own with the help of my dad and these are what we came up with. Right now they are just pivoting on the delrin shoulder but we are doing another that will ride on ball bearings. We will also be adding a tail at the top once we are happy with the results.
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Looks good! How much did you spend on your rifle and other equipment?
I say this in the best possible way. As a whole, we spend boat loads of hard earned money building and buying the best of everything. Flags are just as important as the rest of your equipment, imo. Every shooter will tell you that wind reading is right at the very top in regards to what separates the winners from the rest. Your flags look pretty good and they may be the greatest. My point is just to not skimp in this important aspect of the game.
 
drknite said:
Mr. Ezell gave you some good advice. He also makes some of the best wind flags on the market.
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Thank you! I hope I didn't run him off. His flags do look pretty good. I've seen some real messes of home made flags before. His don't look like those at all.
 
Bearings

Saigashooter said:
Well is seems that wind flags are necessary to shoot accurately but they cost so much that I decided to build my own with the help of my dad and these are what we came up with. Right now they are just pivoting on the delrin shoulder but we are doing another that will ride on ball bearings. We will also be adding a tail at the top once we are happy with the results.
Click to expand...

You don't need bearings, unless you want to.
Drill and tap the top of the Delrin for a Stainless Grub Screw and make the shaft with a sharp point.
That's all you need

Michael
 
Saigashooter said:
Well is seems that wind flags are necessary to shoot accurately but they cost so much that I decided to build my own with the help of my dad and these are what we came up with. Right now they are just pivoting on the delrin shoulder but we are doing another that will ride on ball bearings. We will also be adding a tail at the top once we are happy with the results.
Click to expand...
I tried twice to make windflags :) Both times were failures.

I now own flags from 3 advertised makers and am saving for a set of mwezell flags..... I say this specifically to let you know that props from Mike Ezell (and as far as that goes, all three other guys previously posting are SHOOTERS not participants in Capitalized Big 'B' Big 'R' Bench Rest) are worthy props....

Maybe you knew this :)

Either way, Good On Ya!
 
alinwa said:
I tried twice to make windflags :) Both times were failures.

I now own flags from 3 advertised makers and am saving for a set of mwezell flags..... I say this specifically to let you know that props from Mike Ezell (and as far as that goes, all three other guys previously posting are SHOOTERS not participants in Capitalized Big 'B' Big 'R' Bench Rest) are worthy props....

Maybe you knew this :)

Either way, Good On Ya!
Click to expand...

Thank you Al...Been aiming to call you but lost your number. Was wondering if you wanted some flags....tuners...stools...etc:p
Call me or send me your number by pm. No hurry, just wanted to chat mainly.
 
Wind Flags

As you know, the biggest impact on shrinking Benchrest aggs,has been the introduction of Wind flags. Any kind of wind indicator is better than no indicator. Blades of grass, tree leaves, dust devils, etc, etc dont work like wind flags.

Just my observations.


Glenn
 
mwezell said:
Thank you Al...Been aiming to call you but lost your number. Was wondering if you wanted some flags....tuners...stools...etc:p
Call me or send me your number by pm. No hurry, just wanted to chat mainly.
Click to expand...

Hmmphhh, I've answered lots of PM's but I guess never sent one fresh! Can't find the button.

I know I've got all your info in the office but I poured 11 truckloads of concrete today and just don't wanna' get up!

three six ohhh, 904 694one
 
Mr. Ezell thank you for the complaint on my flags. I figured it was a good project for my dad who just closed his gun shop after 20 years due to Illinois politics. This is my second year of shooting at the small local club with a bunch of old farts. I'm the only "kid" that shoots out there. Most of the guys are old farmers with more dollars than sense... although they shoot some beautiful guns with one piece rests.

I found an old walther KKM and had it sent to my dads shop. It was a couple of weeks before I could get out there to check it out. Long story short my pops put a weaver 36 on it and shot it before I had a chance to and the old fat kept it for himself.

I was ok with this because that just meant I got to look for another vintage .22 which I think is when the real addiction started. I love old accurate guns. I have 2 Remington 37s now. The triggers dont do it for me for benchrest shooting though. The non original with a canjar trigger is going to have to go.

Dad was doing pretty well with his German gun so I figured I might get one as well. A couple months ago I picked up a suhl 150 with 1 in 17 twist barrel whose stock I've been heavily modifying to be straight lined to ride the rear bag along with a 3in wide delrin bag rider that is inset into the front of the stock.

I started with a hand me down rock br and protektor dr bag. I have since found an all stainless custom front rest that weighs 35 lbs and locks up rock solid. Me and dad have shot up 2 of the three bricks of federal ultra match so the search is going to be on soon for more ammo. I'm still waiting on it to get warm enough to test out the suhl. I am however in love with its trigger.
 
Saigashooter said:
Mr. Ezell thank you for the complaint on my flags. I figured it was a good project for my dad who just closed his gun shop after 20 years due to Illinois politics. This is my second year of shooting at the small local club with a bunch of old farts. I'm the only "kid" that shoots out there. Most of the guys are old farmers with more dollars than sense... although they shoot some beautiful guns with one piece rests.

I found an old walther KKM and had it sent to my dads shop. It was a couple of weeks before I could get out there to check it out. Long story short my pops put a weaver 36 on it and shot it before I had a chance to and the old fat kept it for himself.

I was ok with this because that just meant I got to look for another vintage .22 which I think is when the real addiction started. I love old accurate guns. I have 2 Remington 37s now. The triggers dont do it for me for benchrest shooting though. The non original with a canjar trigger is going to have to go.

Dad was doing pretty well with his German gun so I figured I might get one as well. A couple months ago I picked up a suhl 150 with 1 in 17 twist barrel whose stock I've been heavily modifying to be straight lined to ride the rear bag along with a 3in wide delrin bag rider that is inset into the front of the stock.

I started with a hand me down rock br and protektor dr bag. I have since found an all stainless custom front rest that weighs 35 lbs and locks up rock solid. Me and dad have shot up 2 of the three bricks of federal ultra match so the search is going to be on soon for more ammo. I'm still waiting on it to get warm enough to test out the suhl. I am however in love with its trigger.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're having fun and spending time with your dad. Don't stop!
I tried pretty hard to get my point across not to skimp on flags. Your flags look fine and I can't see them work in the pic but I'm sure they do.
If your happy with them, I am too. If your dad built them, that makes them unreplaceable.
 
In the interest of conversation

Here's some of the different flags I have. Not shown are the ones that Wilbur Harris used to make...a nice, simple, effective single vane triangular.

Hood doubles with my own prop and bearing:

62w8jrDl.jpg


XQbrkIll.jpg


These are a wing design. In switchy conditions where you need to snap shoot in Score BR, these work better than anything I've ever used....the respond instantly to any change in air pressure. The stainless shaft extends almost to the top of the flag and is supported by a full length Delrin sleeve. They are covered in RC aircraft wing skin. The black circle on the front makes seeing the angles easier.

hz3aD2xl.jpg


KSM1Y4ll.jpg


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Photographers latch lock extension poles are head and shoulders above the twist lock (golf ball retriever style). I modified mine to accept Delrin round stock for the flag shafts. A piece of PVC capped at the bottom is drilled and a threaded spike with a side leg goes into the ground. The PVC i.d. is honed with a piece of 80 grit paper wrapped around an old 3 stone brake cylinder hone until the flag pole is a nice slip fit.
 
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Saigashooter said:
Mr. Ezell thank you for the complaint on my flags. I figured it was a good project for my dad who just closed his gun shop after 20 years due to Illinois politics. This is my second year of shooting at the small local club with a bunch of old farts. I'm the only "kid" that shoots out there. Most of the guys are old farmers with more dollars than sense... although they shoot some beautiful guns with one piece rests.

I found an old walther KKM and had it sent to my dads shop. It was a couple of weeks before I could get out there to check it out. Long story short my pops put a weaver 36 on it and shot it before I had a chance to and the old fat kept it for himself.

I was ok with this because that just meant I got to look for another vintage .22 which I think is when the real addiction started. I love old accurate guns. I have 2 Remington 37s now. The triggers dont do it for me for benchrest shooting though. The non original with a canjar trigger is going to have to go.

Dad was doing pretty well with his German gun so I figured I might get one as well. A couple months ago I picked up a suhl 150 with 1 in 17 twist barrel whose stock I've been heavily modifying to be straight lined to ride the rear bag along with a 3in wide delrin bag rider that is inset into the front of the stock.

I started with a hand me down rock br and protektor dr bag. I have since found an all stainless custom front rest that weighs 35 lbs and locks up rock solid. Me and dad have shot up 2 of the three bricks of federal ultra match so the search is going to be on soon for more ammo. I'm still waiting on it to get warm enough to test out the suhl. I am however in love with its trigger.
Click to expand...


I do have 3 model 37s left. They really shoot well.
 
When you can use them they are VERY helpful.

Now you need to learn how to 'read' your flags (and their tails).

I used 'Yard Daisies' for my propellers.

Some aluminum tubing for the arrow shafts, and aluminum flashing for the arrow fletching.
I initially made the fletching way oversize t provide enough weight to balance my arrow front to back around the downward pointing port of the T fitting that holds the pivot.
The 'joint' in the arrow is a plastic T fitting of 1/4 inch PVC pipe size.

If you pick the right sizes for the components you can simply force them all together, with an occasional nut for clamping some pieces together.

A little threading of the daisy shaft and a hex standoff jammed into the front of the arrow shaft attach the daisy to the front of the shaft.

A 6 inch long 1/2 inch bolt cross drilled near in the threaded end with two nuts clamps onto the 3/16 rod provides a 'pedal' to drive the bottom of the rod into the ground.
I usually use about 6 inches into the earth.

You use the offset in the arrow shaft (rear long, front short) and the weight of the fletching allows you to balnce the arrow right at the T port with a .223 shell jammed into the fitting.

The Daisy is nicely sensitive, the fetching large enough to point the arrow into even a slight wind, and haning an flag of engineering tape from the bottom of the arrow fletching provides very sensitive fag for lighter breezes.

It streams out nicely and aids the arrow pointing into the wind.
The fletching needs some black point on ONE side so you can more easily tell what direction it is pointing from a distance.

I put one up near the shooting point when hunting varmints.
After that you watch whatever is in the field moving in the wind.

Use a decent bullet weight moving quickly (less bullet drift and flatter shooting) and groundhogs at many hundreds of yards are not actually that hard.
 
We all have opinions on windflags. I like the weight toward the vane or tail. It makes the windshield wiper effect less. I like the the plastic pinwheels and hate daisys as they are like flywheels, slow to start and slow to slow down.
Below is a pic of one of the ones that I sold to the USAF in the middle east.

You need to play with several designs and see what works for you.
 
Maybe 8 or 10 years ago Precision Shooting had an article by a guy who made his own wind flags. I started with his design and modified it to use my own thoughts and available materials. It was a fun and rewarding project and they have served me well. They are easy to set up and take down and are very sensitive to changes. I did buy a couple of "windicator" type things and an "uppy-downy", which complement my homemade units.

There are many fine flags and indicators for sale out there. However, I get as much fun out of fooling with equipment as I do from competing. Build or buy, it's whatever floats your boat that matters.
 
Saigashooter said:
Well is seems that wind flags are necessary to shoot accurately but they cost so much that I decided to build my own with the help of my dad and these are what we came up with. Right now they are just pivoting on the delrin shoulder but we are doing another that will ride on ball bearings. We will also be adding a tail at the top once we are happy with the results.
Click to expand...

Excellent work. Once you learn how to read them you shall never look back.

I made my own about 5 years ago, Delrin collar, ballraced and balanced (they are hard to find readily in Australia) and they made a vast improvement to my rimfire competition scores.

In fact a few people complained that doggie was using windflags so I replied that some other people were looking at my flags and they should get their own.

I still have a few targets with notes written on them for the post mortem of why I missed the 10 and one common theme is "Read the bl**dy flags!"

Best of luck with your venture Saigashooter.

* doggie *
 
I've only been shooting bench rest for about 8 years now. Trying to determine what the flags are telling me is still a mystery. We definitely don't speak the same language. I'm beginning to think I'd be better off placing one flag at about 75 yards and use that. :(
 
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