Oh, ... I forgot this.... the FIRST most important piece of your equipment: wind flags.
Again, don't get too hung up on which ones. Single vane or double, daisy wheels, pinwheel propellors, or not, surveyor tape, sail tails, a custom braided yarn of yak feathers and synthetic spider silk. All these will work and your own wind gods will still tiptoe between the flags and make your bullets look drunk.
The standard is the Smiley Hensley flag -- large single vane with a daisy wheel. Very prevalent back east, not quite so much here in the mountain west. At a Nationals where you share flags, about 80% will be Smiley's or knock-offs.
I'm cheap. Made my own. Based on a style used by another top shooter, Mike Ratigan. 4"x17" piece of plastic sign material with a corner nipped off -- $10 at the big box store gets you two blank white garage sale signs... enough for 8-10 flag tops. Two cans of paint, some 1/8" welding rod for pins, make a 1/4-20 adapter to mount them, tripod light stands available via eBay. No ball bearings or whirligigs necessary though I have found a pinch of magic reindeer dust to be helpful in Midland Texas and Porcupine South Dakota. (and completely useless at Raton, Phoenix, and St Louis). This just confirms that there are many wind gods and some have home ranges, while others seem to follow a shooter like his own conscience.
Again, don't get too hung up on which ones. Single vane or double, daisy wheels, pinwheel propellors, or not, surveyor tape, sail tails, a custom braided yarn of yak feathers and synthetic spider silk. All these will work and your own wind gods will still tiptoe between the flags and make your bullets look drunk.
The standard is the Smiley Hensley flag -- large single vane with a daisy wheel. Very prevalent back east, not quite so much here in the mountain west. At a Nationals where you share flags, about 80% will be Smiley's or knock-offs.
I'm cheap. Made my own. Based on a style used by another top shooter, Mike Ratigan. 4"x17" piece of plastic sign material with a corner nipped off -- $10 at the big box store gets you two blank white garage sale signs... enough for 8-10 flag tops. Two cans of paint, some 1/8" welding rod for pins, make a 1/4-20 adapter to mount them, tripod light stands available via eBay. No ball bearings or whirligigs necessary though I have found a pinch of magic reindeer dust to be helpful in Midland Texas and Porcupine South Dakota. (and completely useless at Raton, Phoenix, and St Louis). This just confirms that there are many wind gods and some have home ranges, while others seem to follow a shooter like his own conscience.