wind meters

J

jaybic

Guest
Hello all,

I am in the market for a wind meter/wind speed measuring device. I see that Kestrel, Speedtech and Caldwell all make them in various makes and models that do everything from simple wind speed to ones that get quite fancy..ect..ect.

Do any of you have any experience with these or own one that you could recommend and what features a guy really needs versus what features are just extra junk.

Any help would be appreciated a great deal.:)

Thanks,

Jamie
 
Thanks for the ideas so far guys.

Some of them have a crazy amount of features and I am trying to figure out what is needed and what is unnecessary bells and whistles. I am hoping to use this for long range shooting to help learn bullet drift and other such things. I just dont really know how much a guy has to spend to get something good without paying a bunch extra for features that he wouldnt use. I have found them ranging from 35.00 to 300.00 and I hate to buy the cheapest of anything cause its usually junk but I am also not a rich man.

I am trying to learn a better way to get first shot hits at extended ranges for hunting purposes. I have a Leupold VX 3 LR with the varmint hunter reticle which has the 10,20 and 30 mph wind hold off points which are essentially useless unless you KNOW exacty how fast the wind actuall is and what value to assign it. I was going to ask this question on a site like snipershide.com but I am not trying to be "one of those guys" as that type does not seem to be terribly popular here.

What would you guys consider MINIMUM REQUIRED features...ect..ect?
Is it helpful to ever know the dewpoint or humidity or barometric pressure in LR shooting(300-800 yards is what I am looking for)?

Do the 600/1000 yard guys use them?
Thanks again,

Jamie
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As you can see by looking at this link, there is more to getting "on Target" than just wind speed measurement. I would call this outfit and find out why they use just what they do.

It is important to address the scope turrets also.

http://www.cheytac.com/specifications.asp
 
Thanks Al,

I know you are right about there being more to it but I guess I have to start somewhere. Knowing how fast the wind is blowing is certainly part of the puzzle and I do know something about "near wind" and "far wind" and wind values that were taught to me in the USMC. Guessing at wind speed rather that having a device to measure it seems kinda like eyeballing seating depth rather than using tools to do it.

Its trying to use Sierra Infinity that has me confused and I am certain there is a more scientific way than good ol' Kentucky windage and hoping I get lucky.

Anyway, good tip! I had not thought about it but they do specialize it that whole cold barrel shot kind of thing it looks like.

Thanks,

Jamie
 
jaybic said:
Thanks for the ideas so far guys.

Some of them have a crazy amount of features and I am trying to figure out what is needed and what is unnecessary bells and whistles. I am hoping to use this for long range shooting to help learn bullet drift and other such things. I just dont really know how much a guy has to spend to get something good without paying a bunch extra for features that he wouldnt use. I have found them ranging from 35.00 to 300.00 and I hate to buy the cheapest of anything cause its usually junk but I am also not a rich man.

I am trying to learn a better way to get first shot hits at extended ranges for hunting purposes. I have a Leupold VX 3 LR with the varmint hunter reticle which has the 10,20 and 30 mph wind hold off points which are essentially useless unless you KNOW exacty how fast the wind actuall is and what value to assign it. I was going to ask this question on a site like snipershide.com but I am not trying to be "one of those guys" as that type does not seem to be terribly popular here.

What would you guys consider MINIMUM REQUIRED features...ect..ect?
Is it helpful to ever know the dewpoint or humidity or barometric pressure in LR shooting(300-800 yards is what I am looking for)?

Do the 600/1000 yard guys use them?
Thanks again,

Jamie
Click to expand...

The basics IMHO are wind speed, temp, altitude, and humidity. You could argue that you can know the altitude and humidity (somewhat) before you are "on site" and then you could get a basic model like the Kestrel 2000. I have tried several brands and like the Kestrel the best. Like many, I buy too many features and forget my shooting basics at times.

There are so many factors that could be argued but when put under the pressure of field conditions and time, my basics are laser rangefinder, proven weapon system, range cards for temperature range (not just from a ballistic program but confirmed in the field), and reading the wind, reading the wind, reading the wind, and reading the wind. Did I mention reading the wind???:D

Cold bore/first round hit probablity at distance will suffer more from range estimation and wind reading than any other factors providing it is an experienced shooter and proven weapon system. You can gadget yourself to the max and learn every thing there is to know about physics but the man who can read the wind is king!

I am one of "those guys" you mentioned but also one of "these guys" (except everyone loves me here);) there doesn't always have to be a seperation.:)
 
Thanks again,

Lynn, my scope is a Leupold VX 3 4x14LR with the varmint hunter reticle which should make it a very suitable long range hunting scope.

This is exactly the kind of information I was hoping to get. I have two different laser range-finders, and older Nikon(800 yard model) and the newer Leupold iv model(supposed to be good to 1000 or 1200 yards or somthing like that but it seems the older Nikon is more reliable in terms of picking up a reading. I have tried to range on a PD town and the Leupold wont register past about 400 yards unless you have a nice big flat-sided barn in the middle of the dog town but that is a whole other issue on which I could also use advice.


Anyway, I am sure you are right about reading the wind so I figured getting something that will give me an accurate wind speed is the place to start after the range finder.

I know this is the simple or "rough" version but I kinda figured that I would need to know is:

A. Know the distance(lasered)
B. know how fast the wind is blowing and from what direction
C. Know my rifle well(previous shooting at the at distance in a similar condition
and where my POI was in that condition).
D. Know if and how much "up" or "down" there is between my and the target.
E. Know my scope well enough to make adjustments and have shot it enough to trust those adjusments.
I am sure there is much more to this but these, In my mind are the immiedate critical considerations.

Anyway, I am still doing research but in speaking here and with others, it appears that I have figured out that Kestrel is the brand to buy, now which one is the question I guess.:)

Thanks again,

Jamie
 
I would guess that the BDC (bullet drop compensator) that replaces your standard turrets would be the wiser choice for all long rang scope applications. Remember that no scope manufacture knows the application that the scope is going to be used for.
 
Are you thinking that I should have target turrets installed instead of relying on the varmint hunter reticle with the extra crosshairs?

Once I find my "perfect" load for my intended purposes, I have been giving thought to sending all my ballistic data to Leupold and having some of those laser-etched target turrets built around my load. I can see how this would help in terms of lasering the distance to a target and then using the target turret to click up to a "dead on" hold. It seems I would still need a wind meter to establish how many clicks to put on the scope for windage, yes? I just think the wind meter would be helpful in figuring out how much "dope" to put on my scope for windy conditions at extended ranges, say 300+.

I might be getting confused I guess and I have strayed from the actual topic of wind meters(which to buy and why?) but it does all help so thanks again to all of you for your patience with a guy trying to learn to connect on a cold bore, no sighters shot out past 300 yards consistantly.:)

Jamie
 
Jamie,

What I sent you was to your yahoo account listed on your profile, but I've now sent it to you as a pm also.

Ryan
 
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