A few days ago, I finally had a chance to get out and do some shooting and accuracy testing, and once again, I was reminded of why it is so important to use wind flags when doing serious testing of guns and pellets.
As usual, the day was breezy, with the wind constantly shifting and swirling. Trying to test a gun and pellets for accuracy in these conditions, without a way to manage the wind, is a complete waste of time and ammo.
I often wonder how many guns and pellets have been condemned as being inaccurate, when the real issue is the lack of wind management while testing. Especially at longer ranges like 50 yards and beyond.
Anyone that has spent any time on the airgun forums, has seen the posts about the unexplained fliers, that inexplicably suddenly show up, and then disappear, or the unexplained reason for accuracy suddenly going away one day, but then returning the next.
One possible cause, is that the shooter is completely ignoring the effects of the wind on a pellet, or explains the wind away by stating that it really didn't amount to very much, maybe just a few miles per hour or less, you know, barely detectible. As though a few miles per hour of wind, or a barely detectible wind doesn't have any effect on airgun pellets. Believe me it does, and a lot more than the average guy would ever think.
Then throw in the fact that the wind isn't a constant velocity, nor is it always coming from the same direction, and it's no wonder so many guys have so much trouble shooting consistent groups with their guns.
Here's an example of what was going on the other day, when I was out to do some pellet testing, and re-sight-in my AA 410CRBSL carbine.
First thing I did, was to get my wind flags out, assemble them, and then just set them aside while I was getting out other gear. While doing that, I would watch the set of flags to see if the wind was coming from a prevailing direction, this would help me decide where I would place my target frame when I was ready to start shooting.
At one point, I took the above picture, waited a little bit, and then took the picture below.
The wind had shifted, and was coming from the opposite direction, and that was what was being indicated with the flags all grouped together in one place. I know from experience, that once I get the flags dispersed down range, they will, more often than not, show that the wind is coming from several different directions simultaneously, over a fifty yard distance, and it gets even more complex as you extend the range to longer distances.
You cannot ignore what the wind is doing, or pretend that it really isn't all that much of a factor at your place, and expect to get any useful information about pellet accuracy from a specific gun. There's a reason that benchrest shooters, and those boys are super serious about accuracy, have a sea of wind flags out when shooting matches, or practicing. They know, what even a very slight puff of air does to a pellet in flight.
You cannot see that, with any degree of accuracy, with just the naked eye. You need a way to see what the wind is doing along the pellets flight path, and wind flags will allow you to do that. You still have to learn to read them, and use the information they provide correctly, but they are an amazing tool, and an item that anyone serious about learning how their guns are shooting, and shooting specific pellets, should have in their gear bag.
The below photos show a couple of targets that I shot as examples, a couple of years ago, to show precisely what reading a set of wind flags can bring to the party. As I recall, the range was 50 yards.
On the first target, I used the flags to select the worst possible moment to fire the shot. My aim point, was the pellet hole in the middle of the head. As you can see, the wind was running left to right, and back again. I fired each shot during the shifts. Not pretty, but because I was reading the flags, I knew exactly what to expect, and I knew it wouldn't be pretty.
I could have just as easily been John Doe Shooter, pellet testing in those same conditions, without any flags, getting the same exact results, and then deciding that my gun is inaccurate, or the pellets stink, or both.
On the second target, I read the flags, and fired each shot during a lull that was repeating, just before the wind changed direction again. Same gun, same pellet, same conditions, completely different result. All of a sudden, a pellet that shot lousy out of this rifle, a .25 cal Marauder, was incredibly accurate, but to discover the accuracy of this pellet in this rifle, I had to manage the wind factor. A set of wind flags gave me the ability to do that.
You can still see some horizontal dispersion from the wind, but compared to the first target, it has all but been eliminated, and without the use of my flags, I wouldn't have come even close, to being able to see what this pellet, the Beeman Kodiak, was capable of out of this rifle.
Final sight-in target, shot on the same day at 65 yards. With the flags indicating zero wind.
If you are really serious about testing for accuracy, get yourself a set of wind flags and learn to use them, you'll be glad that you did.
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