I suck at reading the wind. Given my choice of shooting competitions you’d think that I would have it down, but it’s more of a guessing game than it should be. Thankfully there are instruments that help in determining wind direction and speed so I can plug the data into a computer and adjust my shot, but they usually cost a bunch of money and are pretty bulky. Now, a new company is starting to produce wind meters that plug into your cell phone’s headset jack and use an app to show you all the juicy wind related details. Make the jump for the presser, and yes I’ve asked for one to T&E . . .
WeatherFlow is proud to announce the WeatherFlow Wind Meter – it’s an anemometer that fits in your pocket. It’s the first hardware product we have created for the general wind & weather addicted community. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod, and all major Android devices.
Download one of our free apps for iOS or Android and plug in your wind meter – it’s really that easy. Hold it up high facing into the wind. Your phone does the rest by recording the wind speed (average and gust), wind direction and location. Easily share onsite reports with WeatherFlow, Instagram, Vine, Twitter, SMS, Email, Facebook. And view all of this crowd-sourced weather in one of our consumer applications.
The Wind Meter, although not a scientific instrument, is designed to be better than any other handheld anemometer on the market. It’s operating range extends from the smallest puff (2 mph) to well over hurricane force winds (125 mph). Calibrated at the University of Florida’s Aerospace Engineering Department, our Wind Meter is accurate to the larger of +/- 0.5% of the reading or 0.2 mph at up to 15° off-axis. That means even if you don’t hold it directly into the wind, you’ll still get very accurate wind speed information.
Not only do we have one of the most accurate and coolest handheld wind meters on the market, at $34.95 it’s also one the most affordable. So what are you waiting for? Get one now!
And the problem of reading wind downrange remains…
well, this will help get the part you can measure easily done.
I would say that reading the wind down range is what counts. you can get a rough estimate of the wind at the muzzle by wetting your finger and holding it up, or you man make a simple windmill and put it on your shooting bench, or out in front of you. Anyway, that doesn’t tell you much about what’s going on at the target. If I had only one wind reading setup, I would put it close to the target.
Wind effects at the muzzle will have a greater effect on accuracy than those at the target. Diverting the trajectory by a given amount at the muzzle will move the point of impact a greater distance than the same degree of diversion at any other point along the flight path. Ideally it would be good to know the wind at every point along the bullets flight path, but that’s not really feasible.
Correct. Beat me to it.
Depending on the distance at 10 yards the wind speed at either end is insignificant, at 1000 yards and beyond the wind speed at target is more significant then at muzzle. The bullet will be spending alot more time I flight at the end of it’s flight path then at the beginning, and the winds effects are compounded on a slower bullet. If I had one meter and could only take one reading it would be from the 2/3’s to 3/4’s point for me on long range shot.
The closer the wind is to your target the less it effects your bullet. A 5mph wind midrange is going to have a much greater effect than 5mph near the target.
I am so getting one to go with my Mil-Dot Ballistics App:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mil-dot-ballistics/id374564265?mt=8
Will it come with febreze inserts? If so I might use it in my car on the way to the range and also at the range Hawaiian Aloha smell with the smell of freshly burnt gunpowder. Priceless 🙂
I love shooting into the wind because I get that pure powder smell. It smells …. like victory.
This would also be good for kites. * grins *
Long range shooting is a mix of art and science. External ballistics is the science and is pretty easy to master. Reading wind is the art and not so easy. The problem with wind meters is that they read the wind speed at your location, but they may have (most likely will not have) not any bearing on conditions at your target and between the shooter and the target. Wind can, and often does, vary tremendously down range.
If you are serious enough about long range shooting to get a wind meter, best off with a Kestrel which gives you not just wind, but all of the atmospheric conditions. If you get the ATRAG version, it will even calculate all of your atmosphere corrections in MOA or MIL for you–either way, you still have to master the art.
Pretty cool product.
“Any wind moves any bullet on any day” I would suggest you join the NBRSA even if you don’t intend to compete you will be amazed at the wind flag array at one of these matches.
Join the NBRSA you will receive Precision Rifleman magazine you will learn a lot. Info you never dreamed of. The ultimate! The true wizards in the world of extreme accuracy.$60.00 per year. How serious are you?
Also FCSA. $55/year
the title should read “turn your voluntarily held tracking device into a wind meter.”
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