Help With Wind

[jonno1968 5]

As a fairly newby to 22 r/f i was out last weekend doing some target practice. Having successfully zeroed at 25m (half inch grpup) i went out to 50m but my grouping was appauling. It was consistently to the right of the bull. I had a cross wind and it was pretty blustery day from left to right so am hoping it is down to wind. Does the wind realy have that much effect though?

[charlie caller 3,654]

On a .22 yes mate, wait for a wind free day or even better zero on an indoor range, then you will see those groups correctly centred.

[SportingShooter 0]

Indeed, the .22 is a slow old round

[Coypu Hunter 486]

There are three things to consider -- first, the wind, which will push the bullet around quite a lot, especially if you're using subsonic ammo. Also, you can't tell what the wind is doing 50m away, unless you set up a flag or some streamers and shoot between the gusts.

 

Second: the ammo you're using, which may seem to perform well at 25m, but shows its true colours at 50m, if it doesn't work well in your barrel.

 

Third, your original zero. If you were shooting slightly to the right of the bull at 25m, or if your zero was compensating for what the wind was doing at 25m, then the effect will be magnified by at least X2 at 50m, and by more if it's gusty.

 

If you're an experienced shooter using the right ammo and shooting from a rest in calm conditions, then you should be printing sub-one inch groups at 50m with a 22LR.