Dialing Windage

[rbutcher]

In what situation would dialing windage make sense? I always hold windage, but someone I shoot with tends to dial all windage past 200m.

I never dial because wind often changes, and I don't want to waste any time checking to see what windage is currently dialed/forgetting what windage is dialed and then making an error. Is this just me, or does it not make sense to dial?

 

[Ranchhand]

I'm not a pro but I seldom dial windage either. Pretty much the same reasons as you.
If I'm consistently hitting left or right I might dial some wind.
I'm sure someone with more experience will chime in.

 

[Newbie2020]

I hold wind also.

I worry that if I have a 10 mph wind dialed on and wind dies to 3-5 mph I would forget the dialed on component.

watching for a different perspective and insight

 

[Newbie2020]

I think @lowlight has said our eye subconsciously will drift to a definitive aiming point like the bold crosshairs so given time and opportunity the psychological component would favor dialing the wind.

 

[37L1]

Depends on how much wind and how constant.

 

[dgheriani]

In a match situation, I'll dial on windage if the wind is steadily above 20mph or when shooting a mover (since it travels back and forth along a track).

 

[beetroot]

Only time I've dialed wond in a match was in a particular unsupported sitting stage.

As mentioned above your eye likes to look at the centre of an object, so when dealing with a bunch of other factor due to a wobbly as hell position it was nice not thinking about holding off.

Some folk dial wind frequently but many do not, it could make sense to dial a major wind hold and just hold the difference in gusts, which is a somewhat common tactic which may or may not work for you.

Personally it seems easier to just hold for wind than dial it, thus that's what I do in all but the above situation.

 

[SicVic]

I'm a recreational shooter who likes the challenge of shooting small targets and even small moving targets like splitting playing cards while they are moving.

I always dial the avg call then watch the flags.
Of course I have all the time in the world to prepare.
For this type of shooting as stated above it really helps to have a solid reference point. Holding off and trying to aim at edge of card at quarter mile is a lot to take on.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I will dial the windage and adjust if needed with the reticle.

 

[Steel head]

When your holding over 5 mils I’ll usually dial it.

 

[DFOOSKING]

I didn't hesitate to dial wind on the mover stage. Its easier to dial wind out and have the same lead going left as it is going right. Without it you'd be holding under stress 1.3 on one side and 0.7 on the other.

 

[CoryT]

We advise you to dial wind on known moving target shots, this way you are only dealing with lead. It's also a good idea to dial on the dominant wind value when holds start to exceed 3.5 to 4 mils. People don't like to hold so far off the target, plus you start to get out of the optical center, which has it's own issues.

 

[rbutcher]

I hadn’t thought about the mover aspect, as thats something that I haven’t done a lot. Even when hunting, pretty much all my non close shots have been stationary.

 

[dgheriani]

I hadn’t thought about the mover aspect, as thats something that I haven’t done a lot. Even when hunting, pretty much all my non close shots have been stationary.

Dialling wind for movers is (imo) mostly for match applications and deliberate mover training. I can't think of too many real life situations where a target will be moving at a set pace back and forth, left and right. If I were to engage a mover in real life/field conditions,I'd just add/subtract my wind hold from my mover lead and then correct after the first round.

 

[SicVic]

I posted above about shooting playing card movers.
Again, being a recreational shooter I do it for fun but this video may be of interest as it kinda shows the process.

It touches on the scope settings and the shot configuration.
With shooting I think it's best to just use the way that is natural for you.

 

[SRPowah]

While I normally hold wind, its not uncommon to get days where the wind never goes below 20mph in NoDak. On those days, I will usually dial in the low end of the range, so that way I am back to a 5-10 mph hold on the gust.