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Kestrel...do I really need one? I bought a 5700 Elite AB w/ LiNK but please keep the informative discussion going!

J

jlficken

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 4, 2006
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Aurora, NE
Most of my shooting is done under 200yds. Rarely I get to 600yds+ and very rarely almost 1Kyds.

I am shooting for fun with friends so other than friendly competition there is no pressure to get first round hits as the berms are large enough to not cause a safety issue if we miss.

I live in Nebraska so winds do vary substantially along with humidity and temperatures. Elevation will always be around 1800ft.

I can get a 5700 Elite w/ AB and LiNK for $599 and am contemplating it just because I suck at judging wind speed.

I shoot a AIAT with the factory 20" LW 308Win barrel. At 950yds the other day using 43.5gr of Varget, BHA Match brass, and Hornady 168gr BTHP's I was doing better than 50% hit ratio. The wind was negligible at under 5mph and it was about 85F with 50% humidity. I do have some 178gr A-MAX and even 208gr A-MAX bullets to try at some point.

Thoughts?
 
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You could probably get away without one, though I'd still want a hand held wind meter. You'd need to spend some time using a ballistics calculator to get a sense of what difference temperature can make. Inside of 600 yards its not a big deal.

My vote is either a cheap $20-30 wind meter and use JBM Ballistics website for environmentals before you go shoot, or pick up a used Kestrel 4000 for around $125-150 which will give you both wind speed and density altitude that you can plug into a ballsitics app on your phone.
 
Agreed. You don't really have a need for the 5700 w/ AB and Link at this point. If money is not a concern, by all means get it. It will surely come in handy at some point in time. As long as you have a Kestrel that provides the DA reading, your golden.
 
Only you can judge the ultimate value, but if you rarely shoot to 600 and mostly under 200, a kestrel is probably overkill. There are cheaper ways to measure wind. If you want to do well when you do get to shoot at longer distances, a Kestrel would be in my range bag. Getting good environmental info for your ballistics calculator makes the difference at those distances.
 
You may consider looking into the WeatherFlow WEATHERmeter. I purchased it off of Amazon for about $85. I've been pleased with it so far. It goes along with the BallisticsARC app which I believe is around $15 and it also syncs just fine with the Shooter app.
 
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I have a 4500NV with a weather vane I'd consider selling. I could part with the kit for say 150. Let me know.
 
Thanks for all of the info guys!

Would something like the WM-350 Windmate be a viable alternative to a Kestrel as it does have DA and is ~$150?

http://www.weatherhawk.com/wm350

Where I am able to shoot at 1Kyds+ there is no cell reception if that changes anyone's answer.
 
Mute said:
If you have enough dope from varying conditions, you can get away with not using one, but it does make life a little easier.
Click to expand...

I definitely don't have enough real life dope to handle very many conditions which is where I am thinking it may be handy to have it calculated in real time withe AB model.
 
Part of me thinks that if you have a $4k-$6k rifle, why not make the $600 investment that will last a lifetime. You never know if you will ever shoot at longer distances or at a different location.

The other part of me thinks that you can get by with an iPhone app and just have fun.

It's really up to you. For me, I knew I was eventually going to need one for competitions so why not.

Do you need one? No. Do you want one? Yes. But that is part of the fun of this sport to me is getting all the tools together to make me a better shooter.

For me, must haves are (in no particular order) good rifle with great glass, great trigger, range time, great range finder, kestrel, great ammo.
 
Really great investment, and that's a good price for a new Elite, but admittedly, if you're shooting 200yd most of the time and only want to judge wind, there are waaaaayyyy cheaper options to go.

Nice thing about the Kestrel is once you have it, you have it. Can use that thing in any conditions and will be good to go; they're very easy to use once familiar.

Hard to justify $600+ in my book for shooting under 200yd, but if you're regularly going further past 5/600, it is a very valuable tool.
 
I just went through a similar problem and here is what I did.

I have an iPhone 7 with built in barometer.
$30 wind and temp meter
Trasol app
Without signal I can input humidity and temp, phone gets Baro and then trasol calculates DA

I don't know how well it will work, but I didn't spend $600 on a kestrel I might use a half dozen times per year.

If I were shooting in more serious situations (competition, hunting or combat) I would certainly do it differently


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I wound up ordering the 5700 Elite AB w/ Link as my phone is ancient (Android 4.1.2) and buying a new phone isn't going to happen right now as I have to pay full price to keep my unlimited data.

I plan on using my tablet to add the profiles to the Kestrel and hope that it works as well as I am thinking it should.

Now I just need to go down and shoot again at 1K or go over to the 600yd public range but they use this tube system and it kind of sucks.

Yerman
You convinced me to just get it as it should last me a long time and I have already spent a shitload of money so what is another $600. I plan on selling one of my spare AIAT 308 takeoff barrels to offset it as I have 5 total barrels right now and I really doubt I will use them all.
 
I use BallisticsARC app ($15 for full version) and picked up GeoBallistics WeatherFlow WEATHERmeter for $85; so for $100 you have a kestrel with a ballistics program. I have only shot 2 rifles with it a 5.56 77gr and 6.5CM 129gr and both dopes have matched up to what I actually shot. Wind readings are on par with kestrel. If you have a spare iphone lying around you could even make it a dedicated system. [h=1][/h]
 
I didn't realize there were so many different options when it came to weather devices and ballistics apps. Hopefully others can learn a lot from this!

 
jlficken said:
I wound up ordering the 5700 Elite AB w/ Link as my phone is ancient (Android 4.1.2) and buying a new phone isn't going to happen right now as I have to pay full price to keep my unlimited data.

I plan on using my tablet to add the profiles to the Kestrel and hope that it works as well as I am thinking it should.

Now I just need to go down and shoot again at 1K or go over to the 600yd public range but they use this tube system and it kind of sucks.

Yerman
You convinced me to just get it as it should last me a long time and I have already spent a shitload of money so what is another $600. I plan on selling one of my spare AIAT 308 takeoff barrels to offset it as I have 5 total barrels right now and I really doubt I will use them all.
Click to expand...

You won't regret it. It's a lot of money but it works.
 
YOU may always shooting at 1800 ft, MSL, but your bullet will think (i.e. perform) very differently on a cold, Nebraska day vs. a hot summer one. It will make a huge difference the further out you shoot. At 200 it will be negligible, at 600 it will be noticeable, and at 900+ it will become increasingly important. The bullet only knows Density Altitude, and that changes a little from day to day, and a LOT from season to season. Fortunately, that sweet new toy you just bought will give you DA at a glance.
 
jlficken said:
Yerman
You convinced me to just get it as it should last me a long time and I have already spent a shitload of money so what is another $600. I plan on selling one of my spare AIAT 308 takeoff barrels to offset it as I have 5 total barrels right now and I really doubt I will use them all.
Click to expand...

Glad I could help ;-) You won't regret it.

One thing that comes to mind when reading your original post...it sounds a lot like me when I was buying a safe. "Do I really need a a guns safe that will hole this many guns?" Now I'm looking at safes twice the size of what I have now because I am out of room.

With the Kestrel, I'm sure you will find yourself making an effort to stretch her legs out more often than before you had a Kestrel. Once you start getting first round hits and it seams easy to shoot at ELR, you will want more of it. It's like an addiction!
 
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IM sent TC308

I do think it will drive me to shoot further more often. I may have a lead on 600yds within 20min of me so hopefully it works out.

It should be here Tuesday. Too bad my phone is too old to install the app but I can use my tablet to set it up.
 
I used my iPad to set mine up tonight. It was pretty slick always had to use my Win computer with the 4500.
 
Short answer: you need a wind meter. An active ballistics link wil take you farther and make you more accurate than you can dream. Don't skimp of its important. Kestrel: nice, but if you really want an integrated package, look at a SIG 2400 Rangefinder; cones with a wind meter that plugs into your phone and an apo that links to the rangefinder, which also gives the atmospheric condition, just like a Kestrel. I use my Kestrel 5700 as backup/redundancy now. Take a look and best of luck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It looks like my 5700 Elite w/ LiNK should be here Thursday and I can't wait to get it set up. Thanks for all of the advice guys!
 
I was more wanting it for the ballistics portion that takes into account the temp, humidity, etc and planned on using the windage adjustment as a suggestion only but I appreciate the heads up!
 
That is a good point about the touch screen vs buttons and the battery life. My phone is actually a ruggedized phone so durability and waterproof capabilities between the two are about the same.
 
Touch screens are hard to use? Phone UI will always be easier to navigate than up/down/enter style of device.
 
TheOE800 said:
Touch screens are hard to use? Phone UI will always be easier to navigate than up/down/enter style of device.
Click to expand...

Touch screens blow when your fingers are cold, you are wearing gloves, it is raining or even spitting, etc.

Buttons allow you to leave your gloves on and just plain work.

Sometimes low tech is best tech.
 
There are multiple solutions to all of your issues, from conductive gloves to waterproof zip bags/cases.
 
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