Windflags For Cast Bullet Shooting

Shooters I have written several windflag Posts on other Websites so here's one for you. First defining what a windflag might be. Knowing it or not our human senses act as a windflag even when we are not shooting. Wind coming from different angles and with different velocity and acceleration patterns affects bullet flight. If you could be the bullet you would be aware of the need to stabilize your flight to shear your way towards your target. For cast bullet shooting from 50 and 100yd I use 2 wind flags. I walk them out setting them where I feel the wind. Usually both inside the first half distance. A windflag next to the target serves no purpose as by that time the bullet has stabilized you can't bring it back therefore the conditions closest to the shooter matter the most. So a simple 2 flag set-up for cast bullet shooting is best, easy to compare 2 flags and make a judgement. One condition I avoid shooting in is 2 flags pointing in the same direction tails maxxed out and my mirage paper racing off the paper. This condition leads to no reading capability and if you persist in shooting you will add horizontal to your group for each shot. Bad Ju Ju. Shoot the flag condition that will repeat. You probably get the feeling I am talking from my BR experience, I am. But whether I shoot a BR gun or my factory stock Rem 722 in .222 when I shoot for targets I apply the same methods. I think if a guy made his own flags and used them while shooting he would see how his shots are grouping. Things like a let-up or increase in wind or a change in direction or all of the above would let you make decisions to hold off ot hold on. To me a day at the Range without flags is giving up to Mother Nature and a waste of a target. Easy to make a windflag. Now we have have coroplast which some get for free. A simple pattern, I like a small vane for cast bullet long and narrow. A piece of delrin or wood for the center post, cut a groove in the post and attach the vane. Surveyors ribbon any color not so long so that it drags the ground except at Ranges like Phoenix where flags seldom or never hang limp. On those type Ranges make them longer. I attach the flagging to the vane using a small/medium fishing swivel hooked to the vane then loop a piece of 6/10 lb test fishing line about a 1” loop. The line fed through the swivel then is double tied with the knot end always making contact with the swivel loop. Now you can tie your flagging to the loop end. I have used double and single flagging. The good part about this if your flagging gets ragged or if you want to change color of flagging cut it loose and you still have your loop for new. Shooters with same color tails may wish they had another color when most fly orange. What would work good is attach the vane in the back half using a piece of piano wire balancing the flag on the wire end with a small counter weight on the wire end. Use a 3/16” nail for the stand and drill a hole to match in the post. For a stand any tripod or stiff pole beat in the ground, 1/2” pole is good. A sectioned pole will give you some adjustment for flag height. What I have used and it works is a pair of surveyors lathe with ribbon attached driven into the ground. While setting the flags keep in mind of your neighbors by staying inside your shooting lane. Wind flags can be a nuisance to a guy shooting an AK or a pistol. Avoid getting your equipment shot up and trying to extract compensation for your short sighted placement of flags. What have you got to lose by trying a pair of wind flags except your pride. Mother Nature has no regard for bullet flight. But you can cut the odds by reading conditions with a simple application of Newton's principles. Mark my word you will notice the improvement on your targets using windflags and have fun learning how to shoot all over again. Stephen Perry Angeles BR:fire