I was hoping you all could give me some ideas for this.  I plan on picking up a Kestrel (just the 1000, I'm poor) to use for determining wind velocity. I can't quite afford the higher end models that also give wind direction and I was looking for inexpensive and simple methods to determine wind direction while at a match.  This will be for 3gun, and since I fly to some of the matches, it needs to be compact and simple. So short of throwing some dirt in the air and seeing which direction it falls, what might be a good option?  A bit of ribbon tape on a pencil? Whatcha got?

Also, can anyone recommend a good basic source of information on proper wind reading? I have Strelok on my phone, but I need to understand what information I'm plugging into it.

Thank you

Those little bubble making toys for kids can give you the wind direction if you need help.  

You can see THLR.NO using this method at 1:28 of this video

Hmmm.  That's an interesting idea, thanks.

Vegetation, mirage, feel on the face, etc... there's lots of methods. A little bottle of baby powder is handy for wind at the FFP. Honestly though, what I usually do in a match if possible is use the spotting scope and read the mirage to get an overall read. Doesn't always work as well as one would hope.

I haven't done 3-gun but it seems to me that the most distant targets wouldn't be so far or so small that high precision on the wind call will be necessary. I'm probably wrong on that. In any event, learn to read it and don't depend on gadgets or stuff you bring with you other than your eyes and skin.

I just pick up some fine dirt or grass and drop it from standing height and watch it float away.

you can also put flagging tape out at various distances to see the wind

Really only hunt, but I buy a bag of cotton balls. Tear one into small pieces and release from the stand. Amazing how dipsy doodle they can fly with every slight wind direction change. Your wife might be able to spare a couple for you test out.

I have started really paying attention to mirage and learning how to read it. Its slow going but I'm picking it up. Also started really paying attention to the guys shooting in front of me. Sounds obvious but I wasnt doing it and I see a lot of others who don't.  I shoot in the desert so if someone misses there is usually a perfect dust cloud to show you whats going on at the target. Spotting misses and adjusting is another simple thing I see that is not done. You'll see guys shoot three rounds in the same place to one side or the other.

 

I have a little analog wind meter that has a little ball in a tube to indicate the wind, but in looking for a pic I found that Caldwell makes a cheap anemometer for 30 bucks. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/483884/caldwell-wind-wizard-ii-electronic-hand-held-wind-meter

Edit: I have a Dwyer: http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/AirVelocity/Windmeters/PortableWindMeter

Fire up a stogy, or flick your bic.

It's what we do on the spray LZ.

WeatherFlow Meters and their ilk are going to kill non-tactical sensors.  Mostly due to price and a wider audience of shooters using these apps in casual applications-settings.
The Windmeter model simply plugs into your smartphone and does wind only.  Note: my advice for determining direction is to turn the sensor (while still plugged in to the phone) until the vanes stop spinning, and then start spinning again.  The direction along the side "seam" is the wind direction, after doing it once you'll see what I'm talking about.

The WeatherMeter model covers more than just wind speed.  It gives everything from barometric pressure to temp, but it lashes up to your phone or tablet using Bluetooth.  I prefer this model, I only wish that the company would make a model that plugs in like the wind sensor and still had the enhanced collection capabilities.  The Bluetooth feature can be cumbersome sometimes and the little blue LED status light is difficult to see in bright sunlight, I sometimes remove the rubber cover to mitigate this.

The nice part of the Bluetooth feature is that you can "remote" the sensor.  I prefer to use a camera tripod for my spotting scope, with the center column inverted.  So, while I'm glassing from under the tripod I mount the sensor to the top of the tripod, it helps keep my shooting position from getting cluttered.

Finally, you can plug in the data yourself, but more and more ballistics apps are taking the data directly now.  
BallisticsARC is one of the phone apps that best ties the data-take from the sensor, if you end up using one of the WeatherFlow sensors and don't use reticle holds I can strongly recommend it.


If you just want general speed and estimated direction, hunter or surveyor tape on a stick works.  You just have to know what the tape behavior means when you interpret it.

BallisticsARC and Strelok Pro both support the WeatherFlow Weather meter.
I have found the bluetooth model to function well. Just make sure you are only launching one app at a time to talk to the meter.
If you have the native app (Wind Meter for example), Strelok will not be able to talk to the meter until you kill the other app.
As Tweeter mentioned, the blue power light is just about useless in the sun.

My biggest problem with the WeatherMeter is that the temperature readings don't come to temperature fast enough. If you have it inside your house at 70 degrees, it can take a while to get to the outside temp.

I really like Strelok. You can type in known distances and get your solution directly (rather than just a table of values). It makes solution calculations very easy.

Tie a string, preferably with some texture to it (twine), to the end of your barrel and allow a 6" or 8" tail to hang down.  It's always there and it's simple.  This way, if you forget your field expedient string wind meter, you've forgotten your rifle and aren't going to need a wind call.  Even when you're not shooting, you'll be able to look at your rifle on a rack or table and still see the wind.

Razzman how far are the rifle shots in those 3 gun matches?

I like this...



Or....


Eat mexican the night before. Fart and see which direction people run away from you.

methods like this are one of many sources of input.  just keep in mind that the wind velocity and sometimes even direction 6 inches off the ground is not the same as it is 6 feet off the ground.   i'd much rather simply stand up and feel which way it's blowing.   The string off the barrel will lie to you more often than not

Learn to read the mirage, accurate up 12mph, and use the direction that youre feeling as a baseline and attempt to take in account of terrain features as this is whats going to change the wind direction and speed. Determining wind direction at your position isnt hard, down range however, knowing how the wind (fluid) reacts to the terrain (change directions, increase or decrease in velocity).

If someone is using an older version of Strelok Pro, they'll need to uninstall it and re-install to get the work-around for the WeatherMeter.
NOTE: If you un-install it, make sure your data is saved using paper, DropBox, Googe Drive, or some other means.  An uninstall will wipe your ballistics data.

I was able to see mirage with binos even at Steel Safari, boiling slowly straight up.

Another great indicator is misses from people in front of you if the stages are canned and easily gamed, not blind.

For 3-gun, if everything is within 300yds, you shouldn't have to do much other than favor left or right on the far steel, unless the wind gets past 10mph or the targets are tiny, and they don't normally put tiny PRS-type targets out at 3-gun matches.

Experience reading the wind is the short answer though.  It's an artform and science that can be taken to higher levels than one might think, pushing into the realm of meteorology.  That isn't necessary for 3-gun.

Vape

I think the CMP says smoking is only allowed behind the assembly line and off the catwalk; I wonder if they included vaping.

 

This.   Depending on the local topography and buildings, the wind where you are reading it may be vastly different from down range.    If you have a shed roof over your head, you may be getting turbulence and a back draft at the firing line that is not representative of down range wind.

I started this thread forever ago, and just noticed that it came back up.  First off, thanks for all of the great advice.  For those asking, the longest shot I've had at a 3-gun match was about 550 yards, but it was a big target--maybe a 14" square.  The typical "long shot" at a 3-gun match seems to be a 10" plate at 400.  As others have pointed out, barring a significant full value wind, most wind calls have seem to have been just favoring one side of the plate.  Strelok has helped, as I could plug in numbers for full/half value wind at distance, and see that the deflection was only (whatever) 6" or so, and in my mind, I could relate that into "well, the plate is 10" wide, so if I hold at the edge of the plate, there's 5" right there."  That made it easier.