Wind meter

[Poe]

I am getting into longer range hunting and I think my next purchase needs to be a wind meter. I am thinking of getting a kestrel but I don’t know which one to buy. I don’t want to buy the most expensive one around if I’m not going to use half of the features but I also don’t want cheap out and wish I got a better one. What do you think is the bottom end that is still worth buying

 

[NeedleCrook]

By no means an expert. But if you buy a 5700, it’s like $450, it has link so you can pair it to a rangefinder like the Leica or sig. and has most of the options you want on it, then if you decide you want to upgrade to the 5700 elite- which is $750, it’s a $300 software upgrade. So you’re not out any money other than the cable to Connect to a laptop.

I havnt looked into the 5700X.

But I would definitely recommend one with link,

 

[TaperPin]

P

I am getting into longer range hunting and I think my next purchase needs to be a wind meter. I am thinking of getting a kestrel but I don’t know which one to buy. I don’t want to buy the most expensive one around if I’m not going to use half of the features but I also don’t want cheap out and wish I got a better one. What do you think is the bottom end that is still worth buying

By all means get one that links, talks to satellites, dvd, Bluetooth, dual floppy drive, hard drive, panavision, oled, extra sauce - the whole works.

Depending on where and how you tend to use it, some folks get by really well with a simple wind number. Estimating wind out in front of you is the hard part, so the number off the gauge isn’t absolute. Of course everyone has a wind meter, but I’ll bet only half the folks take it with them every time. I have a cheap $30 one similar to the Caldwell and figure I’ll replace it when it craps out. My engineer friend says the electronics for a simple wind reading are as basic as a circuit can be, so if you don’t need fancy, cheap can work pretty good.

Back a decade before Kestrels were born, in 1985 I started using a Dwyer wind meter with a little white styrofoam ball that floats inside along the scale and mine still works today. Heck, they still make ‘em. I keep mine in the truck - if a meth head breaks in they will see that, feel sorry for me, and leave a $20 bill.

Imagine that, Fudds had an old school wind meter that worked pretty good.

 

[Okie_Poke]

Depending on where and how you tend to use it, some folks get by really well with a simple wind number. Estimating wind out in front of you is the hard part, so the number off the gauge isn’t absolute. Of course everyone has a wind meter, but I’ll bet only half the folks take it with them every time. I have a cheap $30 one similar to the Caldwell and figure I’ll replace it when it craps out. My engineer friend says the electronics for a simple wind reading are as basic as a circuit can be, so if you don’t need fancy, cheap can work pretty good.

I am looking at something like this, mostly as a learning tool, but want to be able to trust the output. Do you trust what your $30 cheapo wind meter tells you? My experience with a Caldwell chronograph is that I could usually trust it but that little bit left me paranoid until I just gave up and upgraded. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[hereinaz]

I would find a basic Kestrel used off eBay. And sell it when done. It’s a cheap rental. Better than buying junk, questioning it, and then sticking it in a junk drawer.

 

[TaperPin]

I am looking at something like this, mostly as a learning tool, but want to be able to trust the output. Do you trust what your $30 cheapo wind meter tells you? My experience with a Caldwell chronograph is that I could usually trust it but that little bit left me paranoid until I just gave up and upgraded. Thanks for your feedback.

My cheap meter is plenty accurate enough for anything I’ll use it for and it agrees with the old school non-electric floating ball meter. It’s used more to calibrate my guesses, than something that would get used in real time for a shot at big game. I have it on varmint hunts, the range and when out shooting rocks, but it’s not a usual part of my big game pack list.

If you are packing the wind meter on hunts, it makes sense to buy a brand that’s more moisture resistant than a super cheap model. I don’t worry about my cheapy and will replace it with something better if it craps out.

Other than wide open spaces, wind calls have so much error due to terrain, that I don’t take guys seriously when they are trying to input wind at the shooter to a tenth of a mph and ignoring what is likely to be happening down range.

 

[Wrench]

Keith Glasscock had one from Amazon that was omni directional and picked up lower than the kestrel. If you just want the speed...that's a cheap entry.

I fought off the kestrel for a long time and now it is one of the first things I tell new to long range guys to buy......because it's worth it. A 5700 linked to bins is like buying a time machine when hunting. It easily pulls 3 seconds off my shot.

 

[TaperPin]

I am looking at something like this, mostly as a learning tool, but want to be able to trust the output. Do you trust what your $30 cheapo wind meter tells you? My experience with a Caldwell chronograph is that I could usually trust it but that little bit left me paranoid until I just gave up and upgraded. Thanks for your feedback.

I may be the only person on the internet that will also recommend the ridiculously simple Dwyer wind meter. Mine is over 3 decades old and works identically to the exact same model made today. These have been a part of the firefighting field weather kit since at least the early 1980’s. Kestrels were originally designed as a replacement for the Dwyer, but the Dwyer is hanging in there because of its lower cost. The only moving part is the little white ball - wind blows in a little hole and pushes the ball up - boring in its simplicity. With the red nipple on top covered with a finger tip the high speed scale can be used.