puddleglum
FNG
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2023
- Messages
- 26
Hello all,
I moved to the family farm in Eastern WI about two years ago. I got a deer out of the back 40 new years eve (my first deer, at 45 years old) hunting with my cousin using his 6.5 PRC. I went out a few times earlier in the year, and have been paying more attention to the weather here. I never really considered how windy it is: 10mph winds are almost the norm, 15mph is common, 20mph is not at all uncommon. Also, the ideal spot for me to put a stand to minimize scent across the hunting area puts the prevailing wind nearly at a 90 degree cross from my left. (see attached diagram - dimensions are in yards)
I have a 16" 338 Federal Tikka I have been working on, and bought an AB Raptor suppressor in 338. My plan was to hand load, learn my drops, and keep my shots inside 200 yards. Now that I am more aware of just how windy it actually is here, I am wondering if something shooting high BC bullets wouldn't be a better option since the wind drift is quite noticeable with the 338 Fed. The 338 could be relegated to hunting less windy locales, woods hunting, etc.
Obviously I need to be aware of the wind no matter what but, with a 20mph cross wind, even at 100 yards, there is noticable drift. A bullet that slips the wind just seems like a better option for hunting here on the farm and, especially, might minimize variance from wind gusts. The 338 Fed has quite a bit more drift from 10-15mph or 15-20mph than something like a 270 or 6.5 Creedmore. Seems like it would minimize mis-judging.
Any thoughts on how to deal with this windy of conditions? Am I right in thinking about looking at a cartridge shooting a faster higher BC bullet?
Thanks -pg
I moved to the family farm in Eastern WI about two years ago. I got a deer out of the back 40 new years eve (my first deer, at 45 years old) hunting with my cousin using his 6.5 PRC. I went out a few times earlier in the year, and have been paying more attention to the weather here. I never really considered how windy it is: 10mph winds are almost the norm, 15mph is common, 20mph is not at all uncommon. Also, the ideal spot for me to put a stand to minimize scent across the hunting area puts the prevailing wind nearly at a 90 degree cross from my left. (see attached diagram - dimensions are in yards)
I have a 16" 338 Federal Tikka I have been working on, and bought an AB Raptor suppressor in 338. My plan was to hand load, learn my drops, and keep my shots inside 200 yards. Now that I am more aware of just how windy it actually is here, I am wondering if something shooting high BC bullets wouldn't be a better option since the wind drift is quite noticeable with the 338 Fed. The 338 could be relegated to hunting less windy locales, woods hunting, etc.
Obviously I need to be aware of the wind no matter what but, with a 20mph cross wind, even at 100 yards, there is noticable drift. A bullet that slips the wind just seems like a better option for hunting here on the farm and, especially, might minimize variance from wind gusts. The 338 Fed has quite a bit more drift from 10-15mph or 15-20mph than something like a 270 or 6.5 Creedmore. Seems like it would minimize mis-judging.
Any thoughts on how to deal with this windy of conditions? Am I right in thinking about looking at a cartridge shooting a faster higher BC bullet?
Thanks -pg
