Firing in Wind

Wind is an obivous obstacle to accuracy for both ballistics and marksmanship. Let's address some marksmanship solutions to the effects of wind.

1. Wind blows the body like a kite. Pitching back and forth destroys accuracy, which requires sighting adjustments to made within hundreths of an inch. The body will tilt at the hinges. Your hinges are your ankles, knees, and hips. The hips are the most sturdy, the ankles the least. Under normal conditions, the proper marksman will have feet, knees, hips, and shoulders aligned. In windy conditions, this alignment leads to greater movement. So, in a breeze, we simply cant out toes inward. This throws the ankles and knees out of alignment, minimizing the pitch caused by all but the strongest winds in which marksmanship may be attempted. When the toes are canted slightly inward, the hips become the lowest hinge, and that is like shooting from a seated position. Under perfect conditons, we avoid canting or twisting the body to reduce muscular movement, but in the wind, its necessary compromise.

2. Wind equals time. Times equals fatigue. Fatigue equals poor marksmanship. Keep yourself to a 1.5 second limit (marksman) or 2 second limit (novice) on acquiring sighting and firing in windy conditions. If you miss the window, lower the weapon, wait a second or two, and retry. Rushing equals missing, so why bother?

I wish all a Merry Christmas. Thanks for making 2013 such a great year for The Perfect Pistol Shot. The blogs have been kind, and its no small thing that an unknown author from a small publisher could hit #1 in shooting books based only on word-of-mouth. Thanks, friends.