OK, so we have a bit of a stalemate with the target cams, let's bring in another bit of technology that is looking to make its way into the US LR game. Electronic windflags, or wind stations that relay information back to a central display sitting beside the shooter on the bench. How do you all feel about that sort of technology? The wind probe has existed for some time now and many of us have shot with them as they are visible to all and are accurate and useful to a point. But individual electronic readouts to a solitary shooter, how do we feel about that? Now these things work in two ways, wind speed in mph and precise wind direction. Two or maybe three of these stations can be placed at varying distances out from the firing line all returning constant feed information. No doubt these things could be refined to show go, nogo, green, red etc and become the shooting version of what the Deadenbare was to drag racing before it was banned.
I have such a station myself where i had the restrictive timer limit bypassed to be constant readout. I have had it for years now and have never used it in any form of competition, but through some testing with a rimfire as a test against conventional windflags, i will take the electronic device straight up now without any reservation. With time and practice i am sure you could gain a huge edge over any current wind flags in use. Most current windflags are next to useless when the wind velocity is more than 15 knots and the gap between 10 and 15 knots is very difficult to accurately gauge. This is where the electronic unit really shines. At slower wind speeds the two are much of a muchness but at the higher wind velocity all you do is watch the direction and speed on the readout, pull the trigger when they coincide to what you want and the group forms like it should. Now i know this was a rimfire at close range and LR is something altogether different, but i can see an edge here. Forget the cams, these wind stations could be a very real and quite large advantage if put into use during competition.
Now i see it mentioned that the 10 rules on the Fly target are our guideline, yet windflags are used at every Fly match i have ever attended, but nowhere on those ten rules does it mention or define a windflag, or target cams to be used or not used for that matter? I have also seen mentioned on a few posts the term "an unfair advantage". This term seems to have made its way over from the FClass ranks where it can be used to protest a perceived advantage over the loosers, assuming you just won with some brilliant technological breakthrough. This term has no place in BR or any other shooting form, so before we shoot down any electronic device used, let's have a look at what is used in the shooting ranks around the world now. There are many shooters using weather stations to determine DA so loads can be adjusted during the course of the day. Wind velocity meters are used in High Power matches in the US. Sure the weather stations aren't in front of the firing point, which by the way would be useless as they need to be visible while you are reloading, but nevertheless they are present now and could be seen as an unfair advantage by some. So let's be careful about condemning something while other electronic devices are already in use. The argument that a DA meter has no direct feedback and you still have to shoot your group or score is in my view not valid as a change of 20 points of humidity is going to really screw around with your load, and eventually your groups, so having knowledge to counter that can only come from a DA meter which you have in front of you while someone else has no idea of any change at all.
I do not have a problem with any technology, and the target cams i do see as a bonus for ranges for SIGHTING purposes only. But to think that they are an advantage to scoring is misguided in my view. So i personally cannot see the cost justifying a real gain when 20 something firing points would have to be catered for at a range like Canberra, but where there is an already existing working system of sighting. But having said that, the use of electronic wind devices is another thing altogether. This is a real gain that a cam will never deliver and as such should need more attention as the likelihood of this sort of stuff appearing is very real as they are available now in some very simple forms like basic weather stations to some rather more expensive units that are very accurate. Some of the marine units are just absolutely brilliant bits of kit. Really if you know the ranges around the country well enough, one or two wind stations placed where they are most likely to give useful feedback is probably all that is needed. Townsville would most likely only require one in the gully when shooting Fly and that would be it. Get that part of the range right and the rest falls into place. Well most times.
Jethro Bodine Loose Cannon.
