In this issue: UIT Mailing List Archives Effects of wind Match rifles no match for bandits Shooting for vision impaired??? ******************************************************************* Hi Michael, Sorry for the delay in the UIT archive. Been bogged down with course work. The archive is now available at http://www.cs.mun.ca/~mrt/uitlist.html There is a link to a text file containing each issue and the index of the issues discussed in each bulletin is listed along side the link. In addition I have an option there to E-mail you to simplify the process of being added to your list. If there is anything that I forget to include please let me know. [Ed. note - a big virtual pat on the back goes out to Gary for his effort.] ******************************************************************* Michael, Decided to take advantage of this and ask for some info. Over the last few years I have been very interested in finding out as much as I can on the effect of wind on a .22 bullet over 50m. I spent considerable time talking to as many shooters as possible but never really got to grips with it. The 10-4 line for 9-3 o'clock winds were obvious but I was concerned about what happens with a true head and tail wind. Imagine a constant wind strength but changing direction around the clock. Towards the target is 6, from the right is 3, head wind is 12 and left wind is 9 o'clock. I am of the opinion after much watching that the 12 and 6 winds drop and raise the shot directly up and down. The distance from the bull does not appear to be as much for 6 and 12 winds as for 3 or 9 winds. So in effect one gets an oval shaped dispersion with major axis on the 10-4 line and minor axis on the 1-7 line. Also by taking into account the drift high for a 3 wind and drift low for a 9 wind, the rise and fall for the head and tail winds and the deflection horizontally for the 9 and 3 winds, one finds that the maximum elevation occurs with a 5 oclock wind and the max drop occurs with a 11 o'clock wind. I analysed this on a Math/graphics program once and was startled to find this max rise and fall NOT being the 6 and 12 winds! The corrollary to all this is the other interesting aspect that winds from differing quarters cause more of less spread of the group. For instance winds fom the 3-6 and 9-12 quarters appear to give less dispersion to a group than winds from the 12-3 and 6-9 quarters. This you can see if you plot the oval as mentioned above. The wind from the 3-6 quarter means that the group is from 10 to 12 on the plot whereas the winds from the 12-3 give a group spread from 6 to 10 on the plot. the first spread being smaller than the 2nd. I will be willing to send the plot of the oval that I worked out on the math package if anyones interested. Anyway my query is that I have not seen any literature that helps me with this interesting behaviour and I want to hear from people as to what they think on the matter. Ross Mason Wellington, New Zealand [Ed. note - many incorrectly believe this to be the Magnus Effect, which deals with the spinning of the bullet and air pressure. However, a professional ballistician wrote a nice rebuttal to this a year ago. He was involved in an extensive study for the USST and discovered that the deflection is actually a 9:30-3:30 line (not an ellipse like you suggest). Also interesting to note is in the graphs provided of actual data done using Eley Tenex that the 6 and 12 winds have virtually no effect on the POI. What I find interesting is that for a 10mph wind, the POI has 5 distinct groups in a line (2/3/4, 1/5, 6/12, 7/11, and 8/9/10) while no groups are present for 20mph. I wonder why that is?] ******************************************************************* Editor - While unrelated to the purpose of this list, I find the article below another testament against gun control. Armed Biathletes Scare Off Bandits THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Four Highway bandits got the shock of their lives when a band of armed biathletes showed up to rescue their victims, Itar-Tass said Thursday. The incident occurred near Warsaw as the national teams from Russia and Belarus were returning from Slovakia and last week's world championship in the biathalon, a sport that combines skiing and shooting. According to Itar-Tass, Belarussian coach Konstantin Vaigin and his Russian counterpart, Gennady Ramensky, were riding in a car ahead of their athletes when four men in a truck forced them off the road and demanded money. The coaches pretended to plea for better terms, stalling for time until their teams caught up to them. Moments later, the bus rolled up and the biathletes poured out and "had it out" with the bandits, said the report, which did not elaborate. After the biathletes began loading their rifles, the attackers "were seen running away for all they were worth," the news agency reported. ******************************************************************** I have been approached regarding a vision impaired person who is interested in target rifle shooting. Unfortunately I must admit a high degree of ignorance in this aspect, though I have had some involvement with wheelchair shooters. I had read an article (about 5 years ago) re shooting for the blind which described the use of sonics. If you have any info or contacts or suggestions which might lead me down the right track I would be most appreciative. Graham Pascoe State Coaching Director South Australian Smallbore and Air Rifle Association ******************************************************************** End of UIT Mailing List #21 Michael Ray - Systems Engineer Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. Rifle Coach The Olympic Shooting Page - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1190/ Michael Ray - Systems Engineer Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. Rifle Coach UIT Shooting Page - http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1190/index.htm