Editing Shooting range (section)

===Wind flags===
Outdoor shooting ranges sometimes have wind flags, positioned between the firing line (where the shooters are) and the targets. Shooters observe these flags to make an estimate of wind speed, which is then converted into lateral minute of angle point of aim corrections or, alternatively, windage holdoff corrections.

The flag method is the most common method used to estimate wind speed. A flag blowing in the wind will naturally blow away from the flagpole, with the angle of the bottom of the flag to the flagpole increasing with increasing windspeed. To estimate the wind speed in mph, the angle in degrees between the bottom of the flag to the flagpole at the mid-range position between the shooter and the target is divided by 4. For example, an angle of 60 degrees between the bottom of a flag and a flagpole would be estimated as a {{convert|15|mph|km/h|0}} windspeed.<ref name="Sniper Training">{{cite journal|title=Sniper Training|journal= Field Manual |number= 32–10|date= 17 August 1994|pages= 3–31}}</ref>

The clock method is then used to determine full value, half value, or no value corrections in a minute of angle for this wind. Aligning the target at the 12 o'clock position or direction, with the 6 o'clock direction being directly behind the shooter, winds at 3 or 9 o'clock are equated to full value, winds at 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 o'clock are equated to half value, and winds at 12 and 6 o'clock are equated to no value.
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The minute of angle correction (full value) is then commonly estimated as ((Range [meters] / 100) × Wind [mph]) / ''C'', where ''C'' is a constant. The constant ''C'' equals 15 for ranges from 100 to 500 meters, 14 for 600 meters, 13 for 700–800 meters, 12 for 900 meters, and 11 for 1,000 meters.
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For full-value winds, this full windage correction is used. For half-value winds, the minute of correction in windage given by this formula is halved; for no-value winds, no minute of angle correction in windage is required.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Sniper Training|journal= Field Manual |number= 32–10|date= 17 August 1994|pages= 3–34}}</ref>

Multiple flags are required for two reasons. First, the wind speed closest to the midpoint of the range has the greatest effect on the projectile.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Sniper Training|journal= Field Manual |number= 32–10|date= 17 August 1994|pages= 3–32}}</ref> In addition, the wind at one part of the range will not always be the same at another part.

Wind flags are not always actual flags, sometimes streamers are used, small triangle flags, or even pinwheels. Factors such as the range length and expected strength of the wind determine the best type of flag to use. When no flags are available, a small leaf or another small light object can be dropped from shoulder height, and the object is then pointed at by the shooter; the angle between his arm and his torso can provide an equivalent wind speed estimation as a wind flag, although it will not be at the mid-range location along the bullet's trajectory.<ref name="Sniper Training"/>