Recommendations on wind flags

[xdshooter]

Hi, looking for wind flag recommendations and where to get them.

 

[Hammerhead]

www.brflags.com

 

[artbosco]

Hi, looking for wind flag recommendations and where to get them.

Rick Graham's flags are great and so are Smiley Hensley's. I've got 5 of Rick's and 5 of Smiley's. You've got Rick's site address above, brflags.com.

Smiley's address is 1670 N. Eastside Hwy., Elkton, VA 22827. Phone: 540-298-8368. Tony Boyer has been using Smiley's flags since the beginning of time/forever. Most of the flags you see pictured in Mr. Boyer's new book are Smiley's. Either one will serve you well.

 

[BoydAllen]

Rick's workmanship and materials are second to none.

 

[FergusBailey]

Once you understand how the BRT wind flags work, they are very hard to beat. Talk to Butch Lambert for more details: http://www.shadetreeea.com/windFlags.html

 

[artbosco]

Once you understand how the BRT wind flags work, they are very hard to beat. Talk to Butch Lambert for more details: http://www.shadetreeea.com/windFlags.html

For $109.99 each, there had better be a lot of understanding attached.

 

[BoydAllen]

One thing that I have noticed at local sanctioned benchrest matches is that daisy wheels have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur. I understand that this may be a regional thing, but I thought it worth mentioning.

 

[Laurie]

+ 1 on Rick Graham - excellent service and quality. He doesn't do stands but directs you towards Bill Dittman who makes a very good telescoping pole & spike model that Rick's vane flag assembly fits. Bill is another guy I found offered a great service and was very helpful.

One thing that I have noticed at local sanctioned benchrest matches is that daisy wheels have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur. I understand that this may be a regional thing, but I thought it worth mentioning.

Boyd,
When I ordered a set from Rick around 18 months ago, he told me the daisy wheel bits were unobtainable, so he no longer does them.

Laurie,
York, England

 

[butchlambert]

Outdoorsman,
The BRT flags have wires that run to your gonads. You pull the trigger when it hits you.
If you feel nothing, they are as useless as the other flags because you can't see what they are telling you.


Butch

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

One thing that I have noticed at local sanctioned benchrest matches is that daisy wheels have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur. I understand that this may be a regional thing, but I thought it worth mentioning.

I can see why, with most flags using a heavy $3 garden daisy made for decoration or to run moles out of the garden. It is IMO a poor choice for a device being used to show velocity and wind direction. That's why the better flags don't use garden daisies, but something designed with the job at hand in mind. What we need is something very lightweight and multi-colored, front to rear, that turns in a very subtle breeze and gives instant feedback as to the speed and direction of the wind, and that slows like it has brakes in a letup....like a pinwheel I know of two different flag makers that use such a pinwheel design.--Mike Ezell

 

[butchlambert]

Mike knows of what he is speaking. A good multiple colored pin wheel starts instantly in a light breeze and stops as if it has brakes when the wind stops. A daisy is a flywheel. It is slow to start and is slow to stop. A good pinwheel has 3 colors that will help you to see angles.
Butch

 

[Nodak7mm]

The BRT flags have wires that run to your gonads. You pull the trigger when it hits you.
Butch

I gotta get a set of these.......

Another flag to consider is the ones made by Dave Halblom, with daisy wheels or not, found here: http://www.flyingfishfundamentals.com/

I am not a BR guy but have two of these, to try and better my skills as shooter. I really like em and working with Dave was a hoot, heck of nice guy and easy/fun to communicate (bs) with.

Rod

 

[rbell]

Mikes flags are a great choice ,bought 7 from him lately and like them,going to buy more.Ricky Bell

 

[artbosco]

One thing that I have noticed at local sanctioned benchrest matches is that daisy wheels have pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur. I understand that this may be a regional thing, but I thought it worth mentioning.

Boyd:

It must be regional.

I think this is worth mentioning also.

I actually added Smiley's daisy wheeled flags [after having used Rick's flags for a couple years] after using a set loaned to me at a match.

The daisy wheel offered me two additional elements of awareness, [besides directional change and tail movement] that I didn't have with Rick's.

Noise from the wheel and it's highly visible spin rate, increased my awareness of changing conditions more readily than just tail movement, up or down, and the directional change of the flag.

When the wind picked up or died down, I not only could see it in the spinning wheel, and accompanied by the tail movement, I could easily hear it too.

My vision and hearing of condition changes, was actually enhanced by the wheel!

Now I have Four elements instead of Two: direction change from the flag [visual], wind speed from tail movement [visual], noise from increased or decrease in wheel movement [audible], and an added wind speed indicator from the wheel spin rate [visual].

 

[artbosco]

Outdoorsman,
The BRT flags have wires that run to your gonads. You pull the trigger when it hits you. If you feel nothing, they are as useless as the other flags because you can't see what they are telling you. Butch

Another intelligent reply from Butch!

 

[CJ6]

Another vote for David Halblom's flags. I have a set of 3 and LEARN (hopefully ???)every time I use'em.

 

[rayporter]

i think butch just let the cat outa the bag. his pard, mr Gore, aka 'the flag wisperer' listens to what the flags are saying for a reason.

i wonder if that is where a screamer came from?

 

[Frankr]

I bought a set of Orlando wind flags on a recommendation from another shooter.
set of 4 with a carry tote. spikes,poles,flags,carry tote for around $200
I like them,very "sensitive",even if not enough wind to spin the wheel they are turning in the direction the wind is comming from.
only complaint i have with them is they are kind of small, great for 100 yrds but getting out to 200 and 300 i think i could use some bigger ones,but for my first set of flags i ever had i like them and they seem very well made.
http://www.orlandowindflags.com

 

[voldoc02]

I have several of the above mentioned flags and in their own right
are very good=
However if you want the "Best of the Best"
have Mike Ezell make you a set of his=
very light weight yet durable=
very very sensitive to subtle changes =
highly visible= even at 200 + yds=
high high precision for all us anal retenative shooters=
(g)=
I have a set of four and plan on four more
for my private Shooting Range on my farm=

that is all=
Doc Stone

Mike's contact info=

Neon Wind Flags
Mike Ezell
270-542-6022
Auburn,Ky.42206
mwezell@logantele.com

 

[BoydAllen]

Outdoorsman,
I have a full set of Hood flags, with all the parts and pieces. There are daisy wheels, counterweights for no daises, small vanes, big vanes, ribbons, and surveyor's tape. I have compared all the combinations for responsiveness, and to other flags. I give up a little quickness with the weight of dual vanes (which I trade for being able to see quartering angles better), but save some weight by using the shafts that were meant for the daisies, with the counterweight that was sized for them, with the shaft extended all the way. It balances. We typically have light winds that can be very switchy and inconsistent down the range. The Visalia range is literally down in a rectangular hole, with berms piled up, almost vertically on three sides. In these situations, responsiveness is the key, and since the flags so often disagree, and switch so quickly, conditions often favor the "picker". This requires remembering what a condition looked like, and for this, keeping it simple works the best for me. I started out with daisies on my flags, but with flags in such constant disagreement, and forming such complex patterns , one can easily go into information overload. I just spoke with a new shooter that shot his first agg, that was made up entirely of teen groups. only to come in second at the yardage. The day before he shot a rang record at 200 in sporter. I think that he said that it was a .105. I guess the point of all of this is that the conditions in different parts of the country probably favor different wind reading equipment.
Boyd