Crosswind Weighting Factor Explained by Bryan Litz

By Editor

Bryan Litz, founder of Applied Ballistics LLC, has a very informativeFacebook page where he regularly posts useful ballistics info and shooting tips. We recommend that Facebook users check out the Bryan Litz Ballistics Facebook page. Here is one interesting example from that page. Bryan analyzes the Crosswind Weighting Factor (CWF). The Crosswind Weighting Factor (CWF) shows where a bullet’s trajectory is most susceptible to wind. By understanding CWF, shooters can better predict how wind affects bullet flight, especially at extreme ranges, when the projectile has gone transonic.
Crosswind Weighting Factor (CWF) graphs show where bullet trajectories are most susceptible to wind.

Where does the wind have the most effect?
At the shooter?
At the target?
Halfway?
Bryan Litz explains: “Out through the supersonic range, the CWF is maximum at the shooter. However as the trajectory extends into transonic, the max CWF gets pushed down range. That’s because the greatest segments of lag time in the bullets trajectory are at transonic where the drag coefficient is maximized around Mach 1.” [Editor: So if your bullet stays fully supersonic during its flight to your target, you can normally expect the CWF to be highest at your shooting station. But once the projectile drops into transonic speeds then the

Source: Accurate Shooter