Fire Safety

Shooting at long distance is part art, part science, and part magic.

But you can make it a lot easier if you just science the hell out of it.

Weather meters sound super boring, I know–but they are actually one of the most important pieces of equipment that a shooter can own.

With one tool you can gather an incredible amount of science, add a little magic, and predict the future… of where your shot will go.

Sounds awesome, right?

It’s time to demystify weather meters, so let’s take a look at the whole range of Kestrel Meters and look at how the right one can change your shooting life.

What Is A Kestrel Weather Meter?

Put simply, a Kestrel is a tool that (depending on the model) can gather data on the local weather and runs software that lets it use that data to give you critical information that you need as a shooter to tell how your bullet travels to the target.

I literally cannot list all of the data points that the proper Kestrel will gather for you, but here are some of the big ones:

• Wind speed
• Wind direction
• Humidity
• Dew point
• Temperature
• Altitude

Get a powerful enough model and you’ll also get some very fancy software for ballistics.

Software that can take your data points and give you exact drop curves, tell you how much to dial in MOA or MILs for both elevation and windage, and a whole lot more.

And Why Do I Need This?

There is a lot of factors that come to play when you take a shot.

Most of these factors don’t make a large single impact on the bullet, but add them together and multiply them by the distance you’re shooting and these small factors can cause huge changes.

Without knowing the exact conditions you’re shooting in, you can miss by feet at long enough range.

If you’re only shooting 100 yards or less, chances are you don’t really need something like a weather meter.

But if you’re commonly looking to take shots at 400, 500, 1,000, 1,500 yards or more–then you really need a weather meter.

I Don’t Need Skynet Telling Me How To Shoot!

Sure, you can make accurate hits without a weather meter. People have been doing it for a long time and people still do it today.

But like any good technology, a weather meter makes it a lot easier, a lot more predictable, and a lot more repeatable.

A good weather meter, accurate data on your rifle and cartridge, and you can make first-round long-range hits anywhere in the world. Try doing that with just a finger in the wind.

Best Kestrels for Shooting & Hunting

Kestrel was kind enough to send us a whole range of weather meters designed for shooters.

I’ve gotten to play with them for a few months now and I’m totally blown away with how useful and awesome they really are.

I’ll go over each one, and I’ll give you my recommendations on what you might want to choose depending on what kind of shooter you are, but first let’s go over some general information that was common across all of the models.

General Information

All of the Kestrel weather meters are durable.

I’ve dropped them from chest height onto concrete multiple times and none of them showed more wear than a mild scratch to the outer casing.

All of them come with simplistic packaging, but they include an Energizer Lithium-Ion battery ready to be installed–a huge win in my book when a brand doesn’t cheap out on the battery they send you!

All of these units are well made.

They each feel solid in the hand, have good firm controls, are well sealed, and exude quality when you use them.

The displays are easy to read, the controls take a little getting used to but aren’t bad, the buttons are firm and positive.

I really don’t have any complaints about any of them. Nothing happened to make me dislike them, just some models have features that make me like it more than its friends.

Now the one-by-one, in order of price low to high.

1. Kestrel Drop D3 Ballistics

Maybe I’m not the market for the Drop D3, but I honestly don’t know who is the market.

The Kestrel Drop D3 is the smallest and cheapest units offered from Kestrel for shooters, it is a passive tracker that takes snapshots of the weather around it… but it only tracks a few data points

• Temperature
• Relative Humidity
• Dew Point Temp.
• Heat Stress Index
• Station Pressure
• Density Altitude

It has no display, so to access the information you need the Kestrel app on your phone or you can export the data to an excel type program.

While some of these data points are useful, some of them aren’t (for shooters), and it is missing the most critical: wind.

The wind is the second most impactful force on your bullet, the first being gravity–but since gravity is constant it’s easy to account for.

Temperature and humidity will change your ballistics, but they are fairly minor forces. Running the numbers in a ballistic calculator, even using extreme spreads, the changes are minor at best inside of say 700 yards.

Station pressure is a bit more important and when combined with extreme spreads in temp and humidity can make a major change in ballistics.

However, if you know what altitude you’re going to be shooting at or at least know roughly, you can make a decent guess at this without the Drop D3.

Of course, you can still use the Drop D3 with a ballistic app to give you a firing solution–but that requires having your phone with you and that kind of defeats the point of having the lightest model… right?

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Thankfully, the next level up in price gives us a lot more options and some really nice added features while also not costing that much more.

2. Kestrel 2700 Ballistics Weather Meter

If you’re a hunter or just getting your feet wet in long range shooting or maybe you’re just on a tight budget, the Kestrel 2700 is my top pick.

It has the core of what you need most but keeps the price down by omitting the fancy stuff.

Data gathered:

• Station Pressure (Absolute Pressure)
• Temperature
• Wind Direction
• Wind Speed/Air Speed

Less data than the Drop D3, but much more useful. This model feels really built for shooting now!

These environmental data points give you the stuff you really need and the 2700 can interface with Kestrel’s ballistic app, this lets you do a LOT such as setting up a custom profile, G1 and G7 ballistics solver, and more.

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Feed it all of the information, and it will tell you what adjustments you need to make to hit your target.

Limitations

This is the base model so it doesn’t come with all the bells. First, you’re limited to one gun profile.

And there is no backlighting.

And likely the biggest of all: you’re limited in range. Roughly 800 meters.

Missing on the 2700 are things like spindrift correction, Coriolis correction, muzzle velocity-temperature correction, zero hight/zero offset, and some more finer points of magic that make predictions past 800 much more accurate.

You can still hit things further than 800 meters, but it won’t be as accurate as with some of the better Kestrel models.

If you’re shooting to fill a freezer, close enough might be fine–but if you’re shooting for points, these missing features could matter a lot.

What’s your take on the Kestrel 2700?

3. Kestrel 5700 Ballistics Weather Meter

Now we’re into the money and looking at a tool that is some meat on it!

Looking at the hardware, the 5700 is the same as the 5700 Elite, the difference is purely software.

A huge plus is that Kestrel will let you upgrade the base model 5700 to the Elite model by just paying the difference.

The 5700 gives you everything the 2700 did but it also gives you those finer points I mentioned that makes things more accurate past 800 meters. It also comes with a backlight, a huge plus in low-light or deep shadow.

Packing on more features you now get 3 gun/bullet profiles instead of 1, a basic ballistics data table, and full environmental data (heat index, dewpoint, etc.)

If you’re using a MIL scope, it can also do the math for you to estimate your range to target–this isn’t as good as a proper laser range finder, but it’s handy in a pinch.

var PPT_APS = PPT_APS || {};
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If you want to shoot further than 800 meters regularly or want the best hardware while saving money before making the jump to the Elite software, this model is great.

4. Kestrel 5700 with Hornady 4DOF

This and the Elite are tricky beasts.

Again, this version of the 5700 has all the hardware of the base model. What it brings extra to the table is the Hornady 4DOF software.

Hornady 4DOF is a proprietary ballistic calculator developed by Hornady and is designed to kick major long-range ass.

Hornady put a huge amount of work and continues to put a huge amount of work into the 4DOF software. The super technical information is too long for me to write here, but there are two major highlights.

First, this was the first publicly available calculator to determine the vertical shift of a bullet in a crosswind. But the huge talking point is their shift away from using a Ballistic Coefficient to using a Drag Coefficient.

Basically, using Doppler radar and a LOT of math, Hornady has calculated the exact drag versus velocity curve for every projectile in the 4DOF library (a huge selection of bullets).

What they’ve done is honestly a huge amount of work… and they’ve found a way to package it in an easy to use, easy to understand manner that really delivers a lot to you.

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I’ve found their software to be intuitive, useful, and pleasing. It isn’t as complete as the Elite software, but it covers a huge range of bullets and cartridges while also simplifying the process a little to make it much faster and easier to set up.

Plus, since I shoot a lot of Hornady factory ammo and use a lot of Hornady bullets for handloading, having their super awesome software is handy since they know their bullets better than anyone.

5. Kestrel 5700 Elite Applied Ballistics

The moment you’ve all been waiting for–the Kestrel 5700 Elite with Applied Ballistics!

This is the top of the line weather meter.

A gold standard by which all others are judged. Hardware, it’s the same 5700 as before. But the software is nuclear space magic.

Before we talk Kestrel, we need to talk Applied Ballistics. If you haven’t heard of them, they are sort of the NASA of bullets. Or really, more like Space-X of bullets.

A huge amount of the science that long-range shooters have about ballistics, bullets, drag, and more comes from the work that AB has done. They are an R&D company, a software developer, an ammo manufacturer, and lab coats crunching numbers.

They are also the brains behind a host of groundbreaking and impressive products such as Sig Sauer’s BDX app, L3 STORM SLXE app, and multiple collaborations with DARPA.

A Kestrel Elite 5700 loaded with the Applied Ballistics software is the most powerful handheld ballistic weather tool you can own.

Besides powerful software, it also gives you access to a few more features like the Applied Ballistics Litz Custom Drag Model, 30 gun/bullet profiles, expanded ballistics data table, ability to make target cards, and Drop Scale Factor Calibration.

But… it all comes at a cost. First, this model isn’t cheap. Second, while the AB software is very powerful it is also very complex.

If you’re a newer long-range shooter, this can be incredibly intimidating and simply too many choices and too much science thrown at you at once.

This is one of the reasons why getting the base 5700 and then upgrading later is such an attractive option.

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But, if you’re a major shooter or looking to become one–this is the weather meter for you.

Kestrel Recommendations For You

Still on the fence what model to get? It’s okay, I know this is a lot to wade through (try reading 5 owner’s manuals for weather meters…). Based on my experience, here are my recommendations for you.

Mid to Long Range Hunter / Casual Plinker: Kestrel 2700.

If you’re only shooting inside of 1,000 meters for plinking and 800 or less for hunting, then this has 99% of what you need. It isn’t perfect, but it’s affordable and very useful.

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Long Range Enthusiast: Kestrel 5700 Base Model

You’re a long-range shooter that wants to take your game up a notch, maybe you shoot a few competitions and want to do more, maybe you just really like going out to long-range once a month or so and want to get the most out of it. Or maybe you just want to cheat a little.

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The 5700 gives you room to grow and is really the model I would recommend for most people. You can always turn this into the Elite down the road, but for now it gives you the tools you need to learn on without getting you too deep into the weeds.

Serious Competitor / Long Range Master: Kestrel 5700 Elite

If you want to “buy once, cry once” just get it over with and get the Elite.

If you’re looking to compete often or you enjoy trying a wide range of cartridges and loads, the Elite has the software and database to really let you do anything.

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For me, the big selling point is the 30 profiles–getting to set up that many different loads mean I can have a hunting, long-range, plinking, and match profile for each of my 3 or 4 main rifles all at the same time.

What About The Other Two?

The Drop D3 just doesn’t have the chops.

For an extra $50ish bucks, the 2700 is way more useful. Wind meter, not needing your phone with you, and just easier to use–the Kestrel 2700 beats the Drop D3 in every way possible for a tiny bump in price.

The 5700 with Hornady 4DOF, I don’t dislike it. In fact, I really like it and it’s normally the one I grab when I hit the range. But it has a couple of major limitations.

The lack of profiles hurts, only 3 Vs. the Elite’s 30. It’s also about $100 more than the base 5700 but can’t be upgraded to the Elite.

So with that in mind, why do I like it? Because it is easy.

And I shoot a lot of Hornady. Hornady Black, Hornady Match using ELD-M bullets, and Hornady American Gunner literally make up about 90% of my long-range ammo and so the 4DOF is perfect for my needs.

Coupled with the fact that it is just a bit easier and faster to use, and it works for me. But unless you find yourself in the same niche, I don’t think I would recommend it over the base 5700 or the 5700 Elite.

Conclusion

Any weather meter (even the Drop) is better than none. But the right one for you just depends on your shooting and how much you want to spend.

There are other models of Kestrel out there, some are discontinued and some are still in production.

But these cover the vast majority of what you will find on the market.

If you don’t have one, get one! Even if it is just the 2700, it will really help out.

What kind of long-range shooter are you? Are you going to “Buy Once, Cry Once”? Let us know in the comments! Another bit of kit you’ll need to shoot long range is a good spotting scope so make sure to take a look at the Best Spotting Scopes!

The post 5 Best Kestrel for Shooting & Hunting [Hands-On] appeared first on Pew Pew Tactical.

When I was about 10 years old, my Grandfather made my brother and I each a gift – a wooden maul for splitting wood. It’s made from a large 8″ diameter x 4-foot hickory log. I remember when I could barely lift it. It was a practical gift and a true working man’s tool. While I didn’t appreciate the work that went into carving it at the time, it was the perfect tool for crushing the enemies of my favorite GI Joe and He-Man warriors. Almost 35 years later, I still have that maul. It’s as good now as the day I received it. It’s stained and a little beat up, but it’s a great tool that reminds me that all gifts don’t have to be bought. Some of the best ones are made.

So today, my gift to you is to show you how to make a wooden mallet or maul of your own or for a gift.

From driving in tent stakes to pounding a wedge for splitting wood, a solid wooden hand mallet has countless uses around base camp. Not only is it useful, it’s a really fun project. Besides, having a mallet on hand is always a good idea and packing in a hammer isn’t fun. You can make your own in just a few minutes, while the bread is rising in the dutch oven. While these can be made as large as you’d want, the tutorial below shows one that is a perfect size for light duty pounding.

Start with a solid, seasoned log that is approximately 3-4″ in diameter x 12-15″ long. The first step is to saw in what’s called a “stop cut” to form the head of the mallet. Saw all the way around the log and leave the center of the log untouched. This untouched area will ultimately form the handle of the mallet. The excess will be trimmed or batoned away in the following steps. Remember, you can always make the stop cut deeper but you can never put wood back in. Start by making the stop cut a little more shallow than you think you will need, especially if this is your first mallet.

Next, begin to trim away the excess wood from the handle portion of the mallet. The stop cut will prevent you from accidentally splitting off the head portion of the mallet.

Continue to split and carve away wood from around the handle until it’s the desired diameter.

Once the handle is close to the diameter you’re wanting, simply finish it off by carving away any rough edges or splinters. A final coat of linseed oil or beeswax will protect the wood and keep your mallet in working order for years to come.

What uses can you think of for a wooden maul or mallet in the woods?

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

Creek

The post How to make a Wooden Mallet for Bushcraft & Survival appeared first on WillowHavenOutdoor Survival Skills.

Today it’s time for the expert council show. To ask a question for a show like this, just send an email to me at jack at thesurvivalpodcast.com with “TSPC Expert” in the subject line. Today on The Survival Podcast, the … Continue reading →

Which state offers the best opportunity for the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness? Are there any left for this pursuit? Or are they all turning “left”?

Original source: Where To Move If Your State Has Turned Too Far Left?

When I was about 10 years old, my Grandfather made my brother and I each a gift – a wooden maul for splitting wood. It’s made from a large 8″ diameter x 4-foot hickory log. I remember when I could barely lift it. It was a practical gift and a true working man’s tool. While I didn’t appreciate the work that went into carving it at the time, it was the perfect tool for crushing the enemies of my favorite GI Joe and He-Man warriors. Almost 35 years later, I still have that maul. It’s as good now as the day I received it. It’s stained and a little beat up, but it’s a great tool that reminds me that all gifts don’t have to be bought. Some of the best ones are made.

So today, my gift to you is to show you how to make a wooden mallet or maul of your own or for a gift.

From driving in tent stakes to pounding a wedge for splitting wood, a solid wooden hand mallet has countless uses around base camp. Not only is it useful, it’s a really fun project. Besides, having a mallet on hand is always a good idea and packing in a hammer isn’t fun. You can make your own in just a few minutes, while the bread is rising in the dutch oven. While these can be made as large as you’d want, the tutorial below shows one that is a perfect size for light duty pounding.

Start with a solid, seasoned log that is approximately 3-4″ in diameter x 12-15″ long. The first step is to saw in what’s called a “stop cut” to form the head of the mallet. Saw all the way around the log and leave the center of the log untouched. This untouched area will ultimately form the handle of the mallet. The excess will be trimmed or batoned away in the following steps. Remember, you can always make the stop cut deeper but you can never put wood back in. Start by making the stop cut a little more shallow than you think you will need, especially if this is your first mallet.

Next, begin to trim away the excess wood from the handle portion of the mallet. The stop cut will prevent you from accidentally splitting off the head portion of the mallet.

Continue to split and carve away wood from around the handle until it’s the desired diameter.

Once the handle is close to the diameter you’re wanting, simply finish it off by carving away any rough edges or splinters. A final coat of linseed oil or beeswax will protect the wood and keep your mallet in working order for years to come.

What uses can you think of for a wooden maul or mallet in the woods?

Remember, it’s not IF but WHEN,

Creek

The post How to make a Wooden Mallet for Bushcraft & Survival appeared first on WillowHavenOutdoor Survival Skills.

Snowshoeing in Kananaskis Country is a rewarding way to spend a winter day. Many of the trails are just an hour from Calgary, while others can be closer to two hours depending on road conditions. There’s a huge amount of variety – with respect to difficulty and terrain. Many of these trails fall into the dead easy category, but still they’re very beautiful. If you want a workout with some mountain slendour, you’ll have to gain some elevation. Chester Lake and Rawson Lake, as examples, reward with a fantastic mountain backdrop.

Enjoy these 9 trails – all personally tested and then go have some fun snowshoeing in Kananaskis Country.

Ribbon Creek Trails

The Ribbon Creek multi-use winter trail (snowshoeing, walking and fat biking) is perfect for an easy half-day outing. It’s only 3.7 kilometres one way with 60 metres of elevation gain.

For much of its length it follows the creek, crossing numerous bridges (five alone in the first kilometre all built since the 2013 flood) but it moves off into the woods away from the creek a couple of times as well.

There is also a section of trail, about 2 kilometres into the outing that you must share with cross-country skiers. Stay out of their tracks and yield to them.

Once you reach an open area with a set of bike racks you’re at the turn-around point. If you go beyond you’re into avalanche country.

As you can see in the photos below, dogs are permitted as long as they’re on a leash and you pick up after them.

Finding the Ribbon Creek Trailhead

Take Highway 40 South from the Trans-Canada, turning right towards Nakiska Ski Resort on Mt Allan Drive. Take the first left onto Centennial Drive and continue to a parking lot at the west end of the Ribbon Creek day use area.

 

Snowshoeing in Kananaskis to Chester Lake

One of the prettiest snowshoe outings in both Kananaskis Country and Alberta is the one to Chester Lake. Enjoy spectacular mountain views, especially on sunny days as soon as you reach the meadows.

The first few kilometres of the 10 kilometre return trail are steep but by the time you reach the meadow the trail moderates. From there to Chester Lake the grade is gentle.

As a side trip visit Elephant Rocks – an area where giant-sized boulders lay scattered helter-skelter. They make a find destination for lunch. 

Allow three to five hours to do this 10 kilometre return snowshoe with a 287 metre elevation gain.

You can also cross-country ski up to Chester Lake but on a separate trail.

Finding the trailhead for Chester Lake

Reach the large parking lot and trailhead for Chester Lake from either Canmore or via Highway 40.

If you drive up from Canmore, zero your odometer at the Canmore Nordic Centre. Then take the Smith Dorrien Trail (Hwy 742)/Spray Lakes Road for 37 kilometres. The trailhead is signed. From the intersection of Highway 40 and the Trans Canada it’s a 72 kilometre drive via a combination of Highway 40 S and the Smith Dorrien Road.

Note: The trailhead for the Hogarth Lakes Loop snowshoe trail is directly across the highway.

Read: The Chester Lake Snowshoe in Kananaskis Country 

Rummel Lake Snowshoeing

The snowshoe outing to Rummel Lake can be tough after a fresh snowfall with no tracks to follow. If it hasn’t snowed in a while, route finding won’t be a problem as it’s a popular trail.

Climb up old logging roads with great views of the Spray Lakes Reservoir. Then make your way through the woods (there are yellow markings in the trees) until you reach Rummel Lake. You climb about 400 metres to the lake so the return to the car is fun and fast.

The trail to Rummel Lake is 8.6 kilometres return. Allow 2 -2.5 hours to get up and another 2 hours to get down.

The Rummel Lake trailhead

The trailhead is at the intersection of Spray Lakes Road and Mount Shark Road but it isn’t well-marked. Fortunately it’s also at the intersection to the turnoff to Mt Engadine Lodge – and the lodge is easy to find. Park along Spray Lakes Road.

Snowshoeing in Kananaskis – Sawmill Creek Trails

The Sawmill Creek Trails run from the Chester Day Use Area southeast to the Sawmill Day Use Area, about a 6 kilometre drive apart. These trails are not groomed or track-set but some of them are very well used. On others – like the more remote section of the Snowdrift Trail you might have to break trail – which was the situation we ran into.

I did the Snowdrift Trail one way with the help of a friend and a car shuttle. It was well-marked and offered peek-a-boo views, a nice area around a lake and a good workout because of the trail breaking. If you’ve already done the Chester and Rummel Lake trails then these ones are worth it for a day – though they’re definitely not as pretty.

Finding the trailhead

See the Chester Lake directions if you want to start there. Otherwise drive a further 6 kilometres southeast on the Smith Dorrien and park in the large, well-signed Sawmill Creek area.

Easy snowshoeing in Kananaskis to Troll Falls

Snowshoe to Troll Falls after there has been a big dump of snow. Otherwise, it’s an easy winter walk and a great one in particular for families, especially as there is only a 60 metre elevation gain.

Enjoy a surprising amount of variety over its 1.7 kilometre one way length. Start off snowshoeing through dense evergreen forest. When you reach a pretty open section filled with aspens it’s time to look for the narrow trail that follows the left bank of Marmot Creek. Go to the end where you’ll find the beautiful Troll Falls.

As you’re facing the falls look for the figure of a troll in the rocks to the left of the falls. If you’ve got ice cleats with you it may be possible to climb in behind the ice-falls.

You only need an hour or two to do this snowshoe trip. It would combine well with the snowshoe along the Ribbon Falls trails. 

Getting to Troll Falls

Take Highway 40 S to the Kananaskis Village turnoff – also called Mt. Allen Drive. Turn right or west and follow it for about a kilometre. Turn right again and descend to the Stoney Trail parking lot.

Read: Kananaskis Hikes: Don’t Miss Family-Friendly Troll Falls

Snowshoeing in Kananaskis – Rawson Lake  

Start the snowshoe up to Rawson Lake by following the south shoreline of Upper Kananaskis Lake. Enjoy stupendous views right off the bat. Cross the Sarrail Waterfall and look for a sign pointing to Rawson Lake.

Head left and start climbing – 300 metres in total. Much of the climb through the spruce forest is steep. When the grade eventually moderates it means you’re almost at the lake. Wander along the shore of the lake looking for a spot out of the wind for lunch – and enjoy the view of Mount Sarrail. 

Don’t go beyond the end of Rawson Lake or you get yourself into avalanche territory.

Enjoy a fun, fast return to the parking lot. Allow three to five hours to do the 8 kilometre (return) snowshoe.

Getting to the trailhead for Rawson Lake

Take Highway 40 S off the Trans-Canada and follow it to the intersection of the Smith Dorrien Trail. Take a left at the first intersection off the Smith Dorrien Trail onto the Kananaskis Lakes Trail. Follow it for approximately 14 kilometres to reach the Upper Kananaskis Lakes parking lot.

Snowshoeing in Kananaskis – Hogarth Lakes Loop Trail

The Hogarth Lakes snowshoe trail in Kananaskis Country is a great half day outing (and a half day might be pushing it). It’s short, easy and family-friendly, coming in at just 4.5 kilometres with little in the way of elevation gain.

The Hogarth Lake Loop rambles through woods and skirts one of the lakes before making a return to the wider, busier trail that heads to Burstall Pass. 

Finding the Hogarth Lake Trailhead

See the information for Chester Lake as the trailhead is across the highway. There is a good sized parking lot. This is the same trailhead used for Burstall Pass. Return to the parking lot from here to complete the loop.

Read: The Easy Hogarth Lakes Loop Snowshoe Trail

Fortress Mountain

You can’t just drive up to Fortress Mountain and start snowshoeing, unfortunately. Maybe one day but for now you must join a guided tour with White Mountain Adventures.

Enjoy a snowcat assisted ride to the top of Fortress Ridge and then the fun begins! You have access to huge tracts of fresh powder and gorgeous mountain views that few people see.

While the cost is $169 per person, that does include transportation from numerous hotels in the Banff- Canmore corridor, along with cookies and hot chocolate. And it really is one heck of a fun outing.

Read: A Snowshoeing Adventure at Fortress Mountain

Evan Thomas Waterfalls

This easy snowshoe outing exceeded expectations. Along its 4.7 kilometre one way length (if you go to the very end) you only gain about 100 metres, all very gradually. 

Start on the Evan-Thomas Creek trail – that is also used by cross-country skiers. Follow it for 1.6 kilometres to reach a bridge over Evan-Thomas Creek. Cross the bridge – where views are spectacular and then turn left onto a smaller trail and head up Evan-Thomas Creek. (The trail is also called the Wedge Connector as it connects to Wedge Pond.)

The trail up the creek weaves from one bank to another. You have to cross a few snow-bridges but the water level in January at least was low – should you break through. Along the way you’re treated to the sight of several pretty waterfalls. The first one is Chantilly Falls, reportedly a popular beginner falls for ice-climbing.

You can’t miss 110 metre high Moonlight Falls. We saw ice-climbers on it from a distance – but they ducked out of sight behind a bench or icefall when I went for the photo. 

We continued for about a kilometre past the turnoff to the very end of the trail. The last bit was interesting as the rock walls started closing in.

All told we did 9.4 kilometres return in just over three hours. Dogs are allowed on a leash.

Getting to the trailhead for Evan Thomas Waterfalls

Take Highway 40 S from the Trans-Canada Highway. Continue past the turnoff to the Nakiska Ski Resort for 6.4 kilometres. Turn left (east) into the signed Evan Thomas Day Use Area. There is quite a bit of parking and toilets.

Where to stay in Kananaskis Country

This post includes some affiliate links. If you make a qualifying purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. Thank you very much.

If you could spend a weekend in Kananaskis Country snowshoeing and relaxing instead of driving you’d have a lot more fun. There are a couple of choices unless you want to stay in Canmore.

My favourite is Mt Engadine Lodge – and all meals are included. Some of these snowshoe trails can be done right from the lodge.

The newly revamped Kananaskis Mountain Lodge is also a great choice – with a bonus of having the Kananaskis Nordic Spa – which I love – right behind the hotel. There is a dining room onsite.

Close to the Ribbon Creek trails is the Kananaskis Wilderness Hostel. It’s got a nice common area and a choice of private or dorm style rooms.

Click on the photo to bookmark to your Pinterest boards.

 

The post Snowshoeing in Kananaskis – 9 Trails to Explore appeared first on Hike Bike Travel.

Security overload leads to apathy. How often do you hear a car alarm go off and roll your eyes hoping the owner would disable the blasted thing before the incoming headache comes a knocking? The primary objection I have to such systems is they work too well. Every week I hear an alarm being triggered […]

This is just the start of the post Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy. Continue reading and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments!

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Security Information Overload: From Panic to Apathy & the Remedy, written by Thomas Xavier, was created exclusively for readers of the survival blog More Than Just Surviving.

No matter how you feel about hunting, we can all agree that the way meat is mass-produced is not working. It’s not working for the earth, the people and it damn sure isn’t working for the livestock. For this reason … Continued

Shooting at long distance is part art, part science, and part magic.

But you can make it a lot easier if you just science the hell out of it.

Weather meters sound super boring, I know–but they are actually one of the most important pieces of equipment that a shooter can own.

With one tool you can gather an incredible amount of science, add a little magic, and predict the future… of where your shot will go.

Sounds awesome, right?

It’s time to demystify weather meters, so let’s take a look at the whole range of Kestrel Meters and look at how the right one can change your shooting life.

What Is A Kestrel Weather Meter?

Put simply, a Kestrel is a tool that (depending on the model) can gather data on the local weather and runs software that lets it use that data to give you critical information that you need as a shooter to tell how your bullet travels to the target.

I literally cannot list all of the data points that the proper Kestrel will gather for you, but here are some of the big ones:

• Wind speed
• Wind direction
• Humidity
• Dew point
• Temperature
• Altitude

Get a powerful enough model and you’ll also get some very fancy software for ballistics.

Software that can take your data points and give you exact drop curves, tell you how much to dial in MOA or MILs for both elevation and windage, and a whole lot more.

And Why Do I Need This?

There is a lot of factors that come to play when you take a shot.

Most of these factors don’t make a large single impact on the bullet, but add them together and multiply them by the distance you’re shooting and these small factors can cause huge changes.

Without knowing the exact conditions you’re shooting in, you can miss by feet at long enough range.

If you’re only shooting 100 yards or less, chances are you don’t really need something like a weather meter.

But if you’re commonly looking to take shots at 400, 500, 1,000, 1,500 yards or more–then you really need a weather meter.

I Don’t Need Skynet Telling Me How To Shoot!

Sure, you can make accurate hits without a weather meter. People have been doing it for a long time and people still do it today.

But like any good technology, a weather meter makes it a lot easier, a lot more predictable, and a lot more repeatable.

A good weather meter, accurate data on your rifle and cartridge, and you can make first-round long-range hits anywhere in the world. Try doing that with just a finger in the wind.

Best Kestrels for Shooting & Hunting

Kestrel was kind enough to send us a whole range of weather meters designed for shooters.

I’ve gotten to play with them for a few months now and I’m totally blown away with how useful and awesome they really are.

I’ll go over each one, and I’ll give you my recommendations on what you might want to choose depending on what kind of shooter you are, but first let’s go over some general information that was common across all of the models.

General Information

All of the Kestrel weather meters are durable.

I’ve dropped them from chest height onto concrete multiple times and none of them showed more wear than a mild scratch to the outer casing.

All of them come with simplistic packaging, but they include an Energizer Lithium-Ion battery ready to be installed–a huge win in my book when a brand doesn’t cheap out on the battery they send you!

All of these units are well made.

They each feel solid in the hand, have good firm controls, are well sealed, and exude quality when you use them.

The displays are easy to read, the controls take a little getting used to but aren’t bad, the buttons are firm and positive.

I really don’t have any complaints about any of them. Nothing happened to make me dislike them, just some models have features that make me like it more than its friends.

Now the one-by-one, in order of price low to high.

1. Kestrel Drop D3 Ballistics

Maybe I’m not the market for the Drop D3, but I honestly don’t know who is the market.

The Kestrel Drop D3 is the smallest and cheapest units offered from Kestrel for shooters, it is a passive tracker that takes snapshots of the weather around it… but it only tracks a few data points

• Temperature
• Relative Humidity
• Dew Point Temp.
• Heat Stress Index
• Station Pressure
• Density Altitude

It has no display, so to access the information you need the Kestrel app on your phone or you can export the data to an excel type program.

While some of these data points are useful, some of them aren’t (for shooters), and it is missing the most critical: wind.

The wind is the second most impactful force on your bullet, the first being gravity–but since gravity is constant it’s easy to account for.

Temperature and humidity will change your ballistics, but they are fairly minor forces. Running the numbers in a ballistic calculator, even using extreme spreads, the changes are minor at best inside of say 700 yards.

Station pressure is a bit more important and when combined with extreme spreads in temp and humidity can make a major change in ballistics.

However, if you know what altitude you’re going to be shooting at or at least know roughly, you can make a decent guess at this without the Drop D3.

Of course, you can still use the Drop D3 with a ballistic app to give you a firing solution–but that requires having your phone with you and that kind of defeats the point of having the lightest model… right?

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Thankfully, the next level up in price gives us a lot more options and some really nice added features while also not costing that much more.

2. Kestrel 2700 Ballistics Weather Meter

If you’re a hunter or just getting your feet wet in long range shooting or maybe you’re just on a tight budget, the Kestrel 2700 is my top pick.

It has the core of what you need most but keeps the price down by omitting the fancy stuff.

Data gathered:

• Station Pressure (Absolute Pressure)
• Temperature
• Wind Direction
• Wind Speed/Air Speed

Less data than the Drop D3, but much more useful. This model feels really built for shooting now!

These environmental data points give you the stuff you really need and the 2700 can interface with Kestrel’s ballistic app, this lets you do a LOT such as setting up a custom profile, G1 and G7 ballistics solver, and more.

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Feed it all of the information, and it will tell you what adjustments you need to make to hit your target.

Limitations

This is the base model so it doesn’t come with all the bells. First, you’re limited to one gun profile.

And there is no backlighting.

And likely the biggest of all: you’re limited in range. Roughly 800 meters.

Missing on the 2700 are things like spindrift correction, Coriolis correction, muzzle velocity-temperature correction, zero hight/zero offset, and some more finer points of magic that make predictions past 800 much more accurate.

You can still hit things further than 800 meters, but it won’t be as accurate as with some of the better Kestrel models.

If you’re shooting to fill a freezer, close enough might be fine–but if you’re shooting for points, these missing features could matter a lot.

What’s your take on the Kestrel 2700?

3. Kestrel 5700 Ballistics Weather Meter

Now we’re into the money and looking at a tool that is some meat on it!

Looking at the hardware, the 5700 is the same as the 5700 Elite, the difference is purely software.

A huge plus is that Kestrel will let you upgrade the base model 5700 to the Elite model by just paying the difference.

The 5700 gives you everything the 2700 did but it also gives you those finer points I mentioned that makes things more accurate past 800 meters. It also comes with a backlight, a huge plus in low-light or deep shadow.

Packing on more features you now get 3 gun/bullet profiles instead of 1, a basic ballistics data table, and full environmental data (heat index, dewpoint, etc.)

If you’re using a MIL scope, it can also do the math for you to estimate your range to target–this isn’t as good as a proper laser range finder, but it’s handy in a pinch.

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If you want to shoot further than 800 meters regularly or want the best hardware while saving money before making the jump to the Elite software, this model is great.

4. Kestrel 5700 with Hornady 4DOF

This and the Elite are tricky beasts.

Again, this version of the 5700 has all the hardware of the base model. What it brings extra to the table is the Hornady 4DOF software.

Hornady 4DOF is a proprietary ballistic calculator developed by Hornady and is designed to kick major long-range ass.

Hornady put a huge amount of work and continues to put a huge amount of work into the 4DOF software. The super technical information is too long for me to write here, but there are two major highlights.

First, this was the first publicly available calculator to determine the vertical shift of a bullet in a crosswind. But the huge talking point is their shift away from using a Ballistic Coefficient to using a Drag Coefficient.

Basically, using Doppler radar and a LOT of math, Hornady has calculated the exact drag versus velocity curve for every projectile in the 4DOF library (a huge selection of bullets).

What they’ve done is honestly a huge amount of work… and they’ve found a way to package it in an easy to use, easy to understand manner that really delivers a lot to you.

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I’ve found their software to be intuitive, useful, and pleasing. It isn’t as complete as the Elite software, but it covers a huge range of bullets and cartridges while also simplifying the process a little to make it much faster and easier to set up.

Plus, since I shoot a lot of Hornady factory ammo and use a lot of Hornady bullets for handloading, having their super awesome software is handy since they know their bullets better than anyone.

5. Kestrel 5700 Elite Applied Ballistics

The moment you’ve all been waiting for–the Kestrel 5700 Elite with Applied Ballistics!

This is the top of the line weather meter.

A gold standard by which all others are judged. Hardware, it’s the same 5700 as before. But the software is nuclear space magic.

Before we talk Kestrel, we need to talk Applied Ballistics. If you haven’t heard of them, they are sort of the NASA of bullets. Or really, more like Space-X of bullets.

A huge amount of the science that long-range shooters have about ballistics, bullets, drag, and more comes from the work that AB has done. They are an R&D company, a software developer, an ammo manufacturer, and lab coats crunching numbers.

They are also the brains behind a host of groundbreaking and impressive products such as Sig Sauer’s BDX app, L3 STORM SLXE app, and multiple collaborations with DARPA.

A Kestrel Elite 5700 loaded with the Applied Ballistics software is the most powerful handheld ballistic weather tool you can own.

Besides powerful software, it also gives you access to a few more features like the Applied Ballistics Litz Custom Drag Model, 30 gun/bullet profiles, expanded ballistics data table, ability to make target cards, and Drop Scale Factor Calibration.

But… it all comes at a cost. First, this model isn’t cheap. Second, while the AB software is very powerful it is also very complex.

If you’re a newer long-range shooter, this can be incredibly intimidating and simply too many choices and too much science thrown at you at once.

This is one of the reasons why getting the base 5700 and then upgrading later is such an attractive option.

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But, if you’re a major shooter or looking to become one–this is the weather meter for you.

Kestrel Recommendations For You

Still on the fence what model to get? It’s okay, I know this is a lot to wade through (try reading 5 owner’s manuals for weather meters…). Based on my experience, here are my recommendations for you.

Mid to Long Range Hunter / Casual Plinker: Kestrel 2700.

If you’re only shooting inside of 1,000 meters for plinking and 800 or less for hunting, then this has 99% of what you need. It isn’t perfect, but it’s affordable and very useful.

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Long Range Enthusiast: Kestrel 5700 Base Model

You’re a long-range shooter that wants to take your game up a notch, maybe you shoot a few competitions and want to do more, maybe you just really like going out to long-range once a month or so and want to get the most out of it. Or maybe you just want to cheat a little.

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The 5700 gives you room to grow and is really the model I would recommend for most people. You can always turn this into the Elite down the road, but for now it gives you the tools you need to learn on without getting you too deep into the weeds.

Serious Competitor / Long Range Master: Kestrel 5700 Elite

If you want to “buy once, cry once” just get it over with and get the Elite.

If you’re looking to compete often or you enjoy trying a wide range of cartridges and loads, the Elite has the software and database to really let you do anything.

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For me, the big selling point is the 30 profiles–getting to set up that many different loads mean I can have a hunting, long-range, plinking, and match profile for each of my 3 or 4 main rifles all at the same time.

What About The Other Two?

The Drop D3 just doesn’t have the chops.

For an extra $50ish bucks, the 2700 is way more useful. Wind meter, not needing your phone with you, and just easier to use–the Kestrel 2700 beats the Drop D3 in every way possible for a tiny bump in price.

The 5700 with Hornady 4DOF, I don’t dislike it. In fact, I really like it and it’s normally the one I grab when I hit the range. But it has a couple of major limitations.

The lack of profiles hurts, only 3 Vs. the Elite’s 30. It’s also about $100 more than the base 5700 but can’t be upgraded to the Elite.

So with that in mind, why do I like it? Because it is easy.

And I shoot a lot of Hornady. Hornady Black, Hornady Match using ELD-M bullets, and Hornady American Gunner literally make up about 90% of my long-range ammo and so the 4DOF is perfect for my needs.

Coupled with the fact that it is just a bit easier and faster to use, and it works for me. But unless you find yourself in the same niche, I don’t think I would recommend it over the base 5700 or the 5700 Elite.

Conclusion

Any weather meter (even the Drop) is better than none. But the right one for you just depends on your shooting and how much you want to spend.

There are other models of Kestrel out there, some are discontinued and some are still in production.

But these cover the vast majority of what you will find on the market.

If you don’t have one, get one! Even if it is just the 2700, it will really help out.

What kind of long-range shooter are you? Are you going to “Buy Once, Cry Once”? Let us know in the comments! Another bit of kit you’ll need to shoot long range is a good spotting scope so make sure to take a look at the Best Spotting Scopes!

The post 5 Best Kestrel for Shooting & Hunting [Hands-On] appeared first on Pew Pew Tactical.

Matt and I have grown to like Kimchi but it is really expensive to buy in stores and there is only one or two brands unless you go to a specialty store. In this post, we are going to share … Continued