All other things being equal, it is the ability of the shooter to read the wind that will provide the greatest difference in the final result. After the shooter has acquired the best equipment, learned to make a flawless shot and collect a group [of shots], there is only one technical skill left to improve. When you look at the winners and those standing next to them, most often it will be those who finish at the top and best "tame" the wind. However, the converse is not true; reading the wind cannot replace the ability to consistently make flawless shots. Experienced in reading the wind, the expert shooters with whom we talked during the preparation of this book immediately emphasized this point. As George Stidworthy noted many years ago in Rifle magazine, although top shooters lose more points due to wind than for any other reason, reading wind is only a small part of the question - the shooter's ability to assemble groups gives the most important information he needs to read wind. As Desmond Burke wrote: "The chronically weak owner [of the rifle] has little chance of becoming qualified in wind assessment. It's reminiscent of the old saying that the best owner is the best wind assessor.'