There is an old truism about tracking: If you don't know what you are looking for, you won't see it!
The same holds true the first time you are looking for patches. Unless you have someone standing behind or to the side of you where they can easily see the patches in the smoke in front of your barrel, and follow the patches to the ground, Its pretty hard for the shooter to have any clue WHERE to look, or What to look for. Most new "lookers" are expecting the patches to fall too close to their muzzle. They never go out far enough from the bench, or firing line, to find the patches.
Watch someone else shoot a MLer to see where their patches land, and that will give you a much better understanding of where to be looking for your own patches. 25-30 feet in front of the muzzle is just not that unusual. I usually find mine about 15 feet in front of my muzzle, however. It depends on wind direction and wind speed. Most modern people don't ever pay attention to the wind, much less these key elements.
When you get to the range, bend over, and pick up a handful of dried grass, or dust, or dried dirt, stand up, and then hold your hand out, and above your head and drop the contents into the air. See what direction the dust is blowing, and how far from vertical it falls. That will give you wind direction, and an idea of wind speed, to help you locate your patches.
Yes, you will get your hands dirty doing this. take a bottle of water, and some towels in your car or truck whenever you go to the range. a small bottle of liquid soap works wonders for cleaning up before you get back into your car at the end of the session.
