Kestrel 5700 Elite

Good evening. I stumbled across a deal on a Kestrel 5700 Elite here locally that I couldn't pass up. I have owned it for a little over 48 hours at this point and have been binge-watching all the how-tos, master classes, etc. I can't wait to take it out and test it soon.

What is the best feature you learned about after some time of ownership? Any other advice or recommendations?

Thanks!

I'm interested in the replies.

I don't know about time of ownership. Ive been using them since they came out both in service and for personal use. There's been a lot of updates and features added since then.

But one of the better features imo is the custom curves. Between that and the drop scale factor, you can have 1 rifle that's correctly doped from zero to subsonic vs having to have multiple gun profiles with different BCs for for different ranges like we did back in the day. A lot of guys think that they just need 1, so consider your crowd.

That said, I think all features are used. Wind speed 1 and wind speed 2 are obviously very useful if you know how to apply it. Keep in mind it's only 1/3 of of the equation most often.

Another good one that may not be used by normal people that you may consider learning is the speed wind. We used that in competitive shooting and it's a thing that's tested on in some more advanced sniper schools.

One piece of advice I'll pass along is to do updates often...and then double-check it after each update.

The last time I used my 5700 Elite w/ AB at a rimfire PRS match, I updated it the night before. When I went to enter dope for each stage, it went from 8.1 mils at 212 yards to 32.5 mils at 213 yards. I tried turning it off several times and I made sure that Bluetooth was turned off and that it was pulling the correct profile for the Vudoo I was shooting.

No matter what I did, that was the result. I asked Kestrel about it on Snipershide and their only suggestion was to try updating it again. When I asked what would cause an update to do this, they replied that sometimes, things like that happen.

I think they're an amazing tool, just make sure you check it before using it in the field after updates.

This question may sound stupid to some. What is the advantage to the blue tooth with the Kestrel?

Ol' Red said:

This question may sound stupid to some. What is the advantage to the blue tooth with the Kestrel?

Click to expand...

Bluetooth kestrels can connect to other devices, like rangefinding binos. The military ones have a low signal Bluetooth, and has equipment that actually has their own app.

Also, doing updates can be done over your phone. If not, you need a dongle to do the updates.

Make sure your compass is calibrated all the time

If your shooting matches the Elite and X model have the ability to enter multiple targets. This comes in really handy if your shooting matches,

I blue tooth mine to a set of sig 10k's then when I range a target the solution populates on my kestrel, it saves scrolling in the kestrel and allows for a more accurate wind estimate.

Always make sure your on the right rifle profile, the kestrel doesn't give you angled shots so have a back up app that will and make sure the two of them are in sync number wise under normal shooting conditions

Thank you, Red.

Ol' Red said:

This question may sound stupid to some. What is the advantage to the blue tooth with the Kestrel?

Click to expand...

My Hornady app will sync with it and get all the same environmental conditions, I always like having backups to compare

crashlanding said:

My Hornady app will sync with it and get all the same environmental conditions, I always like having backups to compare

Click to expand...

Is your Hornady APP on your phone or the Kestrel?

I'm also pretty new to using that device.
I've found its easier entering the wind direction as a clock position rather than an azimuth on a compass. somehow, I get a better result entering it that way.
could be my brain is just scrambled from too many blows to the head.

Ol' Red said:

Is your Hornady APP on your phone or the Kestrel?

Click to expand...

It can hook up to the app via Bluetooth.

GuroChris said:

I'm also pretty new to using that device.
I've found its easier entering the wind direction as a clock position rather than an azimuth on a compass. somehow, I get a better result entering it that way.
could be my brain is just scrambled from too many blows to the head.

Click to expand...

The azimuth isn't just for wind. It's for some of the other drifts like Coriolis which requires a direction.

As long as the compass is calibrated, just point it at the target and capture. Then point it in to the wind until you get the a good average then capture. The most accurate way is to use a weather vane attachment to the kestrel and a tripod at the height of max ord.