Ramblings on ballistic app

Ive been pondering what to do about my ballistic app situation. For a while now Ive had at least 2 apps on my phone and now have a handful. They all have something to recommend them over the others.

The issue is in times like now when i have multiple rifles that are either new or getting new loads because of component availability or performance.

Enter all the same info and none of em agree on drops, well maybe 2 agree. So i go to trueing in the field. Not all have the same inputs available so in some i cant say: zero at 103, with elev offset +2moa but I can in others. So trueing becomes multifaceted and trixy.

A couple allow pairing with my weather meter but others dont, or glitches are not allowing it. Which makes life fun as well. GeoB for example only runs on DA with no manual input for elevation available. That starts to matter when im making a manual drop chart for my hunting grounds which are 4500 feet above me and snowed in.

One links direct to my rangefinder and works great except the range finder glitches and switches between moa/mil at random times every so often. It also only allows several loads which is not enough so i still need at least two to be safe.
So then fixing it becomes a pain across apps.

i prefer to have 2 working in case one is glitching out and then I cant always get them all to match actual drops so then its a matter of getting one workable and eff the rest haha.

Fun times. An enjoyable problem to have really.

Check out https://eagleballistics.com/

Beluebow said:

Check out https://eagleballistics.com/

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Thanks, i will. What are the positives youve found with them?
I havent looked yet but have seen that name mentioned recently.

What phone system do you run?
Applied Ballistics
TRASOL

I

waveslayer said:

What phone system do you run?
Applied Ballistics
TRASOL

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I run an android phone.
I havent tried TRASOL yet. What are.some of the specific positives you like about it?

But i do run AB, one version on my rangefinder and another just the app itself. The two dont immediately agree on much of anything lol. But im gettin it sorted. Been playin around with these inputs several hours now.

Trasol is amazing, you'll have to find an old version because it's not updated for Android, which i use.
AB need to have all the inputs exactly matching or you will chase your tail

I have over a dozen ballistic apps on my phone and used to try the same information in all of them, trying to figure out which one worked the best.

I finally gave up and decided to stick to one and use it until it gave me a problem.

I'm not saying that's the right option, but it's what worked for me.

Weird, I had a pile on my phone at one time due to students showing up with a variety. I use AB and shooter mainly now. I have not had any significant issues or differences in solutions with proper inputs. In the end I think it's best to use 1 system that works for you and not get bogged down in the process. Good data in means good data out so pick one that matches your preferences and call it good.

Different apps use different models and some will include spin and Coriolis force and spin drift. Also the solving methods differ depending on the programmer. All of the apps are models and the results are approximations to the real world. Probably the AB is best out there in terms of being the most accurate model. The are also some others such as Lapua and Hornady that appear to be very good. JBM is also a good one and is the source engine for Ballistic AE for the iPhone.

A word of warning. Different apps have different ways of inputting pressure. The pressure that matters is station pressure (atmospheric pressure where you actually are). If the input is Barometric pressure (usually around 30" Hg or 1013 Milibar then it's corrected to sea level and you need to input your site elevation. Also, most phones can measure station pressure and there are apps for that.

Are you wanting to use CDM's or verify your own G1 or G7 drag models? If you want to take most of the guess work out, the AB will be your best bet, as long as you true it

GeoBallistics has worked very well for me. You mentioned that it only provides DA with no manual inputs. I'm pretty sure mine allows for a variety environmental inputs as well as pairing with Weather Meter and Kestrel.
I'm working with Eagle Ballistics but I can't get the two to match at all. It's likely my inputs. Having verified the GeoB as accurate I'm gonna keep at it.

Doom2 said:

Different apps use different models and some will include spin and Coriolis force and spin drift. Also the solving methods differ depending on the programmer. All of the apps are models and the results are approximations to the real world. Probably the AB is best out there in terms of being the most accurate model. The are also some others such as Lapua and Hornady that appear to be very good. JBM is also a good one and is the source engine for Ballistic AE for the iPhone.

A word of warning. Different apps have different ways of inputting pressure. The pressure that matters is station pressure (atmospheric pressure where you actually are). If the input is Barometric pressure (usually around 30" Hg or 1013 Milibar then it's corrected to sea level and you need to input your site elevation. Also, most phones can measure station pressure and there are apps for that.

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Yes! Helpful explanation on pressure inputs! This second paragraph is the deal.
For further explanation on the questions im mostly seeing issues when im doing projections for mt hunting elevation. As in I cant true it because im not there.
So i sight in, true DOPE, and do most of my practice sessions in the field 4000-5000 feet below my wilderness hunting area.

The other source of woe is that I mostly dont have access to big flat areas and so for years have jus sighted in to 2" at 100 and then let the apps (in olden days, paper charts haha) tell me what yardage my zero is.
Some apps dont let you do that and some do so it becomes a fiddle with it till they line up situation.

So once thats trued then i change the inputs to reflect a high country hunt to have a workable chart and one of them says my bullet is ie.180 fps faster at 700 yds. uhh, no way thats right. Lol

Thats where I was at yesterday and playing around with using inputs with DA vs hg readings from previous hunts is what got them to line up.

Doom 2's post makin a lot of sense. AB is particularly sensitive to this as you folks note. It needs a manual built in. Hornady has the ? things to click on each setting to clarify. I like that.

Dirtrax said:

GeoBallistics has worked very well for me. You mentioned that it only provides DA with no manual inputs. I'm pretty sure mine allows for a variety environmental inputs as well as pairing with Weather Meter and Kestrel.
I'm working with Eagle Ballistics but I can't get the two to match at all. It's likely my inputs. Having verified the GeoB as accurate I'm gonna keep at it.

Click to expand...

I like GeoB a lot, its worked well. Its switching between the T/P/RH and DA tabs thats got me. U can switch and manually enter temp, press, rh but no elevation. Or u can switch and enter DA but nothing else but the other inputs are still visible there, and at least right now seem unchanged even when I use take a Weathermeter reading.
On urs if ur on T/P/RH tab and take a reading does it also change ur DA #?
On mine right now i can switch back n forth between tabs without changing any inputs and get two diff dope charts.

For what it's worth if your app wants DA (Density Altitude) and you don't have a Kestral or other instrument that calculates it, take the time to research the theory behind it. It is not a term commonly used outside of aviation so the numbers are not something that are familiar. For instance my altitude is 635ft right now but the DA is 1590 ft. In the summer it can be on the order of 3300 ft.