Ballistic calculator hardware?

[Supercub]

After using several online ballistics programs and printing numerous drop charts for field use, I decided I need to upgrade to some form of electronic ballistic calculator. I considered the "WhizWheel", but it required a number of different disks (one for each load) and I need to use the same system for several rifles and bullet combinations.

I'm considering the "Shooter" ap on either an IPod 4 or on a Samsung galaxy 5 android. Not having used either of these, I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on which system/unit was better? I don't have a smart phone - and don't really want one - but one of these looks like it will work without the need for a long term phone contract. I had considered a PDA or pocket PC, but they look to be going the way of the dinosaur.

So, whaddaya think?

 

[barnesuser28]

i have the shooter app on my ipod and it has everything you will ever need and it is easy to use

 

[Supercub]

i have the shooter app on my ipod and it has everything you will ever need and it is easy to use

Thanks Riley, I'm leaning toward the IPOD, but the Samsung has some interesting features I thought might be worth exploring.

Anybody know if there is a substantive difference between the Android and Apple versions of Shooter or have experience with the Samsung galaxy device?

 

[LouBoyd]

Probably the most compact and complete ballistic computer for field use is the Kestrel 4500NV with Horus atrag software. You enter your gun, cartridge, bullet (it stores 50 combinations) and target information (range, azimuth, incination) (it can measure azimuth and keeps track of 5 targets ) It adds current atmospheric information without manual entry and calculates air density and cartridge ignition temperature effects on muzzle velocity. Face it into the wind and it will measure the local wind vector and includes it into the calculations of head/tail and crosswind. It calculates spin drift and coriolis with no additional effort. (requires latitude for the area). It keeps track of directions with a built in 2D fluxgate magnetic compass.
You still need a laser rangefinder, an inclinometer (can be part of the rangefinder). It still needs shooter skill to dope downrange wind, but no device on the market I'm aware of does that.

Kestrel 4500NV Horus ATrag Ballistics | Shooting Wind Meter

I have used several programs running windows and Linux on notebook PCs. They give the same answers but require external sensors and much more manual entry plus they're bulky and have relatively short battery life. The Kestrel will run several days continuous on 2 AAA batteries.

Horus offers models with direct laser rangefinder input, but they're very expensive.
Horus Vision