Ballistic calculators

[WeiserBucks]

I've been thinking of getting one. Never been around one before. What are you guys running? What's good and what's junk? Lay it on me.

I don't mind spending money on quality, but don't want to overspend on something I don't need. I practice at the same local 1100 yard range and need something functional for hunting.

 

[elkaholic]

I really like the Leica rangefinders in
conjunction with the Litz ballistic app.
I may sell my 1600 Leica and my sig 2000 and get the new 2400 leica
Kestrels are good and I have no personal experience with the others.

 

[WeiserBucks]

There's a few friends pointing me towards a Kestrel with AB

 

[Canhunter35]

I just updated my kestrel to the 5700 with ab, I really like it and you can always update the firmware if u want the elite later on

 

[ShtrRdy]

I use "Shooter" on my phone.

 

[Hand Skills]

I'm not an expert, but I have fiddled with a lot of different ballistics apps over the last few years.

Ballistics ARC is what I use the most. On 'chart' mode it looks (and acts) like most other software. Comp mode allows input of multiple targets at specific distances (eg. Target 1 244yd, target 2 687yd, etc.). Map mode integrates with satellite imagery in a really nifty way. It's advertised as a gps rangefinder, which I suppose it is. I use a Leica 1600B for measuring distances in the field, but the map mode is fun to use creatively, for mapping, planning, preliminary surveys, setting up courses of fire

ARC bridges the gap to the 'real world' in an interesting way. I don't often see it mentioned, and suggest it's worth a look.

 

[shawnb]

I have ballistic ae, ballistic-arc, and the hornady app which uses drag curves and also has the straightforward ballistic solver based on bc. I find myself using ae in the field more because of the simple heads up display. The hornady app has been spot on as well verifying drops using the 225 eldm and their curve. The hornady is also free to download and use, so theres an upside there to see if you like it.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

I use ballistic AE. Really user friendly. And you can short the data so it only gives you the most pertinent info you may need at that time. It's also shows you what your target should look like through your crosshairs with your specific inputted varibables. It's $26 as an iPhone app.

 

[DocUSMCRetired]

My best advice, since you are new to this. Is to get used to using the term Drag Models and stay away from BCs. This is 2018, and a BC is really only good for comparing different bullets (but you have to make sure the comparison is done at the same velocity). A BC is velocity dependent so easy to manipulate for marketing reasons.

Here is an article that will help you get started: http://appliedballisticsllc.com/ballistics-educational-resources/custom-drag-curves/ you can download the pdf at that link.

Set yourself up for better success and use Drag Models as well as a device or app that supports them. Sooner than most think users will be able to test their own rifle over our lab equipment and get a Drag Model specific to their rifle and load data. Providing a very high level of accuracy. So my suggestion is to go with one of our products, so you can benefit from this.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I also use Ballistic AE, one of the better phone apps out there and needs no data or service to work.

Cheers.