Ballistic Program

7P Roe

Member
Hi Guys, I am looking for a Ballistics prog, any ideas on the ones which work, I have heard that some are confusing and inaccurate? I use a Tikka T3 Varmint .25-06 with a NF NXS 8x32x56 and 95% of the time Hornady SST Superperformance 117g, and a Krico Varmint .243 with a NF NXS 3.5x15x50 with Remington Accutip 95g. I wish to start reloading soon and could do with some beginners info on the do's and dont's
Thanks Paul
 
Before using any external ballistics software you need to know how fast your bullets are actually travelling. Get access to a chronograph!
Many modern programs are too complicated for simpletons like me. I still use an old DOS (pre Windows) PC program called Sierra 3 because I'm a dinosaur & too tight to buy a new version.
I think most programs are accurate - it's almost certain that people who say they don't work have not put in all the correct parameters before trying to get results. - The old saying "Garbage In - Garbage Out" springs to mind.
Lapua do a free one that you can put on an Android smartphone, or you could try Shooter or Strelok which work well.

Ian
 
Hi Guys, I am looking for a Ballistics prog, any ideas on the ones which work, I have heard that some are confusing and inaccurate? I use a Tikka T3 Varmint .25-06 with a NF NXS 8x32x56 and 95% of the time Hornady SST Superperformance 117g, and a Krico Varmint .243 with a NF NXS 3.5x15x50 with Remington Accutip 95g. I wish to start reloading soon and could do with some beginners info on the do's and dont's
Thanks Paul

Hi Paul,

I guess the real issue is what platform you're planning on using, how portable you need your information to be and ,as has been mentioned, how accurate is your available info.

Depending on the range at which you require accuracy will determine which prog you need.

As an example you could simply use the Hawke software, available for free on their website. Adequate for many purposes with preset calibres but with little variation in projectile/loading info and PC based.

For portability if you have iPhone you could look at the (free) remingtom app which confines you to their available ammunition. For more versatility and therefore accuracy you might want to look at the iSnipe app which allows not only preset info to be used but allows you to change almost every parameter to fit your load/calibre/zero/wind/projectile etc. At £7 or so it seems to provide most of the info needed. However the muzzle vel of your load will need to be accurate for proper ballistics so if you need to be really accurate then a chrono is a must. However at MOST game ranges the differences in atmospherics/wind etc will be more important than small MV variations and prob will have modest bearing on your target strike area.

Regards

Fraser
 
Hi Guys, I am looking for a Ballistics prog, any ideas on the ones which work, .....

Paul. I have looked at the following calculator - Ballistics Calculator - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

and produced the following output for using with a NightForce scope. As mentioned above, without a chrono you can't get very far. Following up on some helpful threads on here a couple of years ago, I now use Dropbox to store the .pdf on my iPhone. The next thing I plan to do is to chrono some new loads in the Spring and rework the .pdf output in Excel to highlight the ranges and MOA. I like to do all the preparatory work at my PC at home and then have a handy reference on my iPhone to glance at when I arrive at a range to shoot. I don't want to be fiddling about with my iPhone entering data in the field, all I want is sufficient info to get the first shot on target.

View attachment 21493

For reloading, I have the Lee, Sierra and Hornady manuals, however I focus on the Hornady manual.

Good luck JCS
 
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Paul. I have looked at the following calculator - Ballistics Calculator - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

and produced the following output for using with a NightForce scope. As mentioned above, without a chrono you can't get very far. Following up on some helpful threads on here a couple of years ago, I now use Dropbox to store the .pdf on my iPhone. The next thing I plan to do is to chrono some new loads in the Spring and rework the .pdf output in Excel to highlight the ranges and MOA. I like to do all the preparatory work at my PC at home and then have a handy reference on my iPhone to glance at when I arrive at a range to shoot. I don't want to be fiddling about with my iPhone entering data in the field, all I want is sufficient info to get the first shot on target.

View attachment 21493

For reloading, I have the Lee, Sierra and Hornady manuals, however I focus on the Hornady manual.

Good luck JCS


+1 on the Hornady calculator and JCS advice. I too have played around with it and one thing that really does strike me is that velocity changes and ballistic co efficients do not make very much difference out to 200 yds - yes mv and ballistic co ifficient make a big difference beyond that. Conclusion is to work up the most accurate load for your rifle and don't worry too much about velocity for stalking purposes.
 
Paul. I have looked at the following calculator - Ballistics Calculator - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

and produced the following output for using with a NightForce scope. As mentioned above, without a chrono you can't get very far. Following up on some helpful threads on here a couple of years ago, I now use Dropbox to store the .pdf on my iPhone. The next thing I plan to do is to chrono some new loads in the Spring and rework the .pdf output in Excel to highlight the ranges and MOA. I like to do all the preparatory work at my PC at home and then have a handy reference on my iPhone to glance at when I arrive at a range to shoot. I don't want to be fiddling about with my iPhone entering data in the field, all I want is sufficient info to get the first shot on target.

View attachment 21493

For reloading, I have the Lee, Sierra and Hornady manuals, however I focus on the Hornady manual.

Good luck JCS

+1

you need the fps
 
ive got shooter on iphone .easy to use but like most of these calculators its only good if you put in accurate data to start with.
 
I have tried several, 'load from a disc', 'infinity', 'FTE' etc.
All gave me varying results,best way, IMHO is to shoot at the ranges you want, measure the drop and dial up.
Save your money and just shoot.
 
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