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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2018 8:35:49 GMT -5
What experiences have you all had with the online Ballistics Calculators? Have you found them to accurately depict what your actual results were in the field/at the range?
My only experience with them has been with the Federal Ballistics Calculator. For deer hunting, in my Ruger M77 Mark II bolt action rifle, I`m shooting the Federal 165 grain Trophy Bonded Tip cartridge. Before I went to the range to sight in, I consulted the Federal Ballistics Calculator on their website, and jotted down notes based on what I planned to zero at, then shoot at after I was zeroed to verify I would hit where their calculator said I would. It wasn`t even close. I zeroed to hit approximately 1" high at 100 yards, then shot at 150, and 200 yards to see where the bullet impacted, and I don`t at this point recall how far off they were, or exactly where they hit, but they weren`t even close to what the Ballistics Calculator said they should be. I checked, and I had accurately entered all the information it requested in order to make the calculations, so I`m puzzled as to why they were so far apart.
Have any of you used the online Ballistics calculators? Did they accurately portray your real world experiences, or were they off for you too?
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Post by HuntMeister on Oct 24, 2018 11:24:02 GMT -5
IMHO you should always take the calculators as a point of reference only. Every firearm is unique and will perform differently with the same ammo.
This is why it is important to always sight in a firearm with the chosen ammo to confirm point of aim / impact and group consistency.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2018 11:26:29 GMT -5
IMHO you should always take the calculators as a point of reference only. Every firearm is unique and will perform differently with the same ammo. This is why it is important to always sight in a firearm with the chosen ammo to confirm point of aim / impact and group consistency. Exactly...but the calculator would have been close I would have thought... |
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Post by oldhoyt on Oct 24, 2018 15:02:22 GMT -5
I haven't used one for a while, but the one I did (Hornady) use needed values for sight height in inches above the bore, and a zero range (the distance that the bullet crosses the line of sight for the second time), the bullet weight and bullet ballistic coefficient.
I think I generally estimated sight height to be 1.5 inches.
Give the Hornady calculator a try and see if it agrees with Federal or is closer to your gun's performance.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2018 16:00:49 GMT -5
I haven't used one for a while, but the one I did (Hornady) use needed values for sight height in inches above the bore, and a zero range (the distance that the bullet crosses the line of sight for the second time), the bullet weight and bullet ballistic coefficient. I think I generally estimated sight height to be 1.5 inches. Give the Hornady calculator a try and see if it agrees with Federal or is closer to your gun's performance. I sure will give them a try. The Federal Calculator wants the same info, height of scope, BC and all that, but the Hornady might be closer to actual. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2018 17:26:44 GMT -5
I got a reply from Federal when I asked them about why their calculator was so far off from what I actually got in the field. They said, we cannot tell you where your barrel with throw a bullet. You must shoot in the field to know this. Our ballistics calculator is for paper only...
Oh, so translated, it`s worthless...
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Post by steiny on Oct 29, 2018 10:51:20 GMT -5
I set up targets at 100, 200, 300 & 400 yards and verify for myself.
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Post by oldhoyt on Oct 29, 2018 13:05:15 GMT -5
I got a reply from Federal when I asked them about why their calculator was so far off from what I actually got in the field. They said, we cannot tell you where your barrel with throw a bullet. You must shoot in the field to know this. Our ballistics calculator is for paper only... Oh, so translated, it`s worthless... Not entirely useless. I'm assuming you don't know your actual velocity (I could be wrong about that) and you're going by the velocity listed on the box. Quoted velocities should be close, but can vary by batch and will also vary from barrel to barrel and vary by barrel length. If your barrel is two inches shorter than the test barrel, your velocity could be 150-200 fps less because of it. Different barrel contours will have different harmonics. The end of the barrel "whips" up and down and side to side as the bullet travels down it. Some company made a device to tune the harmonics, and I think Browning made guns with them installed. Basically a weight that you could move forward or back while comparing group size. My barrel may be in the "up" position when the bullet leaves, while your barrel may be in the "down" position when the bullet leaves. That will definitely show up down range. Ballistics tables and calculators are good tools, especially for comparing cartridges. But you really do have to shoot your gun to find out what's happening down range. |
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Post by esshup on Oct 29, 2018 19:36:07 GMT -5
gregr: I use this one (AB Mobile) and it's spot on provided you give it all the information that it asks for. appliedballisticsllc.com/products/apps/I shot from 100 yds to 1,000 yds and the data it generated in spot on. Remember garbage in, garbage out. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2018 19:41:04 GMT -5
gregr: I use this one (AB Mobile) and it's spot on provided you give it all the information that it asks for. appliedballisticsllc.com/products/apps/I shot from 100 yds to 1,000 yds and the data it generated in spot on. Remember garbage in, garbage out. Thanks. I will give this a try! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2018 17:03:48 GMT -5
gregr: I use this one (AB Mobile) and it's spot on provided you give it all the information that it asks for. appliedballisticsllc.com/products/apps/I shot from 100 yds to 1,000 yds and the data it generated in spot on. Remember garbage in, garbage out. oops. Nope, I can`t try it. Not for $29.99... |
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Post by esshup on Oct 30, 2018 18:45:48 GMT -5
gregr: I use this one (AB Mobile) and it's spot on provided you give it all the information that it asks for. appliedballisticsllc.com/products/apps/I shot from 100 yds to 1,000 yds and the data it generated in spot on. Remember garbage in, garbage out. oops. Nope, I can`t try it. Not for $29.99... It's well worth it. It goes on the phone so you can have it in the field. It also works with angles if you know what they are. You know the old saying about "you get what you pay for". LOL |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2018 18:49:05 GMT -5
oops. Nope, I can`t try it. Not for $29.99... It's well worth it. It goes on the phone so you can have it in the field. It also works with angles if you know what they are. You know the old saying about "you get what you pay for". LOL Woooo. Too rich for me, I`m on a pension. I`ll just do more shooting in the field. |
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Post by esshup on Oct 30, 2018 19:04:05 GMT -5
It's well worth it. It goes on the phone so you can have it in the field. It also works with angles if you know what they are. You know the old saying about "you get what you pay for". LOL Woooo. Too rich for me, I`m on a pension. I`ll just do more shooting in the field. I use it a lot, because of shooting long range in different conditions. The last ballistic program I bought I've used for 10 years. (Exbal) That one is on my laptop and on a Palm Pilot. I still use it but I was worried about the battery going out on the Palm Pilot when I was in the field. |
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