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Forum Index > Precision long range hunting and shooting > Free Android ballistics calculator

Free Android ballistics calculator

02 Mar 2020
@ 01:30 pm (GMT)

Scott Struif

I've tried several Android ballistics calculators on my slow Android phone recently. They are all quirky and non-intuitve. Hornady's locks up. All I need to know is drop out to 400 yards with a 200 yard zero. Leica's new "Leica Hunter" app is pretty easy, but once you define a bullet "profile", it's permanent. You can't edit it's name or delete it. Each time you want to reference the chart/table for a bullet profile, you have to navigate several screens and tell it to generate the chart. While this does give you the opportunity to input current, elevation, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, etc., it's annoying. Maybe I'm asking too much for free.

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15 Mar 2020
@ 06:42 am (GMT)

Warwick Marflitt

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
Scott.... Stop waffling
You've read the books!!!!!
get your hand off it and
Buy a Sightron scope
3.5-10×44 MOA3 ILLUMINATED RECTICLE
part number 25124
Or a 25130 With the Mill Dot reiticle
Mount sight in and shoot you some deer......
End of story. Meat in the freezer....... take some pictures and movies n tell us about it. ...
16 Mar 2020
@ 02:19 pm (GMT)

Scott Struif

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
Thanks, Warwick. Your point is well taken and duly noted. I'm also looking at range finders on my own, hopefully sparing my friends on here all the grueling questions. I don't anticipate needing the scope you and Nathan use, but, having been presented with opportulnities that would have warranted it, I'm considering it.
16 Mar 2020
@ 05:01 pm (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
Scott........please take what Im about to say with caution/grain of salt/due consideration
Im a grumpy old fart...bush hobbit at heart so dont do diplomatic very well...a spade is a spade...its not a plurry shovel with a diferent handle.

the "rule of three" has been around for possibly close to a hundred years...its definately been used by riflemen for at least 50.
if we assume you have a semi pointy projectile (eg unknown BC)
and velocity is between 2700-3000fps (eg no chronicgraph)
if you sight in 3" high you will be pretty much point n shoot out to 270-300yards and hold on spine at 350-400 yards.....
do quick google search of rule of three and it should pop up as have put up photo of it on two other forums lately

what it means in practice it this
a deers vitals are about 8" round..think soccer/volley ball
if you placed a pipe 8" in diameter between you and deers vitals however far you can shoot deer through that hyperthetical pipe WITHOUT hitting top or bottom of pipe gives you your point blank/point n shoot range. eg no more than 4" above or below the line of sight...where your cross hair is aimed.

bush hobbits like myself often have a 1-2" high at hundy zero as a 200 yard shot is very rare....and yes if you using likes of 25/06 and zapping 85grn pills out at 3600fps (burning barrel out fast) you will shoot way too high if go 3" at hundy.......so look to keep projectile inside that pipe.
pointblank online on www.huntingnut will allow you to buggerise around with whatever figures you want without issues...it mightnt be a flash as your other gonkulators but its simplicity of use makes up for that.
main page ,box on top left...put in what figures you know and do educated guess for rest....have a play,nothing to loose.
Mike
16 Mar 2020
@ 05:17 pm (GMT)

Scott Struif

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
Thanks, Mike. I understand the pipe concept. My concern with the 3 inch rule of thumb is field conditions could exaggerate it. If I have a 180 yard shot, I'm gonna be 4 inches high. So if I take a snap shot at a fleeting animal, and pull it high, I could be 6 inches off. I was trying to figure out if I wouldn't be better off zeroing dead-on at 100 yards, and then dialing for 200, 300, 400, etc.
16 Mar 2020
@ 07:55 pm (GMT)

Mike Davis

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
you shouldnt be "taking a snapshot at fleeing animal" at 180 yards..... fifty yes...150 NO....come on thats just silly talk...put up some party balloons at diferent ranges and snap shoot them.....they are stationary...chances are anything much past 100 yards you will be pissing into the wind standing.
I dropped my .223 down to 1.5" high at hundy BECAUSE most of my shots at wallabies are around the 150 yard mark..... thats usually sitting on bum shooting off knees across small gullies....Im pretty good at it actually but snap shot at that range is usually a wasted round.

as said earlier go onto pointblank and have a tootoo with the figure till you work out what sight in zero you are happy with....like anything in life its a compromise...for my money having to fiddle with dials for a 200 yard shot is plain old stupid.....unless you trying to head shot,why would you bother..point and shoot,then go butcher your animal.
17 Mar 2020
@ 12:28 am (GMT)

Frank Vallich

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
Quote:
Thanks, Warwick. Your point is well taken and duly noted. I'm also looking at range finders on my own, hopefully sparing my friends on here all the grueling questions. I don't anticipate needing the scope you and Nathan use, but, having been presented with opportulnities that would have warranted it, I'm considering it.


For your consideration the following comment:

Take the cost of a range finder and add that money to purchase a reticle, for the scope, that assists in calculating range. THis keeps your eye on the target and may up the quality of your scope. Google Rapid-Z reticle
17 Mar 2020
@ 03:44 am (GMT)

Scott Struif

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
Mike, my choice of words was poor. I meant fleeting, not fleeing, in the sense that the deer around here usually feed where they've got some cover, so you may only get a glimpse here and there as they mill around. I didn't mean taking an offhand potshot at a running animal, which I would never do, although I've seen it done successfully. Even with a good solid rest, a foraging animal may only present you with a decent shot for a second or two. That's what I meant by "snapshot."

Frank, I read the Zeiss manual on the Rapid Z reticle. Looks similar to the Nikon BDC system, with the companion software. After re-reading the relevant parts of Nathan's long range hunting book, I've dismissed the idea of range estimation with a scope, because animals vary in size even within a species. I agree not taking your eyes off game is a good idea, though. I seriously considered the range-estimation reticles before deciding I need a range finder.
17 Mar 2020
@ 06:26 am (GMT)

Frank Vallich

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
First OFF: BDC is not the same as Rapid-Z. Not the same data provided from a BDC as the Rapid-Z.
Rapid-Z(Rhymes with Jed)

I may have missed the information so repeat please.
What calibre - make - barrel length - twist rate of firearm do you have?

Wondering why calculating distance with a Rapid-Z is not practical?
Is it due to a low energy cartridge and you need to be SPOT ON?
8 inches is a large pie plate to hit even when guesstimating the distance as has been pointed out.
17 Mar 2020
@ 11:27 am (GMT)

Scott Struif

Re: Free Android ballistics calculator
Hi, Frank. Thanks for recommending the Rapid Z. It looks to be better than the Nikon BDC, and Vortex BDC, systems. It displays hold-over in 50 yard jncrements. The software helps you determine the power setting for optimal accuracy of the hold over marks. This is obviously better than having a couple dots below the crosshairs at oddball ranges, depending on your load's ballistics. Zeiss has been making world class glass for years. The Rapid Z is etched. It's available on the Conquest line. It has a lot going for it, but I've read that Zeiss scopes don't excel in low light conditions. As far as range estimation with a scope, I'm inclined to rely on Nathan's advice. If laser range finders weren't so cheap these days, I'd probably give it a try.
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