External ballistics program

Max range table Set the max range for your trajectory graph Intervall table Set the intervall distances for your trajectory graph Ballistic coefficient BC basically shows how well your bullet will fly over distance meeting external resistances such as wind and gravity.

A high number indicates better flight properties than a lower number. Drag model G7 drag model if available, otherwise G1 as default Muzzle velocity The velocity of the bullet when it leaves the barrel Bullet weight Weight of the bullet. This is the result of the bore being lower than the scope's line of sight. At very short ranges say, 1 yard , it would require huge angular adjustments in order to get the scope pointed at where the bullet hits. At extremely short ranges, this is nonsensical, but mathematically correct.

It's more useful when you get out to yards, where it will give you a a good estimate of how much you need to hold over in order to hit a very close target assuming a yard zero. Other ballistics calculators may not show this effect simply because they do not chart data at 1 yard intervals. After you get some results from the calculator, a button that allows you to download the results in a. Open the file in the spreadsheet program of your choice, and you can edit it to print out your own range cards.

It is not a book for those without a very strong math background. If the words "solve a coupled system of first order ODE's with a numerical method" don't at least jog something loose in your memory, you'll probably not understand most of the book's math. There is some information to be gained outside of the math as well, but this is really a college text book at its core. If I had to have only one book on the subject, this would be it. It also has extensive measurements of drag data using the G7 drag function, which is the best match for today's long range bullets.

This book is not overly technical, but it's not simple either. It's light on math, but heavy on advanced ballistics concepts. For the practically minded, this book is tough to beat. I also highly recommend Bryan's follow on Books for even more intermediate to advanced information. Sierra includes a section in their Reloading Manual that gives a good, but basic, introduction to some of the concepts of exterior ballistics.

It's a great place to get started. A simply fascinating book all around. You will learn something if you read this book - guaranteed. Unfortunately, it's out of print. Buy it if you see it.

Like Vaughn's book, it's about more than ballistics and has a heavy experimental as opposed to theoretical angle. Amazing is too light a term for this book's content. It was out of print for quite a while, but appears to have resurfaced in - so buy one while it's still available.

For almost every long range boat tail bullet, G7 is a better fit than G1. For short, flat based bullets, a G1 may be a better fit. In either case, there isn't much difference until you get out past yards or so. Most of the BC data comes straight from the manufacturer's websites and publications.

He's generously allowed us to use his data in our calculator. They provide an excellent introduction to advanced ballistics topics, but without all the tortuous math. That means that the projectile is modeled as a point in space and affected by drag and gravity. I have not used most of these programs, so I am not attempting to review or even recommend any of them.

This page is meant to be a central place for people to find what is available. If you have or know of any other software that is not listed here, please let me know. Dead links are removed from time to time -- usually if Google cannot find them anymore. Programs are listed alphabetically by name in two sections.

The first section, Programs lists those commercial and free programs that I currently know about. The second section, Web Based , lists web based calculation programs. Ballistics Calculators and other resources. Software Pointers to ballistics software available on the web and elsewhere.

Nice Windows installer. Balcal 6. Has a lot of features like many of the programs here. Ballistic Ballistic is a fast, highly-accurate ballistic trajectory calculator and range companion for the iPhone. Ballistik Pro 1. The program containes 8 different functions for sport shooters, hunters and reloaders. Barnes Ballistics for Windows Barnes' Windows based ballistics program, version 2.

Runs on Windows '95 or higher. This program uses a modified point mass trajectory and is capable of doing simulations.