427Cobra Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) I walked into the world of LR 8 years ago, I knew nothing, but I listened to people who were doing good, watched them and made notes, I made some pretty dumb mistakes, I bought cheap ass scopes, later replaced with much better scopes, I consider a NF to be where to start now and go up from there, I had a off brand weather meter, it sucked, I replaced it with my 4000, using DA is easy, and it's the number that counts, the density of air is what effects bullet flight, a 2500 is a fine meter, but it's not a 4000, and it doesn't give the information a shooter needs to make hits at distance, which is ................................ DA. I have given good advice in this thread, choose to use it or ignore it, I'm going shooting now, I have a long drive. Edited January 11, 2012 by 427Cobra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I have given good advice in this thread, choose to use it or ignore it, I'm going shooting now, I have a long drive. No offense intended and I don't question the fact that DA will give you what you need. But I've just got to dig into this some more because I have not seen anything that puts DA into the must have category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Ballistic FTE. I left my dope card at home forthw 2009 Snipshide Bash. Used my muzzle velocity and ballistic FTE forth whole match. Wasnt pefect but it got me a top half finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 FWIW, I just got a copy of Ballistic FTE to experiment with. Two things I can see right off: --I wish there was a manual for it. It's not as intuitive to use as I would like. --The bullet list is not up to date with the list on the JBM site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
427Cobra Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 There is not a manual for it, this is as close as it gets http://ballistic.zdziarski.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMAC Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Ballistic FTE on my iPhone. I found it to be pretty intuitive with no background in long range shooting...just 1 year of 3 gun and reading this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrt4me Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I walked into the world of LR 8 years ago, I knew nothing, but I listened to people who were doing good, watched them and made notes, I made some pretty dumb mistakes, I bought cheap ass scopes, later replaced with much better scopes, I consider a NF to be where to start now and go up from there, I had a off brand weather meter, it sucked, I replaced it with my 4000, using DA is easy, and it's the number that counts, the density of air is what effects bullet flight, a 2500 is a fine meter, but it's not a 4000, and it doesn't give the information a shooter needs to make hits at distance, which is ................................ DA. I have given good advice in this thread, choose to use it or ignore it, I'm going shooting now, I have a long drive. Bryan, when are you gonna come shoot some matches with us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havotec1 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 +1 for ballistic FTE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stlhead Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 I just deleted a long post on the topic of DA as it relates to long range shooting and instead will just post this. If you shot any of the matches that I will be going to then feel free to use your phone to calculate your dope using the standard temperature, altitude, barometric pressure, and humidity inputs. I am sure that it will get you close enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rstimpfling Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Does anyone know if the Kestrel 4500 with bluetooth will pass the information it collects directly to the Iphone and the Ballistic FTE app? I would think that would be a good reason to get the 4500 with BT. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerHippie Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 (edited) I've actually toyed around with a few programs: Ballistic, iSnipe, KAC BulletFlight Lvl.2 and iStrelok. This DA discussion is fascinating and I'll have to investigate more to see if I can find a good ballistic option that uses this data. Ballistic offers a truing option similar to Atrag. Given this it's probably the best option. I find it slightly clunky compared to BulletFlight, which is clearly more intended for field use. iSnipe rides middle of the pack; it's nice that it pulls meteorological data and slope angle automatically, but these are data that I pull from other applications anyway. iStrelok has a handy reticle view which I find easier to use than the other readouts. It works best with a Horus reticle or similar mil-grid. The reticle view is strangely zoom-agnostic (target size remains the same as zoom increases) which makes this readout slightly odd to use, but it does give you a very good idea of what your holdover should be with a BDC or mil/MOA hash reticle. It is worth noting also that iStrelok has an easy to use zero-atmosphere setting which allows you to vary atmospherics between where you zeroed and where you're shooting; I have not tested this function extensively but it seems a nice feature to have for people that shoot in multiple environments and altitudes. Some other applications which are not mentioned but useful in the ballistic/field shooting capacity: Clinometer Theodolite (augmented-reality land-navigation hacking) Spyglass (like Theodolite, adds a slightly more intuitive map shortcut, includes more ranging features) Weather Underground (pulls weather data from local stations - not as good as a weather meter but for most range shooting acceptably precise, particularly if your range has its own weather station, as many do) Edited November 23, 2012 by TriggerHippie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
August Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I have not seen anything that puts DA into the must have category. Density altitude is the ONE number that takes into account: pressure, temperature, and water vapor in the atmosphere. It is the number pilots use when taking off from higher elevation sites. It is the number drag racers use when setting up their fuel mix and tire pressure. And, it's what long range shooters use when the distance is 1000 yards and beyond. While water vapor doesn't affect bullet flight significantly at 500 yards, it can be the difference in minute of torso accuracy at 1200 yards. Ignore it at your own peril. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swhiteh3 Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I may be speaking out my a** here, because I have lots more experience playing with the software than actually shooting at long distances, but I've generally been impressed with both the v2 BulletFlight, and with Strelok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphamikefoxtrot Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I use ballistic as well but after reading this while post I feel vastly inadequate and ignorant. Please feel free to completely disregard my suggestion. The only DA I know about it the DumbAss behind the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donovan Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Get Ballistic FTE, and a Kestral 4000 so you can get the DA where your shooting from, set up FTE to use Density Altitude, forget about using temp baro humidity ........, DA is a combination of everything a shooter needs to make hits at distance, you can be in Death Valley -4000 DA or on Mt Everast 15000 DA(those are guesses not fact) and the data FTE will be extremely close, my IPhone has iSnipe, iStrelok, BulletFlight, MD Ballistics, Shooter, and Ballistic FTE, I use FTE almost exclusively. As with any ballistic program, Garbage in Garbage out, DO NOT guess what your FPS is, and shoot thru the chrono whenever possible, DO NOT guess what the DA is, I cal my Kestral every time I use it, I never ever adjust its baro setting, I use the GPS in my car to give the altitude where I'm shooting from and adjust the Kestral to that, after that I monitor the DA, 500 feet DA change will change your come ups. Now the data FTE spits out may not be exact, I find at 1000 yards it's with in .1 -.2 Mils, that's where data books come in to play, use one, record your shots. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tackman11 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I use Ballistic FTE with Kestrel 4500NV it seem to work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rstimpfling Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Tackman11 does your Kestrel have blue tooth capability? If so are you able to link the Kestrel directly to the I Phone? I would like to know before I spend the extra money for the blue tooth capability. Robert Semper Fi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadp Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I have not seen anything that puts DA into the must have category. Density altitude is the ONE number that takes into account: pressure, temperature, and water vapor in the atmosphere. It is the number pilots use when taking off from higher elevation sites. It is the number drag racers use when setting up their fuel mix and tire pressure. And, it's what long range shooters use when the distance is 1000 yards and beyond. While water vapor doesn't affect bullet flight significantly at 500 yards, it can be the difference in minute of torso accuracy at 1200 yards. Ignore it at your own peril. +1 I've been using Shooter for a little while now, and I love that all I have to do is plug in DA, and it's spot-on. Furthermore, I don't even bother with a chronograph--confirm 100yd zero, then use MV tool to match up the dope at the farthest distance I can go to. Best 10 bucks I've spent on an app. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swhiteh3 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 I may be speaking out my a** here, because I have lots more experience playing with the software than actually shooting at long distances, but I've generally been impressed with both the v2 BulletFlight, and with Strelok. Also, Strelok now includes a muzzle velocity "trueing" feature that was previously only available (AFAIK) in the ATrag software that was not available for any of the modern platforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanttolearn Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 hi, its been a long time since this topic has been discussed, wondering if there are any new or better apps out for the iPhone 5 or are these still the best options out there? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShooterKen Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 i've been using Ballistic AE on my iphone and it works great and recomendit to everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shotdown Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 (edited) Ballistic AE and a Kestrel 4000 or 4500 in order to get DA. The reason I stress DA is because you're not going to have a weather station out in the middle of nowhere. If you use the Kestrel's (corrected) Barometric Pressure in your Ballistic Calc, you will need to correct the Kestrel before going out. Plus you may not have the same conditions where you're going (now you've added data from the location you came from). In order to correct it where you plan on shooting, you will need to know your current elevation (in order to get the corrected Baro Press and data). By using station pressure on the Kestrel, you'll get the correct DA no matter where you're at. Your DOPE will change a bit when you have at least a 5000' DA change. Also, Ballistic AE has the Litz library, uses the JBM calculator, and you can true your DOPE if you need to. Edited January 1, 2014 by shotdown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthonyjhallen Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I dont know if its available for Iphone, but Shooter has worked well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rckymtnshooter Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 This thread got me to look into Density Altitude. I'm sold on the need to have it. Now I'm wondering if the Kestrel 4500 is worth the extra over the 4000 with it's extra wind read options. Anyone use the 4500 and have some comments on it over the 4000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tackman11 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Tackman11 does your Kestrel have blue tooth capability? If so are you able to link the Kestrel directly to the I Phone? I would like to know before I spend the extra money for the blue tooth capability. Robert Semper Fi No I don't use blue tooth. It's unnecessary, I just check the DA once in awhile to see if any change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now