Long range ballistic calculators

[usmc1974]

With one is better or your choice Night force or Strelok pro.

[shotdown]

I've never used those. I do use Shooter and Ballistic. They are great.

[ShooterSteve]

I've used jbm with good results. Not what you listed, but worth a look.

[AmericanHorse]

Do folks still use palm pilots or did the ballistic apps take over?

[Graham Smith]

Shooter runs on both iOS and Android, Ballistic only runs on iOS, JBM is a web program. Applied Ballistics is Android and Kestrel.

[striped1]

Strelok pro does everything i need. It is a great app.

[427Cobra]

all and I mean all the Apps are pretty good, I prefer Applied Ballistics, but all of them suck if you the end user are inputing garbage, you must know the exact speed of your ammo, not what the box says, and you need real time atmospherics where your shooting from not the weather station BS from the phone, inside 500 yards you'll do pretty good guessing, beyond that garbage in equals garbage out.

[Stlhead]

Applied ballistics is also IOS, I have tried them all and prefer AB. On the handheld or in the Kestrel it's all good.

[Graham Smith]

FWIW, this question comes up from time to time here and the answers are all pretty much the same as you see here. Many people have only tried one app and like it so that's what they recommend. Others like a particular app for a particular reason. Some are better for some kinds of shooting than others are.

If all you want is basic ballistics information for a standard load and don't care about G1 vs G7 or spin drift or any of the stuff that starts getting handy for custom loads and 1000+yd shooting, then most of the calculators will work.

If the details really matter, then you need to look at the features very closely.

[Jason Klein]

I like Shooter app for android. I have used strelok, vortex, jbm, and a few others. The ones listed pretty much give the same DOPE across the board. I just like the way Shooter is layed out.

BUT, no app is going to be perfect. You will need to hit the range and verify your data. Keep track of environmental data as well. I like Density altitude because it takes into consideration a lot of other factors. Kind of like an airplane. It doesn't care if it is 100 or 10,000 feet in altitude, if the Air Density is 5500, it will always act like 5500. Very brief description, and I can expand on that later if you want.

Just get out and verify your data before you actually need it!

[JFlowers]

Dang. I use a Data Book. Watched a guy re-calc with his app for every shot and seemed like a waste of time.

[Graham Smith]

To the OP: The general question of which ballistic calculator depends a lot on what you need it for. For some, having a reticle displays with holds is quite valuable for others, it's useless. Some have complicated wind calculations that allow you to input multiple readings which is great for upper mid and long range but of no particular value for short range. IOW, one person may advocate for Strelok Pro and another say Advanced Ballistics and both be right because they have different needs.

I like Density altitude because it takes into consideration a lot of other factors.

Please read this entire post before you start jumping up and down and yelling that I am an idiot. Plus, I'm going to ramble a bit.

Here is the jist of what I got from an email exchange with Brad Millard (JBM)... The only two factors that have any significant effect on calculations are temperature and (absolute) pressure (humidity can basically be set at 50% then ignored). The primary advantage of Density Altitude is that it is a single number but it's not really more or less accurate than using temperature and pressure.

Here's my take on that... If you are going to do data cards or use something like a Whiz Wheel, it might be simpler to use DA for that but if you are using a ballistic calculator, it doesn't matter as much. The pressure isn't going to change much during the day and temperature need only be adjusted periodically so the amount you save by using DA can be very little.

On the other side of the coin... My Kestrel does give me DA and I record that in my book right along with temperature, pressure, and humidity because more information is almost always better than less. And since I have DA, I use it for my calculations.

All this brings me to the main point, needs vary depending on the shooter, the location, and the type of shooting. I know people who shoot in the same general area all the time and the only thing that changes enough to bother with is temperature and they really only need one or two dope cards to cover themselves. I know others who travel all over the place shooting at different altitudes and having a calculator is a real benefit.

I've talked with 1000yd F-Class shooters who take readings once a day, and some who check before every 20 round course. Same thing with PRS shooters. And most seemed more concerned with knowing the wind effect than the drop.

Like so many things in shooting, it's all relative. More isn't always better, complicated isn't always better than simple, but some times it's the other way around. Knowing what's right for you is the key.

"Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.", Miles Kingston

<off soapbox>

Edited July 13, 2015 by Graham Smith

[Stuey]

My data book and Ballastic AE.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SCAR]

I use the Knight's Armament app, JBM, Strelok and Applied Ballistics. For the most part I use the Knight's app the most, because I've gotten so used to the functionality, I use AB as a back up, but I will probably migrate to that one as my primary next season because of all the updates and support Litz provides. I have all the apps on an IPOD touch and it works great.

[Shootnjunky]

applied ballistics