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How to use a Ballistics Program
1. You need your bullet weight, your Muzzle Velocity, your Ballistics Coefficient and your sight in yardage.
2. Google is your friend for most of this. Lets sayyour trying to find the Ballistic Coefficient of a TC SW. So enter"TC Shockwave Ballistic Coefficient" intoGoogle and look for 300g SW and something from Hornady. You will see in looking thru the Google search, that the BC is .250. If you Google Hornady SST 300g you will find it at .250 here: http://www.hornady.com/images/2008_sell_sheets/SST-ML.pdf 3. Go to: http://www.sav10ml.com Then Click "Enter" Then on left hand side scroll to NEW Bullet Drop Calculator (this will open a new window) and click on it. Put your Bullet weight, MV, BC, sight-in yards and output increments into the interface.  |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
4. Your output will be this.
This for for a MV of 1900 FPS, 300g bullet and a .250 BC.  5. Now do yourself a favor and in IE mark the site as a Favorite and print this to PDF, instructions on how to print to PDF are here: http://tinyurl.com/2rwg99 Knowing your limits in hunting is very very important (you must practice at your furthest distance). Most ML hunting rifles can be zeroed for 3" high at 100 yards and this makes them effectively 175 guns, shooting thru a 6" pipe from zero to 175. You can get to 200 yards by upping your charge (150g of 777 for example). Best Wishes on Bullet Selection and Knowing your drop and therefore your guns limits and your shooting ability. Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
6. Now lets use the Program to do a little "scientific inference". What will be my bullet drop between and 0 to 150, with a 150 yard zero if I increase my MV by 100?
Here it the chart for 1700 FPS, with .250 BC of TC SW, 300g bullet, 150 yard Zero.  |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
Here is 1800 fps, same everything else:
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
Here is 1900 fps, same everything else:
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
2000 fps, rest stays same:
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
Now the last 2100 fps, since most inline ML reach about this as their Max velocity:
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
Lets intrepret this output, the high point of the arc for a 150 yard zero is 75 yards, so lets pick that, since we don't want to shoot for the neck and miss it all together. Here are the figures at 75 yards:
Fps inches 1700 + 3.6 1800 + 3.1 1900 + 2.7 2000 + 2.4 2100 + 2.1 So we gain a full 1/2" in better trajectory going 100 fps more from 1700 to 1800 fps. We gain a whole 1.2" by taking speed up from 1700 to 2000 and 1.5" by taking the speed up 400 fps from 1700 fps.Most rifles have a sweet point for accuracy, but can go up 100 fps to gain some trajectory improvement. You also know then over most of the range your shooting that when you shoot say 1800 fps your shooting thru a 6" pipe from 0 to 175 yards with a 150 yard zero. You can do the same thing with 250 vs 300g bullets and see where that gets you or compare and flat nose bullet vs a spire pointed bullet like the SST. Other may want to chime in here on how they use their ballistic program. Chap Gleason |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
I flunked math in high school;)
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: oldsmellhound I flunked math in high school;) "Speak softly and carry a big stick - you will go far." It is good you don't need to know a lot of math to shoot MLers well, but carring a big smokepole will get you far  .Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
Carrying a big smokepole WILL get you far, that is true. I was joking about the math (though I did do pretty bad in college calculus) - my brain just got overwhelmed with the wealth of mathematical information in your post;)
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
The most nervous I have been when shooting a ML was when I sailed 5 bullets through my chrony @ 100 yds to use as confirmation against these calculators. :(Thinking to myself "Please don't have a flier."[:@]
The chrony survived and as it turned out the "numbers" were pretty close +/- 20 fps.:D |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
The most nervous I have been when shooting a ML was when I sailed 5 bullets through my chrony @ 100 yds |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: HuntAway The most nervous I have been when shooting a ML was when I sailed 5 bullets through my chrony @ 100 yds to use as confirmation against these calculators. :(Thinking to myself "Please don't have a flier."[:@] The chrony survived and as it turned out the "numbers" were pretty close +/- 20 fps.:D Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: oldsmellhound Carrying a big smokepole WILL get you far, that is true. I was joking about the math (though I did do pretty bad in college calculus) - my brain just got overwhelmed with the wealth of mathematical information in your post;) Best Wishes, Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: Semisane The most nervous I have been when shooting a ML was when I sailed 5 bullets through my chrony @ 100 yds Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
gleason.chapman
Why do it at 100 yards? |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: sabotloader gleason.chapman Why do it at 100 yards? Do you know the formula for that and step by step procedures on how to calculate the BC? I have seen a lot of bullet makers inflate their BC, which would not be good when your trying to get accurate trajectory. PR Dead Centers come to mind on not being accurate BC. Anyway would like to know the formula and procedures on how to calculate. Good book on it? Thanks Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
I've found the Point Blankprogram to be quite accurate and it includes a function to calculate the BC of a bullet using weight and velocities at muzzle and 100 yards. It is located at www.HuntingNut.comand it's free. It is easy to download and can be put on a thumb drive and carried around with you if you work with multiple computers. I use it for doing comparisons similar to what Chap is doing. It also comes in handy to bust some of the myths that seem to presist about certain ultra long range muzzleloaders out there not to mention the CF comparisons.
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: dmurphy317 I've found the Point Blankprogram to be quite accurate and it includes a function to calculate the BC of a bullet using weight and velocities at muzzle and 100 yards. It is located at www.HuntingNut.comand it's free. It is easy to download and can be put on a thumb drive and carried around with you if you work with multiple computers. I use it for doing comparisons similar to what Chap is doing. It also comes in handy to bust some of the myths that seem to presist about certain ultra long range muzzleloaders out there not to mention the CF comparisons. Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
Point Blank is the one I use as well. I read, I believe it was a Chuck Hawks article, that true BC could be found by doing a close measurement and a far one. I'll see if I can find it and post a link to it.
The fact that the numbers proved out gives me the confidence to believe in the tables and by extension, that particular load. I was shooting Nosler Partitions when I did that test. |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
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RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
http://www.chuckhawks.com/bc.htm Chap |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
Actually, you don't even need the BC -- it is a relatively meaningless and soft number (changes with velocity etc). I have seen few on the internet for ML bullets that generated accurate trajectories with what I saw on the range.
I take a slightly different approach. I get my muzzle velocity, zero the gun at normal range, then check the actual drop at a second range. For example, last summer I zeroed my new scope at 100 yards, getting my MV off the chrony, then aimed dead-on at 200 and shot another nice, tight group. I measured the drop from point-of-aim then went back to the ballistics program and entered a 100-yd zero, my MV, and my best guess for BC. I then adjusted the BC entry until the trajectory the program spit out for 200yd matched what I had just shot on the range. Remember, what is important is an accurate prediction of trajectory, not that the BC you use matches any reported BC for that bullet; BC is only a means to an end. Low and behold, when I went back out and shot at 300 yds I was withing 1/2 MOA of what the program predicted. I was about 3/4 MOA off at 400 yds I think -- more than enough to get on the paper and adjust. A ballistics program is NEVER a substitute for actually shooting at every range you plan on shooting at game with a ML. For whatever reason I find that the programs are usually spot-on for centerfire but not as reliable for ML predictions. |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
I agree with you Spaniel. If I'm working with a bullet that I don't have a BC for refrence I will sight in and then shoot at another distance and use the ballistics calculator to find the approximate BC as you did. I had to do that with the No Excuse 460's when I first started testing them. As you said, BC is somewhat fluid and a change of .01 or .02 makes little difference in calculated results within normal hunting ranges, many other factors will affect the bullet more thana small mistake in the BC of the bullet. As stated actual range results are the final word on the trajectory of a load, theprogram is just helping you predict and visualize the expected trajectory.
Chap, I never thought about the ease of use of the Point Blank program as it was easy enough to use as it was. I do believe there are some instructions in the help screen if they are needed. It also has a firearm database to document all your guns if you want to use it. There are also some lists of bullets and there specs as well as some other things that I've never looked at included. |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: spaniel Actually, you don't even need the BC -- it is a relatively meaningless and soft number (changes with velocity etc). I have seen few on the internet for ML bullets that generated accurate trajectories with what I saw on the range. I take a slightly different approach. I get my muzzle velocity, zero the gun at normal range, then check the actual drop at a second range. For example, last summer I zeroed my new scope at 100 yards, getting my MV off the chrony, then aimed dead-on at 200 and shot another nice, tight group. I measured the drop from point-of-aim then went back to the ballistics program and entered a 100-yd zero, my MV, and my best guess for BC. I then adjusted the BC entry until the trajectory the program spit out for 200yd matched what I had just shot on the range. Remember, what is important is an accurate prediction of trajectory, not that the BC you use matches any reported BC for that bullet; BC is only a means to an end. Low and behold, when I went back out and shot at 300 yds I was withing 1/2 MOA of what the program predicted. I was about 3/4 MOA off at 400 yds I think -- more than enough to get on the paper and adjust. A ballistics program is NEVER a substitute for actually shooting at every range you plan on shooting at game with a ML. For whatever reason I find that the programs are usually spot-on for centerfire but not as reliable for ML predictions. |
RE: How to use a Ballistics Program
ORIGINAL: dmurphy317 I agree with you Spaniel. If I'm working with a bullet that I don't have a BC for refrence I will sight in and then shoot at another distance and use the ballistics calculator to find the approximate BC as you did. I had to do that with the No Excuse 460's when I first started testing them. As you said, BC is somewhat fluid and a change of .01 or .02 makes little difference in calculated results within normal hunting ranges, many other factors will affect the bullet more thana small mistake in the BC of the bullet. As stated actual range results are the final word on the trajectory of a load, theprogram is just helping you predict and visualize the expected trajectory. Chap, I never thought about the ease of use of the Point Blank program as it was easy enough to use as it was. I do believe there are some instructions in the help screen if they are needed. It also has a firearm database to document all your guns if you want to use it. There are also some lists of bullets and there specs as well as some other things that I've never looked at included. |
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