HI, i've seen some people that does long range shooting with some sort of software that can calculate the pressure and ballistic of a specific combination of powder, projectile, case, and primers, where can i find that kind of software and what is the best out of the ones out there?
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ballistic calculator software
- Thread starter Guan999
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QuickLoad and GRT (Gordon's Reloading Tool), they are both predictive simulation tools not a 1:1 replacement for tested reloading data and safe reloading practices.
ETA:
A simpler online tool that I've had good results with is P-MAX
ETA:
A simpler online tool that I've had good results with is P-MAX
Which one would you say have more accurate data? Or which one have more component data saved?
Quickload is $160USD and GRT is crowdsourced and free. Either one will get you close but not perfect(and they're tweakable). What are you going to use it for?
The accuracy of the predictions can vary from cartridge to cartridge. Some cartridges require tweaking to get a result that matches reality. All 3 of the ones I listed will have some component the others don't, none of them are all inclusive.
i am trying to get a load dev going for a new prs gun in 6.5cm and a load Dev for my friends 308, I just want to see some data with different powders and projectiles before doing the actual load dev, instead of buying them and doing load dev one by one.
Either QL or GRT would be suitable for that.
I wouldn't use it as a tool to find the perfect load (I don't find the OBT calcs all that useful), but rather to see what's roughly appropriate when published load data isn't an exact match. If you want it to match reality, there's still measurements and shooting that needs to be done to 'true' the predictions.
I don't true it anymore, just as a quick cross refence to published data from a book or powder website, or a gee-whiz when people post their stupid-hot handloads with nO pReSsUre SiGnS!
ETA: Neither is going to reliably tell you what is going to be the more accurate bullet/powder, it only really models pressure and velocity.
As the others have said, the internal ballistics models are not a substitute for load development.
You will find that if you are a beginner in internal ballistics, you will need several sessions of modeling where you adjust the model to match measurements, and then practice trying to predict/match the effects of small changes before you would attempt to run the models as a substitute for a load manual recipe.
Both QL and GRT require some study, rookies don't pop out of the gates with the ability to predict or match results without several iterations of practice across many bullet/cartridge/powder and barrel types.
Not trying to talk you out of this, just setting your expectations. Go for it and good luck.
QL and GRT are subject to Garbage In/Garbage Out but GRT is pretty easy to use. There is a lot of info on the Discord Site. It can be helpful in selecting powders but as others have noted it is not something to replace a formal load development. It will allow you to "play" with some variables and see their effect on the performance of the cartridge. It incorporates Optimum Barrel Time model from Chris Long for those who use that method. For external ballistics JBM is probably the simplest to use on the internet but not the only one. It is also the engine in the Ballistic AE app. In includes a pretty good library of bullets from most sources including Litz.
Yea I am not expecting the software to replace load dev, I just want to use the software to pick out a good combination and do a load dev with that combination and see how it is. Because the root of my problem is I am not sure how to pick the best powder and projectile weight for my setup.
I ponied up for QL because I wanted to load some 223 cartridges long to see how that would affect accuracy in an AR I have, and it was the easiest way (in my mind) to find a starting point for the amount of powder to get velocity roughly equivalent to the "book" loads while still being safe for pressure. I treat it as a tool, not the "final word".
If you go with either QL or GRT, four things you should be sure to do to get a decent idea of what you might get looking at various combinations:
1. Fire a few rounds and chrono their velocities so you can adjust the burn rate to where the MV is at what you recorded. You need to get a good idea what you're particular powder does, as the default burn rate is seldom reliable.
2. Take the brass (at least 10 of them) and measure the volume of the fired cases for your particular cases being used. Use the average to input is the app
3. Measure the ambient temperature you fired the cartridges in and input that amount.
4. Measure several cartridge's COAL being fired and input the average
If you decide to go with QL, I'd still recommend downloading GRT and playing with it to help get a feel for this all works. There's a bit of a learning curve and it's a good idea to practice and get a good idea how the various inputs effects the numbers.
That's the thing software will not tell you this. You just have to try different powders ,bullets, loads to see what your rifle likes, there's no getting around it.
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