Range Report KAC ballistic program

[Whiskey9514]

I am new to long range and I don't want to be a gear queer just yet I found a knights armament ballistic calculator app for iPhone iPad ect. and the reviews seem consistently good. I was wondering if anyone has used this and if it's worth buying keep in mind I'm new to this so if it's a dumb ass idea to use an app for a ballistic program just let me know or steer me in the right direction. Thanks guys.

 

[Sandman0077]

I have used Strelok, but I'm not sure if it is for IPod or not. There is a thread around here already that talks about the different types of BC. Do a quick search and see if it comes up. Good luck!

 

[mouse07410]

These days it's a dumb idea not to use a ballistic calculator.

KAC Bullet Flight is a fine calculator, and it served me well. It is very fast to set up and convenient (for me) to use. One particular feature I like is its ability to receive input in metric or imperial, allowing you to freely mix and match without having to configure anything or change any setting. You want to enter temperature in F and pressure in hPa? Fine. Distance in meters, or yards? Fine. Etc.

Having said that, Bullet Flight is not cheap. Ballistic AE is not as fast to set up, and not as flexible - but it is choke-full of useful features. I use it often, and am tempted to say "it's a-must to have". I run it on iPhone, iPod and iPad (note that there's a special Ballistic AE for iPad version, but you'd pay another $20 for it, so I chose to just run the iPhone version on iPad too).

Shooter is also nice, and runs on iPad as well.

Finally, iStrelok is free, runs on iPhone and iPad, and should address your needs in the beginning...

 

[Whiskey9514]

I have used Strelok, but I'm not sure if it is for IPod or not. There is a thread around here already that talks about the different types of BC. Do a quick search and see if it comes up. Good luck!

I would be running it on an iPhone so that shouldn't be a problen

 

[Sandman0077]

I would be running it on an iPhone so that shouldn't be a problen

IPhone is what I meant. Sometimes I forget there are such things

 

[win.308stealth]

the KAC works fine. I bought a used ipod specifically for this app. Sometimes when we go out west there isnt real good cell phone coverage, and the iphone will drain the battery real quick searching for service. Where as the ipods battery lasts for quite some time.

 

[mouse07410]

the KAC works fine. I bought a used ipod specifically for this app. Sometimes when we go out west there isnt real good cell phone coverage, and the iphone will drain the battery real quick searching for service. Where as the ipods battery lasts for quite some time.

I got iPod because it was way cheaper at the time. Later I got iPhone (old & overused - had to replace a few parts myself, but it was fun) because I liked having GPS and compass built-in. If I'm concerned of the unnecessary battery drain - I simply put it in airplane mode ("emissions tight" or EMCON for you Signal guys ). It's not connected to a carrier anyway.


Mouse
NRA Life Member Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[Delta4-3]

I have isnipe on my IPhone and like it.

 

[mouse07410]

I have isnipe on my IPhone and like it.

iSnipe is based on the Open Source gebc-1.7 (GNU Exterior Ballistics Library), released circa 2008. Which in itself is great, because you got the source code to play with and tune whatever you think needs tuning. I played with it on Mac for some time, decided that by the time I polish the GUI enough to be convenient, Ballistic AE would learn to measure the wind along the trajectory by itself.

Feature-wise, iSnipe seems to lag behind applications like Shooter and Ballistic AE (based on my experience with the GEBC code, and the iSnipe developer Web site description and screenshots). Plus, it is unclear to me what "New Ballistic Engine" they offer for an additional $0.99.

So if I had to spend $11 on a ballistic comp - Shooter would be my first choice, and then Ballistic AE for $20. If you really value the speed and ease of setup (and like it when you can input values in different measurement systems - like meters and fps, etc), then $30 Bullet Flight is a good addition.

 

[Ring]

DONT BUY KAC.... its has not been updated since 2011...

buy shooter 9$ or ballistic AE 20$

 

[mouse07410]

DONT BUY KAC.... its has not been updated since 2011...

buy shooter 9$ or ballistic AE 20$

Both Shooter and Ballistic AE offer more features than KAC, which is one reason why I have them both.

However, IMHO the fact that it hasn't been updated since 2011 is not really relevant. It does well what it did well in 2011. It is convenient in what it does. It runs on all my iOS platforms (iTouch 4, iPhone 3GS and 4S, iPad 3).

If you need simplicity and convenience - consider KAC. If you need features - either Shooter or Ballistic AE would make a better choice.

Finally, if you want it free - don't discount iStrelok, it works reasonably well (though I prefer the other three apps discussed above).

 

[kansas]

I bought knights first and like it but shooters is way better. More for your money.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

DONT BUY KAC.... its has not been updated since 2011...

buy shooter 9$ or ballistic AE 20$

Some people have older operating systems on their device is why it is still viable. I use a first generation Ipod some kid gave me. It gets thrown around and uses the older software and seems to calculate ballistics just fine.

 

[mouse07410]

Some people have older operating systems on their device is why it is still viable. I use a first generation Ipod some kid gave me. It gets thrown around and uses the older software and seems to calculate ballistics just fine.

I must add that KAC Bullet Flight has no problem working under iOS 6 on my old iTouch 4 and iPhone 3GS. And on iPhone 4S and iPad 3, both running the latest iOS 7.0.2.

So even though it hasn't been updated since 2011 - it runs fine on all the iOS versions Apple released since then.

 

[Whiskey9514]

KAC ballistic program

So I'm between ballistic AE, shooter, and, I snipe. I don't mind spending twenty more dollars for something that works. I had one and I can't remember what it was called but wouldn't let me enter load data besides "300 win hollowpoint" I'd like to be able to put in grain bullet type mf and grain as well as fps say 162 gr amax in a 7saum at x fps. KAC was my first choice because it said it would give me clicks in Moa and I could take that data and put it on paper what of these features do AE and shooter have?

 

[mouse07410]

So I'm between ballistic AE, shooter, and, I snipe. I don't mind spending twenty more dollars for something that works. I had one and I can't remember what it was called but wouldn't let me enter load data besides "300 win hollowpoint" I'd like to be able to put in grain bullet type mf and grain as well as fps say 162 gr amax in a 7saum at x fps. KAC was my first choice because it said it would give me clicks in Moa and I could take that data and put it on paper what of these features do AE and shooter have?

Don't know iSnipe - I played only with the freeware ballistic engine that runs it.

All of the other programs (Ballistic AE, Shooter, KAC, iStrelok) allow you to enter a new bullet with all the parameters you mentioned plus its BC, because without the ballistic coefficient it is useless (you cannot compute the trajectory). For those who say "you really need the drag coefficients" - chill down, I'm keeping this short, sweet and simple.

All of them except for iStrelok allow banded BC - this starts mattering when you need long-range prediction.

Ballistic AE uniqueness - ability to compare trajectory graphs (velocity, power, drop) for different rounds in different calibers.
KAC uniqueness - ability to mix-n-match inputs in multiple measurement systems right on the target screen.
Ballistic AE and Shooter are roughly comparable feature-wise, KAC is a little behind but a little faster to use.
iStrelok is the least capable of them, but it's the cheapest (free ).

 

[Deleted member 10043]

I've used them all and I think most people prefer the one with the most acceptable GUI to the eye. Maybe the best advise is to just look at screen shots and pick the one that looks the best. On the other hand, maybe look at what was fixed from previous versions as well. One time Isnipe came out with the calculate spin and drift option. But the author forgot to allow for zero. I figured he know about it but when the bug showed up again on the next minor update I contacted him and he had completely overlooked it. This should have never occurred had he just looked at Ballistic which allowed for the zero option. I mean, I didn't figure it out on my own. It was right there on a different program. Apparently, it is a real pain in the ass to get a new release out because Apple has to approve it and blah blah blah, which only adds to the amount of time someone may be using a flawed program. I know Isnipe users were using an incorrect calculated spin and drift dope for a while. That was a few versions back and the author of Isnipe fixed it as soon as he was able.