Kestrel 5700 w/ Hornady 4DOF

[ormandj]

Took the Hornady Kestrel out this am and had first round hits at 520 yds second round hits at 918yds and 965yds with my 6BR using of all things the one berger 243 bullet that is in the solver (the 105 hybrid) I have switched over to the 108eldm but had those loaded. I had my wind direction off a little I need the weather vane now lol. Works good, although I had some kind of stupid weird error where it literally took 30 times to connect to my Pixel 3, then all of the sudden decided to work...

Connected good with my Bushnell ConX rangefinder (which I will probably put in the equipment exchange later today...a leica found its way to my doorstep, although havent tried to connect it or know if it will ).

My Kestrel doesn't get here until Wednesday, but I've got a Leica 2800.com I'll be connecting up. Hope it works, having the ballistic solution readout on the Leica is all kinds of awesome. That the same model you're using? Let us know how it works for you.

 

[Elevatorman51]

Got mine today
Even with laser engraving though that my delay delivery

 

[Wrongtarget]

Does this allow more than one target distance to be entered or do you have to enter each one if need multiple solutions?
Thanks

 

[Kestrel Ballistics]

This is a 5700 meter, it has only 1 target capacity. Each separate target is entered separately. The Elite stores 10 targets.

 

[ThisGuy]

Is the zero offset info removed? I don't see anywhere the option is displayed.

 

[Sticks]

That is Hornady DOF. No offsets...that they need, along with click calibration.

I have one rife/scope combination that is outside the Axial Form Factor limits.

 

[ThisGuy]

That's disappointing. I see the need for that for having a sup setting and when the sup is removed.

 

[Elevatorman51]

Is the zero offset info removed? I don't see anywhere the option is displayed.

The zero angle is in there. Toggle the zero range.

 

[ThisGuy]

The zero angle is in there. Toggle the zero range.

I found that, how would I input 3" low, 1/2" right?

 

[Elevatorman51]

I found that, how would I input 3" low, 1/2" right?

I used the zero angle calculator, which asked for vertical impact distance from point of aim.

 

[Kestrel Ballistics]

Zero offset is only available in the Elite.

 

[Sticks]

I found that, how would I input 3" low, 1/2" right?

Change your zero range to get you closer to POA/POI. If you are zero at 200 and hitting 3" low, then change your zero range to 170 - as an example. As far as left right correction, we are screwed, and need to take notes on POI at range to compensate for the left/right error.

 

[reefrashralph]

So is there a rangefinder that will link to the kestrel that will show both elevation corection and wind corection on the screen

 

[ormandj]

So is there a rangefinder that will link to the kestrel that will show both elevation corection and wind corection on the screen

My Leica Rangemaster 2800.com does. Unfortunately, the BT connection seems a little unstable when doing repeated ranging. It takes a few seconds to connect then the first ranging generally works, but repeat ranging does not. Once it sleeps and I range again it tends to work. There's a delay before it connects that can sometimes be ten seconds, sometimes two. Just seems like there needs to be a little testing on the Kestrel or Leica end to shore this up, because when it is working, it's truly wonderful! Firmware is 1.28 on Kestrel and latest on Leica.

Got the Kestrel today, so far so good. I hope to have it out to the range soon but the dope matches the Hornady 4dof app well once I setup a matching rifle profile. Great not to have to pull out my phone and combine environmentals from various places and hand type them.

 

[reefrashralph]

My Leica Rangemaster 2800.com does. Unfortunately, the BT connection seems a little unstable when doing repeated ranging. It takes a few seconds to connect then the first ranging generally works, but repeat ranging does not. Once it sleeps and I range again it tends to work. There's a delay before it connects that can sometimes be ten seconds, sometimes two. Just seems like there needs to be a little testing on the Kestrel or Leica end to shore this up, because when it is working, it's truly wonderful! Firmware is 1.28 on Kestrel and latest on Leica.

Got the Kestrel today, so far so good. I hope to have it out to the range soon but the dope matches the Hornady 4dof app well once I setup a matching rifle profile. Great not to have to pull out my phone and combine environmentals from various places and hand type them.

I sent an email off to kestrel to see what they have to say . I have the bushnell and while its ok You really need a second person to give you the wind correction and that's a pain in the butt.

 

[ormandj]

I sent an email off to kestrel to see what they have to say . I have the bushnell and while its ok You really need a second person to give you the wind correction and that's a pain in the butt.

It's definitely a part of the Leica solution. Once the BT thing is ironed out, it'll be pretty amazing.

 

[DellaDog]

Just got back from day 1 with the Hornady Kestrel. Till now, I’ve only used StrelokPro paired with weatherflow.

Very easy to set up both a 6.5 CM and 223.
My bullets of choice were both available in the library. 140 Hybrids and 75 ELDM.

Winds at my back were recorded at 12-15.

6.5 CM first round hits (2MOA targets) at 800, 900 & 1000.
1100, 1200 &1300 took a bit of wind experimenting but Elevation was spot on.

223, first round hit at 800. Wind correction adjustments for 900 and 1000.
After figuring out the wind, 1000 1 MOA hits were spot on for elevation.

Having never touched a Kestrel before this morning, I’m extremely pleased. I’ll never futz with a phone and meter again.

 

[ThisGuy]

Can anyone explain the muzzle velocity temperature input with the android app? I understand the selection of powder with regards to temperature sensitivity, but not completely sure about the mv temp. Is that when the barrel is cold/ first shot and the ambient temperature at testing? And the fps input in that section, does it override the fps input the bullet data area? I have searched the manual and other forums for guidance on this input and can't find anything. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Sticks]

I would say yes, it's your ambient temp, and preferably your first MV average for your load and powder. Preferably that the ammo has equalized with the ambient, or very close to...Though I have tested this ammo temp thingy and did not see noticible difference with several powders from below freezing to 160*. Gotta be something to do with ambient and bore temps included.

 

[Rearden Steel]

Zero offset is only available in the Elite.

Not

Zero offset is only available in the Elite.

Not much of a commenter here. Usually can’t add anything.

For the 3” low that drove the zero offset question, wouldn’t the true range zero process correct it? If so, that is on the menu as you scroll down to the individual rifle (for me it is SH700 140ELDX).

If the 3” low average is the rifleman’s experience, the true range zero c/should correct it.

If folks care, mine arrived Friday. I’ve never owned a kestrel with a built-in ballistics program, so I’m learning as I go. I’m probably missing something.

 

[pell1203]

Does anyone know if there is special Hide pricing for this? I have the itch

See post #15 earlier in this thread. Enter code “15HDS” for 15% off on Hornady’s website.

 

[azred33]

While it is early on for the Hornady Kestrel, there are good reports here on its ability to generate accurate holds and not one report of it not generating good holds. Both Hornady and AB have excellent reputations for their products. Both solvers offer two ways to tune the calculations to your rifle, AB - MV and DSF, Hornady MV and Axial Form Factor. The big difference between the Hornady Kestrel 5700 and the Elite is the gun storage 10 v. 3 (remember storage on your phone is unlimited), and the addition of Multi Target and range card in the Elite. Range finders that connect to either may also have some impact as there are more for the Elite than Hornady, but that will change as more manufacturers add Bluetooth to their LRFs. I think we have two great choices and pricing that reflects the differences - $499 or $699.

 

[kingston]

Will this work without a data connection? The existing 4DOF iPhone App doesn't seem to work with out a data connection.

 

[Rearden Steel]

It is a stand alone system. No cell/Wi-Fi needed.

 

[Sohafdahl]

Hornady posted a promo code on social media "15HDS" for 15% off of pre-orders
Thought I would pass along to help some out.

I got mine . I used the promo code .got it for 425.00 so far seems to be spot on.

 

[Rutter]

Am I correct in the understanding that you can not build a range card in the kestrel 4dof, it’s a target by target basis.

 

[Sendero_Man]

Am I correct in the understanding that you can not build a range card in the kestrel 4dof, it’s a target by target basis.

correct, no range card option on the 4DOF meter

 

[reefrashralph]

Two of us took our new Hornady Kestrel out to try yesterfay and we both came up with the same problem one rifle is a 6.5 cm and the other is a 6.5 prc We both use different chronographs mine is an old Alpha his is a new MagnetoSpeed when we did the cal ff at 600 yrds useing the info on the kestrel both rifles shot 10 and eleven inches low the only way we could correct this to be able to use the cal ff was to slow our MV by over 200 fps To me this isn't right even though we where on target all the way out to 1k.So my ? is what did we both do wrong in our set up We also tried fixing it by changing from zerow range to zerow angle didn't make a difference.

 

[pbatesaz]

Did you try calibrating t(e axial form factor? If so, how close did that bring you to poi=poa? Thanks.

 

[reefrashralph]

Did you try calibrating t(e axial form factor? If so, how close did that bring you to poi=poa? Thanks.

Thats where the problem is neither one of us could enter enough moa to use it without slowing down our MV So we both slowed our MV so that the axial ff would calibrate at one. I believe it said out of range check other inputs .

 

[pbatesaz]

Ok. That is disappointing. Thanks for responding. Please let us know if you figure anything else out. 200 fps seems excessive.

 

[canezach]

Did you try calibrating t(e axial form factor? If so, how close did that bring you to poi=poa? Thanks.

I'm sure I missed it in this thread, but how and where do you adjust axial form factor? My 4DOF Kestrel is incredibly close to my AB Kestrel, but I'd still like to know in case I run into a situation that requires adjustment

Edit: Disregard. I found it in my Link Ballistic app on my phone.

And here's a video on how to calculate your actual axial form factor

 

[BLKWLFK9]

It sounds like you may have some other data input incorrectly for that kind of MV change needed. I could be wrong, but the only time ive ever had something like that happen on any ballistic solver, i went back and realized i had some ungodly number put in for the scope height. Something like 19" instead of 1.9"

 

[reefrashralph]

That would be a good one I just checked that and I'm at 2.0 All other parameters are correct as well. and its two of us at the same time entering different data for each gun I'm sure there is a goof some place just have to find it.

 

[DellaDog]

That would be a good one I just checked that and I'm at 2.0 All other parameters are correct as well. and its two of us at the same time entering different data for each gun I'm sure there is a goof some place just have to find it.

Did you manually enter the bullet data or were they already in the Hornady catalogue?
Something ain't right (as suggessted) data wise - 200 fps is more than an environmental error.

 

[canezach]

Did you manually enter the bullet data or were they already in the Hornady catalogue?
Something ain't right (as suggessted) data wise - 200 fps is more than an environmental error.

That's a good question. The 105 Hybrid, 107 SMK, and 140 ELDM are the three bullets I shoot the most frequently. All three were in the library, so the firing solution given by the 4DOF was incredibly close to my AB Kestrel. To be off 200fps-worth of drop seems like a manually entered BC was too high

 

[reefrashralph]

I used the Hornady 4dof data that is in the Kestrel 147 gr eld match and i used the g7

 

[Kestrel Ballistics]

I used the Hornady 4dof data that is in the Kestrel 147 gr eld match and i used the g7

Why did you use the G7 instead of the 4DOF solver?

 

[Steel head]

I used the Hornady 4dof data that is in the Kestrel 147 gr eld match and i used the g7

Why
4dof works really well with the 147’s
Running aff at .97 and my numbers work past a mile.

 

[canezach]

Well, I think we've solved the mystery of the 200 fps variance

 

[Shippj]

I had a weird issue the first time I took it out. I went out to validate the form factor at 685yds. My group was 7.5" high. I could not adjust the form factor to bring the group back to center. I went back to the drawing board to evaluate all my inputs. Speed was checked by LabRadar, SD over 12 rounds was 7 and change. Zero was good, all manual inputs were good After all this went back the same day, with the same inputs and shot a 1.7" group at 7.5 inches high. I couldn't adjust the form factor to compensate. I came back to the drawing board and cussed the kestrel up and down, I even went out and then did a ladder test to check my scope tracking. I went back the next day and again used the same exact inputs, shot a group 3.5" high and was able to bring it down with a form factor of .91. Seems to be working now. The only thing I can figure is maybe I was getting some aerodynamic jump that the kestrel wasnt accounting for. I was shooting in some pretty high winds (15 sustained with 20-25 gusts) but was sheltered from some of it at the firing position.

I was using the 4DOF program for 107SMK .

 

[Shippj]

It wasnt mirage, as you can see there wasnt much that day. Target was the white dot on the low knob to the front right of the hill.

 

[reefrashralph]

Why did you use the G7 instead of the 4DOF solver?

I used both and had the same variance

 

[Swoodhouse19]

I have the kestrel 3500 (free with a leupold LRP) and have only used a few times...Been trying to decide AB or the hornady version as I use AB on my phone...Leaning towards the Hornady 4DOF

 

[jd65]

I was able to get the Hornady Kestrel out this weekend at a local PRS match. I'm new to PRS and new to a lot of this gear. This is my first Kestrel to own and it definitely helped having it. Having the Kestrel, I was able to make a nice improvement on my number of hits. It produced accurate holds for me out to 850yds. It has been easy to learn and I am very happy with the results. That all said, I can see where having the ELITE would be nice for the extra features but, I think this Hornady Kestrel will do everything I need at this time and should serve me well for a good while.

 

[KYpatriot]

What bullets are in hornady’s library? Is there a list somewhere?

 

[jd65]

What bullets are in hornady’s library? Is there a list somewhere?

I believe most Hornady and Berger Bullets are in the 4DOf library.

 

[canezach]

I believe most Hornady and Berger Bullets are in the 4DOf library.

I believe the library also has Sierra bullets

 

[jd65]

Go here,

Ballistic Calculators - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

Kestrel® 5700 Ballistics Weather Meter with Hornady® 4DOF® Combining complete onsite environmental measurements with the precise trajectory solutions of the integrated Hornady 4DOF® ballistics solver, this rugged all-in-one...

www.hornady.com

In the box that says "Ammunition", click on "Bullets" and there is your library.

 

[canezach]

Here are the bullets in the 4DOF library:

HORNADY
22 cal: 73, 75,80, 88 ELDM
6mm: 90 ELDX, 103 ELDX, 105 BTHP, 108 ELDM, and 110 A-tip
25 cal: 110 ELDX
6.5mm: 100, 120, 123, 130, 140, 147 ELDM, 135 and 153 A-tip, 140 BTHP, 143 ELDX
7mm: 150, 162, 175 ELDX, 162 BTHP, 162, 168, 180 ELDM
30 cal: 155, 168, 178, 195, 208, 225 ELDM, 168, 178, 195, 208, 225 BTHP, 178, 200, 212, 220 ELDX, 250 A-tip
338 cal: 285 ELDM, 270 ELDX, 250 and 285 BTHP, 250 A-tip
50 cal: 750 AMAX

BERGER
22 cal: 80 VLD
6mm 105 Hybrid
6.5mm 140 Hybrid
7mm 180 VLD Hunter and 195 Elite Hunter
30 cal 215 and 230 Target Hybrid
338 cal 300 Hybrid Tac

LAPUA
6.5mm 136 and 139 Scenar
30 cal 167, 175, 185, 220 Scenar
338 cal 300 Scenar

SIERRA
22 cal 77 SMK
6mm 107 and 110 SMK
6.5mm 142 and 150 SMK
7mm 175 and 183 SMK
30 cal 168, 175, 190, 210, and 220 SMK
338 cal 300 SMK

WARNER Flat Line
6.5mm 122 FL
7mm 150 FL
30 cal 155, 180, and 198 FL
338 cal 256 FL
375 cal 361 FL

NOSLER
22 cal 77 RDF
6.5mm 140 RDF