Advanced Marksmanship My best way to a ballistic firing solution

[idahoorion]

I need some educated advice for a way to get more consistent first time hits. I shoot for fun banging steel and learning the game and for long range hunting.

At my disposal are, a couple of downloaded ballistic programs to my computer for range cards.

a chrony for muzzle velocity.

a windmeter and the chart with wind values from a posting by Lowlight.

A Leica 1600b for ranging, also used for station pressure/temp and angle. After having the Leica for a while figured out that it would make a correction, but nowhere does it give the baseline for the correction in the manual so I had to call them to find out it is based at 29.13 pressure and 68%. if you set the leica up, inside 880 ranged yards it will give you distance to target and then a second later after thinking bout it, it gives a corrected range based on angle. and the station pressure and temp it reads.

so I set my range cards up with that pressure /temp for 750ft altitude, ( WAG that 29.13 is 750 ft of standard atmosphere) muzzle velocity, and BC, etc and line it up.

This seems good enough within 5-600 yards but after that, not as good as I would like. I have a buddy that says use shooter or A.Bal. for every shot. Since I don't have a smart phone, I wondering if this is the only or best way to get me to the promised land.

Thanks in advance
Idahoorion

 

[djskit]

I'll jump ahead to the end of the line...the Kestrell with the Litz or Horus is that cat's ass when it comes to figuring this stuff out. I've shot from 0 DA to 14,000 DA and my elevation calls are dead on or within a click or 2.

At the 2013 SH Cup in WY, the DA was around 9,000 (I usually shoot around sea level) - my first practice shot was at 950 - my dope was reading a whole mil less than at seal level, but the results were dead on.

We were in OK in February and the PRS Club Championship and it was 20 degrees - results were 100% out to 1200 yards.

I can and have traveled anywhere in the country, any time of the year and have confidence in my dope. I use the I phone aps for dynamic wind conditions.

 

[idahoorion]

Djskit,

so you are using the kestrel with the Applied Ballistics in it.? The Kestrel weather station and the app. then you add distance to target and I am figuring you have your cartridge preloaded. and it give you the solution? Is that how she works for you. how do you do slope? That's usually important in Idaho.

thanks
Idahoorion

 

[djskit]

I have the Horus, just becuase the Applied Ballistics hadn't come out yet, and don't feel a compelling need to change.

But yes, the kestrell accounts for the atmospherics and adjusted your pre-loaded ballistic data for your particular cartridge. It can handle several different ones. You can adjust out put to how ever many yards you like and increments down to 10 yards IIRC.

I believe it does handle angels and movers, but I switch to an I phone ap for that stuff as the interface is much quicker. For example, if the winds are shifting from 11 O'clock to 9 O'clock, Ballistic AE on the I phone can quickly move between direction and get you a bracket. The kestrell can handle speed brackets, but I like to play with speed and direction change on my ap to find the brackets. YMMV...

 

[CoyotieKiller]

Idahoorion,
Was that 29.13 and 68% HUMIDITY or 68 DEGREES F?? I was just curious if the computer/forum screwed with your degrees symbol. If it's humidity, do you know what temp their ABC is calibrated for?
Thanks

 

[CoyotieKiller]

Nevermind. It just dawned on me that it doesn't have a humidity sensor on it.

oops.

 

[idahoorion]

Coyote killer,

Yep I fat fingered that percent symbol. Should have been degrees. I am using shooter now with true pressure from the 1600 and temp from it too. Take the range, the above two inputs and using shooter for azimuth and slope (my iPad will take these). Wind input from a meter (and some wag) and am consistently making first time hits. Has worked with three different rifles. I now believe the bullet

Idahoorion