06-25-2014, 12:24 AM
Guys:
Here is my point and it comes from doing these calculations. You need to be shooting at a very long distance for them to be of value and at those distances you will never really know what variable caused what. The Grendel is a 500 meter cartridge in terms of military applications. You don't see anyone using it and winning at Camp Perry or in F Class.
So you guys are talking 1000 to over 2000 yards. OK, I have noted a temperature change of ten degrees between firing lines and 200 yards, let alone 1500 yards for example. And there are probably variations in barometric pressure between you and 1500 yards. I have found mirage to have huge effects on elevation at relatively short distances, let alone distances past 1K yards. And it is damn hard to tell if a miss was due to poor zero / hold or that the shooter didn't determine the range well enough. Then there is wind which may fishtail two or three times between you and the target with huge variations in speed between you and say, 1500 yards.
No doubt there are variations in elevation due to air temp, ammo temp, and Bp and these play a role at very long ranges but they play less a role given a very fast and ballistically designed bullet. And, even if a cartridge is inefficient for those distances, the guy who knows his elevation from experience is much better off than one who uses a app to extrapolate an elevation change from a very short range zero.
I don't really have problems with these apps and other devices that assist in a ballistic calculation. They all go into the learning process. I sure wouldn't trust my life to them.
Here is my point and it comes from doing these calculations. You need to be shooting at a very long distance for them to be of value and at those distances you will never really know what variable caused what. The Grendel is a 500 meter cartridge in terms of military applications. You don't see anyone using it and winning at Camp Perry or in F Class.
So you guys are talking 1000 to over 2000 yards. OK, I have noted a temperature change of ten degrees between firing lines and 200 yards, let alone 1500 yards for example. And there are probably variations in barometric pressure between you and 1500 yards. I have found mirage to have huge effects on elevation at relatively short distances, let alone distances past 1K yards. And it is damn hard to tell if a miss was due to poor zero / hold or that the shooter didn't determine the range well enough. Then there is wind which may fishtail two or three times between you and the target with huge variations in speed between you and say, 1500 yards.
No doubt there are variations in elevation due to air temp, ammo temp, and Bp and these play a role at very long ranges but they play less a role given a very fast and ballistically designed bullet. And, even if a cartridge is inefficient for those distances, the guy who knows his elevation from experience is much better off than one who uses a app to extrapolate an elevation change from a very short range zero.
I don't really have problems with these apps and other devices that assist in a ballistic calculation. They all go into the learning process. I sure wouldn't trust my life to them.