In this software Applied Ballistics offers us the possibility to simulate thousands of shots without having to fire them in order to characterize our probabilities of impacting targets of a defined size at a given distance, all while taking into account the performance of our weapon and ammunition system (group size at 100 meters, regularity of speed, etc.)
Indeed, the best shooter in the world, the best ammunition, does not give a single hole at 1000 meters, a certain number of variables external to the system (wind) and internal to the system (regularity of speeds, of grouping) come to accentuate in a more or less significant way the grouping at long distance. This software characterizes this phenomenon
There are many uses for this software, but here are some examples of concrete uses
- Comparing different ammunition to choose the best one for a given application is will ammunition A with characteristics X beat ammunition B with characteristics Y on a target of size Z at distance D?
- Help with choosing and investing in a future system (simulation of several calibers and reloading with performance comparison)
Should I sell my good old 308 WIN to move to a 6.5CM in order to achieve 80% impact on a 40x40 gong at 1000 meters?
- Characterize the maximum engagement distance of an animal for a hunting shot with a 99% probability of impact of the vital zone
How does it work?
Step 1: Enter your ballistic data:
If you are used to ballistic calculators you will not be lost here, it works like any calculator found on our smartphones
- Projectile used (There is a huge library where you have to draw your projectile)
- Average exit velocity of the projectile to be taken by ballistic radar
- Weather data
Where the software varies from a standard ballistic calculator is that it asks you about the regularity of your system.
- Average grouping in MOA* at 100 meters (on 5 shots, be critical and don't just put your best grouping which comes punctually, personally I use the average of 5 groupings of 5 shots)
- The regularity of your speeds (standard deviation that you can collect during your series of groupings)
* Reminder 1 MOA = 29.1mm at 100 meters.
Step 2: Define your ability to read the wind
This part remains the most difficult to complete, but how important.
Wind remains the number one cause of error for a long-distance miss, our ability to read the wind varies greatly from one individual to another, Bryan Litz poses the following hypothesis
- A beginner reads the wind with an accuracy of plus or minus 1.5 m/s.
- A Confirmed person reads the wind with an accuracy of plus or minus 1 m/s
- An expert reads the wind with an accuracy of plus or minus 0.5 m/s
There are exercises to work on reading the wind, a kestrel in your pocket during your nature outings... It's up to you to know how to evaluate yourself as accurately as possible. Don't cheat, it's for your own good!
Step 3: Define the target, its shape, distance and size
The software will ask you which target to simulate shooting on, several shapes and sizes are available
- Rectangular target suitable for gong shooting simulations (of which the height and width are chosen)
- The choice is possible between 3 target shapes: “Human” target type IPSC (Whose ratio on the official IPSC is chosen)
- Circular target suitable for simulations of vital areas for hunting (whose diameter is chosen)
-> Once these 3 steps are completed, the software will launch its calculation and then give you a simulation of 1000 shots under the conditions stated above.
Let's take a concrete example of using the software:
I am a beginner shooter, using a 308 Win weapon, I hesitate between two reloads to regularly hit a target 25 cm high and 50 cm on the side at 800 meters, I am a beginner and reading the wind is not my strong point (hypothesis with 1.5 m/s of uncertainty)
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My first reload is a classic of the French TLD |
My second is more exotic , a very heavy but very slow ball but which I have difficulty grouping at 100 meters. |
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The first reload offers a spray with a strong lateral, few shots go over or under, the majority of misses are due to a lack of reading the wind. 47.3% of impacts on target |
The second reload has a bit more vertical dispersion, more bullets go over or under, logical with a lower muzzle velocity, but the lateral has decreased considerably compensating for our lack of wind reading 59.4% of impacts on target |
So you can see that despite the best grouping at 100 meters of the 167gr Scenar, the latter is beaten by the 208 gr at 800 meters on our 25x50 cm plate.
And having tested these two cases in real life, we can confirm that there is no comparison between these two charges!
The software gives you the participation of each “variable” on your vertical dispersion, we take our load in 208 gr ELD-M
The software tells us that: our speed variations on our 208 gr load whose standard deviation is 3m/s owes the majority of its vertical dispersion to the lack of regularity of speed, the second factor is the weapon whose grouping of 1 MOA which disperses vertically at long distance, the last factor is the wind reading, a wind having a head or tail component will lower or raise our bullet, our lack of wind reading also creates a vertical dispersion.
So now we know that in our case we should favor the 208 gr for the TLD but that we are unhappy with our load, what should we improve to have the most impact on target?
- Improve the grouping?
- Improve speed consistency?
- Get out faster?
We will test the 3 tracks and see the effect on our probabilities of impacts on this 25 x 50 cm plate at 800 meters.
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Hypothesis 1: Transition from a 1 MOA to ½ MOA grouping at 100 meters, all other parameters remaining the same |
Hypothesis 2: Improve the regularity of our speeds with a standard deviation going from 3 m/s to 1.5 m/s, the other parameters remaining the same |
Hypothesis 3: Increase the exit velocity from 740 m/s to 770 m/s (change from a single to a double base), the other parameters remaining the same |
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Gain: 4.8% |
Gain 7.7% |
Gain: 4.5% |
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Our opinion: Reducing the size of the group by 2 at 100 meters only saves 4.8%... Lots of work ahead.. |
Our opinion: Reducing the standard deviation of the ammunition from 3 m/s to 1.5 m/s allows you to gain 7.7% impact, very notable! And above all, missed shots above and below the gong are much less numerous, when you are better at reading the wind this ammunition will be perfect! |
Our opinion: does a low gain of 4.5% justify increasing the pressures, reducing the life of our components, our barrel? Difficult to justify outside of competitions where every shot counts. |
You can now define your strategy to improve your load and on which axis to prioritize your research!
What if the 308 Win is not powerful enough for my use?
Why not simulate a hypothetical weapon in 6.5 Creedmoor? Or even in 300 PRC?
Maybe the grass is greener on the other side?
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In 6.5 Creedmoor: The reloading tables show me velocities of 830 m/s for 140 gr Hornady ELD-M projectiles. I could make this future weapon group as well as the current ½ MOA one and also have similar velocity regularities (3m/s standard deviation) |
In 300 PRC: The reloading tables show me velocities of 850 m/s for 225 gr Hornady ELD-M projectiles. Difficult for a beginner to group as well with a magnum so 1 MOA seems feasible with similar speed regularities (3m/s standard deviation) |
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71.8% of impacts on target, i.e. a gain of 12.4% compared to my load in 308 win 208 gr without improvement, and of 4.7% on my load of 308 Win 208 gr having the standard deviation improved to 1.5 m/s |
77.2% of impacts on target, i.e. a gain of 17.8% compared to my load in 308 win 208 gr without improvement, and 10% on my load of 308 Win 208 gr having the standard deviation improved to 1.5 m/s |
This allows you to provide figures and justify whether or not the expenditure of thousands of euros (weapons + components + etc.) is justified according to your criteria.
This also allows the price of the ammunition to be weighed against its impact probabilities. Is multiplying the price of the ammunition by 2 to gain 5% impact justified for my use?
Everyone has their own goals and budget, but with this tool, no more playing with your fingers in the dark!