Ballistics Software (Free Demo Version) Now you can easily utilize the power of ballistics software to give you the edge while hunting. Generate ballistic charts and find ballistic coefficients at the click of a button! Easily calculate the optimum performance settings for your gun/ammo combination.

• • • • • There are many reasons why having a computer in your pocket can come in handy, and accurate long-range shooting is one of them. Smartphones can be used to look up weather information specific to your location, such as wind direction, barometric pressure, humidity and temperature.

Screen recording quicktime windows. These can all affect accuracy and when put into a good ballistic calculator, will help you make more accurate shots. Ballistic calculator apps let you streamline the process and cut out the middle man by taking the place of a stand-alone ballistic calculator. Some apps are fairly basic, and rely on you to input the needed information before they calculate the necessary sighting adjustments. Others will pull that information from your phone’s sensors and fill it in for you. Those functions usually require phones that have built in altimeters and native weather apps. Typically, the only other measurement ballistic calculators need is the muzzle velocity of your preferred round. Some of the apps have their own database with that measurement included, and others can be found on the manufacturer’s website, but muzzle velocity can vary slightly from gun to gun.

For extreme precision, measuring the muzzle velocity of the round when fired from your gun would be ideal, but that requires access to a chromometer. The Apple App store and Google Play store have a wide variety of ballistic calculators to choose from.

We’ve sorted through the good, and not so good, to find the best apps available today. To show how they stack up against each other, we’ve made a quick comparison table. For a more detailed review of each app, read on. Hornady Ballistics – Free Features The Hornady Ballistics app is great free app that does a good job blending functionality with ease of use. On the Home Screen, you’ll be able to choose between the Standard Ballistics Calculator and their 4DOF Calculator. The 4DOF Calculator includes more variables for a more precise adjustment. Shooting Angle measures your gun barrel’s angle relative to level and plays a big part in ballistics.

Firing Azimuth is a horizontal measurement that comes into play at extreme ranges, and considers the rotation of the earth when determining bullet drop. Earth Based Effects is a latitudinal measurement that ties into the amount of centrifugal force imparted on the bullet, which is higher towards the equator and lower towards the poles. Firing azimuth and latitude work together, and are normally called the Coriolis Effect, despite seeming like separate categories on the app.

Fortunately, each of the above measurements are pulled directly from your phone, so no math is involved. If your phone doesn’t have a built-in latitude measurement you will need to enter that manually, but most phones made in the last 2-3 years do have it. Below you can see the differences in calculation when those variables are included.

Also, don’t be confused by the Standard Calculator showing BC Calculator at the top. It doesn’t stand for Ballistic Coefficient Calculator, which some of the other apps do have. It’s just redundant, like PIN Number. Their 4DOF calculator is more accurate, but it does have some caveats.

It is reliant on the shooter using bullets already in their database. The database is sizable, and it does include some by other manufactures, but there is an understandable Hornady bias.

If your preferred bullet is not on the list, you can input its information in manually, but you’ll only be able to use the included standard calculator. The app also has a way to store your gun’s info for quicker use in the future, by creating a ‘Favorite’ the app can default to. You’ll be able to add your gun, optic and preferred bullet. For this to work you’ll need to register for an account, but there’s a checkbox that lets you opt out of newsletters and emails. They keep to their word too, I opted out and haven’t received any emails at all, not even a “thanks for registering” one.