Ballistics (exterior)

  • Tables and Drag Functions
  • Ballistic Software
    • FreeWare
    • Web-Ware
    • Shareware
    • Buyware (Software)
  • Test equipment
  • Military Grade Stuff
  • Misc.(wildly unsorted stuff)

Tables and drag functions

R Retardation fps.s.
V Velocity fps.

R=A*V^m

British 1909 Ballistic Constants

V(feet/sec) A m

4000-2600 15366E-07 1.67
2600-2000 58495E-07 1.5
2000-1460 59814E-08 1.8
1460-1190 95408E-12 3
1190-1040 23385E-22 6.45
1040- 840 59939E-12 3
840- 0 74422E-08 1.6

Ballistic Software

FreeWare

  • C++ Source for even smaller point-mass-trajectory simulation of baseball. Download and save as baseball.cc.
  • Various basic programs by Robert McCoy (Former at Ballistic Research Lab).
  • Excel Marksman by Hans Cronander
  • I am a shootist and an MS Excel professional. I’ve implemented R.L. McCoy exterior ballistics in a new fashion in MS Excel. The source code includes an ODE engine based on a Bulrish-Stoer variable step length numerical integration method for rational functions. Anyone devoted to VBA programming is welcome to further develop these calculators, as long as they share the improved code with the author (the 3DOF model needs to be complemented with more retardation functions).
  • McTRAJ4 with McTraj4 with McCoy original Drag Coef tables G1, G2, G5, G6, G7, GS, GL. My RA4 was added. A new Atm10 program to calculate air density ratio. The new RA4 table was converted from the RA4 .DCT file in Ballistic Explorer v5.5.2: RA4 tables for the 22 rimfire are rare.
  • PCB 1.8: Exterior ballistics software similar to bal413 but not so cool.
  • PointBlank, Computer Reloading & Ballistics Software v1.8a (221 KB)
  • C Source for small point-mass-trajectory simulation. Download smallbal.zip.
  • And now also smalbal2.zip. Included in it is the original smallbal.c source and documents with a smallbal.exe file the author compiled. He also added smalbal2.c and smalbal2.exe, modified to include G1 drag function, paged output, gravity turn off, Metric or English input and output, changed from command line input to program input, and the increased max time from 15 to 150 seconds. He also included getopt.c source.
  • WinBall.zip Based on the formulas from Sierra’s loading manual.

Web-Ware

  • Ballistics. A very good description of internal, external and terminal ballistics.
  • Basic Ballistics. A very gentle introduction to some exterior ballistic terms.
  • Chronographs. How they work and why to use them.
  • Fr. Frog’s Ballistics Page Also look at Fr. Frog’s Home Page
  • JBM Web-based ballistic computer. Plus a lot of related material: formulas, drag tables etc. Check it out.
  • JBM – an “improved” versionThis version lets you put in BC/velocity breakpoints and the program figures out what BC to use based on the velocity for the point being calculated. It may be more accurate than JBM’s original, if you know more than one BC/velocity pair.
    The drop results are within 1% of Sierra’s Infinity program for at least one long range calculation. That difference may be entirely due to the numerical integration method used in the two programs.

    The modifications were made by Daniel Pouzzner, off JBM’s code which is in the public domain.

  • Norma Ballistics page
  • A user evaluation of the Shooting Chrony.
  • Web Ballistics. also a Web-based ballistic computer. Includes an introduction to some ballistic terms.

Buyware (Software)

Test equipment

Misc.(wildly unsorted stuff)

Talk to me

Hi! I'm Mike, one of the oldest writer of Sniper Country! If you have any feedback or question about my articles, please submit it here, it's always appreciated!

[contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]

Claim your targets for free (worth $99)!

Join 212,000 avid gun enthusiasts and claim your print-at-home shooting drills. Receive exclusive gun deals once a week and all our great reviews right in your inbox.