AB is a great program - make sure you get it set up right (zero height, zero offset, BC, MV, etc.) or you will be getting incorrect data (GIGO effect).
Not sure if spin drift and Coriolis (only has a 2-6" impact at 1000 yards really) will have much of an impact on 22 matches but getting the atmospherics correct will make things easier for sure.
Ballistic programs can't take all variables into consideration, you always have to test your actual combination... they do a better job if you can input accurate data.
I had a blast and learnt a lot from the match. My goal was to be in the middle of the field at the end of the day. Also, to see how my gear performed or failed because I've never shot out that far.
I didn't have a ballistic calculator but as you can imagine, one of the awesome guys on my squad helped me by inputted the projectile data into Strelok and texted the screen shots to me. Shooting Federal Auto Match 1200 fps.
I already have a tight group at 50 and a BDC out to 125 yards but anything beyond that, I was zeroing out on the stage. That first zero messed with my head but I was there to gain experience. After a few more zeros I noticed that I was dialing for meters but the screen shots were I yards. After dialing for yards I was getting hits again and ended up in the bottom third.
So, I feel that the real thing here is, how high were you expecting to place and ideally how high would you like to finish given your experience? Top 10 or 1st?
Don't take any truth from a greenhorn like me but I was happy being in the bottom 10 or 11 (can't remember don't care) but if you are happy with top third, awesome! It’s a good day. If you wanted higher than that maybe it just wasn't your day, you need more hours competing (lord knows I do) or you need a Kestrel.
Did a bunch of ballistic results tests taking into consideration...
1) Effects of Changes in Temperature
2) Vertical Offset caused by wind speed and direction
3) Direction of shot (Rotation of earth)
4) Spin Drift
5) Muzzle velocity changes relative to temperature
Individually these variables seem almost insignificant, but collectively, no so much.
If you have a capable ballistic calculator, you can perform these calculations in advance for a specific range and develop a series of printed tables that you can refer to hopefully matching the scenarios you will encounter at the match.
If you attempt to use ballistic software that does not consider the points mentioned above, you will get some hits but your effective target size will be much smaller than it actually is. In reality you will miss a certain number of targets as a direct result of ballistic data error.
Do you “need” a Kestrel or Garmin 701?
No, not exactly, but it will certainly help.
Without it, you better be prepared to generate and organize a book of ballistic data for a specific match at a specific range.
This assumes you actually know what range you will be firing on when you get there and what direction the range is pointing.
There is certainly a lot of prep work described above and supports the conclusion that anyone who attempts to claim that doing well in a match is entirely the result of “shooting skill”, and not solid ballistic data, I will immediately lay down the BS card. You cannot have one without the other. High ranking in a match is the result of having both.... In addition to a plethora of other factors.
So ya… I downloaded and bought the Applied Ballistics phone app a couple days ago, which I used to conduct a post mortem and illustrate ballistic error is large enough to cause many of the misses I made at Aymer and Meaford.
Until recently I hoped that I could adjust on the fly during the match and overcome such error, but that thinking was born of complacency.
I also ordered a Garmin 701 which should arrive around the end of March.
It will be interesting to see how the numbers compare between my buddy’s Kestrel and the Garmin.
Will I win my next PRS match? I doubt it, but I’m confident that I’ll do a little better in the overall standings and have a little more fun. I hope to be able to spend more energy on breaking clean shots, and less energy on attempting to process what is not working when the data is not correct.
I had a blast and learnt a lot from the match. My goal was to be in the middle of the field at the end of the day. Also, to see how my gear performed or failed because I've never shot out that far.
I didn't have a ballistic calculator but as you can imagine, one of the awesome guys on my squad helped me by inputted the projectile data into Strelok and texted the screen shots to me. Shooting Federal Auto Match 1200 fps.
I already have a tight group at 50 and a BDC out to 125 yards but anything beyond that, I was zeroing out on the stage. That first zero messed with my head but I was there to gain experience. After a few more zeros I noticed that I was dialing for meters but the screen shots were I yards. After dialing for yards I was getting hits again and ended up in the bottom third.
So, I feel that the real thing here is, how high were you expecting to place and ideally how high would you like to finish given your experience? Top 10 or 1st?
Don't take any truth from a greenhorn like me but I was happy being in the bottom 10 or 11 (can't remember don't care) but if you are happy with top third, awesome! It’s a good day. If you wanted higher than that maybe it just wasn't your day, you need more hours competing (lord knows I do) or you need a Kestrel.
I am curious why you chose the Garmin 701 ahead of the Kestrel 5700 Elite ?
For any sort of PRS shooting, the advantages of the Garmin (GPS capability and compact size) don't really come into play, whereas the advantages of the Kestrel (ability to give average and peak wind) really do come into play.
The built-in electronic compass that allows you to capture wind speed & direction and direction of fire and instantly combine them into a firing solution bracketing the average and high wind is what really buys you time in a match as well, something else the Garmin is not (I don't think) capable of.
I thought long and hard about that RGV.
1) My shooting buddy already has the Kestrel 5700 - he shots MILs I shoot MOA, so I don't like poaching the thing for numbers, but I see how well its working for him particularly during a match.
2) I've had a basic Kestrel and Dwyer for probably 25 years + , so I don't really need another wind device.
3) I can call the wind better than most anyway
4) The biggest challenge for me is keeping pace with the vertical changes over a wide range of weather changes.
5) I have more use for a new GPS than another weather meter.
6) The Garmin 701 was $200 cheaper
I've been shooting F Class like forever so I have the wind thing down pretty good, but in F Class I get to walk in the shots over a string of fire. It's a point of pride thing for me that the first shot is a good one, but there is no point cost if it isn't.
That "walk em in" does not work in PRS where its usually one shot then change to a new target from a new position at a different distance. It's just way more important to have the first shot right in PRS than F Class.
So for a total newb I would probably say get the Kestrel 5700, for me I think the Garmin 701 will correct the areas where I feel I could use the help.... Temperature (I got the Tempe), direction of fire, barometric pressure, aerodynamic jump.
BTW, the wife saw the credit card bill today with the Garmin on it... Lets just say its safe to say I wont be getting any nooky any time soon...
Wait, you had a Kestrel the whole time? Why didn't you just buy AB or download Strelok?