What kind of ballistic software is available?

slushee

slushee

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So I am curious if there is software available that you can plug in your powder (or burning rates, etc), plug in your bullet weight and style, barrel length and twist rate to get predicted flight patterns, pressures and velocities?

I am interested specifically to know drop rates at various ranges for my ammo, but for my handloads, not factory ammo. I have been able to find some software but it only allows you to choose factory ammo.
 
QL is great for load development, but if you just want to calculate trajectories try this:

http://www.eskimo.com/~jbm/calculations/traj/traj.html

Its works very well and even allow you to enter G7 BC values, which are less velocity sensitive than G1 values. Bryan Litz has been deriving a lot of G7 BC numbers for common bullets and is supposed to do more now that he has joined Berger. Here are a few he has posted that aren't on his site:

.30 cal 155.5 Berger Fullbore BT
G1 BC: 0.464 lb/in^2
G7 BC: 0.237 lb/in^2

.30 cal 175 grain Berger VLD
G1 BC: 0.498 lb/in^2
G7 BC: 0.255 lb/in^2

.30 cal 175 grain Sierra MK
G1 BC: 0.475 lb/in^2
G7 BC: 0.243 lb/in^2

.30 cal 178 grain Hornady Amax
G1 BC: 0.469 lb/in^2
G7 BC: 0.240 lb/in^2

.30 cal 190 SMK
G1 BC: 0.532 lb/in^2
G7 BC: 0.272 lb/in^2

.30 cal 190 Berger VLD
G1 BC: 0.570 lb/in^2
G7 BC: 0.291 lb/in^2

.30 cal 208 Hornady Amax
G1 BC: 0.633 lb/in^2
G7 BC: 0.324 lb/in^2

The trajectories given by JBM with his numbers match my drops with the 190 SMK and 208 AMAX (308 Win.) nearly perfectly out to 1000 yards.
 
Exterior ballistics deals with what happens to the bullet between muzzle and target. This is what most "ballistics programs" are for. I use JBM, but most any of them ought to be fine.

You will need to supply it muzzle velocity, and key bullet data (the ballistic coefficient). Optional data includes temperature, altitude, wind speed, etc. It does not need (or know what to do with) barrel length, twist, etc. It will calculate bullet drop, wind drift, etc at various ranges.

Interior ballistics deals with what happens from when the primer is fired until the bullet leaves the muzzle. Until recently there were no commonly available programs to do this for recreational shooters. Quickload is one such program, there may be others too.

An interior ballistics program will take input data such as bullet weight, diameter, charge weight, powder properties, and case volume. Optional input parameters might also include bullet friction. It will calculate the pressure produced and the bullet's travel distance, as a function of time.

Terminal ballistics deals with what happens once the bullet hits the target (how much the bullet will expand, will it break, will it turn, how deeply will it penetrate, etc). I am not aware of any terminal ballisitics programs for recreational shooters.
 
rnbra-shooter said:
Exterior ballistics deals with what happens to the bullet between muzzle and target. This is what most "ballistics programs" are for. I use JBM, but most any of them ought to be fine.

You will need to supply it muzzle velocity, and key bullet data (the ballistic coefficient). Optional data includes temperature, altitude, wind speed, etc. It does not need (or know what to do with) barrel length, twist, etc. It will calculate bullet drop, wind drift, etc at various ranges.

Interior ballistics deals with what happens from when the primer is fired until the bullet leaves the muzzle. Until recently there were no commonly available programs to do this for recreational shooters. Quickload is one such program, there may be others too.

An interior ballistics program will take input data such as bullet weight, diameter, charge weight, powder properties, and case volume. Optional input parameters might also include bullet friction. It will calculate the pressure produced and the bullet's travel distance, as a function of time.

Terminal ballistics deals with what happens once the bullet hits the target (how much the bullet will expand, will it break, will it turn, how deeply will it penetrate, etc). I am not aware of any terminal ballisitics programs for recreational shooters.
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They say you learn something new every day. Thanks for that!! Does quickload take those interior ballistics and follow it to the target with more accurate results then just say exterior ballistics programs?
 
slushee said:
They say you learn something new every day. Thanks for that!! Does quickload take those interior ballistics and follow it to the target with more accurate results then just say exterior ballistics programs?
Click to expand...

I don't know, I haven't used it. I recently saw a couple of screenshots of it here, and it looked technically sound to me.

If Quickload does do the exterior ballistics calculation, it's not going to be any better or any wose than other exterior ballistics programs. All that matters at the place where the "handoff" from interior to exterior ballistics happens (the muzzle), is the speed of the bullet at that point.
 
There is a Demo version of Quickload and the Manuals. The technical reference section of the manual is quite detailed and very informative if you want to get an idea of what interior ballistics is all about.
 
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