Sight zero and holdover at range

[1BadDart]

How did you use the two numbers in the ballistic program?

The program I used had inputs for the velocities. Now to remember what program I used. LOL

 

[Hateful McNasty]

I asked this very question recently. General concensus was around 40 yards.
It also depends on what you are aiming to hit. Pun intended

Add your threads link to that so people can quick go and look at any additional info yours may hold different from here to compare / review..

 

[iAMzehTOASTY1]

Add your threads link to that so people can quick go and look at any additional info yours may hold different from here to compare / review..

Done

 

[Deadeye Dick]

Yep Ballistics calculators are fun but they need the right data input to work right. It's the old GI > GO situation. All too often advertised Ballistic Coefficients are wrong. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.

BC varies depending on velocity, barometric pressure, barrel riffling and probably a million other things I'm unaware of.

I tested pellet BC using my rifles and two different chronographs spread out 30 yards or more. Some were close and some were far off the advertised value. For instance H&N states the 20 cal FTT has a dismal BC of .015. That's worse than a 7 gr 177 dome. That was concerning given my then increasing interest in 20 caliber. I tested them at 46 yards apart from my R1 and the actual BC was 0.0274. That's a huge improvement over the advertised BC. Using the Actual BC from my rifle the calculators work well within shooter error.

Fwiw the JSB 13.73 20 cal tested to have a much better BC of 0.0373

Is this an APP you put on your phone? I'm afraid ballistic coefficient is a bit over my head but I can immediately see the benefit of learning it. I started this topic in hopes of finding a good sight in range that would work well for my backyard plinking/hunting but can see now that due to the arc of the average pellet this can and will get complicated.

 

[Mycapt65]

Is this an APP you put on your phone? I'm afraid ballistic coefficient is a bit over my head but I can immediately see the benefit of learning it. I started this topic in hopes of finding a good sight in range that would work well for my backyard plinking/hunting but can see now that due to the arc of the average pellet this can and will get complicated.

The app I used to calculate the BC was Chairgun for IPad. I have it on my Android phone as well. It's very useful for comparing trajectories and energy levels. However nothing beats actual field testing.

As technical as I get and as much as I'd prefer a flat shooting pellet with a good BC. It'll take a back seat to one with better accuracy. That can only be found out by actual shooting. If the ballistically inferior FTTs in my 20 caliber test example are noticeably more accurate in one gun than the JSBs, I use the the FTTs in that gun. Accuracy is your or at least my ultimate goal.

 

[Mycapt65]

Is this an APP you put on your phone? I'm afraid ballistic coefficient is a bit over my head but I can immediately see the benefit of learning it. I started this topic in hopes of finding a good sight in range that would work well for my backyard plinking/hunting but can see now that due to the arc of the average pellet this can and will get complicated.

If you keep your distances under 50 yards and stay over 700 fps there's no need to get complicated. Simple testing at different distances will tell you what you need to do. Ballistic calculators are fun but hardly necessary.