Applied Ballistics Mobile App

DocUSMCRetired

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This is a quick over view of the Applied Ballistics Mobile App on Android. For the purposes of this over view, Advanced Mode is seen in Night Mode (Black Background) and Simple Mode is seen in Day Mode (White Background). This app is 30$ in the Google Play Store. You can use this app on PC by installing software such as Andy Android. For the technical manual please refer here: AB Mobile User Guide

This can be purchased here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appliedballisticsllc.appliedballistics&hl=en

At this current time the Online Interface you can see in the bottom of the manual has not been completed so its not currently available until a future date.

When you first open it starts on the Weapons Library Screen. I have switched to Night Operation mode, however your phone will more than likely start on Day Mode. The only difference is a light vs dark color scheme. From here if you press your devices menu button, it will bring up three options. The menu button location is different on all android devices so you will need to be familiar with how to do this on your device:

Daytime Scheme
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Nighttime Scheme
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If you have ever had to re-install the application, or web-sync and the Custom Drag Curves did not download. Then you can re-sync your Custom Drag Curve purchases by pressing the Restore Purchases function in the menu seen above.

The first thing I recommend you always do is set up your Web Sync Account. This will allow you to copy to, and from the cloud. So if you have more than one device, you only need to create profiles on one device. Warning here, downloading from or to the cloud erases the previous upload, it will also erase any profiles you have on your device at the time:
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If you have ever LOST YOUR PASSWORD to the WEB SYNC then you can reset it here Applied Ballistics Media - Forgot Password

Inside of the preferences you will find a lot of options. Take your time, and go through these to understand them. I will include screen shots that show the difference between simple/advanced mode.

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Inside of these preferences, their are a couple of options that need to be addressed. One is Density Altitude. Using this will change the environmental screen options. I suggest this for most all users. Another is "Kestrel (Bluetooth)". If you own a Kestrel you need to address this screen. This is where you tell it which bluetooth device is your kestrel for use in the software. Another is Barometric Vs Absolute Pressure. This is important because if you are using a Kestrel, it will report station pressure, but if you are using the internet to gather your weather, they report Barometric. Knowing the difference can mean making a shot, and missing it.

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Before talking about adding in weapons lets talk about suppressors and using more than one ammunition load with one weapon. If you are using a suppressed weapon their are options here. One option is to have a different profile for suppressed/unsuppressed. The other is to have different ammunition profiles for suppressed/unsuppressed. With a suppressor you have a POI shift. If you have one weapon and two different ammo loads you use. You will also have a POI shift. Their are two ways to handle this. One way is to keep a log of your zero shift, and manually adjust your scope. The other way is to use the Zero Offset to make changes in the program that account for this. If you choose to use this method then I advise you still have a log that notes the changes, but you will not need to adjust turrets with change in ammunition or going from suppressed to unsuppressed. Creating duplicates for this purpose is very easy, and I will show you how below.

Method 1: Different Weapons:
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Method 2: Different Ammo Profiles:
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Now lets talk about adding a weapon. The first time you do this, its pretty simple. Simply Click the + symbol in the upper right corner to get started. Note anytime you edit something, be it a weapon, or ammo. You must click the symbol in the upper right. If you simply edit it and back out, it will not save! Also if you need to add a negative symbol, or if you need to add a decimal, simply click the Sym button to flip the keyboard to more options including decimals and negative signs. If you choose to use a custom curve, the BC will be negated to a 1, and you will not be able to see or alter it properly.

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Knowing your True Magnification on a Second Focal Plane scope is critical here. This will allow you to use other options in the software correctly. For some scopes like March this is written on the scope, and indicated with Red Lettering. For others its found in the owners manual, and online information. Do not assume its the Max Magnification like a Nightforce. You will see this March Scope its actually at 40x. So never assuming anything, always check. True Magnification is the point at which the reticle lines up with the magnification for ranging inside the scope.

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Adding Ammunition. Here you have options. One option is to select a bullet before you start inputting data. The other option is to select a blank template. If you select a blank template you can hand enter all the information. By clicking the Green + button in the BC section you can do a segmented BC. This is usefull if you have Bryans book Ballistic Performance of Rifle Bullets. The first section below will show you a blank template. The second section will cover selecting a bullet from the library. Something important to note here We Do Not Include Muzzle Velocity. You will need to determine this on your own. As a last resort you can use the published velocity on the ammo box, but be prepared to make corrections to this. This is not an effective way of doing things things but does work as a last resort. Also, their is a section for notes. So you can track your progress, mark a load as bad, mark one as good. Keep track of lot numbers.

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Starting from a Blank Slate, this is great when doing hand loads, pointing your own rounds, or developing rounds not yet in the database:
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Starting from the bullet library:
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If you have chosen to use a Custom Drag Curve then you will notice the BC area is changed to Model, eliminating the ability to adjust the BC:

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Understanding muzzle velocity is important. As temp changes, so does your muzzle velocity, so knowing how this reacts is very important. Where you see MV Variation you would simply indicate how many feet per second your MV changes per degree of temperature. So if you MV changes by .5 fps per degree you would enter .5. Its also important to indicate at what temperature you did the muzzle velocity you have entered in to the ammunition profile. So if it was 90 degrees on the day you tested your MV with a good chronograph, then you would enter 90 for the powder temp. I also recommend using the G7 BC whenever possible.

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To copy an ammunition profile over, if your doing load development, or have a suppressor, you can simply long hold the ammunition profile and it will bring up these options. If you are using two weapons instead of two ammo profiles for suppressed, you can simply choose to copy it to a different firearm. Remember after you do this, to adjust your Zero Offset, and your Muzzle Velocity as they will be different with a suppressor. Left or Down is Negative, Up and Right are positive numbers. Simply press the Sym button to flip the keyboard for this.
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Using a 100 yard zero, negates the need for a zero atmosphere. However if you are using a long distance zero this is important. So you can select, and eliminate this as you can see here. Here you will also see a segmented G1 BC.
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Once we have our weapons and ammunition profiles set up, we can select one and we will be directed to the environment screen. This screen will display in two different ways depending on if you have selected Density Altitude in the preferences menu. You will also see the first option is to load a target. Here you can save targets. If you have a target saved in the Kestrel, you can even match the names, as I have done here with target "E". You can then load targets very quickly without having to enter information on them. You will also see from this screen you have a set of options for gathering atmospheric data. You have the ability to use the phones sensors to get the Angle (vertical angle to the target), Azmith (compass heading to target), and calculate distance (Ranging inside the scope). Before you ask, the ballistic calibration feature is found once you go in to either single shot, or trajectory mode.

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Saved Targets.
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If you want to use it. The software can range targets for you using your scope. You have to make sure you have input the information properly, if thats FFP or SFP. Then you simply enter the target size, and the size in the reticle. You can adjust the input values to inches, mm, moa, mils, iphy, whichever you need to for your setup. Simply click calculate distance from the menu.

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After you have populated your atmospheric data from one of the 3 menu choices. You can set your wind direction by either using the Degrees, or Clock values. Their is then a GUI you can enter by touching Wind Angle. This will bring up a User interface where you can simply point the arrow the direction of the wind. You can also hand enter a number value by pressing where the number input is and it will bring up a keyboard. Remember the option to select degrees or clock can only be found in the preferences menu. Which is only accessible from the the weapons library screen.

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This is the different environmental screens. If you have selected to use DA (Density Altitude) then you will have a different screen than if you have left it open. Remember this, if you did not select density altitude, and you populate internet weather, and then select pressure is absolute you will get a wrong reading. Because you will have populated Barometric Pressure, then told it pressure was absolute. If you are using a Kestrel then your atmosphere is Station Pressure. In which case you need to select Pressure is Absolute.

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In simple mode Coriolis, and Powder Temp are removed from the Environmental Screen.
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Once we have our atmosphere and target populated we can go with two choices. The first is to use Single Shot. The second is to Trajectory. Trajectory brings up a range card style system, single shot brings up a HUD style system. I will cover these next. Starting with single shot.

When I go in to Single Shot mode, it brings me to a display with a HUD, but changing any number in the HUD it will change the values on the board below it. You will also see all around that you have not only your weapons profile data, but you have indicators telling you velocity, energy, and time of flight. If you velocity is below Mach 1, then it will indicate this by turning the velocity number red. Also if you wish to change from moa to mils then you can do this simply by swiping the option you want to change. For instance if you want to change elevation to mils, swipe elevation to the left, to go back to moa swipe to the right. You can do this for any of the 3 values. This is extremely helpful if you have an MOA scope with a Mil reticle, or even mix matched turrets. This is also helpful if you think your working in MOA and your actually working in IPHY to verify.

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Also from this screen you have a menu of options. Including the Ballistic Calibration, Atmosphere Re-population (This is important if your weather has changed, and you need to update it, you can do it here without going back), Range Calculation. As seen here. If you switch between Lead and Wind Controls, it changes the option in the header that you are adjusting. The other menu changes between the Reticle and the HUD view.
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If you need to do a Ballistic Calibration its recommended that you try to do this around Mach 1.2, and Mach .9-.8. Most people should take a second look at other values in the program if your trajectory is not lining up before 700 yards. Something else you have entered or not entered is more than likely the culprit here. The numbers at the top of the ballistic calibration are a guideline, and you can go outside those numbers. However its highly advised you try to stick inside those ranges. Below is a demonstration that it will run numbers outside of those. Its best to get as close to them as possible though.
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Inside of the Single Shot we also have a Reticle View. If you find your shot to be outside the scope, simply look at your values. You might see that your bullet drop, which I have done here, is a lot. For instance this one is 64 MOA. If you go to the lower right, you can adjust this view just as you would if you adjusted your turrets. By moving up 30 or 64 moa, you can now see the shot is tracking inside the field of view.

You can adjust the dialed amounts, allowing you to dial and hold over when necessary.
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Also see how the velocity is red. Red indicates the bullet is now subsonic. Orange would indicate transonic and standard would indicate supersonic.
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Next we will take a look at Trajectory View.

When you first enter Trajectory View you will see a range card. This will have lots of important data, including an indication of when the bullet goes subsonic. This will be done by highlighting the point at which it falls subsonic in red. You will also have a menu here that is unique. It gives you the ability to "Send". If you choose this option you can email a copy of this range card, in spreadsheet format, to yourself or someone else. You can also find the Ballistic Calibration here. Included below are Range cards set at intervals of 25 and 100. You can do this to co-inside with your particular range if its set up at 100 yard/meters or for unknown ranges you can increase it all the way down to 1 yard intervals. To change the intervals, you must change the settings in the main preferences menu found at the start of the application. The red mark indicates the point when the round goes subsonic.

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You can see you have the same drop down to change between the range card, reticle, and a graph. Under the menu on the Table (Range Card) you will find Ballistic Calibration, the ability to change the column showing drift to show lead (moving targets), and Send. Send allows you to send a range card through email, or a number of other options as seen here.:

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You also get a reticle view here, this one is different from single shot. This one will indicate in increments where you bullet will fall for holdover at different distances. This can be changed in preferences to read Distances at Sub-tensions. What that will do is it will tell you what the distances are for the marks in your reticle. So you will know the exact range of each step in your scope for holdover. Below are screen shots showing 100 yard increments, and showing at sub-tensions. Sub-tensions works for any reticle chosen, and gives you the range at each marking in the reticle.
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The last option here is a graph. This will show you, your ballistic trajectory visually. Here you can compare multiple bullets to see how they would each calculate out to range. The graph is fairly easy to use. On the left side you have the drop of the bullet, on the right side you have the velocity of the bullet, and at the bottom you have the distance. So looking at the graph, you can see the solid line, which shows the drop in inches. The dotted line shows the velocity at that distance. So the Berger Match Hybrid Target round used in this graph is showing at 1000 yards a drop of roughly -390 inches and a velocity of roughly 1400 FPS at 100 yards. This graph can be done with one bullet, or you can do a comparison as seen below. You can also change the graph to show drift instead of drop.
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Buying a Custom Drag Curve How To:

First select the Firearm, once you are at the Ammunition Library you must then create the bullet. Do this by selecting the + symbol in the upper right, then choosing "From Bullet Library". Then select your bullet of choice, For this demonstration we are using the .308 185gr LRBT (Juggernaut). Note you can also edit. to add a custom drag curve. Simply press on the bullet you wish to edit, and hold for 2 seconds. A list of options will pop up.
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Showing the edit function:
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This is the screen you get once you have created the bullet. You will need to enter your Muzzle Velocity, MV Variation, and Powder Temp as has been done in the second screenshot.
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From Select Drag Model choose Custom. This will open "Applied Ballistics Installed Drag Curves" Screen.
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Here you will see previously bought Custom Drag Curves. IF you have not previously bought any, this screen will be empty, with Done and Purchase at the bottom.
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Click the Purchase button, and a menu will open with the Custom Drag Curves you may purchase. Scroll until you find the one you are interested in, and click on it. Note if you have previously purchased a bullet, or if that bullet is not in the custom library it will not display on this screen. Notice how the bullet being used is not in the list, as previously purchased bullets do not exist in the list. Notice it says "Purchase Drag Curves":
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Once you select the bullet you wish to purchase, click on it and you will be prompted for payment by google.
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The installed Drag Curves screen will now display purchased drag curves. You simply click the one you want to use, and select done. A red check mark as seen below indicates the selected Custom Drag Curve to be used. The information is automatically populated, including name. Note Muzzle Velocity, MV Variation, and Powder Temp will not automatically populate. Also note the BC portion of the Ammunition Library is replaced by Model. So you cannot alter its BC unless you do a Ballistic Calibration. Take a look at screenshot 2 shows Model and screenshot 3 shows BC. When using a Custom Drag Curve this portion is locked out. You can change back and forth by switching Custom to G1/G7.

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Do not forget to save weapons or ammunition profiles after creating them. The same + symbol you used to create the profile should be clicked in order to save it.
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Last edited:
Hey Doc, I have a question and a favor to ask.

Question: Does the Applied Ballistic Mobile App (I use the Android version) have a Windows desktop/laptop companion to upload and download to and from?

...and a

Favor: Would you mind dropping the H37 reticle in your updates please?

Thanks Doc.

DocB

Anime et Fide "Courage and Faith"
 
As for reticles, when you guys submit them, I can only forward them to the development team.

As far as editing profiles, and doing things from a computer. You can download Andy Android for now. Install the app there, and do the editing from your computer. We are still in development with a Web Sync function accessible online.
 
I contributed $30 for the app, Strelok seems to be able to add them quite frequently at 1/3 the cost.

Strelok specializes in having many reticles. AB Mobile specializes in accuracy, including growing our BC library. Features related to accuracy are a higher priority for us. Though we are planning to expand the reticle library based on user requests, our higher priority efforts have been based on things that make the ballistics predictions more accurate such as expanding the BC and custom drag modeling library.
 
Strelok specializes in having many reticles. AB Mobile specializes in accuracy, including growing our BC library. Features related to accuracy are a higher priority for us. Though we are planning to expand the reticle library based on user requests, our higher priority efforts have been based on things that make the ballistics predictions more accurate such as expanding the BC and custom drag modeling library.


The math in both the applications is exactly the same so I don't see where you specialize in accuracy. Also when do you plan on expanding the bullet library, we've been waiting for that for quite some time and the only thing that seems to have come from Applied Ballistics is self promotion in the form of sponsoring sub forums.
 
The math in both the applications is exactly the same so I don't see where you specialize in accuracy. Also when do you plan on expanding the bullet library, we've been waiting for that for quite some time and the only thing that seems to have come from Applied Ballistics is self promotion in the form of sponsoring sub forums.

Not sure where the negativity is coming from, but I'll address your points.

First, I guarantee the math is not exactly the same in both. You may see the same trajectory predicted at a given range in a basic comparison, but beyond that there are many differences. For example: can the other app apply a sight scale factor? Calibrate MV and several points beyond supersonic range? If so, how is it extrapolating this calibration to other environments? Does the other app account for aerodynamic jump, spin drift, and Coriolis? I'm not even sure if it can accept G7 BC's (I've never used the app, just going from the google play page and reviews). I'm certain it cannot model custom drag for 400 bullets.

The bullet library update is complete. There is now measured G1 and G7 BC's available for 400 bullets. The library of custom drag models is currently being updated, and will be complete by end of this week. This is another place where AB focuses on accuracy. Providing a solver is only 1/2 the challenge of modeling trajectories. You also need to model the bullets BC accurately as well. This is a huge difference between AB and others; we provide measured BC's so you don't have to question the manufacturers numbers or measure them yourself.

Finally, we're proud to sponsor forums where shooters visit to discuss ballistics, especially since many are using our products. Sure we get some promotional benefit from sponsoring the forum but we're also providing a service as well: support for our products and general ballistics knowledge. How many other ballistic app developers pay to sponsor forums where they engage in support of their product?

If you want a ballistics app that will show you the most options for reticles, then hands down Strelok is your best option. That's what they're known for. But if your main objective is accuracy, you might consider the app that's supported with a full time, live fire ballistics lab and engages the end user with layers of support.

-Bryan
 
Well said Bryan. I have tested 4 other ballistic apps and AB comes closest to my bullets' actual flight path every time. As far at reticles go, for me this is the least useful feature of any app. Sure its neat to see where on the reticle I should hold for a given scenario but I'd much rather have a completely accurate ballistic table than a neat picture of my reticle.

Yes, Bryan gets promotional value by sponsoring this site. In return, we are getting cutting edge information that no one else is publishing and Bryan is accessible by email. In the spirit of full disclosure, I don't work for AB or Berger. I'm just a huge fan.

BTW, great news on the custom drag models.
 
Just as an FYI, the ballistic modelling is free from a few sources on the Internet, had I know that before I dropped down the $30 then I would have used only Strelok which does take the G7.

You got my money though, enjoy.
 
A question that has come up more than once now, I think its a good time to share the answer.

Their are two standards for atmosphere when measuring a BC. Some companies use ASM, and other companies use ICAO.

Their are also these same two standards in Ballistics Software. Some solvers are using ASM, some are using ICAO. However we have given you the option to use either.

Army Standard Metro Conditions - 29.53 inHg, 59 Deg F, and 78% Humidity.
International Civil Aviation Organization - 29.92 inHg, 59 deg F, 0% Humidity.

If you have the book Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting this is addressed on page 117.

Some of the older solvers are only designed to work with ASM, some of the newer solvers are only designed to work with ICAO. This means that you could have an error of 2% in your solution.

Berger ICAO
Barnes ICAO
Hornady ASM
Nosler ICAO
Lapua ICAO
Sierra ASM
Winchester ASM
GI APG ICAO

Luckily our app allows you to tell it which standard was used. If you use the information found in the book Ballistic Performance of Rifle Bullets, then its ICAO. If you use our Custom Drag Models then you don't have to worry about this at all.

If I get any other information or if something changes in regards to what models the companies above use, I will update this information. This might not apply to all shooters, but it is there if you need it.
 
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