which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

[TOPGuN050]

i am looking into buying my first weather meter

wanting it to read wind,pressure,altitude,and temp.

dont know if they make a system with all of these features but if they do which one would any of your reccomend?

i have looked at the kestrel with the horus in it. is this system any good?

any help/advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Fred @ Bison Tactical]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

I think in general you going to need to provide a bit more information on what type of shooting your doing to get decent feedback. I know there are a lot of folks here who use the Horus/Kestrel combo and really like it. For a solid mid to long range setup it works great. If you want absolutely top of the line, and want to shoot really long distance, you may want to consider FFS on a dedicated PDA with an attached Kestrel. However the price difference is very steep. If your shooting below 1500 yards the Kestrel/Horus combo is hard to beat for what you get. Its a single unit that takes 2 AA batteries with a decent battery life. The ability to configure the ballistics software on it is very solid.

There are a lot of write-ups here on the Hide, so you should be able to find a lot of info on it.

If you just want a weather meter that does wind, pressure, altitude and temp, I think you can go with the 3500. Most folks when they don't get the Horus version seem to prefer the 4500 unless your really trying to keep costs down.

But again, it really depends on how far your shooting. If your only going out to 300 yards, simple is likely better, and you can skip all the fancy stuff.

 

[TOPGuN050]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

i shoot out to 1400yds on occasion. the longest shot in one of the matches i shoot in is 1165yds.

 

[den42]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

I use the kestrel 4500 and do enjoy it, its just a cool little piece of equipment, but i agree with herofish if your just looking for basic readings the 3500 will do everything you want, as already stated FFS is really nice to have, i dont but have a buddy that does!! he uses a trimble recon with it, I dont think there isnt anything it wont do, including hitting your wallet!!!!

 

[Bugaboo]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

Like people above, I would recommend the Kestrel 4500/Horus combo, especially if you shoot such long distances. I use it and am 100% happy.

 

[Bob L Swagger]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

I was recently at this bridge.. This is how I crossed it:

1. Kestrel 4000NV (TAN) from amazon.com: $222.17 shipped

2. Since I don't have a smart phone I purchased a refurbished IPOD 8GB direct from apple: $149.00(- 5% for using the Discover card) $141.55 + tax = $151.45

3. Griffin Survivor case for IPOD - $20.00 shipped from fleabay

4. Shooter App - $10.69


Total cost = $404.31

Does it work?? It sure does.. Is it the best and newest cutting edge technology?? Nope.. But it works for me and it wasn't all that expensive.

 

[VisionPro Shop]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

Another vote for the Kestrel.

 

[Alaskaguide]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

I like the Kestrel with the Horus, served me well for the last year

 

[blksno]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

I LOVE the Kestrel, but didn't opt for the 4500 or the ATrag model.
The reason, is because I am more than happy with Shooter as a ballistic program and it's beyond good enough for my shooting requirements which have taken me to a mile thus far.
I chose the 4000NV with the blue tooth feature to pair it with my Droid and Shooter.

If you want to run a smart phone ballistic app, get a Kestrel with BlueTooth.
If you want to blow your load, go with the Trimble Nomad and a 4500.

 

[mouse07410]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bob L. Swagger</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I was recently at this bridge.. This is how I crossed it:

1. Kestrel 4000NV (TAN) from amazon.com: $222.17 shipped

2. Since I don't have a smart phone I purchased a refurbished IPOD 8GB direct from apple: $149.00(- 5% for using the Discover card) $141.55 + tax = $151.45

3. Griffin Survivor case for IPOD - $20.00 shipped from fleabay

4. Shooter App - $10.69


Total cost = $404.31

Does it work?? It sure does.. Is it the best and newest cutting edge technology?? Nope.. But it works for me and it wasn't all that expensive. </div></div>

If at (2) instead of iPod you get an Android device your Shooter application will be able to download weather data directly from the Kestrel 4500 via BlueTooth. This can't work with Apple because Apple restricted BT profiles implemented on its devices.

 

[_Windrider_]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

If you use an apple product, save the money on the bluetooth Kestrel, Apple products wont talk to them (ask me how I know).

For what its worth, Kestrel 4500 and Ballistic AE work well for me. I also use Bulletflight.

 

[tmpohuski7]

Re: which weather meter/ballistics calculator?

Shooting ASC last spring I compared the drop on the Horus Kesrtel and my shooter app on Droid X2 paired to 4500 NV BT. The dial ups were within .1 mil out to 1500 yards. I have a new Horus Kesrtel on the way from Nielsen Keller man, so I will post my findings as soon as I can. I am sure it will be good, the have always come through in the past.