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Range Report Finding Balistically Relevant Range

Hawk in WY

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 20, 2013
782
432
Jackson Hole, WY
Since my range finder measures line of sight and doesn't adjust for effective ballistic range at the horizontal, I need a way to convert in the field.

My estimates of the cosine values are .966 at 15 degrees, .866 at 30 degrees, .71 at 45 degrees and .5 at 60 degrees.

I hunt in the mountains so need a wide range.

Is there an easier way to do this?

Thanks in advance.
 
If you take a lot of high angle shots, you'd probably benefit from an angle-cosine indicator mounted to your rifle.

Some read out the angle in degrees, meaning you'd then have to calculate the cosine of that angle. Others will directly read out the cosine value. Then you have to compute your new range and dope based on the angle.

I think you'd be best off with a laser that will directly provide you with true ballistic range.
 
I think your best bet if you hunt mostly in the mountains is to buy a rangefinder that automatically calculates this for you. This will allow to get on the target (animal) much quicker than having to range it, read your angle indicator, and then calculate the proper shot distance.
 
Impact data books has got a whole page or two dedicated to inclined and declined shots. You basically put in whatever your uphill or down hill shot is and use that with a constant. You know Ballistic AE and shooter both have a thing where you can lock in your angle and it will compensate. I've never really fooled with it but it could be worth a shot. But I'd DEFINETLY recommend Impact Data book. It's got alot of conversions... Ect that will help you out alot.
 
I have problems with ranging solutions that require intermediate computations because they can sometimes take long enough to call the entire shot into question.

An ARC LRF does it all in one step, saving time and distraction. This one looks fairly good.

Greg