About

Ballistics is the core theme of Shooter’s Notes. The sight picture calculators are dedicated to improving shooting skills for the serious hunter who uses standard or hunting rifle and pistol scopes. A developing set of discussions in related areas expands on this theme by addressing one or more aspects of the shooting sports and related military arts.

The sight picture calculators help folks using hunting scopes change their point of aim to correct for long range or wind using techniques frequently called ‘Tennessee Elevation’ and ‘Kentucky Windage.’  We do this because most hunting scopes require a tool (e. g., fingernail, coin, screwdriver, etc.) to reset the zero. Add hard-to-see markings and not much time to take a shot and we discover that changing the zero for a particular shot is challenging at best. (This practice is in contrast with that of extreme long range shooters who use detailed ballistics tables to adjust their sights almost every time they shoot and frequently have a partner spotting their shots.)

Membership in Shooter’s Notes allows easy computation of the sight pictures needed to reliably hit targets at ranges where simple “point blank” aiming techniques don’t work. Running the ballistics calculations several times and studying the images can also::

• Help decide which reticle and magnifications work best for your shooting interests.
• Determine what sight settings work best for your needs (e. g., most rifle ranges are limited to 100 yards — how high do you want to be at that range to have good references at longer ranges?
• Help make your practice sessions in the field at typical hunting distances more effective.
• Help you understand how much (usually how little) that extra hundred feet per second will help in hitting the target. This understanding will help you choose among rifles, cartridges, and loads.