Ballistic Calculator — Free Trajectory, Wind, Energy and Recoil Tools
Enter your load and conditions and read the full firing solution: drop and wind in inches, MOA and mils, retained velocity, energy and time of flight. Everything recalculates as you type, nothing is sent anywhere, and the whole solution prints as a range card.
Loads
Up to 4 loads share one chart and one table. Each keeps its own inputs.
Load inputs
Atmosphere
A station reading is used as entered. A sea-level reading is reduced to your altitude first, so do not subtract for altitude twice. Atmosphere guide.
Output
Free charts stay here. Saved rifles and truing are on Trajek.
Solution at range
| Range (yd) | Drop (in) | Drop MOA | Drop MIL | Wind (in) | Wind MOA | Wind MIL | Vel (fps) | Energy (ft·lbf) | Time (s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | -1.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2790 | 2489 | 0.000 |
| 100 | -0.00 | -0.00 | -0.00 | 0.52 | 0.50 | 0.15 | 2651 | 2248 | 0.111 |
| 200 | -3.15 | -1.50 | -0.44 | 2.01 | 0.96 | 0.28 | 2517 | 2025 | 0.227 |
| 300 | -11.80 | -3.76 | -1.09 | 4.65 | 1.48 | 0.43 | 2386 | 1820 | 0.349 |
| 400 | -26.59 | -6.35 | -1.85 | 8.52 | 2.03 | 0.59 | 2259 | 1631 | 0.479 |
| 500 | -48.17 | -9.20 | -2.68 | 13.62 | 2.60 | 0.76 | 2136 | 1459 | 0.615 |
| 600 | -77.37 | -12.32 | -3.58 | 20.12 | 3.20 | 0.93 | 2018 | 1301 | 0.759 |
| 700 | -115.09 | -15.70 | -4.57 | 28.13 | 3.84 | 1.12 | 1903 | 1157 | 0.912 |
| 800 | -162.44 | -19.39 | -5.64 | 37.80 | 4.51 | 1.31 | 1791 | 1025 | 1.075 |
| 900 | -220.70 | -23.42 | -6.81 | 49.33 | 5.23 | 1.52 | 1682 | 904 | 1.248 |
| 1000 | -291.11 | -27.80 | -8.09 | 62.78 | 6.00 | 1.74 | 1576 | 794 | 1.432 |
Dimmed rows are below the speed of sound, where the point-mass model and published coefficients both get less trustworthy. Positive drop means the bullet is above your line of sight. Values are shown in imperial units — switch in the header.
How to use this ballistic calculator
Start with a preset from the load library or type your own numbers. The solver runs a point-mass trajectory against a G1 drag curve, stepping the bullet downrange while air density, velocity and time of flight are updated at every step. The elevation angle is found by iterating until the path crosses your line of sight at the zero range you entered, so the printed drop already accounts for sight height over bore.
Muzzle velocity is the input worth measuring rather than guessing. A hundred feet per second of error is invisible at 200 yards and worth most of a mil at 800. The ballistic coefficient matters second, and only in the same drag model as the number you typed: mixing a G7 value into a G1 field flatters your trajectory badly. Sight height, zero range and shooting angle then shape the near field, which is where hunters usually care most.
Wind is the honest weak point of any calculator. Drift here is computed from lag time, the difference between the bullet's actual time of flight and the time it would take in a vacuum, with the crosswind component taken from your wind angle. That model assumes one steady wind across the whole flight path, which no valley ever provides. Treat the wind column as a starting hold and read the mirage, grass and dust between you and the target.
Atmosphere is applied as a density correction. Enter station pressure straight off a weather meter and leave the pressure type on station; enter an airport or altimeter setting and switch to sea level so the value is reduced to your altitude once, not twice. Cold, dense, low air costs velocity retention; thin mountain air buys it back.
When the solution looks right, set your turret click value, open the DOPE card and print it, or copy a link that restores the exact load and range on any device. Then confirm it on paper at distance — a calculator gives you a starting point, not a proven come-up.
How this differs from a bullet maker's calculator
Most free ballistics calculators belong to an ammunition brand and are built around that brand's catalogue. This one is not tied to a product list: any bullet weight, any ballistic coefficient, and any of the six standard drag models — G1, G2, G5, G6, G7 and G8 — solved against the real drag table rather than converted back to a G1 approximation.
It also gives you the whole picture at once. Drop and wind appear in inches, MOA and mils in the same row, two to four loads share one chart and one table, atmosphere accepts station pressure or a sea-level altimeter setting, and the finished solution prints as a card sized for a rifle stock. There is no signup, no metering, and no data leaving your device.
The other tools use the same engine: the bullet trajectory calculator for flight path, the ballistic coefficient calculator for comparing BCs, the kinetic energy, point blank range and recoil calculators, and per-cartridge ballistics charts solved under identical conditions.
Other calculators
Same solver. Each tool is on its own page.
- Point blank rangeDead-hold distance for a vital zone, with an optional precision band.
- Bullet dropCome-up from a confirmed zero, not a factory chart.
- DOPE cardPrint the solution you just ran.
- Kinetic energyVelocity and foot-pounds at range.
- RecoilRifle weight, bullet, and powder charge.
- Ballistic coefficientBack-solve BC from a chronograph and a drop.
- Ballistics chartsFactory loads by cartridge, solved on this site.
- Load libraryPreset weights, velocities, and BCs.
Frequently asked questions
- What inputs does a ballistic calculator actually need?
- Five numbers carry most of the solution: muzzle velocity, bullet weight, ballistic coefficient with its drag model, sight height over bore, and zero range. Add wind speed and angle for drift, shooting angle for uphill and downhill shots, and station pressure, temperature and altitude when conditions are far from standard.
- Should I use a G1 or a G7 ballistic coefficient?
- Use whichever number the bullet maker publishes, and select the matching drag model. Long boat-tail match bullets are described far better by G7; flat-base, round-nose and older hunting bullets are usually published as G1. This calculator integrates the real drag table for whichever model you pick — G1, G2, G5, G6, G7 or G8 — so a G7 coefficient is never converted into a G1 approximation.
- How is wind angle measured here? (90° = full-value crosswind from the right)
- Wind angle is measured clockwise from the direction you are shooting. 0 degrees is a pure headwind, 180 degrees a pure tailwind, and 90 degrees is a full-value crosswind from the right. A 45 degree wind is worth roughly seventy percent of a full-value wind.
- Why does the table dim below the speed of sound?
- As a bullet drops through the transonic band its drag behaviour changes quickly, and published coefficients are measured mostly in supersonic flight. Rows below Mach 1 are dimmed because the modelled drop and drift there should be treated as a rough guide and confirmed with live fire.
- Do my loads and profiles leave the browser?
- No. Every solution is computed in your browser and saved rifle profiles, comparison loads and unit preferences live in local storage on your own device. A shared link carries the load in its query string, so you control who sees it.
- Is there a genuinely free ballistic calculator online?
- This one. There is no account, no download and no paid tier: the full trajectory, energy, point blank range and recoil tools plus the printable DOPE card are open to anyone with a browser, and nothing about your rifle is uploaded.
- How accurate are ballistic calculators?
- A point-mass solver like this one is usually within a click or two out to the point where the bullet goes transonic, provided your muzzle velocity is measured rather than guessed and the ballistic coefficient matches the drag model you selected. Wind is the weak point, because the model assumes one steady wind along the whole flight path. Treat any solution as a starting point and true it against live fire.
- What makes a good ballistic calculator?
- It should solve the real drag table for the model your coefficient was published against rather than converting everything to G1, take station pressure as well as altitude, show drop and wind in inches, MOA and mils at once, let you compare loads on the same chart, and print a range card you can take with you.