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Applied Ballistics launching a completely new mobile app today, and it has a compelling list of features for long-range shooters.
The Applied Ballistics Device Ecosystem
79% of the 200 top-ranked PRS Shooters use a Kestrel 5700/5700X with Applied Ballistics to calculate their ballistics at a match (based on data from my 2024 “What The Pros Use” survey). There are several ballistic solvers out there, but Applied Ballistics is clearly the most popular option among the long-range shooters at the highest levels.
Applied Ballistics offers an extremely accurate solver backed by a full-time ballistics lab. In addition, Applied Ballistics provides the most comprehensive bullet and drag library available, which is based on literally thousands of live samples collected by their mobile lab. These are no longer just BC’s – but bullet-specific, Doppler-based drag models to make your solution even more accurate. (Learn about drag models)
Applied Ballistics has partnered with dozens of companies to integrate the AB ballistics engine directly into electronic devices, including:
- Kestrel Ballistic Weather Meters
- Vectronix Vector X Ranging Binoculars & PLRF25 Rangefinder
- Sig BDX scopes, rangefinders, and ranging binoculars, like the Sig KILO10K-ABS HD
- Leica Geovid Pro AB+ Ranging Binoculars & CRF Pro Rangefinders
- Vortex Fury HD 5000 AB Ranging Binoculars
- Garmin Foretrex Handheld GPS, Watches, and other devices
- Wilcox RAPTAR-S, RATAR-Xe & MRF-Xe Rangefinders
- Pixels On Target Thermal Optics devices
- FN Elity Weapon-Mounted Ballistic Calculator
- Rheinmetall FCS-TacRay Ballistic Fire Control System
- L3Harris PAL/SPEAR Rangefinders
- Envision MARS Rangefinders
- Calypso AB Mini Wind Meter
- Superior Optics Rangefinders
- Henrich Rangefinders
- Bushnell Nitro 1800
- DARPA Computational Weapon Optic
- … and more!
The Applied Ballistics engine is clearly the most trusted ballistic solver among professional shooters – but I’ll be honest, the Applied Ballistics mobile app left a lot to be desired. That’s why I was so excited to hear that they’ve done a complete rewrite of Applied Ballistics Mobile from the ground up!
Applied Ballistics Quantum App
AB Quantum will be the new name of Applied Ballistics’ mobile platform. If you already have the Applied Ballistics Mobile app, it will be automatically updated to the Quantum app soon. Check your app store for availability: iOS | Android.
The new app offers tons of features, including charts, reticle displays/output, a way to integrate and track your muzzle velocity measurements over time, and there is much more planned. It will also be your one-stop shop for managing your ballistic profiles stored across AB-compatible devices.
“Our vision is clear: to create the most intuitive, feature-rich ballistics application on the market, seamlessly integrating with the entire Applied Ballistics ecosystem of products. AB Quantum will be our flagship platform, driving the future of AB-integrated devices. It enables us to deliver innovative features to our users and transforms the way they use their existing AB-enabled products.” – Nick Vitalbo, Applied Ballistics Chief Technology Officer
What a podcast where Nick & Mitch from Applied Ballistics introduce this app. It gives a ton of insight into the design and future plans for the app: https://thescienceofaccuracy.com/podcast/126-introducing-ab-quantum/
Because the new app is launching today (Dec 4th), I haven’t had a chance to try it out for myself, but the guys at Applied Ballistics have provided a comprehensive video walk-through and tutorial you can view below. I also share a few more screenshots of the app at the end of this article.
The AB Quantum app has two licenses, and the available features vary between them:
- Free Version (aka Ultralight)
- Elite Version
You can pay for an Elite license – OR if you already own a device with Applied Ballistics Elite that can pair with the app, the upgrade to the Elite version should happen automatically once you pair that device. No additional charge!
Note: They are actively working to add compatibility for Kestrel devices with Applied Ballistics to pair with the AB Quantum app – but it isn’t ready yet. I bet most of my readers have one of those, so I specifically asked the AB team for a time estimate of when that would be ready, and they’re expecting January 2025.
Here is a list of current devices that you can pair with the AB Quantum app to unlock your Elite license, and you can see “Kestrel 5700/5700x Weathermeters with Applied Ballistics” are under “In The Works”:
Visit Applied Ballistics for more info: https://appliedballisticsllc.com/ab-quantum/
Here are a few screenshots from the app (all taken from the video above):
Update: Answers from Applied Ballistics for Common Questions in Comments
I had several readers leave comments with questions or ideas related to the Applied Ballistics Quantum app, so I reached out to Nick Vitalbo, CTO at Applied Ballistics, to see if he could share any info with us about those. It was so helpful that I thought I should add some of that to the original article and not just reply to the comments with it. Here are those questions and answers:
Most of the reticles in the app today are Horus. Is there a plan to add other more popular reticles?
Each reticle that we add to the application requires an agreement between Applied Ballistics and the company that owns the reticle. Some reticles are patented and others are simply the manufacturer’s intellectual property. Regardless, it requires written authorization from the owner to place it into the application. We have an agreement with Horus and the other companies that you see listed in the application. We’re in the process of asking permission and getting written authorization from the others, but as you can imagine, that takes time.
We did implement a “reticle library server” similar to the bullet library so we can just add reticles to an online server and it auto-populates the app. In this manner, it is not required that we publish an application update.
Do you guys plan to add compatibility with the Garmin Xero C1 chronograph to track velocities in the near future?
There are plans in the future for integration with other chronographs. Due to NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements), I can’t disclose the details at the moment. But yes, there are plans to add other popular chronographs.
Is there any chance we might see WEZ analysis integrated into the app in the future?
Note: If you aren’t sure what WEZ analysis is, it is an insanely helpful tool that helps quantify all of the uncertainty that is present in a long-range shot and analyze that down to a hit probability. It also puts in context how much potential error different sources are contributing to. For more info, check out this article.
Yeah, it’s already in there for BETA testing. Here are some screenshots:
Complete Press Release from Applied Ballistics, Inc:
Applied Ballistics announces their new mobile platform, Applied Ballistics Quantum™, a state-of-the-art app integrating the most complete ballistics solver and profile management tool for long-range shooting. Featuring an all-new user interface, AB Quantum™ includes a host of new tools and features that will enable shooters and hunters to be more successful in the field.
“Our vision is clear: to create the most intuitive, feature-rich ballistics application on the market, seamlessly integrating with the entire Applied Ballistics ecosystem of products.“ said Applied Ballistics Chief Technology Officer Nick Vitalbo. “AB Quantum™ will be our flagship platform, driving the future of AB-integrated devices. It enables us to deliver innovative features to our users and transforms the way they use their existing AB-enabled products.” The platform incorporates feedback from world-class shooters and hunters from around the globe to create the most comprehensive ballistics application available today.
New Features Overview
AB Quantum™ creates a new paradigm for ballistic solvers and integration with Bluetooth®-enabled devices. With a host of new features, the platform is designed to save time and add performance for users of all skill levels.
The all-new user interface is designed with single-handed use in mind, putting all major features just a swipe or tap away from any screen, which allows users to rapidly obtain solutions in the field or at a match. The simplicity and versatility of the app interface create an intuitive experience for both new and experienced users.
Two new features – AB Quantum Connect™ and AB Quantum Sync™ – enable users to quickly connect to other AB-enabled devices and sync gun profiles between them in seconds, as well as back those profiles up to an encrypted server for peace of mind and easy restoration. The new platform automatically saves changes made to rifle profiles and updates connected devices without the user needing to do anything.
For competitors or hunters, AB Quantum™ includes customizable Range and Multi-Target tables. This allows users to lay out the displayed information to exactly what they need to hit their target. After creating a range or target card, it can easily be shared via email.
Built with the future in mind, the new AB Quantum™ platform allows for continuous innovation. At launch, the following new features will be available:
- AB Quantum™ User Interface – Take control of ballistic data and find solutions with ease using the new layout designed with one-handed operation in mind.
- New Bluetooth® Device Manager – Find and connect AB Bluetooth® devices quickly and send data between devices using AB Quantum Connect™.
- AB Quantum Sync™ – User gun profiles are automatically uploaded to an encrypted server to allow easy access for other devices and backup, providing peace of mind and security.
- Customizable Range Card and Target Card Modes – The new expandable and customizable range and target card modes allow users to select what data to see for each Range or Target. Use the share function to send range and data cards in just seconds.
- New Reticle Library – The AB Reticle library is hosted online and updates in AB Quantum™ automatically, providing users with up-to-date solution drawings for their favorite rifle scopes.
- Improved Truing Interface – Easy to access ballistic truing features without leaving solution screens.
- Chronograph Integration – Connect Bluetooth®-enabled chronographs – such as the Optex Systems SpeedTracker™ – directly to the app and save the velocity data to rifle profiles.
Simplifying Your Solutions
“Ballistics can be complicated, and it is our job to simplify what’s important so that shooters can hit targets,” said Applied Ballistics Chief Ballistician Bryan Litz. “The AB Quantum™ platform meets this goal and more. By integrating the ballistic solver with other support tools, shooters will have a complete management system to enhance knowledge and put rounds on target faster and easier than ever before.”
The acclaimed Applied Ballistics Bullet Library is a good example of simplification for shooters: it includes thousands of projectile models that have been built using Doppler Radar to create a Custom Drag Model (CDM) for each bullet. This library is a core feature of the AB Quantum™ app, giving users the fastest way to create accurate and precise solutions for any environment.
Consumers can find the “AB Quantum™” app available on either the iOS or Android app stores beginning in December of 2024.
For more information, visit https://appliedballisticsllc.com/ab-quantum/
About Applied Ballistics
Applied Ballistics aims to empower long-range precision hunters, shooters, and industry partners through advanced solutions, comprehensive data management, and seamless system integration. We are dedicated to delivering accurate, unbiased ballistics information and solutions that enhance accuracy and understanding. At the forefront of innovation, Applied Ballistics is your trusted partner in the Science of Accuracy®.
Missing feature: Nice to have is pairing with Garmin Xero® C1 Pro Chronograph
Wishful thinking: WEZ section in the app
I agree on both counts! While Applied Ballistics hasn’t told me anything about this, I’d expect they will integrate with Garmin. They seem to already have a close partnership with them. Applied Ballistics solvers are in multiple Garmin devices. I’m sure they’re aware that the Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph represents what the majority of shooters are buying at this point, so I’d bet it’s on their shortlist.
And I love the WEZ analysis. I used it several times over the past 2 weeks to make some decisions around cartridges and bullets. It really helps put it all in perspective. That would be a killer feature on the app. Maybe they could integrate that in as one of the elite features.
For anyone who doesn’t know what WEZ analysis is, check out this article: How Much Does It Matter? Overall Summary
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Cal
Great news! I reach out to Nick at Applied Ballistics with several questions, including the Garmin device integration and WEZ analysis … and some of it is already in the works! In fact, he shared a few screenshots of the WEZ analysis that is currently in beta testing for the app. So it’s definitely going in there.
His answers were so helpful that I simply added another part to the article to share those, instead of simply replying with them in the comments. You can find those here: update to questions with screenshots of WEZ.
Thanks,
Cal
This is very exciting as the previous app was pretty antiquated. While I find the reticles mostly useless, as I generally buy first focal plane mil tree scopes, it is definitely something that almost all of my friends complain about and continue to use Strelok because of. It also has quite a few useful calculators that people seem to appreciate.
I hope that AB adds integration for the Garmin Xero C1 chronograph. It is odd to me that they would add integration for the Optex Speedtracker Chronograph but not the Xero. I have both and the Optex just sits in my garage, unused. The Garmin is much more useful and easy to use in my opinion.
Great points. I also thought AB has been behind the curve on their mobile app for some time, which always seemed odd to me.
While Applied Ballistics hasn’t told me anything about this, I’d expect they will integrate with Garmin. They seem to already have a close partnership with them. Applied Ballistics solvers are in multiple Garmin devices. I’m sure they’re aware that the Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph represents what the majority of shooters are buying at this point, so I’d bet it’s on their shortlist.
Thanks,
Cal
Hey, Airwolf. I reached out to Applied Ballistics to ask if they were working on integration with the Garmin Xero C1 chronograph, along with a few other questions I had got in the comments like those related to the limited reticles currently available in the app. I thought their answers were so helpful that I just added a whole new section to the article to share those, instead of only replying with those in the comments.
You can find AB’s answers to the questions here: Applied Ballistics Answers To Questions on Garmin, Reticles & Other Questions
Thanks,
Cal
Why in the world would a ballistics app need to access my contacts and legacy photo/video content not taken within the context of the app itself? This is a bit egregious.
From the mobile app privacy policy:
Stored Information and Files. The App also may access metadata and other information associated with other files stored on your device and used by the App. This may include, for example, photographs, audio and video clips, personal contacts, and address book information.
Very interesting. I agree it shouldn’t need access to that stuff. At least on the iPhone you have to explicitly grant a third-party app access to information in Contacts, Photos, Calendar, and other apps. The end-user always has control over that, and can audit what any app has access to (learn how to do that here). I double-checked the app after I updated on my iPhone, and it didn’t have access to any of that stuff. That might be boiler-plate privacy policy language, but I’m not sure.
It’s a good point! Thanks for dropping it in the comments.
Cal
Because your computer devices are the product to which the app wants to access – everything it can mine off your computer or smartphone. You get the app for free or some “reasonable” charge or recurring fee, and the apps gets all the access it wants to your devices. Cars are the worst generally.
A downside I notice right off is the lack of reticles that were available in their previous ballistics app. The only reticles I saw for Nightforce NXS and NX8 appears to be the Horus ones. I have an older NXS with the NP-R2 reticle. The older version of the AB app had it as well mas a lot of others. It’s an inconvenience for sure. Not as robust as the Strelok. Although, being in the software industry I recognize this as a major update and they might not have had enough time to bring them over. Maybe they are coming in a future update. Time will tell. If I’m missing something please let me know. Love your articles, they have helped me and a ton of friends. We all hunt and shot long range as a hobby. Non of us are PRS shooters but we sure learn a lot from your articles. Once again, thanks Cal!!
Hey, Billy. Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you are enjoying the content and finding it valuable, even if you don’t compete. So much of this translate to serious rifle hunters, too. And that is how I started out, so watch out … you might get sucked into the competition thing! 😉
I didn’t have a chance to play with the app until just now, but based on your comments I went straight to the reticles … and I agree. It seems like they are lacking some of the most popular options for Nightforce – and only have Horus represented. I looked at the Leupold Mark 5HD, since I know that is another extremely popular scope and it looks like the only option on it is also Horus reticles.
I also noticed they don’t have the Tangent Theta 7-35×56 Professional scope, which is what I’ve been using lately. Even on the Tangent 5-25×56 they didn’t have the JTAC reticle, although they did have one that wasn’t a Horus reticle (i.e., Gen 2 XR) … so at least it’s not exclusively Horus.
I might reach out to them and ask if they plan on adding more reticles, or why it seems to be heavily Horus reticles at this point. I would assume that might be from a military contract they had, and they just haven’t added all of the more consumer reticles yet. But I don’t know what their plans are, so I’ll ask and report back what I hear.
Thanks,
Cal
Hey, Billy. I reached out to Applied Ballistics to ask if they were planning to add more reticles to their app. They are, but its more complicated than I originally thought. They answered a few questions that it seemed like multiple people were asking about, so I just added a whole new section to the article to share those, instead of only replying with those in the comments.
You can find AB’s answers to the questions here: Applied Ballistics Answers To Questions About Reticles & Other Questions
Thanks,
Cal
Has anyone managed to get the app to connect to their Sig Kilo 3000 BDX yet? I can’t figure it out. I’m on Android if that helps too.
Love the blog to @Cal. The work which goes into keeping this alive must be time consuming. I appreciate your efforts.
Thanks, Craig! I’m obviously passionate about precision rifles, so I enjoy it. But I appreciate the encouragement too. That goes a long way!
Unfortunately, I don’t have any of the Sig Kilo products to try myself, but maybe another reader will chime in. I think Doc Beech might have connected with a pair of Sig binos in the walk-through video, but it’s been a couple of weeks since I watched that.
Hope someone chimes in to help!
Cal
At the bottom of this page you will find supported devices:
https://appliedballisticsllc.com/ab-quantum/
No Kestrel supported is a limitation.
They admit that the AB Kestrel 5700s will be implemented in Q1 2025, mine who knows when (and then it asks me to activate bluetooth?).
It’s annoying that products just advertised by AB are no longer compatible (some friends had bought them on purpose), many shooters are changing ballistics apps for this.
I too would have invested a little more in usability than in reticles, some finishing is not perfect yet, sometimes it jams, the bullet database has been stuck for almost a year.
For me the adjustments are a little small, I don’t know if on the field with big fingers, a little dirty or cold, everything fills in quickly.
Even privacy is not the best, perhaps it is the only one that does not allow deleting the collected data.
AB had to make a masterpiece, because now the competition is just as good:
I have tested at least 10 and at 1400yd they all change only 1-2 clicks out of 200, and on the wind drift the same goes for the major ones.
Maybe the app was launched too early, too bad.
All great points, Paolo. I also thought that not having Kestrel integration on day 1 was a little shortsighted, especially for my readers and the PRS community. That is why I preemptively reached out to ask what the timeframe would be on that, because I knew a lot of people would want to know. Heck, I wanted to know! It turns out I had bought the Applied Ballistics Mobile app a long time ago, so I guess that converted to an “Elite” license. I was just thinking I have a couple of Kestrel Elites with Applied Ballistics, so I didn’t want to pay for a license if I could just wait for the integration with the Kestrel to come out. Then my automatic conversion to an “Elite” license kind of surprised me, but I think I paid $20 or $30 for that app a few years back. I remember thinking, “Dang, that is a lot for a phone app!” 😉
I agree that the reticle library is not very wide, but I guess I haven’t used it enough to notice that it “jams”. I did notice this morning that they already released an update to fix a few issues, so you might update the app to see if that is one of the fixes the latest release addressed.
I also haven’t experienced the bullet database being stuck for a year. I’ll be honest though, I didn’t use the older “AB Mobile” app very often. So if you’re referring to that, I guess I wouldn’t have experience with it. I’ve set up a few profiles on the new app and haven’t ran into any issues related to the bullet database. I actually thought it worked well, but maybe you’re using it a different way than I am. I’d suggest you reach out to Doc Beech who is Technical Support for Applied Ballistics and I bet he might be able to help you troubleshoot that. You can contact them here: https://appliedballisticsllc.com/contact-us/
You might be right. Maybe they launched a little early. It’s a tough balance when you have a new version of software that is clearly such a big upgrade over what you currently have on the market. You want to get it out to people, but sometimes that means there are little glitches you have to work through. I was a professional software engineer for over a decade, so I definitely am intimately familiar with that predicament! Here is a wise quote that I still think about. It is from one of the chief architects at Microsoft for many years, Scott Guthrie:
Now, I’m actually not sure that Applied Ballistics shipped too soon. They were originally planning to release it 2-3 weeks ago, and I had the post written and ready to publish – but then they said they felt like they needed to push the release for a little while to get a few issues worked out. So I know they were trying their best to strike that balance, but that is a judgement call. You are definitely entitled to your opinion. And honestly, I’ve had one of the busiest weeks in quite a while, so I haven’t had a chance to play around with the new app myself much. So maybe I just haven’t ran into the issue you have, or perhaps there is something wrong with your profile or install and they can help you through that.
I appreciate the thoughtful comments, Paolo. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Thanks,
Cal
Sorry Cal, I understand what you mean.
Maybe Google Translate doesn’t help me fully understand what I read and write, I apologize.
The bullet database is great, it’s the best and it works perfectly, I just mean that the last bullet update was in February: I would have preferred to increase the bullets even more, rather than the reticles, but certainly there will be those who prefer the opposite.
Cal, as always thanks for breaking the news on this. Honestly, I had completely written off the AB app as unreliable due to some erroneous outputs and glitchy/buggy results back when it first came out. It was deemed not reliable and as such went in the tech roundfile.
It goes without saying that the AB team is pretty undisputed in their knowledge and ballistic capabilities, but the tech they put out hasn’t always represented that level of knowledge well. A testament to how hard it is to make user interfaces and technology solutions work regardless of how good your kung fu is.
I’ve spent some time on the phone with them working to troubleshoot some of the early “AB Ecosystem” products and I realize they are reliant to some degree on the decisions their partners make, whether it be Leica, Garmin, Sig, Kestrel, etc.
On one hand I’m encouraged that this app seems to ‘sort of’ take back some of that reliance by interfacing directly with the devices vs. having to interface each device with its own app. For example, if you had a rifle profile that you wanted to use in a Leica rangefinder and a Kestrel, and on your phone heads up display – you had to input and keep current the profile on ALL of those devices and apps which not only was a PITA, it was just opportunity for error anytime you changed the slightest thing in the profile (like a change to MV).
Being able to build a list of rifle profiles on ONE AB app and use as the single source of truth and propagate out to other devices/apps via bluetooth (or other people via the QR code) will be a great benefit to me and I assume others. Not to mention being able to back them up to the cloud.
I’m dreading the amount of validation and output verification I am going to have to do before I am comfortable with using this new App and all the various outputs and devices it will force me to double-check – because I’ve been burned before, but I’m encouraged that AB is pulling things together vs. making them more fractured so I (hopefully) only have to do it once.
I’ve made it most of the way watching the long YouTube video you posted (I recommend everyone get through it – its amazing so far)
Appreciate you.
Dang, Bryan! You pretty much summed up all of my thoughts on this new app that I didn’t necessarily say in the article. I try to keep my personal opinion out of the articles I publish for the most part, but in the back of my head … that is exactly what I was thinking.
I totally agree with your statement of “A testament to how hard it is to make user interfaces and technology solutions work regardless of how good your kung fu is.” That says it very well. These guys know their stuff, and are experts among experts when it comes to the science – but the AB Mobile app was … not good. That is the best way I can possibly frame it. When I think of Applied Ballistics, I think of “state of the art” – but the previous mobile app just didn’t represent that.
And I totally agree about how great it will be to have a “central source of truth” for all your rifle/ammo ballistic profiles. I shoot A LOT, so it seems like I’m always slightly tweaking muzzle velocities as my barrels wear. So I almost never trust the ballistics in one of my rangefinders or binoculars, or at least feel like I have to true it out before I can trust it. I’m constantly keeping my Kestrel updated, but those other devices can sometimes get stale because I don’t use them as often. But, when I’m hunting – you don’t have time to fiddle with the Kestrel, so those devices are far more appropriate. But it’s like there is a sprawling management for all of ballistic profiles. I just got the Vectronix Vector X, and had to learn how to program the ballistic profile in ONE MORE device! I have a degree in Computer Science, so it’s not that programming a ballistic profile is hard for me … but it’s just tedious and time consuming. Plus, I’m duplicating the same information in a bunch of different places, which like you said, is prone to error. It did just seem like we have a sprawling problem, or “fracturing” as you said it. It was like we’re trying to maintain all of these little independent islands of information and technology that each work a little different and have a little different interface … but if they aren’t all consistent then the end result is we don’t hit the target, and that isn’t acceptable.
I was a professional software engineer for over a decade, and one of the principles I used when leading my team was “The truth should reside in one place.” If there is any way possible, don’t duplicate the same information in multiple places. The chance of error or forgetting to update it in one place simply goes up. There are a few ways to go about that:
1) Single-Source of Truth: If you can design a system so that “the truth” is pulled on-demand by all devices from the same one location, then it will always be correct and there is never any sync issues. This is the most bulletproof and error-prone solution.
2) System for Syncing: You can’t always do #1, and if that isn’t possible or reasonable then the next best thing is a solid system that at least keeps “the truth” in sync across all of the places it will be stored. That introduces a ton of complexity, but it is better than just blindly copying and pasting the same info everywhere. That will come back to bite you eventually!
When I’m out in the field hunting, and hit the button on my rangefinder … it isn’t reasonable for it to have to go to the cloud to pull “the truth” of my ballistic profile on-demand. That would add lag time, and I might not even have data service wherever I am. So the device needs to have a local copy of “the truth” – so we’d basically copy and paste it into it before. But, now AB Quantum should give us the system for syncing the profiles and keeping the latest version of “the truth” on them. When I tweak my muzzle velocity slightly for the new lot of powder or change in speed that I measured, I can push that out to all my devices right then. Hopefully that means when I use my rangefinder or binos a year from now I can trust that the ballistic solution it is spitting out is based on the latest/trued data, even if I haven’t touched that device in months. That kind of trust would be valuable, and it seems like that is a huge part of what Applied Ballistics is trying to help us manage with this new software. They seemed to have been just as excited about that part of it as the ballistic solver, although that isn’t what most users probably think of first when they are looking at screenshots of the app.
… but obviously you picked up on that! 😉
And I also dread the work to try to move everything over to this, but who knows … maybe it will be easier than we think. The idea of having a solution that syncs profiles is compelling enough that it is worth the effort … I think.
Obviously, you said all that a little more succinctly … but I totally agree! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It gave me a chance to share a few of mine, too. It is a big part of what makes me excited about this that I bet a lot of people may gloss over.
And I agree the video is super-helpful. It is long, and I’m sure most people won’t watch it … but it would probably save them time or help them get more benefit from the app if they did. At the very least, it’d save Doc Beech a lot of emails and questions about things that he already clearly explained in the video. But, then again … that’s job security for Doc! 😉
Thanks for sharing the thoughtful comments!
Cal
Great minds think alike !(unfortunately so do dumb people so there’s that). LOL
Unfortunately my testing on the range today indicates that this app isn’t ready for prime time.
I shoot a lot too – but my primary use case is hunting and I use all my shooting as a means of practice for that goal. The quickest way to lose my confidence is to give me incorrect solutions. The original app did that and this one did that several times today – and what’s worse is after closing/restarting the app it magically started giving the right solution.
Now I’m left wondering if the solutions I’m looking at are the right ones- or do I need to restart the app……or what….
Fortunately, I have a rifle profile that I’ve used long enough that I instinctively know when to question a solution but I have no interest in questioning a solution when out in the field staring at a big game animal.
For my testing today, I followed Doc’s directions for building a target card for all targets at my personal/private range from 250-1500y. And that seemed to work ok (a little glitchy). But then the solutions weren’t recognizing changes to wind and the HUD wouldn’t even display a solution at all. But it didn’t freeze up (which actually would have been better) so it appeared to be working correctly.
Anyway, fool me once…….
I hope your testing goes better and maybe I’ll check back in on it later but man this is NOT that difficult……sigh
Dang. That sucks. I agree that if it gives you the wrong solution it can erode trust really fast. I can appreciate that you know your dope well enough that you could tell that. I feel like most people can’t … but should. I always have my 400 and 600 yard dope memorized for the rifles I use the most, which has really helped me out a few times as a “smell test” to see if the solution is right.
Maybe we should give it a couple of months for them to work out the bugs and then see if it works any better. They certainly know the science part of it, but must be tougher than it seems to get the technology end of it to cooperate.
That’s why it’s so hard to even trust other devices other than my Kestrel. It has earned my trust over the years, and I feel like I’ve worked through the few “gotchas” that might pop up through updates. I’d be surprised if the AB guys don’t get this figured out. It seems like they’re making this app the central hub of their ecosystem, which means its very important to them. Time will tell!
Thanks,
Cal
Why would they get rid of density altitude manual input? That was one of the most useful functions. It made it easy to compare drops and energy at theoretical locations. For example, if I knew I were hunting at a specific altitude and a given temperature range, I could input an average density altitude and pre-print a functionally accurate dope card. Now that they removed DA (and altitude for that matter), how can you get a “pressure” prediction at a known elevation? I’m not familiar with an easy way to do that, thus making pre-printing dopes more complicated. Given that a lot of industries (military, aviation, etc) use density altitude as a standard, this seems like a problem. Maybe I’m missing something. I’d love some help on how I can translate back to DA or predict pressure at a given altitude.
Thanks
Interesting, Cannon. To be honest, I hadn’t ever used that feature … but I can see how it’d be helpful. I do the same thing, printing a dope card for a predetermined temp and altitude – if nothing else, it serves as a backup to whatever digital ballistic solver I’m using. I always tape that to my hunting rifle, and I’ve used it on multiple occasions.
I would suspect someone from Applied Ballistics will be reading through these comments, but I’d suggest you reach out to those guys and give them your suggestion. They might have a more elegant solution for your use case – or they might realize that they should put that feature back in there. You can contact them here: https://appliedballisticsllc.com/contact-us/
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
Thanks,
Cal
I wonder if they will add the ability to true the BC as an option to truing velocity. When we have such accurate chronographs as the Garmin, Velociradar, etc I personally think truing BC is a better option than truing velocity.
Billy, I 100% agree with you. I had lunch with the Applied Ballistics team at SHOT Show a couple of years ago and mentioned that, and they seemed to think that wasn’t a great option. I actually like the Axial Form Factor in the Hornady 4DOF app that basically gives you a way to slightly tweak the drag profile to fit your rifle. The Applied Ballistics guys have the Drop Scale Factor (DSF), but I’ve never got that to line up as well as I’m able to with the Axial Form Factor and I’d say the ease of use is also better. Of course they liked their solution better, but I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion! 😉
There was a time that most people didn’t have a chronograph (especially military guys who were deployed), so truing the muzzle velocity was the most appropriate solution. Or the only consumer chronographs were the old, lightbased chronographs with skyscreens that had a ton of gotchas that would skew the output. But today that isn’t the case. I have multiple very accurate chronographs and radars. I know my muzzle velocity with a high level of certainty. I’d say that it was a higher level of certainty than the drag of my bullet out of my rifle. So we need a way to tune the drag profile. Personalized drag models are the best way, but I can’t drag every rifle I have out to shoot over their Mobile Lab radars. In fact, I shoot A LOT of matches and haven’t ran into their lab yet. So I need a way to manage it myself, and I wish they’d give us an option to do that.
So I’m with you! Maybe we can nudge them that direction! 😉
Thanks,
Cal
Don’t lke t as much as the original. Difficult to use and clumsy, non-intuitive interface.
Dang! That surprises me, Roger. I’m curious, are you on an Android or iPhone? I thought the older app worked better on Android than it did on an iPhone … but I absolutely prefer the newer app. So I was wondering if you might be on a different platform.
Thanks,
Cal
I just emailed Applied Ballistics about bringing the density altitude input back and this was the response:
2) This will likely not return as an input, its not accurate. It will be an output.
Hey, Brian. I just saw an Applied Ballistics post on Instagram that I thought would make you laugh:
“Density Altitude Feature Release – AB Quantum™. This video demonstrates how to access and change your Density Altitude in AB Quantum™:
Looks like you might have convinced them! At the very least, looks like you have the option to input the DA again.
Thanks,
Cal
I just noticed that my old AB app was replaced by AB Quantum. Unfortunately, none of my old ballistic profiles were migrated over to the new app. Has anyone else experienced this issue and what was the solution?
Thanks!
Dang. That sucks. You might reach out to Doc through their support.
Sorry, man!
Cal
Thanks for the update, Cal! That’s great news! I actually prefer using DA, since my range is near an airport and I can call the weather station to get density altitude (as long as it’s above 1,000′) and compare it to my Kestrel. Plus, like Cannon Smith mentioned, it’s easier to generate dope cards.
For those of you wanting to shoot over a mile you may really like this latest revision of Applied Ballistics (AB Quantum). For those of us mortals who do not wish to calculate the escape velocity and vector of projectiles heading to the moon, AB Quantum is a disaster. Wish I had something nice to say about the upgrade…….
Thanks for the great write up.
Unfortunately this apps is still buggy and behaves differently between my iPAD and iPhone. For example , the export range card is working in my iPhone but not on my iPad for the same profile
Additionally, i am trying to build a range card with 1 yard increment for my 22LR gun , but the minimum its letting me do is 5 yards. The older version did allow 1 yard increments, so why limit it now ?
N top of ll of this , yes the software UX (user experience) is very unintuitive.. especially the center button in the bottom that changes with the shoot menu but not with other menus