I know of only
two computer programs that do
the “figgerin'” for
interior ballistics. I have
'em both but use only one. I haven't heard or read of any
that you can get as a
free download.
I dearly love QuickLOAD, available for only $152.95
(plus s&h, of course — however much that may be) from
www.neconos.com. (That's less than the typical shooter
wastes in working-up loads.)
It's downright scary at first — its predictions are often
eerily accurate, and its opening screen is the most
daunting that I've ever seen (for a first-time user, that is
— after you get the hang of it, it's “so easy that even a
cave man could do it”). It's a pussycat when you take it
one panel at a time, in the proper order.
http://www.neconos.com/qlscreenshot.gif• Enter your cartridge and rifle data in the upper left panel .
• Enter your load data in the upper right panel.
• The lower left panel gives you
two bodies of data
— one after you've pulled down the right-hand white icon
at the top of the screen to learn which powders are most
likely to produce the highest velocities within the pressure
limit that you've specified
— the default graph showing the pressure curve and the
velocity curve as the bullet moves from the case to the
muzzle
• The lower right panel shows what the program predicts the
muzzle velocity and energy and pressures that your specified
load will probably produce.
The accuracy of the program's velocity and pressure predictions
depends on three very important inputs in the upper left panel —
• barrel length
• gross case capacity in grains of water
• how deep you seat the bullet
There are, of course, a number of ways to tweak the program for
your best results. That's why there's a manual, and this wee intro
isn't the full story.
