houndawg: What I'm missing? I don't think I'm missing anything.
Same for the ELR shooters, the guys who are reaching out 1500 - 2000 yards and beyond. I would say 90% shooters will never shoot at anything farther than 200 yards, so for them a $500 Kestrel would be about as useful as tits on a boar hog.
I'm good with that. Different stroke,different folks. Actually,as I recall my Kestrel wind gauge was just over $100 a few years back.
I suppose now if you enter a few numbers they crunch everything.
We all have topics that don't interest or apply to us. My mousepad takes care of that for me.Just a couple of clicks . I don't mind if folks post something that's not my bowl of chili.
The OP has an interest and is trying to learn something.
I don't understand the rain on his parade.
Places like Colorado and Wyoming have some big stretches of private ranch and public land. For those who have access to it,its just another way to have fun. Its not just the 400 or600 or 900 yd known range points.
Once an accurate trajectory curve is created,enter 463 yds or 789 yds,etc and you get the data.
And,FWIW,....I personally don't consider hunting and shooting at longer ranges the same game.
I'll have fun shooting at a non-living target 4 times as far away as I would shoot at a game animal.At least!
A long time ago I loaded a floppy disc with the Sierra ballistic software into my 386 computer. There is a lot that can be learned.
Long ago,for Hot Rodders was a program called "Dyno on a Disc" It gave folks modifying an engine a tool to predict results.
You could build a virtual engine with specified heads,compression,manifold,carb,cam,etc and "run" it Then you could change the cam or alter cam timing or put on a different cam and "run" it again and compare results.
Its one way to find out the 1050 Holley double pumper and 292 cam might not be the best choice for a 63 Falcon with a 170 cu in six used to go to the grocery store.
Longer range shooters can study what a change in bullets and trade off of velocity will do.
But you are right. If there is no place to shoot over 200 yds,it might not be interesting