Download the app
Free, offline, Android. No account, no subscription, no in-app purchases.
The app is published on Google Play as Ballistic Calculator. Installing it takes a minute; setting it up so the answers describe your rifle takes about ten more, and that part is covered in getting started.
What you need
| Platform | Android phone or tablet |
| Distribution | Google Play |
| Connection | Needed to install; not needed to use |
| Permissions | Location, only if you want conditions fetched for your position or latitude filled in automatically |
| Sensors | Tilt for the clinometer, magnetometer for the compass — the app says so when a device lacks one |
What it costs
Nothing. There is no paid tier, no subscription and no in-app purchase — the billing code was removed from the app entirely rather than left dormant. It is funded by one banner ad at the bottom of the screen.
That means every feature is available to everyone: the solver, all the corrections, the ammunition database, rifle profiles, the reticle view, the DOPE card, the training journal, the field tools and truing. The feature list is complete rather than a teaser.
What it collects
- No account. There is nothing to sign up for and nothing to log in to.
- No sync. Profiles, loads, sessions and DOPE cards stay in the app's storage on your device.
- Location is optional and used only for fetching conditions and filling in latitude. Decline it and everything else still works.
- Advertising. The banner uses Google's advertising identifier, and consent is requested where regulation requires it.
- Android backup. If you leave Android's own backup enabled, your app data is copied to your Google Drive — which is also how it comes back on a new phone.
The full statement is in the privacy policy.
First ten minutes
- Set language and unitsTwelve languages, metric or imperial. Do this before entering anything else.
- Build one rifle profileZero distance, scope height, twist rate and direction, click value. Measure the scope height rather than estimating it.
- Attach a loadSearch the 1,600+-load catalogue, or enter a handload. Replace the catalogue muzzle velocity with your own as soon as you have chronographed it.
- Solve one shotDistance, conditions, wind. Check the elevation looks like your rifle before you trust it at distance.
- Confirm it on paperFive rounds at your zero, then work outward. A solution that has not met a target is a hypothesis.
Updating
Updates arrive through Google Play. The app checks on launch and installs in the background, so it stays current without you having to remember to look.
A word on what a solver is
Ballistic output is a prediction computed from the numbers you supply. It is not a guarantee, and it is only as good as your muzzle velocity, your scope height, your confirmed zero and your wind call. Confirm every solution on paper at distance before you rely on it on an animal or a match stage.
That is not legal boilerplate — it is the single most useful thing anyone can tell a new user of ballistic software.
Frequently asked
Is it really free? +
Yes. No paid tier, no subscription, no in-app purchases. One banner ad funds it.
Does it work without a signal? +
Yes. The solver, the ammunition database and your data are all local. Only the optional weather lookup needs a connection.
Can I get it outside Google Play? +
No. Google Play is the only official distribution channel.
Will my data survive a new phone? +
If Android's backup is enabled, your app data is restored from your Google Drive on reinstall. There is no account-based sync in the app itself.
Put it in your range bag
Ballistic Calculator is free, works offline and runs the same point-mass solver on every screen you have just read about.