Nope, no heavy math need at all. If you can add, subtract, multiply and divide you have all the math skills you will ever need to reload. The ballistic data I'm talking about that use to be in Hornady's volume 2 book basically gives you bullet drop for a bullet with a given weight, sectional density and ballistic coefficient at different ranges depending on the velocity. It's very handy for figuring bullet drop over different distances at the range (no computer needed). This is what is known as exterior ballistics, what happens to the bullet after it leaves the barrel. Interior ballistics is what happens from the time you pull the trigger until the bullet reaches the end of the barrel. Interior ballistics is what you have a greater control over when you hand load. You can fine tune your ammunition for a specific gun giving it the best interior ballistics possible.
Here's a example of exterior ballisics using a 50 BMG round. Using a Hornady 750 grain A-Max bullet that has a sectional density of 0.412 and a ballistic coefficient of 1.050. If my muzzle velocity is 2850 fps(feet per second) and the rifle is zeroed at let's say 1,000 yards here is the bullet drop given in the book. This bullet going at 2850 fps will have 13524 ft/lb of energy at the muzzle.
At 100 yards the round would be going 2761 fps and hit 23.3 inch's high with 12697 ft/lb energy.
At 200 yards the round would be going 2675 fps and hit 43.6 inch's high with 11911 ft/lb energy.
At 400 yards the round would be going 2506 fps and hit 69.3 inch's high with 10455 ft/lb energy.
At 1000 yards the round would be going 2036 fps and hit dead center with 6904 ft/lb energy.
At 1400 yards the round would be going 1755 fps and hit -208.0 inch's low with 5126 ft/lb energy.
At 1760 yards the round would be going 1527 fps and hit -549.5 inch's low with 3883 ft/lb energy.
So what good is all that mumbo jumbo. It allows you to zero your weapon and know approximately how high or low the round will hit at a given velocity at different ranges and with how much energy. In addition to being handy at the range it's priceless when hunting over long distances. Let's say your Moose hunting with a 338 Lapua Mag zeroed at 400 yards and you see a Moose at 1000 yards. If you have this type data taped to your stock you know approximately how much the bullet will drop at 1000 yards and you can compensate for it, no guessing involved.
The Hornady volume 2 also use to have wind drift tables. Knowing the cross wind using a known bullet you could look up how much the wind would deflect the bullet at different ranges. Using the same 50 BMG bullet with a muzzle velocity of 2800 fps a 90 degree cross wind would deflect the bullet .2 inch's at 100 yards, .9 inch's at 200 yards, 2.1 inch's at 300 yards, 8.8 inch's at 600 yards, 16.2 inch's at 800 yards, 26.2 inch's at 1000 yards. This manual also has uphill/downhill correction tables. Simply, the book is priceless for the long range shooter. Does the average shooter need it for hunting in the bush at 50 yards with his 30-30 lever action, no. But if you get into long range competition shooting or hunting it is a real time saver. There's plenty of computer programs out there that will do all these calculations for you(heck, they have wrist watch's that do it now) but I don't have a computer in my loading room or when I'm at the range. I can easily take the book with me.
The exterior ballistics section in the Sierra manual goes over in detail the why's and how's of all that mumbo jumbo above. Even for the general shooter it can really give them a edge if they better understand what happens to their round after it leaves the barrel. It just makes you a better and more confident shooter in the end. As they say you can never know to much.
