Ballistic Explorer Help

History of Ballistic Explorer™

Ballistic Explorer was developed as a DOS program in cooperation with Oehler Research, Inc. and was first released in 1988 and shown at the 1989 SHOT show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Other's may claim an earlier date for their product, but none can claim being exhibited at the shooting industry's premier trade show before 1989.

Version 3.00 added a graphical ammo library and was released in 1990.

Version 4.00 was a complete redevelopment of the program, which added a window look to the text interface, a graphical bullet library, and new ballistic models. Version 4.00 was released in 1992.

Version 5.00 was the first version designed for Windows®, and was a complete redevelopment of the program. Version 5.00 was released in January, 1997.

Version 5.5.0 made a number of improvements and was released in January, 1998.

Version 5.5.1 was the first 32-bit version and was released in January, 2000.

Version 5.5.1b includes a calculator under the tools menu and was also released in January, 2000.

Version 5.5.1c fixed the problem of having to re-enter the S/N and access code when running on Windows 2000. Version 5.5.1c was released in February, 2000.

Version 5.5.2 displayed energy values under 100 foot-pounds to 1 DP for those using the program for air guns, made some fixes and incremental improvements and was released in January, 2002.

Version 5.5.2a adds the ability to display loads in the Ammo Library for which there are no case dimensions. Version 5.5.2a was released in December, 2002.

Version 5.5.3 added the Web Update and Wind Drift in MOA features and introduced a higher security "Key" system to replace the dated Access Code system. Version 5.5.3 was released in October, 2003.

Version 5.5.3a added many new calibers and Swift bullets. Version 5.5.3a was released in March, 2004.

Version 5.5.4 added 185 new loads and 150 new bullets and the Trace Catalog feature. Version 5.5.4 was released in January, 2005.

Version 5.5.5 added just 8 new loads, but fixed a bug in the Trace Catalog feature. Also, all of the missing caliber drawings were added. Version 5.5.5 was released in January, 2006.

Version 6.0.0 is the first non-Oehler version and combines the demo and full versions of the program into one. Versions 6.0.0. was also released in January, 2006.

Version 6.0.1 and 6.0.2 were bug fixes released in the spring and summer of 2006.

Version 6.1.0 added the Explore display, and removed non-color, MAS model, and the old trace catalog option. Version 6.1.0 also added the ability to import trace data from version 6.x.x and 5.x.x trace files into the current trace file. Version 6.1.0 was released in September of 2006.

Version 6.2.0 fixed some bugs in the Explore display and greatly improved the helps as well as making them compatible with Windows® Vista. Redeveloped and expanded the tutorials. Added Ken Oehler's equal TOF method of BC conversion. Version 6.2.0 was released in November 2007.

Version 6.2.1 added 320 bullets to the bullet database and was released in November 2008.

Version 6.2.2 added 136 loads to the ammo database. Added loads for five calibers; 325 Win short mag, 327 Federal mag, 370 Sako mag, 460 S&W mag, and 7.62x25 Tokarev. Changed the way the demo works so that users can view all the bullets in the database. Version 6.2.2 was released in January 2009.

Version 6.3.0 changed the range increments so that 1, 5, and 10 yard or meters are available at all scale settings. Printing was changed to support multiple page printouts along with an improved print preview. Version 6.3.0 was released in March 2009.

Version 6.3.1 Fixed user reported bug that caused incorrect readings to be displayed when Find was set to MPBR and Scale was set to the range just higher than the MPBR. Also, the MPBR value was not displaying on the Report printout. These bugs were an artifact of the changes made for version 6.3.0 and do not apply to earlier versions. Version 6.3.1 was released in March 2009.

Version 6.4.0 Improved the Graph display by making it sizable, adding the Zero Adjustment graph type, adding tabs for selecting the graph type, doubling the number of points plotted to produce smother graphs, and enabling the up, down, left and right arrow keys to position the crosshair. Changed calculation error messages so the user can now select to ignore them during a session. Version 6.4.0 was released in April 2009.

Version 6.4.1 Fixed one user reported bug that prevented the Explorer display from being properly restored when the Auto restore desktop option is selected. Fixed a bug found in house that caused a small hook on the plotted bullet path line on the Target display. Added Remington bullets for the first time; 66 in total. There's now 1709 bullets in the database.

Version 6.4.2 Some Windows 7 and Vista users reported that the registration codes needed to be entered every time they ran the program. This may be because Microsoft has virtualized the Registry to make it more secure, but in doing so they have made it unreliable for applications needing to save data. An alternative method is now used on the second attempt to register the product. A many years old bug caused the incorrect BC value to be calculated from two velocities and a distance if the user selected to have the scale menu setting of range in meters rather than yards. Added MagTech ammo and bullets. There are now 1910 loads and 1752 bullets.