Is the Shooter Ready?

February 8, 2024

Download and other important information

(A few of the more frequently asked questions on calibers and reticles are at the bottom.)

The Long Range Shooting Simulation is sold exclusively on this website. Any copies sold by anyone else on any other website, forum or gun show are not legal copies nor is the seller authorized to sell them. If you buy (or pirate) unauthorized copies you will not be eligible for support or updates.

The simulation runs on a supplied stand-alone Flash player. The discontinuation of support for the Flash player at the end of 2020 only applies to browsers. It does not affect the stand-alone player. You do not have to install Flash on your computer. I have authored in Flash since it was first released. It was the most incredible authoring software ever developed. People like me who do not have a strong background in writing code could produce elegant, interactive applications in Flash. Apple and Google could not make money on it so with a little help from Adobe they succeeded in destroying it. Adobe still produces Animate (which is the new name for Flash) which exports applications for desktop and mobile devices - now more expensive and more difficult to use.

The simulation works on all versions of Windows.

It will not work on phones or tablets including iPADs.

It will not work on a Surface RT. It will work on a Surface Pro. It does not work on most Chrome Books. If you are not sure if the files will work on your system, just ask for a test file.

No longer available for MacOS due to overly strict security and permissions settings which prevent the standalone Flash player from working correctly. It will work on a virtual Windows machine such as Parallels Desktop (confirmed) VMware Fusion, VirtualBox, Crossover (confirmed to work using zipped file) or Apple's Boot Camp. Some of these virtual machines have limited Windows capability, but exe files should work without a problem. Be sure you are in the Windows environment when you download. There are no future plans to re-develop a Mac version. I can send a test .exe file with the splash screen to test on virtual Windows if requested.

You can use the simulation on all of your own computers.

Refund policy:

I do not refund for any reason if the files have been downloaded.

If the files are not downloaded at all or downloaded to an incompatible device I will refund the amount less the PayPal fees which PayPal will not return to me.

Please ask before purchasing. I will tell you if I do not think the simulation is right for you.

Download Information

The files do not install on your computer. They are in a folder that is zipped up within a self-extracting exe file. When you run it the folder will be extracted to your desktop. This can cause problems with some Anti-virus software. Solutions to reported problems are included with the links. You will also receive links to the .zip file. If there is a problem with AV software use the .zip files instead. The exe files are a little easier but the zipped files will get around the AV software issues. All reported issues and solutions are included with the links. Contact me if you have any problems.

When your PayPal payment is complete you will be automatically directed back to the ShooterReady download link web page. You will receive links for the Windows Standard and Metric versions.

If you leave the PayPal site too soon after the payment is verified you may not be redirected to the download page. Just wait a few seconds for the redirect.

You will also be sent an email with the download links, installation instructions and troubleshooting information.

If you do not receive an email with the download links:

The download links will expire 6 hours after your order is placed.

The Metric version

The metric version values were converted from the US standard (Imperial) version values.
Wind in KPH, drift in cm, altitude in meters, and temperature in celcius were rounded-off to the nearest whole number.
Using the rounded values will result in a slight difference in elevation and wind drift from the exact values you see in the results.
Target sizes are converted from the US standard size in inches to cm. A 12 inch by 12 inch target will be 30.5 cm by 30.5 cm rounded off to 30 X 30 cm.
The range cards were recalculated from the US Standard version, not from exterior ballistic software, then rounded off to give even-value winds and ranges.
With all that converting and rounding-off going on, you may not see the exact results you would expect to see but the differences will be minor. It was the only reasonable way to develop a metric version.

Please do not share the download links

This is a one time download. Make a back up copy and keep it in a safe place. Free back-up links can be provided up to one year after purchase. After one year there will be a small ($5.00) back-up fee.

Can my caliber and/or reticle be included? Can I put in my own data? How do I calculate for differential winds down range?

These are some of the most commonly asked questions. The simulation is meant to teach exterior ballistics. It is not meant to be used to practice using a caliber or reticle. You can only do that in the field. Once you have the basics down then you would use exterior ballistic software to calculate data for your own system and with any kind of luck it will make more sense.

The calibers were chosen because they are some of the more common ones and because they are widely different in weight and BC. The reticles are of the simplest designs to make learning easier but all reticles are based on the mil or moa scale no matter how complicated they are. All of the many reticle choices can't be included because it would complicate things since some of them require an entire manual to learn how to use and others are protected by copyright and patents.

In the stages you will be given a problem to solve. This is what you would expect in real-life shooting where you can't choose the conditions or distance to the target (usually). The data on the range cards is often different than the actual conditions. This gives you the opportunity to see what happens if you don't compensate for a different temperature or other atmospheric or earth-based condition. You can decide just how important it is in terms of accuracy - without wasting ammo. You can also see how different bullets are affected. Does the 50 cal respond to a change in temperature the same way that a .308 does for instance? There are ample learning opportunities if used to its full extent.

There are stages that have differential winds down-range. This is a problem you can encounter in the field. In the simulation you are given a range of what the velocity of the wind is at a given distance, but in real-life shooting you will not know. All you will know is that you are constantly off when adjusting for wind at the muzzle. There is an equation for adjusting for wind down-range but you would have to know the velocity of the wind which would be hard to do since the wind is way down there and you are way up here. The stages with differential wind gives you an idea of how much you will be off with a down-range wind that is significantly different from the wind at the muzzle (at least according to the Sierra ballisticians). You usually have to make two shots to hit the target but after a little practice you may be able to estimate it with one shot.

It is best to start with the classroom sections before going out to the ranges. Long range shooting is difficult. There is no easy shortcut.

Just wanted to drop a line to tell you how awesome the software is. I've been in need of a refresher because I live in a city apartment and don't get out to shoot nearly as often... this is really helping out a lot.

I'm especially grateful for the metric option, being Canadian and all, and using a mil/mil scope

Byron S., Toronto, Canada