Write a Recommendation about the ATEAB Program

Ray,
   Thanks for all the help on Saturday and thanks for running a great
competition on Sunday. I was delighted to come away with third place. I can't
believe how easy and how well your ballistic program works. Great job. A few
questions if you don't mind Ray. Where does one get those practice spinners
we used and those knock down targets? Do you size your pellets and how do you
go about that? When do you think you're going to practice again? Questions
questions. I guess you could say I'm hooked on FT.(LOL) That's it for now.
   Thanks again and give my regards to your father.
   Paul Cray
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----- Original Message -----

From: "Billy" <medbill@frontiernet.net>

To: Ray Apelles

Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2002 1:11 PM

Subject: ATEAB Program Review

Hi Ray and Hans,

Sorry its taken me almost a year to write this review but I think it
will mean a heck of a lot more than when I was totally new to modern
"adult" air rifles and FT back in March 2001. The A-team scope knob I
purchased along with the ATEAB program got me up and running with my
HW-97 right from the start. With the ballistic program and tutorials I
was able to dive head first into the game of field target shooting. I
took second place out of 6 shooters at my first match. I know that
wouldn't have happened without the program.

Looking back now after a year of competing in 15 matches and after some
equipment changes I was able to finish up with a 9 match average of
87.65 % with my Zasadny modified Steyr LG-100. One of the highlights of
the season though was when I ended up in a 3 way tie for 5th place in
the open class at this years Field Target Nationals in Atlanta. I
seriously doubt I would have gone as far and as fast as I did on my own
without it. The program is definitely the most affordable and helpful
piece of shooting equipment I have ever purchased. It helps getting you
into the game TREMENDOUSLY easier by answering and teaching the ins and
outs of setting your gun up for field target and of course the dead on
ballistics program.

If your sitting on the fence wondering if you should get it, your
crazy. For the cost of a box of pellets you can be well on your way to
winning matches and or being a more successful hunter.

Thanks again guys, see you on the shooting lanes in 2002!

Billy Lo
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----- Original Message -----

From: "Chris Whytock" <CWhytock@compuserve.com>

To: "Ray Apelles"

Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 11:19 AM

Subject: A Team Easy Airgun Ballistics Program

Hello Ray
Just a quick email to say that I have tried your software and was very
impressed. So much so that today I posted the order form and $15 to your
address.
Look forward to receiving the software.
Best Regards
Chris Whytock
101 Ferryfield
Edinburgh
EH5 2PS
SCOTLAND
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Apelles"
To: "Kay Harden" <horsiekay@erols.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 31, 2001 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: Standing Stone?

Thought you might like to know that my gun was fixed. That's all.

The stocks are in Limbo land. It's a real sore subject since we gave all the hardware to Dave Goldfarb in November or October of last year and wanted them for this season. Not real happy.

Fixed that ATEAB bug which created another which is now fixed. Will send updates out when I get the records updated so Everyone gets them.

Ray

----- Original Message -----

From: "Kay Harden" <horsiekay@erols.com>

To: "Ray Apelles"

Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2001 6:42 PM

Subject: ATEAB?

Glad to hear everything's fixed!

Too bad about the "stocks". You may want to talk to Paul Bishop.....
airgunner@juno.com He's the guy that did my stock.

Got the ATEAB all sorted out. The clicks seem to be perfect. I got a new
spinner target and just slapped it out on my range, sighted in on a log at
35 yards, and then ranged to the new silhouette spinner. 49 yards. I checked
the sheet, clicked up 12 clicks, and started nailing it consistently.

Thanks for a great program!
Cole
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----- Original Message -----

From: "Chris Sechiatano." <chris@chris-s.com>

To: Ray Apelles

Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2001 8:18 PM

Subject: ATEAB

Here is my recommendation for the ATEAB program. Buy it!

I already had the software when I received my new CR-X. I bolted on my B&L
scope, dialed in at 35 yard zero, clicked to 10 yards, chronographed the
gun, punched the numbers in to the computer and went to my local club match.
43 out of 44 knockdowns and every shot was right on the crosshairs.

I even offered to do my friends guns cause I saw them sighting in at 10, 20,
30, etc.. But, they seem to like the hard way better.

Now I just have to get a knob to go with my scope so I don't have to look at
my "cheat sheet" all the time :)

Good work!

--
Chris

=====================================

I wanted to thank you for your great ATEAB program. I found it easy to use and it saves a lot of shooting time for each rifle/scope combination you setup. I have just entered the field of air rifles and used your program to setup my TX200 spring rifle and Bushnell Elite 8-32 scope. I have been trying to learn the artillery hold for shooting my rifle. This loose hold allows a spring rifle to more on its own for consistent accuracy. Low and behold the day before my first field target match I discovered the secret to this hold and began to consistently hit my target. Now it was getting dark and had not been able to test the accuracy of your programs click method at various distances. I guess I would have to rely on your program the next day. Well, to make a long story short I came in 2nd place, one point behind first. If not for two novice click mistakes I might have came in first. I give your ATEAB program a great deal of credit for my success that day.
Thanks

A-Team Program

I had the opportunity to test Rays program out against some of the software we use at one of the facilities I work at and was quite surprised.

This facility does some very important gov't work (if there really is such a thing) and the systems and software easily approach $100 million. This one system that I was testing the application against costs about $50K and does numbers and models for interior and exterior ballistics. Well anyways I was shoin' the lab boys my application, entered in my variables and came up with some numbers...they entered their 60 some odd variables, did a quick "compile" verified the data and came up with numbers so close it wasn’t even funny. We did this several times and got very very similar results. We tested the results that we both got on a "perfect" gun and Ray’s results were actually closer (dead on) to the reality then the lab rats program.

When they asked me how much it costs and I told them $15 dollars they were sort of po'd. Now don't get me wrong that lab equipment is great for hypervelocity rounds, long-range modeling, or very large caliber weapons but for $15 Rays' program certainly showed them up.

Now for me a lot of the nuance is lost cause I don't shoot groups that are .01 different but hey it's nice to know the program can figure it out.

This is the only program that I have used to date that is accurate. As with any calculation, it's only as good as the info that you put in. The more that I used the program and the more attention I paid to accuracy, the better the outcome. The program is very easy to use. It has many advanced features that allow you to chart just about anything you want, when it comes to flight path, time, energy, etc... This is the best value on the market; not only is it easy to use, it actually works, and if that isn't enough, you get free up grades as they become available.

HELLO RAY. I would highly recommend the A teams ballistic program to any air rifle shooter who wants to get the best from his rifle and scope. The tutorials have helped me greatly, especially the scope parallax tutorial. A parallax incorrectly set up scope of mine sent pellets .20 inches to the right at 10 yards. The corrected parallax sent all pellets dead on thru the Cross hair. The Ballistic Program took me a while longer to figure out, only because I’m new to Computers. Once the pellets started going directly thru the same holes, not key-holing mind you, I knew RAY'S PROGRAM produced REAL WORLD RESULTS. I FELT THE SAME EXCITEMENT THAT CAPTAIN AHAB FELT WHEN HE FOUND OUT THAT HIS CHARTS WERE CORRECT AND THAT THE WHERE ABOUTS OF MOBEY DICK COULD BE PREDICTED-ACCURATELY.

Hello Ray, I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to your airgun ballistic software program. It has made a real difference in my shooting. Especially when purchasing a new gun, or trying to make that long shot. It is incredibly versatile and the best part is the frequent updates that you send all your subscribers. Nowhere else could you get such an extensive software program as yours. Not to mention the small price tag for purchasing it, which is paid for over and over again with the updates alone.

Thank you
John

I was preparing for the 1999 Bluegrass Field Target Match in Lexington, KY. I had been told that this was a real “serious” match with many top-notch shooters attending and environmental challenges (wind and terrain) not typically encountered in most FT venues. This would also be only my second FT match and I was nervous. It was already September, the same month as the match, and I was trying to get an HW97 - Simmons 6.5 - 20 x 44 Mag combination that I had only owned for a couple months, ready for the task.

First I recalibrated the scope’s adjustable objective – twice. Each time, this took the better part of an afternoon to complete but the final results produced accurate yardage markers on the end of my scope, from 9 yards out to 50. From 35 to 50 yards however, the marks progressively begged to be closer together until one final line meant all distances from that range out. I would find out that this process was actually the easy part.

Since I really didn’t know much about “clicking” in scope elevations from acquired target distances, I resorted to an approach known as “hold-over/hold-under” or “Kentucky Windage.” In my mind, the application of this process in actual match conditions meant simply this: I would focus on the target, check the yardage marker on my adjustable objective, look at a chart showing my POI when held on the kill zone at that distance, and then estimate where, high or low, on the target I would have to actually hold. Oh yes, don’t forget about the wind. My hopes for a good finish were diminishing fast.

It was obvious that the key to even mediocre success was an accurate over/under chart. To build this chart, I place a target at every distance that had a corresponding mark on my scope objective. I then shot a three-shot group while aiming directly on the center of the target kill zone. On a Master Target, I drew a line from top to bottom, intersecting the kill zone through the center. I then placed one small indication mark on the line showing POI at each distance shot and the distance in yards – a line with little black dots plotting pellet impact from 9 yards to 50 yards if aimed at the center of the kill zone. Not to bad, right? Wrong. I had to go through this process THREE times to really get it right. Twenty-some distances, three shots each, moving targets, and recording results. The last time, had me shooting in the dark, by flashlight, just two nights before the match. Are you getting this picture?

The outcome of my efforts in preparation for Kentucky were only slightly better than 50% of the targets successfully knocked over. A score that somehow still netted me a 4^th place finish in Standard Piston. I think this says more about how much shooting I did trying to get my rig set up than it does about my application of the “hold-over/hold-under” process. I went home from Lexington with a vow to start “clicking.”

Enter Ray Apelles and the A-Team’s ATEAB Ballistics software. The focus now was the Maryland State Field Target Championship in November 1999. With a new TX200 MKV – Simmons 6.5 - 20 x 44 Mag combination, and again, little time to prepare I put ATEAB through the paces to get this rig match ready. Here is all I had to do – chronograph the TX, sight it in at 35 yards, shoot again at 10 yards, counting the click necessary to achieve zero at this distance. From that point forward, it was computer time.

After answering fewer questions then you might answer when ordering an AIRGUN DIGEST from Amazon.Com, I had printed a report that accurately charted the capabilities of my new TX from 10 to 55 yards. Most importantly, I could now click the elevation knob on my scope to the number achieved by range-finding with my scope. The results were amazing. No more hold-over/hold-under. I could confidently concentrate on the orange kill zone and my release instead of estimating fractions and trying to figure out where on the target to aim – which was sometimes even outside the kill zone, especially on the long shots. Others had said it before me, but this seemed to be almost like an unfair advantage.

How did I do in Maryland? Well I won the Standard Piston class hitting 88% of the targets on the course. This was 33% more targets then I hit in Kentucky less than two months earlier, on an equally difficult course, with even slightly more cross winds. I know for a fact that I did not improve my shooting skills significantly during this time. It must have been ATEAB. I am certain it was.

There is not one reason I have heard or can think of for not using this program if you want to excel at Field Target. And if you don’t use it, you can be assured that the competition will be, because I’m going to be out there, gunning for the top spot. And I’ll have the advantage.

I am more than happy to send an endorsement for you and your products. It was really nice to meet you and participate with you and your crew at Damasks Md. and I look forward to more matches and lots of good friendly competition. Your Ballistic program is a good shooting aid and would be of help to anyone who shoots competitively, or just for fun, as you know what to expect from the gun you are using at the time, ballistically speaking. The sending of updates and information shows that your commitment to the shooting community is of the highest quality and I really appreciate your attention to detail and keeping your program up to date. You can count on me for anything I can do to help you now or anytime in the future.

Ray
Last week I set up my PE, R9, and TX using your program. After establishing the SMOA, Velocity Retention Factor, Height of Scope, for each gun, I checked the velocity at various yardages (from 10 to 50 yards). Damn if it wasn't right on!!! I know this is my second "thank you" note, but hell I'm tickled with this program. Keep up the good work!!

Just a short message to let you know I received and installed your latest upgrade to the ATEAB. It was a snap to install and works great. Thanks again to you and Hans for keeping me up to date on additions to the program - by sending them out as you do them, with no charge, it’s a great service. Good luck with your FT matches this year; I hope to get to some myself.

Ray:
I have made range cards using the ATEAB for my AA Pro Elite and TX200. I don't shoot serious air rifle competition but do a lot of serious pest control, predominately for pigeons. My shots extend out to 50 yards. So far the range cards produced have been right on. I don't get as "granular" as you field target shooters, but set my card up for 5 yard increments.

All in all, a wonderful program, at a great price, easy to use and great service. Thanks.

The only problem I have with your new ATEAB update is that you make no provisions to install the update to any other directory than the default, "c:\ATEAB Folder". In my case, c: is not a drive that contains any data; it is used to boot from only. The various OS's (WinNT 4, Win 2000, Win98, LINUX) and all files lie on d:, e:, f:, g: and h:. I was able to install and use earlier versions of ATEAB by manually installing to another drive. The only way I could install your latest update was to copy my earlier programs to another computer, putting them in c:\ATEAB Folder, run the update on this second computer, then copy everything back to my primary machine and change all .pif's to reflect the new drives and paths.

I realize that many of your customers are not very PC experienced. However, for those of us that are, forcing a particular directory structure makes for much inconvenience.

Having said that, however, I quite enjoy the program. It's easy to use, once you get the hang of it, and quite accurate in it's recommendations. I've given up on all other airgun trajectory type of programs and use yours exclusively for all my airgun/scope combinations. In fact, I think I'll try ATEAB out on my Sako Finnfire .22 with Burris 8-32x44 this weekend. I should think that I would be able to enter 40 grains as the "pellet" weight and 1080 fps and see what it gives me.

I can probably change the loader so that it can be installed to other drives BUT the links will have to be updated manually. It will be a while before I figure it out and whether I can have the links maintained. Sorry for the inconvenience. So far you are the only person mentioning the problem but I will look into it. So you don't have much room on the (C) drive?

The other gun that you mention is a rim fire I presume? If so you need to develop a VRF for the bullet and then it should work. Let me know how you make out.

p.s. did you down load the new tutorial also? It also defaults to the (C) drive?

Yes, the Sako Finnfire is a rimfire. I'd forgotten about the VRF, but you're right...I'll have to figure that one out as well.

Yes, I got the tutorial, and had to use the same procedure for the installation as well. It works now, though.

The tutorial for ATEAB users has changed very slightly. One change is that you can install to other drives and locations. Don't know if it is worth it for you to download again but if you do let me know what you think and if other changes need to be made.

p.s. Future updates will allow you to install to other drives unless it starts becoming a problem for the un savvy.

I downloaded ATEAB_Tutorial_for_ATEAB_UsersXXXXX.EXE again and saw no difference. In fact, the file size was exactly the same, down to the byte. This makes me think I got the same file. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place?

It only changed an Icon and gives you the option of a different install location. You might not even notice the icon change, as it was subtle.

Did it allow a different drive location? Also the License agreement reflects a warning about the install location.

Yes indeed it did. My apologies. I ripped through it so fast I didn't even notice. The second go-around I took the time and loaded it onto my other drive---slick as a whistle!!

“A” TEAM BALLISTICS PROGRAM

I just got the A TEAM BALLISTICS PROGRAM up and running with lots of help from RAY. You won’t believe what’s in here. I don’t want to make this sound like an ad but I can’t believe the stuff in here. Well worth the money. I can’t wait to get the up dates …….HEHEHEHE.
Thanks again for the help Ray.

A Team Ballistics Program

Just had the opportunity to run the ATEAB program which I purchased on disk. After entering a few pieces of information and sighting in at two distances, the program calculated a wealth of
information which made the process of setting up the scope on my TX200 a snap. Only problem I had with the program, is the need (no want!) that it created for having an A Team scope knob, so I don't have to mentally count clicks. Best investment of $15 that I could have made.
Thanks A Team!!!