5.11 tactical ballistic watch: you only think you don't need one

Guns Magazine, July, 2008 by Jacob Gottfredson

As time marches on, so does the inventive spirit of the American shooting industry. Harnessing that determination, Dennis Sammut and 5.11 Tactical together with some clever watchmakers partnered to put Dennis' ballistic software inside one.

I spent a good deal of time using Dennis Sammut's Horus Vision scopes and software during the early years of their development. Dennis invested a great deal of his own money bringing ballistic software to the shooting sports. Putting it in a watch at first seemed like a gimmick, more of a toy than something anyone could use. To quote a friend after I had obtained one, "By the way, if I ever have a sniper trying to shoot me, I want it to be the guy figuring out the right dope on his watch ..."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Sorry friend, but I think you will want to take that statement back. After spending several days with the Field Ops version, I decided I could not live without one. But let's back up. For years, long-range shooters and snipers have used data cards, ballisticards or simply stuff written on a piece of paper to remember the ballistic data needed to make precise shots at all ranges.

Electronics Afield

As computers and PDA's advanced, some began to carry such electronic gadgetry in the field. Yet cards can be lost or ruined, batteries on PDA's an Pocket PC's often give out or computers go haywire. On the other hand, everyone carries a watch. Batteries to drive them seem to last for years, and they're always on your wrist. The questions are: Can accurate data be carried in a watch, accessed quickly and quickly changed for the conditions? The answer to all of them is yes. I must admit, like my friend, I didn't think it possible.

The watches have several functions including alarm, calendar, chronograph, timer and compass. They are sold in stainless and titanium ($299.99) with hour, minute, and second hands, and in high-density, polycarbonate molded body ($239.99), with an extendable strap to facilitate wearing the watch over a pair of wrist-length gloves or bulky clothes. This Field-Ops version adds a compass with digital readout only for time and date, but drops the hour, minute, and second hands in favor of the compass.

I put my .308 rifle's ballistic data into the watch, entered the predominate environmental conditions here at home, including a 10 mph crosswind, and then began evaluating the results. The watch shows the day and time as the default display. Touch a button located at about 10 o'clock on the outside edge of the watch and the elevation comeups and wind offset are displayed for the last range selected. Touch another button and any new range is quickly entered. Touch the original button again and the new comeups and wind settings are again displayed for the new range. Changing environmental conditions or ballistic data is quick and easy as well. The watch even makes adjustments for incline shots. Settings

Settings

Scenario: You enter all the data for your rifle to include ballistic coefficient, height of scope above the bore, altitude, temperature, muzzle velocity, zero range, and whether you want Mils, MOA, or clicks. I like to enter wind at 10 mph and then multiply that MOA setting in relation to 10 mph.

For example, if the wind is 5 mph, I use half the readout on my wind dial. In my head I figure the angle from a crosswind as well. Caution: When shooting past 1,000 yards or so, set the watch for less wind and multiply up if the wind is stronger. The reason is the wind readout only goes to 9.9 MOA. Do this for your range and for your normal conditions.

Now, suppose you get to hunt in considerably different environmental conditions. In my case, I live and shoot on the coast under standard conditions, but I hunt each year in the Rockies at about 8,000' and colder temperatures. When I reach my hunting area, I set the altitude and temperature. The watch now makes the necessary adjustments for these conditions.

Doing the same with a computer readout requires you to print several cards and use the one most closely matching those new conditions. Or you might use a PDA, if the thing works in freezing weather and you have not forgotten to pack lots of batteries and don't mind the time it takes to find it, turn it on, and input the range. But the watch is always there on your wrist, waiting to serve you.

Let's look at the situation in a different way. To shoot long range, the conventional methods go something like this: 1. You retrieve a data book or card, run down the list until the range is shown, move over to the comeups for that range and the wind offset. About 3 seconds, plus the time it takes to find the card in your pack. 2. Your data is attached to your stock and you just look. About 3 seconds. 3. Retrieve your PDA, turn it on, go to the correct table, run the cursor up and down to find the range, note the comeups. Time elapsed to extract the PDA or pocket PC from the pack: about 10 seconds. Bad possibles: The PDA's batteries go kaput. You lose the data card. Worse, the card is for standard conditions and you need to determine the comeups in 30-degree weather at 8,000'. You have to carry a bunch of cards for each barometric pressure and temperature.