How To Find Your Rifles DOPE, Making a DOPE Card For Any Rifle

Learn how to gather accurate DOPE data for your rifle in this Brownells Tech Tip with Caleb. In this video, Caleb explains the full process of building a reliable rifle dope card for long range shooting, including how to use ballistic calculators, chronographs, laser rangefinders, muzzle velocity data, ballistic coefficients, and environmental inputs. This walkthrough covers everything needed to start collecting real-world ballistic data for precision rifle shooting. Caleb explains how to properly enter rifle and ammunition data into a ballistic calculator, how to confirm your zero, how to measure height over bore, and how to true your ballistic data at distance. He also explains the differences between G1 and G7 drag models, how to work in MRAD or MOA, and how to fine-tune ballistic calculations for accurate long range impacts. Whether you're shooting precision rifles, AR-15s at distance, hunting rifles, or competition setups, this video provides a solid foundation for building reliable ballistic data and improving first-round hit probability. Approximate Chapters 00:00 Intro to Rifle DOPE and Ballistic Data 00:42 Importance of a Proper Rifle Zero 01:53 Ballistic Calculators and Kestrel Setup 03:00 Laser Rangefinders and Chronographs 04:49 Organizing Notes and Rifle Data 05:52 Why Accurate Data Matters 06:23 Entering Ammunition Information 07:18 Understanding Muzzle Velocity 08:00 G1 vs G7 Drag Models 09:45 Finding Ballistic Coefficient Data 10:38 Bullet Weight and Bullet Diameter 11:49 Setting Zero Distance 12:12 Measuring Height Over Bore 13:30 Zero Height and Offset Adjustments 14:44 Rifle Twist Rate and Scope Units 16:09 Building a Range Card 17:47 Wind Holds and Wind Values 19:05 Confirming Data at Distance 21:41 Truing Muzzle Velocity 23:26 Truing Ballistic Coefficient 25:59 Shooting Angle and Direction 27:11 Final Thoughts on Long Range Shooting Products and Tools Featured Kestrel Ballistics Meter Garmin Tactix Smartwatch Garmin Xero Chronograph Laser Rangefinder Applied Ballistics Hornady Frontier 75 Grain BTHP Precision Rifle Ballistic Calculators