Dope Card for rifle hunting

[TheHardWay]

I laminate mine now, but before I bought a little office laminator, I'd used clear contact paper to seal my number chart from the elements. Taped to the stock with some super 88 electrical tape.

 

[Vandy321]

Football wristband (like a QB would use for reading plays from) fits note cards, grab a blank one, scribble dope on with black marker and slide it on. Pretty weatherproof as well in the clear plastic window. Roll up sleeve as you drop down to shoot...no need to pull away to read the butt stock if range changes, its all on your non-trigger wrist.

 

[KNASH]

Oh, my goodness, Leftie!!! My son is one due to eye dominance, I feel your pain in finding bolt guns in LH.

 

[wind gypsy]

Oh, my goodness, Leftie!!! My son is one due to eye dominance, I feel your pain in finding bolt guns in LH.

some of us left eye dominant folks would rather close the left eye than deal with finding left handed guns

 

[KNASH]

some of us left eye dominant folks would rather close the left eye than deal with finding left handed guns

I think he's fully committed to shooting from the sinister shoulder, started at age 10 with shotgun and been shooting leftie ever since. He just bought a Bergara LH, so he's good for now. He considered switch hitting and decided against it.

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Print small dope card and tape to objective. I use packing tape.
Works great.

 

[Varminterror]

It’s not so complicated. Kestrel weather meter, Hornady 4DoF or StrelokPro, up to the second localized data, and up to the minute corresponding ballistic solutions. Environmentals don’t need to be updated very often, as long as you’re within 500-1000ft, the result won’t shift more than a click or two, but paper copies will get outdated, out-houred.

 

[Warrior27]

Football wristband (like a QB would use for reading plays from) fits note cards, grab a blank one, scribble dope on with black marker and slide it on. Pretty weatherproof as well in the clear plastic window. Roll up sleeve as you drop down to shoot...no need to pull away to read the butt stock if range changes, its all on your non-trigger wrist.View attachment 214844
This^

 

[Kimber7man]

 

[pyrotechnic]

I print off cards with drop and drift for a 10mph wind for every 2000ft density altitude. 0, 2k, 4k, 6k, etc. I then "laminate" with packing tape and put them on a piece of velcro tape (the hook side). I have a chunk of loop velcro tape on the rifle so I can swap out cards as needed. Extra cards are in the stock pack.

 

[Mackay Sagebrush]

Chart is taped to the buttstock of the gun.

I also use a wrist band pouch that unfolds. I have a couple different cards in it, from different guns I hunt with. My 20" .308, Sako TRG, etc.

 

[Rail505]

I write on duct tape and put it on the opposite side of the stock facing away from me upside down.

For instance if you shoot right shoulder, mount your chart on the right side of the butt stock facing away from you when in position and put it upside down. When you want to read it when in position, just tip the rifle in towards you and you can read it the correct way. I find this faster than cocking my head in a weird angle to read the chart closer inside towards me if it were mounted in a conventional location.

I also carry a spare card with multiple elevations/density altitudes in a ziploc bag in my bino harness. This would only be used if doing an exceptionally long shot varmint hunting where the drop is really critical. For any big game hunting range inside 400 yards the altitude/density is not relevant.

Also a tip I learned from PRS, is generate your charts using constant drop values and not based on yards. This way you lookup the range on your card like normal, but the every drop value is an even number. It seems odd at first, but once you try it it makes sense and takes the guess work out of which elevation to use if you are in-between ranges.

JBM - Calculations - Trajectory μCard - Constant Drop

jbmballistics.com

So the constant drop value is easier therefore “better” than your dope card being arranged by yards?

 

[SomeJackassOnAForum]

I do the QB wrist sleeve for PRS. Easy to reference, water resistant, doesn't require breaking cheek weld, can run multiple cards.

 

[JLane330]

Print on waterproof paper such as Puffin Paper. I have ordered this though waterproofpaper.com. The paper you should get will depend on your printer and toner (inkjet vs laserjet, Etc). A friends dope card that was taped on with clear tape became unreadable on a recent hunt due to moisture.

I use Avery #5526 waterproof labels to print my drop and windage (10mph @ 90 deg) holds and stick it to the stock. Packing tape works too, but these labels hold up great. Make a simple chart in Excel and print.
I also take a picture with my phone, and print extras to keep in camp just in case something happens. This way if something gets lost or damaged I still have the data handy.

 

[msstate56]

I use 3x5" rite in the rain index cards. When I get to my hunting location, I'll pull an average station pressure and temp- then hand write my card with a rite in the rain pen. Then tape to the stock with clear Gorilla tape. No need for a printer and you can write as big as you need. This method will survive all season.