Glossary
These are the most common terms you will see while building profiles, reading solutions, and reviewing charts.
Density altitude describes how thin or thick the air currently is, based on temperature, pressure, and elevation — it affects how far a bullet drops and how it behaves at distance.
Muzzle velocity is the speed of the bullet as it leaves the barrel.
Time of flight is how long the bullet takes to reach the target.
ES and SD
Section titled “ES and SD”Extreme spread is the gap between the fastest and slowest shot in a string. Standard deviation shows how tightly grouped your shot speeds are around the average.
MOA and MIL
Section titled “MOA and MIL”MOA (Minute of Angle) and MIL (milliradian) are two different measurement systems scopes use for adjustments and holds — they are not interchangeable. Check whether your scope’s turrets and reticle are marked in MOA or MIL, and make sure your profile is set to match.
A hold is the amount you aim above, below, or beside the target instead of dialing the turret.
Live Wind
Section titled “Live Wind”Live Wind is Shot Insights’ name for the wind readout and holds you get automatically while a WindZero is connected — no manual weather entry needed. It uses the same firing solution as manually entered weather, just fed live, updating readings instead of a saved snapshot.
Gust and Lull
Section titled “Gust and Lull”Gust is the highest wind speed recorded over the last minute; lull is the lowest. Live Wind shows your wind hold as a band from the average to the gust, so you can see the range you might need to hold for rather than a single number that jumps around with every gust of wind.
Wind Zone
Section titled “Wind Zone”A wind zone is a stretch of a bullet’s flight that one connected wind meter’s reading applies to. With two or more meters placed at different distances, Shot Insights splits the flight into zones — each meter covers the stretch centered on its own distance — instead of using one reading for the whole shot.
DOPE stands for the data you keep on your rifle, load, and corrections at distance.
Your zero is the distance where your point of aim and point of impact match.
Ballistic coefficient (BC) is a single number that describes how well a bullet’s shape resists air resistance and holds velocity — a higher BC means the bullet slows down less over distance. BC and drag model work together: BC is the number, drag model is the shape/table used to interpret it.
Drag Model
Section titled “Drag Model”Drag Model is the reference shape (usually G1 or G7) your profile uses to predict how a bullet slows down in flight. Different bullet shapes match different reference models more closely, so picking the right one, alongside an accurate BC, keeps your solution realistic.
Drag Scalar
Section titled “Drag Scalar”Drag Scalar is a truing adjustment. Instead of changing your muzzle velocity to match real-world impacts, you can true the drag scalar so the predicted drop matches what you are actually seeing at distance. It is separate from BC — BC is your starting input, drag scalar is a correction applied on top of it.
For more context, see Zeroing and Muzzle Velocity and Environment and Atmosphere.