YONDER

Frequently asked

Straight answers. If yours isn't here, ask: alex@shootyonder.com

The basics

Is it really free?

Yes. In any web browser at shootyonder.com the core is free with no account and no ads — the full ranging loop, the daily Cold Bore challenge, and pass-and-play matches. The iOS app is a free download too. There's an optional paid Pro tier for the deeper features (below), but you never hit a wall to try the thing.

What's in Pro, and what stays free?

Free: the whole ranging-and-firing loop on a validated reference load, all the fundamentals drills, the Academy's first tier, the daily challenge, and pass-and-play matches. You can also tune that reference load's velocity, zero, atmosphere, and a trued BC to your own data — free.

Pro: the full cartridge library and your own saved custom loads, the additional scopes and reticles, and the advanced Academy units. Pro is $4.99/month, $39.99/year (with a 7-day free trial), or $99.99 once.

Do I need an account? What about my data?

No accounts. Your profiles, scores, and settings live on your device. The app uses anonymous, cookieless analytics that are never linked to you and don't track you across other apps or sites; the only thing that leaves your device is for the optional online features: the daily leaderboard, and networked matches where available (an anonymous key plus a display name you pick). Full details on the privacy page.

Does it work offline?

Yes — the trainer runs fully offline once loaded, on web (it installs as a home-screen app) and in the iOS app. A connection is only needed for the daily challenge's leaderboard.

The ballistics

How accurate is the solver, really?

Its come-up (elevation) matches Hornady 4DOF — a solver whose drag curves come from Doppler-radar measurements of real bullets — to within 0.02 mil at every 100-yard step from 300 to 1,100 yards (0.03 at 1,200, the transonic edge) for three trued match loads. That's about ¾ inch at 1,000 yards. Another 29 loads validate within 0.05 mil — 32 of the 36 in the library, each against its own recorded 4DOF pull. Every one of those numbers is published, with the honest limits, on the validation page, and each is pinned by an automated test that blocks a release if it drifts.

We describe this as an end-to-end output match against Hornady 4DOF. Hornady isn't involved with Yonder and doesn't endorse it — the comparison is nominative, the way you'd benchmark against any reference.
Why should I trust a ballistics claim from a "game"?

Don't take it on faith — that's the point of publishing the tables. Run a validated load in the app against your own DOPE, or against 4DOF or whatever solver you trust, and tell us where it's off. Reproducible discrepancies get fixed and credited. The validation page also spells out what we don't claim: it's three tightly-validated loads plus a wider band for the rest, a truing point is required, and past ~1,200 yards a single trued BC stops tracking the Doppler curve.

Can I use my own rifle and load?

Partly on free, fully on Pro. Free, you run a validated reference load (a .308 178-grain ELD-M) and can true it to your own muzzle velocity, zero, atmosphere, and measured drops — enough to check the math against your rifle. Pro unlocks the full cartridge library and lets you build and save your own loads — your exact bullet and velocity, a trued BC, one saved profile per rifle.

Is this a firing solution I can use in the field?

No. Yonder is a training and entertainment simulator, not a field firing solution. Always verify real-world dope against your own equipment, your own conditions, and a qualified source before you send a round at anything that matters.

Platforms & the future

Is there an Android version?

Not yet. Android is a first-class target on the roadmap, but there's no date to promise — in the meantime the web version runs in any Android browser and installs to your home screen, so Android users get the full free experience today.

Who's behind it?

Alex Hesterly — a long-range shooter and software developer in Utah — founded Yonder (Yonder Software LLC). Questions, teardowns, and bug reports all reach him directly: alex@shootyonder.com.

Play Yonder — Free Validation data