Help me understand Ballistic Coeffecient?

TrpD345

Active Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2005
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35
I have done some reading and still do not completely understand. Is the higher number that bullet makers list better? .545 vs. .486? Are you looking for the highest number? Please explain it to me or direct me to a good thread. I have no luck with the search function on this board. Thanks!
 
TrpD,
You are on the right tract. The BC of a bullet is just a relative number indicating its aerodynamic efficency. Higher numbers indicate that the bullet will retain its speed better than bullets with a lower BC. Think of the high bc bullet as a golf ball, and the low bc bullet as a pingpong ball. BC reduces the amount of delay in time of flight, and as such is the primary determining factor in how far a bullet drifts in the wind, and due to the fact that the delay in time of flight is shorter, high BC also flattens trajectory to some extent, though not as dramatically as increased velocity. For all the information you are likly to ever need, have a look at Sierra's sister site www.exteriorballistics.com or more speciffically,
http://www.exteriorballistics.com/ebexplained/5th/221.cfm
or the menu link
http://www.exteriorballistics.com/ebexplained/index.cfm
 
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