External Ballistics

(taken from the 4th Edition of Sierra Manuals)

2.0 Introduction
This Introduction is an open letter to all readers. It will introduce the subject matter which we are attempting to present in this Fourth Edition of the Sierra Reloading Manual. In the previous editions we began this reference section, as we do now, with a definition: Exterior ballistics is the study of the motion of a projectile from the instant it leaves the gun muzzle to the instant it strikes the target. We pointed out that this subject seems simple, but it is really technically complex. It is worth the time and effort it takes to study exterior ballistics, because shooters who understand can improve their shooting skills. They will know what happens to the trajectories of their bullets if they change altitudes, if the weather changes, if they must shoot in windy conditions, if they shoot uphill or downhill, and so on. In the previous editions we took as our goal to explain exterior ballistics in enough technical depth to be of interest to those shooters already knowledgeable about the subject, but without using extensive technical detail and mathematics that would overwhelm a person just beginning to study the subject. Consequently, we used a style of presentation in which we described the physics of trajectories qualitatively in words, and we presented quantitative examples for specific shooting situations which we considered typical for most shooters. The mathematical formulations of exterior ballistics were included in the Third Edition only. Your letters and calls to us have communicated a clear message. Some have been complimentary and some have offered constructive criticisms, and we are grateful for both. Almost without exception, though, every letter and call has requested additional technical information. It is clear that our original objective satisfied the needs of some of you, but fell short of the needs of others. There are many of you who need the mathematical laws of ballistics to support your own computations. In this edition of the Sierra Reloading Manual we are trying to satisfy your needs also. We have included more technical depth in this reference section, including the necessary mathematics. In Section 6.0 , the differential equations of bullet motion are derived. The analytical model for aerodynamic drag is presented. Siaccis approach to solving the differential equations is described. Mayevskis analytical expression of the drag model is described. Finally, this section presents closed form solutions to the differential equations of motion, originally found by Siaccis team. At the same time we have not forgotten our original goal. We have remembered those of you who are interested in exterior ballistics but do not care to delve into the calculus. Sections 3.0 through 5.0 retain most of the information from the previous editions. This information has been extensively revised and updated. These sections present the essentials of ballistics without a great deal of mathematics. Section 3.0 is a historical overview of the development of ballistics. The history of ballistics is important and interesting. It teaches us that, as necessity is the mother of invention, the need for increased weapon accuracy has motivated the development of physical sciences, mathematics, and

instrumentation related to ballistics. Section 4.0 is devoted to the ballistic coefficient. This important characteristic of a bullet is defined. Then, its effects on bullet trajectory are described. The techniques we use to measure ballistic coefficient are described. Important lessons we have learned from 25 years of test experience are presented. Finally, a new subsection has been added in this fourth edition of the Sierra Manual which describes the effects of gyroscopic precession (or coning) motion of the traveling bullet on the measurement of ballistic coefficient. Section 5.0 discusses a number of important topics in exterior ballistics. The first is the effects of altitude and atmospheric conditions on bullet trajectories. The second topic is shooting uphill or downhill. Then, the effects of winds on a bullet trajectory are described. Wind effects are followed by a discussion of relationships among bullet trajectory, sight height, line of sight, and zero range for sighting in a rifle. The concept of point blank range is introduced, and a method for maximizing point blank range of any gun for any size of game animal is described. The last subsection describes the effects of cartridge temperature (actually propellant temperature) on muzzle velocity. Section 6.0 then presents the mathematics of bullet trajectories.

3.0 Historical Summary

Ballistics has existed as a technical art for thousands of years. The word ballistics itself can be traced to ancient Greeks who wrote about the design of throwing machines, called by a phonetically similar name, about 300 years B.C. Evidence of the development of throwing instruments and specialized projectiles dates back to Stone Age Man. The development of ballistics as a true science began about the time that firearms were introduced into warfare in western Europe, near the beginning of the fifteenth century. That development has spanned the hundreds of years right up to the present day. The names of some of the greatest scientists and mathematicians in history are associated with the development of ballistics, including Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Leonard Euler. From the earliest days of firearms, rulers were very much interested in ballistics for a simple reason battles were won by armies with the best guns and gunners. The best scientific brains available were put to work on the problems of designing better guns (cannon, mortars computing accurate trajectories. In those days, just as at the present time, governments spent money willingly to gain more powerful and more effective armament. It is wd effort spurred the development not only of ballistics, but of mathematics and other physical sciences, particularly mechanics, dynamics, and aerodynamics. A bullet traveling through the air is acted on by two distinct kinds of forces, the force of gravity and the force due to the air flow around the body. After a bullet leaves the gun barrel, the trajectory is completely determined by these forces. In the early days of ballistics science, nothing was known about the aerodynamic force, and very little was known about gravity. It seems strange now, but for about 200 years after firearms first appeared in western Europe in the early 1300s, it was not known that the shape of a bullet trajectory is a curve. One of the earliee velocity slowed to near zero, and then fell more or less straight to the ground. Whenis notion was wrong, so another was conceived. This second notion described the trajectthe ground at the strike point of the shot (like two legs of a triangle), and these two lines were joined by a curve near the top of the trajectory. In 1537 an Italian scientist known as Tartaglia wrote a book in which he said that the trajectory of a

bullet was really a continuous curve. Tartaglia was a ballistics consultant to the Italian principality of Verona, and he was asked to determine what elevation angle for a gun achieved the maximum shot range. He directed some firing tests to determine this angle, and discovered that it was near 45 degrees. In this process he also noted that the shot trajectory was continuously curved. An interesting observation today is that Tartaglias experiments resulted in an elevation angle near tion angle of 45 degrees maximizes the range of a projectile only if it is fired in a vacuum, where aerodynamic forces are absent and the trajectory shape is determined only by gravity. With todays guns, the firing elevation angle which maximizes range is nearer 30 degrees than 45, because trajectory shapes are determined almost completely by aerodynamic forces at velocity levels achieved odays gury. This explains Tartaglias result. This result had an important significance in Galieos theoretical work which took place nearly a century after Tartaglia. In 1636, Galileo published results from his famous experiments and was able to give a reason why the trajectory is a curve. Galileo was a ballistics consultant to the arsenal at Venice for a number of years. The famous experiment in which he dropped two cannonballs from the Leaning Tower of Pisa was only one of a long series of experiments having to do with the effects of gravity. Galileo determined that the acceleration of a falling body by gravity is a constant, and with this result he was able to show that a bullet trajectory was a type of curve called a parabola. Galieos resuesult ich maximizes range is exactly 45 degrees, matching Tartaglias experimental result. This consistency between theory and exs. Galileos work foundat neededd the very important effect of air drag. He neglected air drag because he thought it was a small factor compared to gravity, and there was absolutely no way available in his time to measure it. Another hundred years went by before a way to measure velocity was invented. During 1740 in England, Benjamin Robins invented the ballistic pendulum. This was simply a pendulum with a large, heavy wooden bob. To make a velocity measurement, the bullet was weighted and the bob was weighted. Then the pendulum was positioned with the bob hanging motionless and the bullet was fired into it. By measuring the height of the pendulum swing resulting from the bullet striking the bob, the velocity of the bullet could be computed. Robins made a series of measurements with .75 caliber (12 gauge) musket balls, including measurements of velocity near the muzzle and at several ranges from the muzzle. Robins reported muzzle velocities ranging from a little over 1400 to a little under 1700 feet per second. These numbers were astounding, so much so that they were widely disbelieved. Even more astounding, however, were the measurements of velocity drop with range from the muzzle. In order to account for Robins measu that f aerodynamic forces on bullets, and the ballistic pendulum was used for many years to measure the effects of these forces. The ballistic pendulum was based upon laws of mechanics formulated by Sir Isaac Newton, who died about 15 years before Robins published his measurements. Newton ranks as probably the greatest scientist of all time. His work established physical laws and mathematical techniques which are the basis for several branches of science, ballistics included. Newton formulated the universal law of gravitation, which shows that gravity varies with altitude above the earth. This law is important in the computation of ballistics of high altitude rockets. He formulated the fundamental laws of mechanics (which we call Newtons laws todaymany), which are the necessary mathematics for the computation of bullet trajectories. Newton and a number of his contemporaries had also been interested in air drag. Newton himself performed some experiments on the drag experienced by pellets falling through air and through fluids. He was able to show that the drag on a pellet increases with the density of the air (or the fluid),

the cross sectional area of the pellet, and the square of the velocity of the pellet. These were fundamental discoveries, and were true, but Newtons experiments involved only low velocities, f sound (1120 feet per second in air), the drag would increase much more rapidly than his low velocity experiments predicted. Between the middle 1700s and the late 1800s ballisticians devaccurately predicat it moves. Accurate measurements of drag only became possible in the late 1800s when chronographs were invented in Germany and England. Within the same period of time firearms design advanced rapidly, and the range and accuracy of artillery and shoulder arms improved considerably. Rifled barrels and elongated bullets were widely adopted in military small arms in the early 1800s, and somewhat later in artillery. Percussion ignition also was widely adopted in the early 1800s, and metallic cartridges and breech loading arms began to appear in the mid-1800s. The theory of interior ballistics began to grow rapidly in the late 1700s and smokeless powder appeared in the late 1800s. These advances all increased the need for good exterior ballistics, so that accurate long range fire for both artillery and small arms could be obtained. The theoretical drag investigations, which never developed as desired, did point out a major simplification in the experimental treatment of drag. This was the concept of a standard bullet which was deveas standard, precise drag measurements could be made for that bullet, and the drag deceleration of another bullet of that shape would then be related to the standard drag decelerationase, there would be little ballistics data available today. This was the birth of the ballistic coefficient. It is the factor that relates the drag deceleration of an actual bullet to the drag deceleration of the standard bullet. The ballistic coefficient of a bullet is usually call C , and it can be defined as follows:

Actually, this relationship is regarded as strictly true only if the actual bullet is an exact scale model of the standard bullet. It was found experimentally, though, that the relationship holds well enough, even when the bullet shapes are slightly dissimilar, to allow fairly accurate ballistic computations for the actual bullet. It also turned out that the ballistic coefficient C led to another advantage of major importance, which had to do with the method of computing bullet trajectories. It was mentioned earlier that calculus must be used to compute a bullet trajectory. The numerical computations necessary to calculate just a single trajectory are very lengthy and tedious when they must be done by hand, which was necessary until only a few years ago. The work involved in computing all the trajectories of interest would have been prohibitive by this method. About 1880 an Italian ballistician named Siacci discovered a way to greatly simplify this problem. He showed that the ballistics of an actual bullet could be computed from the ballistics of the standard bullet in a simple way with the use of the ballistic coefficient C . By this method a single trajectory was computed for the standard bullet by the tedious methods of calculus, and then a trajectory for any actual bullet with known C was computed from the standard trajectory with just simple algebra. Siaccis method shortcut a great amount of computation, and it has been used widely in ballistics ever since. Between about 1865 and 1930 many firing tests were conducted almost worldwide to determine the drag characteristics of standard bullets adopted by different countries. Of particular note were tests made by Krupp in Germany in 1881 and by the Gavre Commission in France from 1873 to 1898,

although many other tests were made. The Gavre Commission work was very comprehensive, including not only extensive firing tests going up to a velocity of 6000 fps but also a comprehensive survey of data available from tests in other countries. The Commission attempted to correlate all these data, and it published a composite drag characteristic for a certain standard bullet configuration. Unfortunately, the effects of varying atmospheric conditions during the many tests were not well understood at the time, and the Gavre drag function contained some errors. Shortly afterward, standard atmospheric conditions for the expression of drag data were adopted and used. The Krupp test data turned out to be the basis for ballistics tables for small arms, especially sporting and target ammunition, right up to the present time. The standard bullet used by Krupp was a flat base design, 3 calibers long with a 2 caliber ogive head. After the Krupp drag data were published, a Russian Army Colonel named Mayevski constructed a mathematical model for the standard drag deceleration for this bullet. Colonel James M. Ingalls, U.S. Army, used Mayevskis analytical model and computed and published his now famous Ingalls Tables this standard bullet has been a very fine model for use in computing the ballistics of most bullets for sporting use. ( Authors Note) The Ingalls Tables were published in the U.S. Army Artillery Circular M. This document is relatively well known compared to U.S. Army Artillery Circular N. Artillery Circular N contains the theory from which the Ingalls Tables are computed. The importance of Artillery Circular N has seemingly been neglected through the years, probably because it is intensively mathematical. In the Preface to the 1890 edition of Artillery Circular N, Ingalls credits Colonel Siacci of the Italian Artillery for the origins of the subject matter, and the work of one of Siaccis associates, a Captain Scipione. These works included the closed form solutions to the equations of bullet flight described in Section 6.0 of this article. This author (WTM) is grateful to Mr. John Villarreal of Broken Arrow, OK for making us aware of the existence of Artillery Circular N. Once the concept of the standard bullet was adopted, the one remaining problem was how to determine the ballistic coefficient C for each actual bullet. One method of determining C is firing tests. This method will be more fully described later, but the basic idea is to measure the ballistic properties of the actual bullet, compare them with the ballistic properties the standard bullet would have if fired at the same muzzle velocity, and determine the right value of C to make them match. Tests should be made at several muzzle velocities to see how well the standard drag model fits the actual bullet. Another method of determining C by shape comparison was developed and published by Wallace H. Coxe and Edgar Beugless, ballistics engineers at the DuPont Company in the 1930s, and it has been widely used ever since. The method estimates the ballistic coefficient related to the drag model of the Ingalls Tables. It f shapes for which ballistic characteristics are known. When a match is made as nearly as possible, the chart provides a number from which C can be quickly calculated. In Sierras experience, this procedure gives a ex point shapes, or boat tails (which reduce tail drag). However, the Coxe-Beugless method was a great step forward in the 1930s and it is still widely used because of its simplicity, and because the ballistics data resulting from this method of determining C are reasonable for most hunting situations. Ballistics research intensified during World War II for small arms, artillery, and aerial bombs. A new technical breakthrough entered the ballistics scene about that point in time, the electromechanical analog computer. The electromechanical computer marked the birth of the modern age of computers and computer science. By todays digital computer standards, it was slow and not very accurate, but it could solve calculus problems, and so it was applied to bthemselves emancipated from tedious manual computations, and this opened up new vistas for ballistics research. The electromechanlem for aerial bombs dropped from high-flying WW II bombers, and this was a major step forward in ballistics.

The small arms ballistics research during and after the War tended toward more accurate mathematical models of bullet flight, enabling more accurate trajectory computations, especially as computers improved in speed and numerical accuracy. It had been apparent for many years that a single standard drag model (i.e., the Mayevski model) could not serve with a high degree of accuracy for all bullet shapes. Even with the most modern digital computer, of course, it isnt practical to have a separate drag function for each type of bullet tail bullets), and to have a separate drag function for each family In 1965 Winchester-Western published a set of ballistics tables (see list of references at the end of this article) based on four standard drag models for four families of bullets, defined as follows: G 1 drag function for all bullets except those in the categories below G 5 drag function for low base drag bullets (boat tails or tracers) G 6 drag function for flat base, full patch, sharp nose bullets G L drag function for hollow point lead nose bullets The drag functions G 1 , G 5 , and G 6 had been developed in earlier research at the U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. These four drag models were considered adequate to cover the vast majority of sporting bullets. Drag functions for standard bullets have been called by the letter G for many years in recognition of the extensive work done by the Gavre Commission in France. The drag function G 1 is almost identical to the drag function used in the Ingalls Tables. Ballistic coefficients for the Sierra bullets can be used with the Ingalls Tables without error. It should be mentioned in passing that ballistic coefficients always relate to a specific standard drag function, since they express the relation between the drag deceleration of actual bullets and the drag deceleration of a particular standard bullet. Each G function described above has its own particular standard bullet. For example, if firing tests show that the G 5 drag model most closely matches the drag characteristics of some actual bullet, then its ballistic coefficient (call it G 5 ) relates to G 5 . Any attempt to specify a constant ballistic coefficient C 1 related to G 1 would be unsuccessful, because G 1 just does not model the bullet drag.

4.0 The Ballistic Coefficient

In the previous section the ballistic coefficient was introduced in its historical context, that is, as a parameter which was discovered and used to simplify the calculation of bullet trajectories. Today, shooters recognize the ballistic coefficient as a measure of the ballistic efficiency of a bullet. What this means precisely is that if we compare several bullets all fired at the same muzzle velocity, then the higher the ballistic coefficient of any bullet, the flatter it shoots, the better it bucks the wind, and the better it retains its velocity as it travels downrange. This section is devoted to more detailed discussions of this very important bullet characteristic. Section 4.1 describes what the ballistic coefficient is, relating it to the sectional density and the shape factor of the bullet. Section 4.2 describes important effects of the ballistic coefficient on bullet trajectories. It attempts to provide the reader with an overview of the importance of this parameter to

trajectory flatness, remaining velocity, and accuracy. Section 4.3 describes how we measure ballistic coefficients by firing tests in Sierras underground range. Section 4.4 summarizes important lessons about ballistic coefficients which we have learned in 25 years of test experience. Finally, Section 4.5 describes ballistic coefficient test results for three handgun bullets in the transonic velocity range (900 to 1200 fps), showing that radical changes in ballistic coefficient can occur in this velocity range.

4.1 Basic Definitions

It has already been mentioned that a ballistic coefficient always refers to a particular standard drag model for a certain standard bullet. In this Manual, and in most other published material, the drag model is equivalent to the one used in the Ingalls Tables, and it is also known as the G 1 model. There is no way, short of computing trajectories, to compare the ballistic properties of two bullets if their ballistic coefficients are referenced to different drag models. The ballistic coefficient C is defined by the following ratio:

It must be noted that this definition involves not the drag force on the bullets, but the deceleration caused by the force. Since drag depends on velocity, it is implied in the definition that the same velocity is used for both bullets when the ratio is taken. The ballistic coefficient of the standard bullet is defined to be 1.000. It is also clear that when C is smaller than 1.000, which is the general case, it means that the actual bullet slows down faster than the standard bullet. It is also easy to see that the smaller C is, the faster the actual bullet slows down. It is possible to give a mathematical definition for C , which is

Where w is the weight of the bullet in pounds, d is the diameter of the bullet in inches, and i is known as the form factor. This definition is instructive because it gives a general idea of the dependence of C on bullet weight and caliber. A problem arises because the form factor depends on many other things, bullet length, point design, and base design to name just a few. If bullets of pretty much the same shape and the same caliber are compared, the formula shows why the heavier bullets have larger ballistic coefficients. For example, take the six .30 caliber HPBT MatchKing bullets weighing 168, 180, 190, 200, 220, and 250 gr. and all having boat tails and similar point designs. The formula shows why the ballistic coefficients increase in that order. The diameter d is the same for all, the shapes are similar, and the weight increases in order. On the other hand, compare the .30 caliber 165 gr. HPBT with the 168 gr. HPBT MatchKing. The weights are nearly equal, but the 165 gr. has a much lower ballistic coefficient. The reason is the shape factor. The 165 gr. bullet, designed for hunting use, has a much larger hollow point diameter, so its shape factor is larger than that of the MatchKing bullet. The formula does not make the situation for smaller calibers very clear. Specifically, it is hard to see why smaller caliber bullets generally have lower ballistic coefficients than larger caliber bullets of similar shape, since as weight diminishes so does diameter. Some insight into the situation can be

obtained by considering a needle. A needle has a very small drag, but it also has very little weight, so that the small drag causes a large influence on the motion. The formula above also shows that ballistic coefficient is related to sectional density. The sectional density ( SD ) of a bullet is defined as

where again w is bullet weight in pounds and d is bullet diameter in inches. Bullet weights are always given in grains rather than pounds. Since there are 7000 grains in a pound, sectional density can be calculated from

Ballistic coefficient is simply sectional density divided by form factor:

4.2 Ballistic Coefficient Effects on Bullet Trajectories

For a given bullet fired at a known muzzle velocity, the ballistic coefficient of the bullet determines its trajectory. This is because drag is the strongest force acting on the bullet, and the ballistic coefficient governs the amount of drag. Strictly speaking, this observation is only approximately correct, but it is almost true for bullets which are well stabilized in flight. The two trajectory parameters in which shooters are most interested usually are drop and remaining velocity as functions of range from the firing point. A question which comes to mind is, how strongly dependent are drop and remaining velocity on the ballistic coefficient? This question is very important when a shooter is trying to select a bullet for a specific hunting or target shooting purpose. As well see, the best bullet is not always the one with the highest ballistic coefficient. Another question closely linked to the one above is, what effects on the trajectory are caused by small changes in ballistic coefficient? This question is important because there are experimental errors in measuring the ballistic coefficient of a bullet, and also because (as we will describe later) a bullets ballistic coefficient changes with its velocity. So, we need to know how serious a small error or a small change can be. This section will answer the questions posed above, and it will also address one other question which often arises. If two bullets of different designs, calibers, and weights have the same ballistic coefficient, how do the ballistics of these bullets compare?

Effect of Ballistic Coefficient on Bullet Drop and Remaining Velocity

Ballistics tables for sporting arms are always computed for the case of flat fire, that is, with the gun barrel level. The results are good for small elevation angles, up to perhaps 10 degrees unless the range is very long. When a bullet starts out level, its path curves downward continuously under the action of gravity. Drop is always measured from a line going out the bore, and at any range the drop

is the vertical distance between this line and the bullet path. Drag always acts to slow the bullet down. It can be thought of as a vector tangent to the bullet path but pointed backwards along it. As the bullet path curves downward as the range increases, the drag vector tips upward and a small component of drag then begins to act along the vertical direction, parallel with but opposed to gravity. The main part of drag always acts in the level direction. For modern bullets the trajectory curvature is never very large. Target bullet trajectories have a slope of the order of 1 to 2 percent at 1000 yards, when the trajectory starts out level and the muzzle and it gets rapidly smaller at shorter ranges. So, the conclusion is that not a very large part of drag ever acts in a vertical direction, if the trajectory starts out level. Pretty much all of the drop is caused by gravity, and what little drag does act vertically tends to oppose gravity, making the drop a little less than if it were caused by gravity alone. The effect of ballistic coefficient enters mainly through the time of flight the drop at any range is nearly proportional to the square of the time of flight (assuming drag has a small effect). It is clear then that a bullet with a shorter time of flight to some range will have less drop than one with a longer time of flight. Time of flight in turn is affected by drag, since drag slows a bullet down. Since drag slowing gets less as C gets larger, larger Cs tend to make for less drop. However, time of flight also depends on muzzle velocity, so it is not possible to say that if you want small drop you simply pick a bullet with a large C . A large, heavy bullet typically has a pretty large ballistic coefficient, but it also has a fairly low muzzle velocity limit, so it can have more drop than some other small caliber, low C bullet which can be fired much faster. To illustrate, refer to Table 4.2-1(rifle) Table 4.2-1(handgun) which shows remaining velocity and drop data for three hypothetical bullets. The first is a heavy bullet with very good ballistic efficiency so that it has a ballistic coefficient C equal to 0.6. The second is a bullet of medium weight and moderate ballistic efficiency with C equal to 0.4. The third is a light bullet with low ballistic efficiency and C equal to 0.2. Remaining velocity and drop are shown for three muzzle velocities, 3500, 3000, and 2500 fps. First, let us compare the ballistic performance of these three bullets when all three are fired at the same muzzle velocity, say 3000 fps. Looking at the numbers in Table 4.2-1(rifle) Table 4.21(handgun) for the three bullets at the muzzle velocity of 3000 fps, we see that at both 500 and 1000 yd. ranges the bullet with the highest ballistic coefficient ( C = 0.6) retains more velocity and shoots flatter (less drop) than the other two bullets. Similarly, the bullet with C = 0.4 retains more velocity and shoots flatter than the bullet with C = 0.2. These comparisons can be generalized. If we compare any bullets fired at the same muzzle velocity, the bullet with the highest ballistic coefficient will retain more velocity and shoot flatter than the others at any range. But we know that this type of comparison is not exactly fair. Thats because heavy bullets cannot be loaded to the same muzzle velocities as light bullets. So, we need to consider the muzzle velocity limits of different bullets when we compare their ballistics. To further illustrate these points, lets take a specific example, the .308 Winshooting, and so a hunter or target shooter has a wide choice. Tables 4.2-2 (a) and 4.2-2 (b) list trajectory parameters for six hunting bullets and four target bullets from Sierras line of .30 caliber bullets, which we have chosen only to illustrate our points with this particular cartridge. Consider the hunting situation first. The bullets in Table 4.2-2 (a) range from the 110 grain Hollow Point with a ballistic coefficient of 0.188 at 2500 fps, to the 200 grain Spitzer Boat Tail with a ballistic coefficient of 0.552 at 2500 fps. The muzzle velocity for each bullet is a safe load a little below the maximum recommended in this Manual for the weight of the bullet. The table then shows the

remaining velocity, energy, drop, and crosswind drift for a 10 mph crosswind, at ranges of 250 and 500 yards. Remaining velocity and drop shown in Table 4.2-2 (a) follow the same description given for Table 4.2-1(rifle) Table 4.2-1(handgun) . We have added two other important parameters, bullet energy, which depends on remaining velocity, and crosswind drift, which depends on time of flight, muzzle velocity, and wind velocity. The first objective for a hunting cartridge is to deliver adequate energy downrange, and adequate energy of course depends on the size of the game. It is interesting to note that the muzzle energies of all the bullets in the table are not much different, but the downrange energies differ quote a lot. If a hunter is after varmints, the 110 grain Hollow Point bullet in Table 4.2-2 (a) delivers adequate energy out to 500 yards. For medium game, such as white tail or mule deer, the 110 and 125 grain bullets lose energy rapidly beyond 250 yards, and a heavier bullet should be chosen. For large game, like elk or bear, the 200 grain Spitzer Boat Tail delivers the most energy downrange, and it would be the obvious choice. At 500 yards this bullet retains more than half its muzzle energy because it has a high ballistic coefficient. For smaller game, though, other objectives can be considered. It is very important to have a trajectory as flat as possible, because it is very difficult to judge distances in the field. It also is highly desirable to have minimum crosswind sensitivity. For varmints at ranges less than 250 yards, the 125 grain Spitzer is a better choice than the 110 grain Hollow Point because it is much less sensitive to crosswinds, although the two bullets shoot about equally flat out to 250 yards. For medium game the choice is between the 150 grain, 165 grain, and 180 grain Spitzer Boat Tail bullets. The 150 and 165 grain bullets shoot about equally flat and have about equal crosswind sensitivities at ranges out to 500 yards. The 180 grain Spitzer Boat Tail has considerably more drop at longer ranges than either the 150 or 165 grain bullet, because it can be started out only at 2500 fps rather than 2700 or 2800 fps, and its sensitivity to crosswinds is only a little less than the other two bullets. The choice for medium game leans toward the 165 grain Spitzer Boat Tail because it retains between 5 and 10 percent more energy downrange than the 150 grain bullet, and it does not suffer as much drop as the 180 grain bullet. The objectives for choosing a bullet for target shooting are very much different than for hunting. Bullet energy downrange is a consideration in target shooting only for the case of silhouette matches, in which the steel targets must be tumbled, not just struck, in order to score. In all target matches the ranges from firing point to the targets are fixed. Trajectory drop, therefore, is not a strong consideration because the rifle sights can be adjusted for the known ranges. The most important consideration for shooting in outdoor target matches is crosswind sensitivity, and minimizing crosswind drift is a major objective in choosing a bullet for target matches. Table 4.2-2 (b) has been prepared for the rifle silhouette game with the .308 Winchester cartridge, and four of Sierras Hollow Point Boat Tail MatchKing bullets are considered in the table. Ballistic coefficients are showded in this Manual) is listed for each bullet. The energies of all the bullets are sufficient to tumble, drop, and drift for a 10 mph crosswind are shown at 200 m (for the chicken) and at 500 m (for the ram the least crosswind drift, even though it starts out with the lowest muzzle velocity. For this specialh also is the heaviest bullet), and we should try to launch it with the highest muzzle velocity that we can load safely. This will assure that the crosswind sensitivity is minimized. Note that crosswind drift scales directly with crosswind velocity. Thus, a 5 mph crosswind would cause half the drift shown in Tables 4.2-2 (a) and (b) , and a 20 mph crosswind would cause twice the drift shown. We will explain this in detail in a later section of this article. All these considerations illustrate the point that our bullet choice depends on our objectives, and our

objectives certainly are different for hunting or target shooting. Our objectives also may be different for certain kinds of hunting or certain kinds of target matches. It is not always best to choose the bullet with the highest ballistic coefficient to accomplish the purpose we have in mind.

Effect of a Small Change in Ballistic Coefficient on a Bullets Ballistics

A question often arises about the effect of a small change in ballistic coefficient on a bullet trajectory. The question sometimes comes up because there may be a small uncertainty in the value of the ballistic coefficient of a bullet, and it is natural to ask how that uncertainty affects the bullet trajectory. A change in altitude or atmospheric conditions can cause such an uncertainty. To gain some insight refer again to Table 4.2-1(rifle) Table 4.2-1 (handgun) . For the low, medium, and high value of C (.200, .400, and .600), a 1% and a 10% change have been added to each value, and trajectories have been computed for all these values with three different muzzle velocities. The table shows the values of remaining velocity and drop at the two ranges, 500 and 1000 yds, for each case. It is generally surprising that a change in C , even a relatively large change like 10 percent, causes such relatively small changes in remaining velocity and drop. The changes in these parameters are not in the same proportion as the change in C . A couple of general observations can be made from the table. First, it can be seen that a change in C has a larger effect on remaining velocity at higher muzzle velocities than at lower ones. For example, when C equals .600, a 10 percent change to .660 causes the remaining velocity at 500 yds to increase by 69 fps when the muzzle velocity is 3500 fps, but only 55 fps when the muzzle velocity is 2500 fps. This is a general trend in the data. The second observation is that a change in C has a larger effect on drop at lower muzzle velocities than at higher ones. For example, when C is .600, a 10 percent change to .660 causes the drop at 500 yds to decrease by .84 inch when the muzzle velocity is 3500 fps, but by 1.79 inches when it is 2500 fps. This is also a general trend.

Relationships between Different Bullets with the Same Ballistic Coefficient

Suppose that two bullets of different weight or different caliber have the same ballistic coefficient; how do the ballistics of the two bullets compare? To start with, assume that the two bullets are fired with the same muzzle velocity. This gives a common basis for a generalized comparison. Since the bullets have equal Cs , they have equal drag decelerations, and they slow down equally fast. Consequently, if the two bullets start with equal muzzle velocities, at any range they will have equal velocities, equal times of flight, and equal drops. Unless they have equal weights, they will have different energies, however. Since energy is proportional to weight, the heavier bullet will have proportionately more energy at any range. Usually the lighter bullet can be fired at a higher muzzle velocity than the heavier. In the case where the Cs are equal, the lighter bullet will always have the edge over the heavier one in velocity, time of flight, and drop, since it can be started at a higher velocity. The energy comparison cannot be

generalized, however. The lighter bullet can catch up energy-wise with the heavier one if it can be driven at a high enough velocity to make up for the weight difference. It is very hard to make any generalized comparisons for bullets with unequal Cs . Specific comparisons can be made after trajectories have been computed, and that is one of the uses of ballistics tables.

4.3 How The Ballistic Coefficient is Measured by Firing Tests

Figure 4.3-1 is a schematic diagram of the firing test setup that we use. The firing test method requires simultaneous measurement of muzzle velocity and time of flight to a measured range, for each round fired. From these three measured parameters the ballistic coefficient of each individual bullet fired can be calculated. We cannot use the alternative method of first measuring the average muzzle velocity of, say, ten shots, and then measuring the average time of flight of another ten shots, and use these averaged results to calculate an average ballis dispersion of the measured ballistic coefficients, and we therefore want to know the standard deviation and extreme spread, as well as the average value of the measurements. Consequently, the test setup uses three photoelectric screens to trigger two chronographs, one which measures muzzle velocity and the other which measures time of flight of each round fired, as shown in Figure 4.3-1 . The signal from Screen 1 starts both chronometers (clocks); the signal from Screen 2 stops the muzzle chronometer; which then reads out the time t 12 that the bullet used to travel the distance d 12 between Screen 1 and Screen 2; and the signal from Screen 3 stops the time of flight chronometer, which then reads out the time t 13 that the bullet used to travel the distance d 13 between Screen 1 and Screen 3. Screen 1 is positioned about ten feet from the muzzle of the test firearm. A sheet of half-inch plywood is used as a blast shield in front of Screen 1. The bullet passes through a small hole in the blast shield. When a round is fired, powder gases exit the muzzle at a velocity approximately 50 percent greater than the bullet velocity. The blast shield is to prevent these gases from triggering Screen 1 before the bullet reaches the screen, which is a circumstance that we have experienced. We have also experienced the situation where the muzzle flash prematurely triggers Screen 1. This occurs quite regularly with blackpowder firearms and occasionally with handguns using smokeless powder loads. Needless to say, premature triggering of Screen 1 gives erroneously low muzzle velocities and erroneously long times of flight. In Sierras test range screen 2 is located ten feet downrange from Screen 1, so d 12 = 10.0 (feet) This distance is measured very accurately to assure highly accurate muzzle velocity measurements. Muzzle velocity for each round is calculated by dividing the distance d 12 by the measured time t 12 . Mathematically,

The quantity u o is called muzzle velocity. Precisely speaking, u o is the measured velocity at a point halfway between Screen 1 and Screen 2, which is also about fifteen feet downrange from the gun muzzle. This is why we say that Sierras muzzle velocities are always referred to a point fifteen feet downrange from the muzzle. This same point (halfway between Screen 1 and Screen 2) is also the origin of coefficient calculation, because muzzle velocity is one of the needed parameters and u o is

valid at this particular point. Therefore, we must correct the other two measured parameters, range and time of flight, to this origin. The corrected range is the distance d 13 less half of d 12 .

and the corrected time of flight is t 13 less half of t 12 :

With these three parameters, u o , R , and t f , we can calculate the ballistic coefficient of that particular bullet. Before explaining how that calculation proceeds, let us first comment about measurement accuracy. Screen 3 is movable and we adjust the distance d 13 in order to maintain time t 13 in the neighborhood of 50 milliseconds (a millisecond is one thousandth of a second). For rifle bullet velocities around 3000 fps, d 13 is set at 150 feet; for pistol bullets around 1000 fps, d 13 is set at 50 feet; and so forth. The chronometers read out in units of microseconds (one millionth of a second), with a precision of plus-or-minus a half microsecond. The time of flight chronometer then measures a 50 millisecond time with a precision of one part in 100,000 which contributes an entirely negligible error in measured ballistic coefficient. For the distance d 13 , we maintain a measurement error of one part in 10,000 which converts to 3/16 inch in 150 feet or 1/16 inch in 50 feet. The inaccuracy in the d 13 measurement then contributes a negligible error in measured ballistic coefficient. The error in ballistic coefficient is then caused almost entirely by the muzzle chronograph, and there are four contributing sources. First is the imprecision of the muzzle velocity chronometer, and this source is no worse than one part in 5000. Then there is the error in measuring distance d 12 , and this is held to 1/16 inch, or one part in 2000. The other two error sources are the uncertainties in position of the bullet in its passage through Screen 1 and Screen 2 when each screen senses the bullet presence and triggers. Although we have tried many experiments, there is no simple way of determining how large these uncertainties are. However, from a combination of analysis and experimentation, we believe that the total error in the measured ballistic coefficient is no larger than two percent. Now, turning to the calculation of ballistic coefficient from measured values of muzzle velocity u o , range R , and time of flight t f , we will explain this calculation using the S and T functions associated with the Ingalls Tables. Our computer program for this calculation uses computational algorithms which we consider to be more exact that the S and T functions, but which are difficult to explain without calculus. The method we use, however, is exactly the same as the method presented in the following explanation. Using the S and T (Space and Time) functions just simplifies the explanation. The Ingalls Tables and the S and T functions are well presented in Hatchers Notebook.

The range R can be expressed using the S function by the following equation (for level fire):

R = C [S(u o ) - S(u f )]
where: R is the measured range in feet.

C is the bullet ballistic coefficient. u o is the measured muzzle velocity in fps. u f is the final velocity of the bullet when it passes through Screen 3 (which is not known at this time). S(u o ) is read as the S function value at the muzzle velocity u o , and this value would be found in the Ingalls Tables beside the numerical value of u o in the velocity column. S values are in units of feet. S(u f ) is read as the S function value at the final velocity u f , and it also would be found in the Ingalls Tables if u f were known.

The time of flight t f can be expressed using the T function by a similar equation:

t f = C[T(u o ) - T(u f )]
where t f is the measured time of flight
T(u o ) is the T function value at the muzzle velocity u o , in seconds. T(u f ) is the T function value at the final velocity u f in seconds. and C , u o , and u f are defined above. At this point we have two equations (which express two physical conditions, one for range and the other for time of flight), but each equation contains two unknown parameters, C and u f . In principle, there is enough known information to solve these equations simultaneously for both unknown quantities. As a first step, we form the ratio.

This new parameter V , which has units of velocity, is known because R and t f are known. Notice, however, that forming this ratio has eliminated the ballistic coefficient C from the equation, so that this equation contains only one unknown parameter u f . This equation, though is nonlinear. It is quite easy, however, to solve the equation graphically, and Figure 4.3-2 illustrates this technique. Figure 4.3-2 is a cartesian graph with velocity u plotted along the horizontal axis and the ratio

plotted along the vertical axis. The horizontal axis begins at the value u o (the muzzle velocity), and u decreases in magnitude as we move to the right. If u o is 3000 fps, for example, the value 2500 fps might be near the arrowhead at the right end of the horizontal axis. The value u o also appears on the

vertical axis near the top, and the value 2500 fps might be down near the intersection with the horizontal axis. The value V = R/t f is located on the vertical axis, and a straight horizontal line is drawn through this point as shown in Figure 4.3-2 . Next, a velocity value u 1 , is chosen and the ratio

is calculated. Remember that, knowing u o and u 1 , we can simply look up values of S(u o ) , S(u 1 ) , and T(u o ) , and T(u 1 ) in the Ingalls Tables. The resulting ratio number (together with u 1 ) locates a point on the graph. This is the x-point in Figure 4.3-2 directly above the velocity value u 1 . We can then choose another value u 2 , calculate the corresponding ratio value, and plot that value as the x-point above u 2 in the figure. Clearly, we can continue this process for any number of such points, as the figure shows. We can draw a smooth curve joining the x-points as shown. The desired solution u f is the velocity coordinate where the ratio curve intersects the straight line, because this is the value of velocity which makes the ratio function equal to the V parameter. Mathematically, the ratio curve in Figure 4.3-2 is a monotonically decreasing function. This assures us that there is a single unique solution for u f , so when we find this intersection point in Figure 4.3-2 , it is the correct solution. Once the final velocity u f is known {and therefore S(u f ) and T(u f ) } then the ballistic coefficient can be calculated from either of the following equations:

Let us point out also that the parameter V is not the average of the muzzle velocity u o and the final velocity u f , but it is very close to that value, particularly for times of flight t f near 50 milliseconds.

Consequently, a good first guess in the iterative calculation procedure described above is

u 1 = 2V - u o
This greatly reduces the number of x-point calculations needed, since we are only interested in that part of the ratio curve near the intersection point in Figure 4.3-2 . The reader is probably wondering at this point why we do not measure the final velocity rather than time of flight, because if we measured muzzle velocity u o , final velocity u f , and range d 13 , we could calculate measured ballistic coefficient without resorting to all the complex manipulations described above to find u f , and it would entail using just one more screen, Screen 4, located ten feet downrange from Screen 3. A little earlier we made the point that the measurement error in the ballistic coefficient is driven mainly by error sources associated with the muzzle velocity chronograph, and that the errors associated with measuring distance d 13 and time t 13 have negligible effects on ballistic coefficient accuracy in our method. If instead we were to use a final velocity chronograph, then error sources associated with that chronograph would also drive ballistic coefficient accuracy, and the total error in ballistic coefficient could be significantly larger. For this reason we chose not to use the alternative method involving the final velocity measurement.

Of course, our ballistic coefficient measurements never take place at sea level standard atmospheric conditions, so we must convert the measured results to those conditions. Sierras test range is almost exactly 150 feet above sea level, and temperature, barometric pressure, and relative humidity are always recorded for each test series. Then, we use the method explained in Section 5.1 of this Manual to make the conversion. Our measured ballistic coefficient value is the equivalent ballistic coefficient of that section; we calculate the altitude, temperature, pressure, and relative humidity correction factors F A , F T , F P , and F RH ; and then the sea level standard ballistic coefficient C o is calculated from

4.4

Lessons Learned From Ballistic Coefficient Measurements

Sierras ball by means of firing tests very soon after our research began. Through the years since 1971 Sierra has continued to determine ballistic coefficients for the bullets in Sierras line by firing tests. A very large data base of test measurements has been built, and some significant, and often surprising, lessons have been learned from that testing. Much has been written in previous editions of the Manual about our ballistic coefficient measurements, and this information will continue to be available from Sierra. This section will summarize the principal lessons learned from our testing experience. Any reader interested in the details supporting these observations may refer to the 1984 edition, or contact Sierra for a copy of the Exterior Ballistics section from that edition. The lessons and observations are summarized in the paragraphs below.

1) Ballistic Coefficients Must Be Determined by Firing Tests

In 1971, the ballistic coefficient for every bullet in Sierras line had been worked out by the Coxe Beugless method, whichThe boat tail shape is a type of bullet designed to have low nts of low base drag bullets was available to Sierra at that time. Consequently, a key objective of our early firing tests was to measure the ballistic coefficients of Sierras boat tail bullets and compare these to the ballistic coefficients of flat base bullets. The results from those tests showed very clearly that the boat tail bullets had higher ballistic coefficients than flat base bullets of the same caliber, weight, and point shape. Another very important observation was that the measured ballistic coefficients of the flat base bullets were not equal to values calculated from the Coxe-Beugless method. Consequently, Sierra has chosen to determine ballistic coefficients by means of firing tests.

2) G 1 is the Most Appropriate Drag Function Choice for Sierras Bullets

The tests conducted in 1971 also compared four standard drag functions to determine which of these models was best for Sierras boat tail bullets. The four drag functions were published by Winchester Western: G 1 - for all bullets except those in the categories below G 5 - for low base drag bullets (i.e., boat tail bullets) G 6 - for flat base, sharp pointed, full patch bullets G L - for hollow point, lead nose bullets

Theory says that if the drag model matches the true bullet drag, the ballistic coefficient will be constant at all velocities. If the drag model does not match the true drag, then we will find different values of ballistic coefficient in measurements at different muzzle velocities. Several bullets were used in the tests, both flat base and boat tail types. For each bullet type, several test rounds (typically 5 to 10) were fired at each of two muzzle velocities (typically 3000 and 2500 fps). For each test round four ballistic coefficients were determined ( C 1 , C 5 , C 6 , and C L ). This procedure gave two sets of four ballistic coefficient values for each bullet type, one set for the higher muzzle velocity and one for the lower. By comparing the values in the two sets, it was easy to see which of the four Cs changed significantly (outside the measurement error band) and which did not. From theory we expected that the best drag model ( G 1 , G 5 , G 6 , or G L ) for each bullet type to be the one for which the corresponding ballistic coefficient ( C 1 , C 5 , C 6 , or C L ) changed the least amount between the two muzzle velocity levels. Although we expected G 5 to be best for the boat tail bullets, the tests showed that G 1 was better. This was a surprise. The second surprise was that, while G 1 was best for flat base bullets, C 1 was not constant; it varied significantly with muzzle velocity. With these observations, G 1 was adopted as the standard drag model for all Sierra bullets. Values of ballistic coefficients in all Sierra Manuals are referenced to the G 1 drag function. Finding that G 1 was best for boat tail bullets was fortunate, because G 1 has been and continues to be used by all commercial manufacturers of bullets. Consequently, ballistic comparison can be made between bullets made by different manufacturers, as well as between bullets made by a single manufacturer. If different drag models were necessary for different bullets or different bullet styles, comparisons based on ballistic coefficients would not be possible. Another advantage of G 1 is that it is the drag function for the Ingalls Tables, so that ballistic trajectories can be calculated using those tables.

3) Ballistic Coefficient Changes with Velocity for All Bullets

It was mentioned above that an important result from the drag model comparison tests in 1971 was that the ballistic coefficient C 1 is not constant with velocity even for flat base bullet types. We have found, in fact, that ballistic coefficient changes with velocity for almost every bullet type that we have tested so far. This discovery presented a serious dilemma. Because drag is far and away the strongest force acting on a bullet in flight, it is necessary to calculate drag very accurately in order to compute bullet trajectories which are accurate. The implication of a ballistic coefficient which varies with velocity is that the corresponding standard drag model does to accurately represent the true bullet drag. Two approaches are possible. One is to determine a drag model for every bullet in Sierras line. This approach is used by the military. It makes sense when there is a small numbach is prohibitively expensive. The second approach is the one we adopted. We determined by computational experiments that if we define several velocity ranges for each bullet (we use three to five) and use a constant ballistic coefficient within each range (the average value for that velocity range), we can calculate highly accurate bullet trajectories by allowing the ballistic coefficient to change value when the bullet velocity crosses a boundary between ranges. This strategem allows all the classical methods of trajectory

calculation to be used, and an overall bullet trajectory is made up of a series of segments. Within any one segment the ballistic coefficient is constant, but it changes value from one segment to another. The velocity boundaries between segments are chosen so that the ballistic coefficient variation within a segment is at worst no more than plus-or-minus 5 percent of the average value within the segment.

4) The Firing Test Method Measures a Ballistic Coefficient for the Shooting System
The firing test method measures an effective ballistic coefficient for the shooting system (rifle, cartridge, and bullet), and not just the bullet alone. Theoretically, ballistic coefficient is a fundamental property of bullet shape, and an absolutely perfect measurement of ballistic coefficient would require that the bullet be perfectly stabilized in flight. The firing test method, on the other hand; yields an effective ballistic coefficient for the bullet even if it is not perfectly stabilized (which is usually the case). A bullet is gyroscopically stabilized by its spin, which is imparted by the rifling in the barrel. If a bullet is perfectly stabilized, then its longitudinal axis (which is also its spin axis) is exactly aligned with its direction of flight, that is, with its velocity vector. A bullet which is imperfectly stabilized is not tumbling, but is undergoing more complex motions. One possible motion is a precession of the bullet axis around the direction of flight in a coning motion, and the other is a nutation or nodding of the bullet axis. Imperfect stabilization can be caused by a variety of physical factors; examples are a small center of gravity offset from the bullet longitudinal axis, a small aberration in point shape or tail shape, and tipoff moments applied to the bullet when it exits the gun muzzle by barrel whip or uneven escape of powder gases around the bullet base. A bullet undergoing such motions has a larger area for air drag to act upon than it would if perfectly stabilized, and therefore, since drag is greater the effective ballistic coefficient is smaller. The physical effects which cause imperfect stability are random from round to round. Thus, they cause a dispersion (or scatter) in measured ballistic coefficient from round to round. We have learned that this scatter is an excellent indicator of how well stabilized the bullets are. If the scatter is small, the bullets are well stabilized. There is an argument that the very largest measured value is the best value to accept as the ballistic coefficient of a test bullet at each test velocity, because it corresponds to the most well stabilized flight condition. From a purely scientific viewpoint this is probably correct. However, we believe the majority of shooters are most interested in the nominal performance that they can expect from their loads rather than perfect performance. Therefore, Sierra has always used average values of measured ballistic coefficient to calculate trajectories and characterize bullet ballistic performance, with one exception explained below. The scatter in ballistic coefficient values measured at very low muzzle velocities occurs because the rifling twist rate does not stabilize the bullets well. This is especially true for long heavy bullets fired at velocities below 2000 fps. It is fair in this special case to accept only the highest values as valid measurements of ballistic coefficient for the following reason. It is very unlikely that these bullets would be fired at muzzle velocities below 2000 fps, especially not from guns with twists too slow to stabilize the bullets well. We need to know the ballistic coefficients at low velocities in order to calculate long range trajectories for these bullets. It is safe to assume that when the bullets have been fired at higher muzzle velocities and have traveled far enough for remaining velocity to fall below 2000 fps, they are well stabilized in the low velocity region of flight, and consequently the highest measured values of ballistic coefficient are appropriate at low velocities.

5) Ballistic Coefficients Change Markedly at Velocities Near the Speed of Sound

We have found that very large changes in ballistic coefficient can be expected in the range of 900 to 1200 fps. These large changes reflect the fact that the analytical drag model does not match the true drag behavior in this velocity range near the speed of sound. These ballistic coefficient variations can have important effects on bullet trajectories for certain rifle cartridges, such as the .45-70, .444 Marlin, .44 Magnum (rifle), and other low velocity types. Handgun bullet trajectories are also seriously affected by ballistic coefficient variations, and this topic is discussed in more detail in Section 4.5.

6) Ballistic Coefficients Are Not Predictable

Finally, and perhaps most important, our experience has shown that the ballistic coefficient of a bullet is not really a predictable parameter. We have already remarked that when a bullet is not well stabilized in flight the apparent ballistic coefficient can be much smaller than the value determined from the shape of the bullet only. But we have found that even for well stabilized bullets the sectional density/form factor relationship described in Section 4.1 agrees only roughly with measured ballistic coefficients. Stated another way, two bullets with the same point shape and tail shape, but of different weights and/or diameters, usually do not have the same form factor according to our experience. This is yet another argument for measuring ballistic coefficients. We know, of course, that for many years simple theoretical calculations of ballistic coefficients provided adequate ballistics for most shooting situations. But we now know we need measured ballistic coefficients to calculate highly accurate long range trajectories to match the exterior ballistics potential of modern firearms and high performance cartridges.

4.5 Ballistic Coefficient Variations with Muzzle Velocity near the Speed of Sound
There is one velocity region within which the ballistic coefficient of every bullet we have tested exhibits dramatic, radical changes. This velocity region is from about 900 to around 1200 fps, which includes the speed of sound (approximately 1129 fps in Sierras test range). The purpose of this section is to describe then bullets by simply loading and firing many rounds for each bullet type within the 900 to 1300 fps velocity range. The three bullets chosen were the .355 diameter 115 gr FMJ, the .410 diameter 220 gr FPJ, and the .4295 diameter 240 gr JHC. The test results are shown in Figures 4.5-1 , 4.5-2 , and 4.5-3 . Each dot in each figure denotes the measured ballistic coefficient for one fired round. The title line in each figure calls out the total number of rounds fired for the test bullet. If the reader counts the dots and finds a discrepancy between the count total and the title line, the reason is that a few dots overlap very closely. The ballistic coefficient values in the three figures exhibit strikingly similar behavior with abrupt changes near the speed of sound. Perhaps the data in Figure 4.5-3 for the .44 caliber 240 gr JHC best illustrate this characteristic. If the bullet starts at a velocity near 1300 fps, the ballistic coefficient is nearly constant until the bullet slows to about 1160 fps. At this velocity the ballistic coefficient rises abruptly as the bullet slows to about 1140 fps. Then the ballistic coefficient falls precipitously to a minimum value which occurs near 1100 fps. The ballistic coefficient then rises dramatically to a second peak value which occurs near 1050 fps. As the bullet slows below 1050 fps, the ballistic coefficient decreases in value, but in a less dramatic manner. If we look at the other two figures, we see that the ballistic coefficient behavior is nearly identical to

Figure 4.5-3 . The velocity points where abrupt changes take place are nearly the same for all three bullets. This strong similarity exists even though the three bullets are different in shape as well as caliber and weight. Two questions arise from the behavior shown in the three figures. First, what accounts for the systematic ballistic coefficient variations exhibited by the three bullets? Second, with such radical changes in ballistic coefficient between 900 and 1200 fps, how can we calculate accurate ballistics for bullets with velocities in this transonic velocity range? Considering the first question, an evident conclusion from the data in the three figures is that the G 1 drag model does not match the true drag of any of these three bullets in the transonic velocity range. Furthermore, because the behavior is systematic for three handgun bullets which differ in shape, caliber, and weight, an interesting hypothesis is that this same behavior may be a characteristic of all bullets in this velocity range. We have not conducted enough tests to verify this behavior for all Sierra bullets used in the transonic velocity range (this includes a large number of rifle bullets as well as all handgun bullets). It is clear, however, that if further testing verifies this systematic ballistic coefficient behavior for all (or most) types of bullets, a change in G 1 for the transonic velocity range could be recommended. Considering the second question about calculating accurate ballistics for bullets which travel with velocities in the transonic range, we have found that the following method is satisfactory. We use one value of ballistic coefficient for each bullet at velocities above 1200 fps (up to 1600 or 1800 fps). A second value is used for velocities below 900 fps. For velocities between 1200 and 900 fps, a ballistic coefficient value which represents an average for this transonic range is used. Although this method is less than elegant, it provides trajectory data with acceptable accuracy, but only for the following two reasons. The first reason is that in the subsonic and transonic velocity ranges the total drag on a bullet is much less than it is in the supersonic velocity range. Consequently, trajectory accuracy is less strongly dependent on ballistic coefficient accuracy. The second reason is that the maximum ranges of interest for bullets traveling at transonic and subsonic velocities are much less than maximum ranges of interest for high powered rifles, typically 200 to 250 yards compared to 600 to 1000 yards. Consequently, errors made in calculating drag do not propagate over very long ranges. A principal conclusion from these investigations is that much more testing is required to resolve the questions which these results have raised. As time, personnel resources, and financial resources permit, Sierra may undertake such tests.

4.6 Ballistic Coefficient Dependence on Coning Motion

The correct technical term for coning motion is gyroscopic precession. We call this motion coning motion because this name, although not precisely correct in a technical sense, creates a visual image which clearly portrays the motion. Figure 4.6-1 illustrates coning motion. An interesting analogy to the motion of the bullet is the motion of a football thrown by a quarterback. When the bullet is perfectly stabilized in flight, the spin axis of the bullet is almost perfectly tangent to the trajectory, that is, almost perfectly aligned with the velocity vector of the bullet as it flies. We have seen this in football games when the quarterback throws a perfect pass. receiver. This same concept of perfect stabilization applies to the bullet, as illustrated in Figure 4.6-1(a) . Sometimes in a football game we see a quarterback throw a pass which TV commentators described

as wobbly, which corresponds to the situation shown in Figure 4.6-1 (b) . When a football wobbles, the nations the wobbling bullet will shoot lower than it would if it wer e perfectly stabilized. A third type of angular motion is possible with both a football and a bullet. This motion is called nutation or nodding. In thon does not damp out quickly, the bullet, or the football, will tumble in flight. In the case of a bullet, precessional motion (or coning) and nutational motion may result from tipoff force thround the geometrical axis. The coning motion which results from tipoff forceersist throughout the entire flight of the bullet. It turns out that coning motions are worse for long, slender, heavy bullets than for lighter and shorter bullets. The reason is that the long, heavy bullets have a large separation distance between the center of mass and center of pressure of the bullet. However, a bullet which undergoes coning motion, and even a little nodding motion at the beginning of its flight, is not unstable, that is, it will not tumble as it flies. The spinning motion of the bullet, which is caused by the rifling in the gun barrel, gyroscopically stabilizes the bullet in flight, although the stabilization is not perfect when the bullet cones. The cone angle is small always, and the nutation angle starts out very small and dies out very quickly. Coning motion has very important effects on the measurement of ballistic coefficient of the bullet. If the bullet is coning, it presents an effective area which is larger than the true cross sectional area of the bullet, and the drag pressure of the air acts on this larger area to produce a larger drag force on the bullet. This can be seen in Figure 4.6-1 . When the bullet is tipped with respect to the trajectory, as shown in Figure 4.6-1 (b) , it clearly presents a larger area for drag to act upon than it does in Figure 4.6-1 (a) . This is because drag acts backward along the direction of the bullets velocity vector. The result is an increase in the drag force experieere perfectly stabilized. How do we know this for sure? Lets look at some measured data. Figure 4.6-2 shows results of two sets of measurements of the ballistic coefficient of the Sierra 910 grain Hollow Point Boat Tail MatchKing bullet. The first set of measurements involved 14 rounds fired, with the ballistic coefficient of each round measured by the three screen method, that is by measuring muzzle velocity and time of flight between the muzzle chronograph and a third screen downrange 50 yards from the first screen of the chronograph. The data are plotted and the statistics are given on the right side of Figure 4.6-2 . The second set of measurements involved 16 rounds fired, with the ballistic coefficient measured by the four screen method, that is with initial velocity measured by a muzzle chronograph, and the final velocity measured by a chronograph set up 250 yards downrange from the muzzle chronograph. The four screen method had to be used for the longer distance because the time of flight to 250 yards exceeded the capacity of the electronic counter used to measure time of flight. The data are plotted and the statistics are given on the left side of Figure 4.6-2 . The average values of the measured ballistic coefficient differ by almost 10 percent and the average values of the velocities differ by only 135 fps. From the spreads in the velocities of the rounds shown in the figure, and it is obvious that there is no strong trend in the value of ballistic coefficient with velocity for either set of measurements. Therefore, we attribute the difference in average values of ballistic coefficient to the fact that the bullets were coning, and the coning did not damp out over the 50 yard range, while it damped out well over the 250 yard range. To support this observation further, look at Figure 4.6-3 which shows the variation of measured ballistic coefficient of the .30 caliber 190 grain Hollow Point Boat Tail MatchKing bullet as a function of twist rate in the test barrel. Six barrels were used in this test, with twist rates varying from one turn in 14 inches to one turn in 8 inches. Fifteen rounds were fired through each barrel at velocities near 2350 fps. The ballistic coefficient for each round fired is plotted in the figure. The figure also lists the

average value of ballistic coefficient for the 15 rounds, together with the standard deviation and extreme spread, for each of the six twist rates used. Note that one barrel chambered a .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge, while the other five barrels chambered the .308 Winchester cartridge. We know from common knowledge that if the twist rate of a barrel is too slow, long and heavy bullets will not be well stabilized. They do not tumble in flight, but the holes in paper targets are elliptical rather than round, indicating that the bullets are coning. Figure 4.6-3 shows what happens to the measured ballistic coefficient in such cases. For the faster twist rates, out through one turn in 11 inches in the case of the 190 grain HPBT MatchKing bullet in this test, the average values of the ballistic coefficients differ very little, and the statistical spreads are tight. When a twist rate of one turn in 12 inches was reached, the average value of measured ballistic coefficient dropped by more than 2 percent, and the spread of the measurements increased substantially. At a twist rate of one turn in 14 inches, the average ballistic coefficient decreased by more than 30 percent, and the spread increased dramatically. We emphasize that none of the test bullets tumbled in flight; all were gyroscopically stabilized, though marginally for the slowest twist rate. This test dramatically illustrates the effect of coning motion on measured ballistic coefficient. Figure 4.6-4 shows the same test conducted on the .22 caliber 69 grain Hollow Point Boat Tail MatchKing bullet, with the same obvious results. The conclusion is inescapable that coning motion reduces the average measured ballistic coefficient and increases the statistical spread of the measured values. Another observation we have made is that with long, slender Spitzer and Spitzer Boat Tail bullets the average measured ballistic coefficient at high muzzle velocities is significantly lower than at intermediate velocities, and the statistical spread of the measured values often (but not always) is significantly greater. We believe that this is caused by greater coning motion imparted to each fired bullet at high muzzle velocities compared to intermediate muzzle velocities. We suspect that this results from the larger amounts of powder gases exiting from the bore, resulting from the larger powder charges necessary to obtain higher velocities. This effect is shown for the .375 caliber 250 grain Spitzer Boat Tail bullet in Figure 4.6-5 . The measured ballistic coefficient has an upward trend between the measurements at 1585 and 2240 fps, and then it drops dramatically between 2240 and 2785 fps. We believe this dramatic drop at higher velocities results from greater coning motion at the higher velocities. Note that in this particular case the statistical spread in the measurements at the high velocity level did not increase dramatically. This means that the bullets are coning consistently from round to round. What have we learned from this experience with coning motions? We now know that ballistic coefficients must be measured downrange from the muzzle at a distance sufficient for the coning motion to have died out. Coning motions are caused by side forces applied to each bullet as it exits the muzzle, but in all but very severe cases the coning motion will damp out within about 100 yards downrange from the muzzle. Consequently, we have set up Sierras underground test range to measure ballistic coehe time of flight screen is positioned about 150 yards downrange from the firing point.

5.0 Exterior Ballistics Topics

This section addresses several topics in exterior ballistics which are of keen interest to both hunters and target shooters.

Section 5.1 describes effects of altitude above sea level and atmospheric conditions on bullet trajectories. Ballistics tables in this Manual and in other references are calculated for sea level and so-called "standard" atmospheric conditions. Section 5.1 shows how we can calculate an "equivalent" ballistic coefficient for a bullet fired at an altitude above sea level and in other weather conditions, and use the sea level standard ballistics tables with this equivalent ballistic coefficient to find the bullet trajectory. Section 5.2 then describes trajectory variations for some specific classes of Sierra bullets fired at different altitudes, and also describes what happens to bullet trajectories when they are fired uphill or downhill. The question of whether a gun shoots high or low when it is fired uphill or downhill is answered. (You may be surprised to learn that every gun shoots high when it is fired either uphill or downhill!) Section 5.3 describes effects of winds on bullet trajectories. Effects of headwinds, tailwinds, crosswinds, and even vertical winds are treated in that section. Section 5.4 discusses the subject of zeroing in, describing relationships between the bullet trajectory, the sight height, and the line of sight. The section shows how to zero your rifle for a range of, say, 250 yards when you must use a shorter target range, say 100 yards. The section answers some other questions frequently asked in letters and telephone calls from shooters. Section 5.5 describes the concept of point blank range, which is of interest mainly to hunters and silhouette shooters. Point blank range is the maximum range for any gun and cartridge/load combination within which the shooter does not need to hold high or low in order to place his bullet in a vital zone of the target. This optimum range depends on the trajectory of the bullet and on the size of the vital zone. Section 5.5 shows that the point blank range of any load for a game animal or silhouette can be maximized simply by choosing the right zero range for the gun. Finally, Section 5.6 describes a relationship between the muzzle velocity of a gun and the temperature of a cartridge and its components at the instant of firing. The temperature of the primer and powder has a very strong effect on muzzle velocity for most rifle cartridges, and a smaller but still important effect in most handgun cartridges. This section describes some measurements made to illustrate these effects.

5.1 Effects of Altitude and Atmospheric Conditions

Drag depends on the density of the air and on the speed of sound, and these in turn depend on altitude, temperature, barometric pressure, and relative humidity at the firing point. Because altitude and atmospheric conditions vary from location to location and from day to day, a standard altitude and standard atmospheric conditions have been adopted for the purpose of computing ballistics tables. For the ballistics tables in Sierra's atmospheric conditions are the ones used for many years by the U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratories at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. These standard conditions are: Altitude: Sea level Barometric pressure: 750mm Hg-29.53 inches Hg Temperature: 59 degrees F Relative humidity: 78 percent (The symbol Hg denotes the chemical element mercury.)

The values of air density and velocity of sound corresponding to these conditions are:

Air density: .0751 lb/ft 3 Speed of sound: 1120.27 fps

The values of ballistic coefficient in the table in Section 1.0 also correspond to these standard conditions, as does the drag function G 1 . The standard barometric pressure and temperature are nominal, or average, values for the Aberdeen location. Two questions now arise. First, the ballistics tables provide us with trajectory data for these sea level standard atmospheric conditions, but what will happen to our bullet trajectories if we shoot at a location above sea level or with other atmospheric conditions? The second question is, how can the ballistics tables be used for higher altitudes and other atmospheric conditions? To answer the first question, we need to understand that changes in altitude and atmospheric conditions affect bullet drag in two different ways. One way is by a change in air density, and the other is by a change in the speed of sound. Air density tends to decrease if altitude increases, or barometric pressure drops below the sea level standard pressure value, or air temperature rises above the sea level standard temperature value, or a combination of high temperature and high humidity occurs. When air density decreases, bullet drag decreases because the air is thinner. Opposite changes in these altitude or weather conditions tend to increase air density and, therefore, drag. The effect on drag of a change in the speed of sound is more complex, because the effect depends on bullet velocity relative to the speed of sound, as well as on altitude and atmospheric conditions. Generally, as we go up in altitude, the speed of sound decreases, and this tends to further decrease drag. Consequently, a general answer to the first question posed above is that at higher altitudes bullets tend to shoot flatter and buck the wind better than they do at altitudes near seal level, provided of course that the bullets are fired with the same muzzle velocities at each altitude. This is not always true, because the muzzle velocity developed by a gun depends on the temperature of the powder in each round. Higher powder temperatures cause higher muzzle velocities, and vice versa. Thus, if a shooter develops a load in pleasant weather at a low altitude location, and then shoots the same load at a higher altitude, his trajectory should be flatter due to lower bullet drag. However, the cooler temperature at altitude will cause a lower muzzle velocity, offsetting the improvement due to lower drag. (See Section 5.6 .) The answer to the second question is that there is a simple procedure which allows us to use the sea level standard atmosphere ballistics tables for other shooting conditions. The procedure is to calculate an adjusted (or equivalent) ballistic coefficient for the new conditions, and then use ballistics from the tables for a "fictitious" bullet with this new ballistic coefficient. It must be emphasized that this procedure is only approximately correct, because the true bullet drag under other conditions is only approximated by the sea level standard drag ( G 1 ) and the equivalent ballistic coefficient. Nevertheless, the approximation is very good for hunting situations, and quite reasonable for target shooting as well. The calculation of the equivalent ballistic coefficient is carried out in three distinct steps. The first is to adjust the ballistic coefficient for a change in altitude which causes predictable changes in the standard atmospheric conditions. Stated another way, standard atmospheric conditions are

calculated for all altitudes, not just sea level. The first adjustment to the sea level standard ballistic coefficient adjusts for the change in air density which results for the change in altitude. Table 5.1-1 shows how the standard temperature T std and the standard barometric pressure P std change with altitude over the range from sea level to 15,000 ft. The table also lists an altitude adjustment factor F A which is used in the ballistic coefficient calculation (more about this below). The second step in calculating the equivalent ballistic coefficient is to adjust for variations between the true atmospheric temperature and pressure at the firing location and the standard temperature and pressure for that location's altitude, which can be found from Table 5.1-1 . The final step in the calculation is to adjust for the true relative humidity at the firing point versus the standard 78 percent relative humidity at sea level. The procedure for calculation of the equivalent ballistic coefficient works as follows. Let us call C o the value of ballistic coefficient for the sea level standard atmosphere. C o for any Sierra bullet can be found in the table in Section 1.0 . then, for any altitude of the firing point and any set of atmospheric conditions, the equivalent ballistic coefficient is calculated from the equation

C eq = C o [F A (1.0+F T -F P )F RH ] (5.1-1)
Step 1 is to find the altitude adjustment factor F A , which can be found from Table 5.1-1 since the firing location altitude is known. (Interpolation must be used for altitudes between the thousand foot levels listed in the table.) The standard temperature and standard pressure at the firing location also can be obtained from Table 5.1-1 . Step 2 in the procedure is to adjust for the nonstandard temperature and pressure. This adjustment is the factor (1.0 + F T - F P ) in equation (5.1-1). The temperature adjustment factor F T is given by

where T is the true temperature at the firing point and T std is the standard atmospheric temperature at that altitude, both in degrees Fahrenheit. The pressure adjustment factor F P is given by

where P is the true barometric pressure at the firing location and P std is the standard pressure for that altitude. Both pressure values may be in either millimeters or inches of Hg , as long as both are in the same units. Step 3 of the procedure is to adjust for relative humidity both in the sea level standard atmospheric conditions and the true conditions at the firing location. The relative humidity correction factor F RH is given by the

where P is the true barometric pressure at the firing point, RH is firing point relative humidity expressed as a decimal fraction (e.g., 45 percent = 0.45), and V pw is the vapor pressure of water at the temperature of the firing point location. Table 5.1-2 lists the vapor pressure of water versus the atmospheric temperature at the firing location. Both the true atmospheric pressure P and vapor pressure V pw can be known in either millimeters or inches of Hg , but both must be in the same units. Equation (5.1-4) shows that the relative humidity correction factor is the product of two terms. The first term, 0.9950, adjusts the sea level ballistic coefficient from the standard 78 percent relative humidity to a dry air (zero humidity) condition. The second factor within the brackets in equation (5.14) adjusts the ballistic coefficient for the relative humidity at the firing point. Because the molecular weight of water is lower than the molecular weight of dry air (18 versus 29), for any specified atmospheric temperature and pressure the density of humid air is lower than the density of day air. Consequently, there would be more drag on a bullet in dry air than in humid air, provided temperature and pressure remained the same in both cases. Therefore the equivalent ballistic coefficient increases if we go from dry air to humid air, and vice versa. This is exactly the effect we see in the two terms in equation (5.1-4). To adjust the ballistic coefficient for the relative humidity at the firing location, we first "back out" the 78 percent standard relative humidity at sea level, and then we adjust for the relative humidity at the firing point. The first term in the equation, 0.9950, is a reduction of one-half of one percent caused by going from humid air to dry air at sea level. The second term in brackets is an increase caused by going from dry air to humid air at the firing location, if the relative humidity is greater than zero. An example will illustrate how this procedure is used. To begin with, suppose that your shooting range has an altitude of about 1500 ft above sea level. You are shooting on a balmy day when the temperature is 75 degrees Fahrenheit, the barometer reads a pressure of 29.20 inches of Hg, and the relative humidity is a comfortable 30 percent. You are going to target your hunting load, a .30-60 using Sierra's 165 gr hollow point boat tail bullet with a sea level standard ballistic coefficient of 0.375 from the table in Section 1.0 . The question is, how do you expect your loads to perform relative to the information in our ballistics tables for this bullet? To answer this question, we calculate the equivalent ballistic coefficient. In step 1, we get the standard temperature and pressure and the altitude adjustment factor from Table 5.1-1 . Since the range altitude (1500 ft) is halfway between 1000 and 2000 ft, we interpolate from the values at 1000 and 2000 ft in the table to get:

T std = 53.7 degrees F P std = 27.93 inches Hg F A = 1.047

In step 2 we compute the factors F T and F P from equations (5.1-2) and (5.1-3):

It can be noted here that since the temperature at the range is higher than the standard value, which

tends to decrease the air density, the drag tends to be lessened, and so F T tends to increase the effective ballistic coefficient. The opposite is true of the pressure, which is higher than the standard, tending to increase air density and drag. The humidity adjustment factor is calculated in step 3 as follows. Because the relative humidity at the range is 30 percent RH = 0.30 From Table 5.1-2 the vapor pressure of water at 75 degrees F is VP W = 0.88 inches of Hg Then, equation (5.1-4) gives

Finally, the equivalent ballistic coefficient for your bullet at your shooting range on that particular day is calculated from equation (5.1-1):

So, you can expect the performance of your loads on this day to be the same as those of a bullet with about a 4 percent higher ballistic coefficient. You can use the sea level standard ballistic tables for a bullet with a ballistic coefficient of 0.390 rather than 0.375. Now, suppose that after targeting your rifle, you are planning a hunt in the Rockies where the altitude will be 8000 to 9000 ft. How will you expect your loads to perform there? The same procedure will help you find out. Since you do not know the weather conditions in advance, it is best to assume that they will be about standard for that altitude range. The first step is to find F A for an altitude of, say, 8500 ft from Table 5.1-1 . Using interpolation between the F A values at 8000 and 9000 ft, F A turns out to be 1.293. In step 2, since we have assumed standard temperature and pressure will prevail, the factors F T and F P are both equal to zero. So far, we haven't said anything about humidity, and this is difficult to predict in your hunting area. Fair weather in the Rockies generally means low relative humidity, but the opposite can be true for bad weather. So, let's look at the extreme conditions that might happen. First, consider that the relative humidity will be zero while you are hunting. If we put RH = 0.000 in equation (5.1-4), then F RH = 0.9950 for this extreme. Next, consider that the relative humidity might be 100 percent. From Table 5.1-2 the standard temperature and pressure at 8500 feet are 28.7 degrees F and 21.51 inches Hg. From Table 5.1-2 the vapor pressure of water at 28.7 degrees F is 0.15 inches Hg. Substituting these values into equation (5.104) gives

for 100 percent relative humidity. So, if temperature and pressure are near standard in your hunting area, the relative humidity adjustment to ballistic coefficient will be between a half and a quarter percent. This is negligible compared to the altitude adjustment, which improves your ballistic coefficient nearly 30 percent. This example calculation suggests some observations which are generally true. First, changes in altitude can have a very significant effect of bullet trajectories. The values of F A in Table 5.1-1 show that the equivalent ballistic coefficient of a bullet can be 30 to 40 percent higher in the mountainous regions of North America than at sea level. On the other hand, the factors F T and F P usually cause change of only a few percent in the ballistic coefficient value, because temperature and pressure are not much different from their standard values. Furthermore, the effects of temperature and pressure variations from standard values often offset each other, as in our example above. This is because high temperatures often go with high barometric pressures, and vice versa, at least in North America. Note that the humidity adjustment to the ballistic coefficient is also quite small in our example (that is, F RH is very nearly unity). This is the usual case, unless both the temperature and the relative humidity at the firing location are high. A question which naturally arises is, when can we forget about the humidity adjustment to ballistic coefficient? In other words, when can we set F RH = 1.0 in equation (5.1-1) without causing a significant error in C eq ? At Sierra we believe that the humidity adjustment is negligible if it would cause a change in C eq not greater than a half percent. That is, if F RH is in the range of 0.9950 to 1.0050, then we can use a value of 1.0 without significant error. This is simply because the accuracy to which we can measure C o is about that amount. Table 5.1-3 has been prepared to offer some guidance in this regard. The table lists temperature values for altitudes to 15,000 ft and relative humidity up to 100 percent, which are limits for the plusor-minus half percent adjustments in ballistic coefficient. To use Table 5.1-3 , you need to know altitude, temperature, and relative humidity at your shooting location. If you look in the table for your altitude and relative humidity, if your range temperature is less than the value shown, you can safely neglect the humidity adjustment. But if your temperature is higher than the value shown, you should calculate the adjustment factor F RH . To illustrate, look back at the example previously described. Your target range had an altitude of 1500 ft. The temperature was 75 degrees F and the relative humidity was 30 percent. Looking at Table 5.1-3 for 40 percent relative humidity, we can neglect the humidity adjustment if the temperature is below about 98 degrees F. Because the relative humidity is 30 percent rather than 40, the temperature limit would be even higher. So, for a 75 degree F range temperature you could safely neglect the humidity correction. Indeed, when we calculated F RH , we found that it caused only a quarter percent change in C o , while the altitude adjustment alone contributed more than a four percent change.

It is clear that the three-step method of adjusting the ballistic coefficient is very convenient, because the first step is the most important and easiest, and the other steps often are not needed at all. If you have Version III of Sierra's Exterior Ballistics Program for your personal computer, you can input the altitude of the firing point and all atmospheric conditions from a standard weather report. Version III calculates the true barometric pressure from the altitude and local barometric pressure in the weather report, and then automatically performs all the ballistic coefficient adjustments described above. As a default, the Program calculates standard atmospheric conditions at the firing point altitude, unless you input actual conditions. The Program also corrects both the ballistic coefficient and the drag function for changes in speed of sound with altitude. It then calculates the trajectory of the bullet using the fully adjusted ballistic coefficient as well as the corrected drag function. If you are shooting a Sierra bullet, for which Version III has ballistic coefficient values which change in different bullet velocity ranges, the Program applies the ballistic coefficient adjustments to each ballistic coefficient value.

5.2 Effects of Altitude and Uphill/Downhill Shooting

Sierra's computer program for exterior ballistics calculates precise bullet trajectories at any altitude and for any firing angle, uphill or downhill. The program not only accounts for the altitude of the shooter, but it also calculates the change in drag that occurs as the bullet changes altitude after it leaves the muzzle. With this capability we can see exactly what effects altitude and firing angle have on the trajectory of any bullet. Table 5.2-1(rifle) Table 5.2-1(handgun) shows the effects of altitude change on the drop of three different bullets. This table is for level fire only; it has no uphill or downhill shooting effects in it. The results listed for the .30-30 bullet are fairly typical of a class of hunting cartridges firing round nose or flat nose bullets at moderate velocity, like the .35 Remington, .30-40 Krag, .300 Savage, .45-70 and even the .30-06 with a 810 or 220 grain round nose bullet. At 300 yards the .30-30 bullet shoots flatter by almost 9 inches at 10,000 feet altitude than at sea level. The data shown for the 117 grain .257 spitzer flat base are typical of another class of hunting cartridges shooting bullets with medium ballistic coefficients at somewhat higher velocities. typical cartridges in this class are the .257 Roberts, 7mm Mauser, 8mm Mauser, and .30-06 with medium weight spitzer bullets. Cartridges in this class are considerably less sensitive to altitude change, until range exceeds 400 yards or altitude exceeds 10,000 feet. The performance of the third bullet in Table 5.2-1(rifle) Table 5.2-1(handgun) is typical of the big magnum cartridges in 7mm, .30, and .338 calibers used for both hunting and extra long range target shooting. If you hunt with a rifle in this class, you can just about forget altitude effects on your bullet trajectory, at least for most hunting in North America. If you are a long range target shooter, altitude changes will affect your shooting, and you should be aware of the altitude corrections you will have to make if you change altitudes. Now, let us turn to the subject of uphill and downhill shooting. Table 5.2-2(rifle) Table 5.22(handgun) and Figure 5.2-1 have been prepared to aid this discussion. First, Table 5.2-2(rifle) Table 5.2-2(handgun) shows how bullet drop changes with uphill and downhill firing angle for the three example bullets in Table 5.2-1(rifle) Table 5.2-1(handgun) . Again, the drop changes shown in

Table 5.2-2(rifle) Table 5.2-2(handgun) for the three bullets are typical of the three classes of hunting cartridges described above. Drop, as we use the term at Sierra, is always measured in the vertical direction at the target. It is the vertical distance between the line of departure (direction of the rifle bore axis) and the bullet trajectory. Figure 5.2-1 shows how true bullet drop is measured for level, uphill, and downhill shooting situations. (It may be helpful to refer ahead a few pages to the Introduction to the Ballistics Tables for definitions of the terms used to describe bullet trajectories, such as line of departure, line of sight, bullet path, etc.) The data in Table 5.2-2(rifle) Table 5.2-2(handgun) show clearly that drop changes very little with firing elevation angle at all practical ranges for the three bullets. For example, the .257 spitzer flat base bullet fired at 2600 fps at an altitude of 5000 feet above sea level would have a drop of 131.75 inches at 600 yards for the case of level fire. The same bullet fired upward at an angle of 45 degrees would have a drop of 131.00 inches at a slant range of 600 yards. The difference is only 0.75 inch, which is negligible compared to the total drop. This result is true in general. At practical range for hunting and target shooting, the change in vertical bullet drop with firing elevation angle is negligible even for very steep angles. However, the bullet path height (distance of the bullet above or below the shooter's lien of sight) can change a good deal, particularly at steep angles. Figure 5.2-1 shows how this happens. Ordinarily, a shooter will sight his rifle in on a level shooting range, and Figure 5.2-1 (a) shows this situation. When sighting in, the shooter adjusts his sights so that the line of sight intersects the bullet trajectory at the range called R o in Figure 5.2-1 , which is the range where he wants the rifle zeroed in. The distance between the line of departure and the line of sight at the range R o is the drop d o . We use this symbol to denote the amount of drip at the range where the rifle is zeroed in. Note that the angle between the line of departure and the line of sight is actually very small. This angle is greatly exaggerated in Figure 5.2-1 for purposes of illustration. Even for long range (1000 yard) target shooting, it is less than one degree, and it is typically 5 to 10 minutes of arc for hunting rifles. Now, consider the situation when the shooter fires his rifle uphill at a steep angle, as shown in Figure 5.2-1 (b) . Since the true bullet drop changes very little, at a slant range distance R o from the shooter the bullet has a vertical drop essentially equal to d o , as shown in the figure. However, the line of sight at R o still is located a distance d o in a perpendicular direction away from the line of departure. Because of the firing elevation angle, the bullet trajectory no longer intersects the line of sight at the range R o . In fact, the bullet passes well above the line of sight at that point, as Figure 5.2-1 (b) shows. In other words, the bullet shoots high from the shooter's viewpoint as he aims the rifle, and at steep angles it may shoot high by a considerable amount, as we will show shortly. Figure 5.2-1 (c) shows the situation when the shooter fires his rifle downhill. Again, the vertical drop at the slant range distance R o changes negligibly from the value d o for level fire, but the line of sight and line of departure still are separated by the perpendicular distance d o . The bullet again passes above the line of sight, instead of intersecting it, at the range R o . Compared to the case of level fire, the bullet again shoots high from the shooter's viewpoint as he aims the rifle. Furthermore, if the rifle is fired uphill at some elevation angle, and then fired downhill at the same elevation angle, the two bullets will shoot high by almost exactly the same amount. Figure 5.2-1 (c) shows the situation when the shooter fires his rifle downhill. Again, the vertical drop at the slant range distance R o changes negligibly from the value d o or level fire, but the line of sight and line of departure still are separated by the perpendicular distance d o . The bullet again passes

above the line of sight, instead of intersecting it, at the range R o . Compared to the case of level fire, the bullet again shoots high from the uphill at some elevation angle, and then fired downhill at the same elevation angle, the two bullets will shoot high by almost exactly the same amount. It is reasonably easy to calculate how much higher a rifle will shoot for any given elevation angle. To do this, we need to know the bullet drop versus range for the load used, and we can find this in the Ballistics Tables for any Sierra bullet. Let d be the bullet drop at any range R from the muzzle. (In this calculation we are only concerned with the amount of the drop; the minus sign in front of the drop numbers in the Ballistics Tables can be neglected.)

The following table shows how much higher the bullet will shoot when aimed either uphill or downhill than it will when fired on a level: Increase in Elevation Angle Bullet Path Height
+/- 5 degrees +/- 10 +/- 15 +/- 20 +/- 25 +/- 30 +/- 35 +/- 40 +/- 45 +/- 50 +/- 55 +/- 60 .004 d inches .015 d .034 d .060 d .094 d .134 d .181 d .234 d .293 d .357 d .426 d .500 d

To use this table, we first look up the drop d for each value of range for our load in the Ballistics Tables. Then, we calculate the increase in bullet path height for each elevation angle of interest using the multiplying factors in the table above. This tells us how much higher the bullet will shoot than it will for level fire at each value of range and for each elevation angle we wish to consider. Finally, we may add this increase to the bullet path height for level fire (from the Ballistics Tables) to get a new bullet path height at each elevated firing angle. As an example of this procedure, and also to show how much even a relatively flat-shooting cartridge can be affected by elevated firing angles, the calculations in Table 5.2-3(rifle) Table 5.2-3(handgun) have been performed for a .270 Winchester firing the 130 grain spitzer boat tail bullet at 3000 fps muzzle velocity. The bullet drop data at the top of Table 5.2-3(rifle) Table 5.2-3(handgun) are taken from the Ballistics Tables for the 130 grain .270 spitzer boat tail bullet. Bullet path data for the rifle zeroed in at 200 yards are also listed so the new bullet path can be calculated for each elevation angle. To understand how the numbers in Table 5.2-3(rifle) Table 5.2-3(handgun) are calculated, let's look at the case where the firing elevation is +/- 30 degrees and the slant range is 400 yards. At this elevation angle the increase in bullet path height is 0.134 times the drop at each value of range. At 400 yards the drop is 37.56 inches, so the increase in bullet path height is 0.134 x 37.56 = 5.03 inches. So, if the shooter aims at a game animal 400 yards away or up or down a 30 degree slope, he

has to remember that his bullet will shoot about 5 inches higher than it would on the level. With his rifle sighted in for 200 yards, his bullet path would be 19.47 inches below his line of sight at 400 yards for level fire. So, if he corrects the bullet path for the 30 degree angle, his new bullet path will be 14.44 inches below his line of sight at 400 yards, instead of 19.47. It is clear from Table 5.2-3(rifle) Table 5.2-3(handgun) that steep elevation angles have important effects for this .270 Winchester load, and the steeper the angle the shorter the range where the effect becomes important. It turns out that steep elevation angles are important for nearly all hunting rifles. To cite just a few others, when fired uphill or downhill at a 45 degree angle, a .22-250 with the 55 grain spitzer bullet at 3700 fps muzzle velocity will shoot 4.2 inches high at 300 yards; a .300 Winchester Magnum with the 180 grain spitzer boat tail at 3000 fps muzzle velocity will shoot 5.6 inches high at 300 yards; and a .30-30 with the 150 grain flat nose at 2200 fps will shoot 5.9 inches high at 200 yards. The importance of understanding and compensating for firing elevation angle effects is pretty clear from these figures.

5.3 Wind Effects

A bullet's reaction to a wind depends very much on both the speed of the wind and the direction in which it blows. In the first place, a headwind or a tailwind causes a vertical deflection (a change in drop) of the bullet, while a crosswind causes a horizontal deflection. It also happens that a crosswind causes a much larger deflection than does a headwind or tailwind of the same speed. As an example, take the .308 Winchester cartridge loaded with the Sierra 190 grain HPBT MatchKing bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2500 fps. At a range of 600 yards, a 5 mph headwind would cause the bullet to strike the target 0.30 inch lower than it would with no wind. A 5 mph tailwind would cause the bullet to shoot high by the same amount. In either case, a well-aimed shot certainly would stay within the Xring on the 600 yard target. But a 5 mph crosswind would deflect the bullet 14.35 inches to one side, with a devastating effect on the shooter's score if he hadn't made a windage correction. This example is very typical of the relative importance of a crosswind as opposed to a headwind or tailwind. As we will show a little later, the effects of a headwind or tailwind can be neglected for almost all shooting situations, except perhaps for extra long range (1000 yard) target shooting in strong winds. Crosswinds, though, are important for hunting as well as target shooting. The crosswind deflections in the Ballistics Tables show how much crosswinds affect each Sierra bullet, and it is clear that both hunters and target shooters need to be aware of the importance of crosswinds. Although a crosswind has a strong effect on bullet flight, it turns out to be much less than what might be expected from rough reasoning. Actually, a flying bullet tends to "resist" the wind to a large degree. It does not simply follow the sideward motion of the air mass through which it flies. This is an important point to understand, and we will develop it further a little later. Of course, Mother Nature seldom obliges a shooter with a wind that blows only along or only across the line of sight to his target, so we are really concerned with winds from any direction. It turns out, though, that a wind from any direction can always be regarded as made up of two component winds, one parallel to the shooter's line of sight and one perpendicular to it. Figure 5.3-1 is an example of how this happens. The vector representing the true wind points in the direction in which the wind is blowing, and the length of the vector is scaled to the true wind speed. The crosswind component always has a direction perpendicular to the shooter's line of sight, and the other component (headwind or tailwind component) is always parallel to the shooter's line of sight. The two component

vectors always are made just long enough so that, when they add together in the head-to-tail fashion shown in Figure 5.3-1 , they start at the tail of the true wind vector and end at its head. Then the lengths of these component vectors represent their speeds. The number table in Figure 5.3-1 can help you calculate the two component winds if you know the speed and direction of the true wind. Some well-equipped target ranges, like Camp Perry, Ohio, have wind meters which display this information. As an example of how to use the number table, suppose that the true wind speed is 10 mph and that it makes an angle of 35 degrees to the line of sight. Looking down the number table to 35 degrees, we see that the headwind component has a speed of .819 x 10 = 8.19 mph, and the crosswind component has a speed of .574 x 10 = 5.74 mph. This may all seem very complicated, but it is important to understand how a true wind is made up of the two physical components for the following reasons: 1. A components acting simultaneously. 2. Thnent causes a horizontal deflection. 3. Fod v ts! The following three subsections will describe these wind effects in a little more detail, and examples will be given to verify the key observations made in this introduction to wind effects. Before proceeding, we should note that it is possible to have vertical wind components, as well as headwinds, tailwinds, and crosswinds. Vertical winds are mainly encountered in hunting mountainous or hill terrain; they are very seldom important in target shooting. The effect of a vertical wind component is just like the effect of a crosswind component, except that it causes a vertical, rather than a horizontal, deflection. Hunters should be aware that vertical wind components happen in canyons and close to steep hillsides and that they can cause a bullet to shoot high or low, just as a crosswind will cause it to shoot left or right.

5.3.1 Headwinds and Tailwinds

In Section 2.0 we discussed the two physical forces, gravity and air drag, which act on a bullet traveling through the air. The trajectory of a bullet is completely determined by these forces after it leaves the gun barrel. The gravitational force does not depend at all on wind conditions, but the air drag force does, and it has a very important influence on trajectory. Drag on a bullet is determined by the velocity of the bullet RELATIVE TO THE AIR THROUGH WHICH IT TRAVELS. When the air moves, the drag on the bullet is different from what it is when the air is still. It is just this drag force difference that causes the bullet trajectory in a wind to be different from what it is in still air. This is quite easy to see when the bullet flies in a headwind or tailwind only (no crosswind). Suppose that you fire a bullet with a muzzle of 3000 fps and a tailwind of 10 mph. When the bullet leaves the muzzle its velocity is 3000 fps relative to the ground, since you are holding the rifle still relative to the ground. The wind at your back blows toward your target with a velocity of 14.67 fps (10 mph). Then, at the instant the bullet leaves the muzzle, its velocity RELATIVE TO THE MOVING AIR is 2985.33 fps. If there were no wind blowing, the bullet's velocity relative to the still air would be 3000 fps. Since the relative velocity is lower, the drag is a little lower when the bullet leaves the muzzle. As the bullet rides the tailwind, the drag is lower than it would be if the bullet flew in still air all along the trajectory. With less drag, the bullet reaches the target earlier (time of flight decreases), it has more remaining velocity when it gets there, and it suffers less drop (impacts a little high). If you were firing into a 10 mph headwind instead, just the opposite situation would happen. The bullet velocity relative to the air would be 3014.67 fps at the muzzle. Since the relative velocity is

higher than it would be in still air, drag is higher when the bullet leaves the muzzle. As the bullet bucks the headwind, the drag is higher than it would be in still air all along the trajectory. Consequently, the bullet reaches the target later (time of flight increases), it has a smaller remaining velocity when it gets there, and it drops more (impacts a little low). Tables 5.3-1(rifle) Table 5.3-1(handgun) and Tables 5.3-2(rifle) Table 5.3-2(handgun) have been prepared to show how large headwind and tailwind effects turn out to be for some typical hunting and target shooting situations. The five bullets in Table 5.3-1(rifle) Table 5.3-1(handgun) have ballistic coefficients which pretty well span the range for hunting bullets. The muzzle velocity for each bullet is deliberately chosen to be moderate for typical cartridges in that caliber, in order to show worst case wind deflections. Table 5.3-2(rifle) Table 5.3-2(handgun) contains, the same information for the Sierra HPBT MatchKing bullets frequently used for long range target shooting. The muzzle velocities chosen for these bullets are typical of the magnum cartridges in the three calibers since many target shooters favor high velocities for this type of competition. Two points may be noted from these tables. First, the vertical deflections are relatively small, even in comparatively strong headwinds and tailwinds. At normal ranges for hunting, these deflections are completely negligible. For 1000 yard target shooting in a strong headwind or tailwind, a vertical correction might be desirable if the wind were steady. However, with no correction any one of the three bullets, if well aimed, would stand a good chance of staying inside the 20 inch V-ring, and would certainly stay within the 36 inch bull. Second, both tables show that a headwind usually causes a slightly larger vertical deflection than a tailwind of equal speed. The reason for this has to do with the relatively complicated way that drag depends on the speed of the bullet relative to the air. It should also be noted that the wind deflection of any bullet depends very much on muzzle velocity. As an example, 2600 fps for the 117 grain .257 spitzer flat base in Table 5.3-1(rifle) Table 5.31(handgun) is about a top load for the .257 Roberts. The table shows that in a 30 mph headwind this load would shoot 3.30 inches low at 600 yards. This same bullet can be driven at 3200 fps from a .257 Weatherby Magnum. Our calculations show that this load would shoot 1.35 inches low in a 30 mph headwind.

5.3.2 Crosswinds
When a bullet is fired in a crosswind, its velocity relative to the moving air mass has a small component in the crossrange direction, as well as a main component in the downrange direction toward the target. Because of this small crossrange component of relative velocity, there is a small crossrange component of air drag force which causes the bullet to deflect in the direction of the wind. It is convenient to think of the crosswind tending to "drag" the bullet along with it. However, because of its inertia, the bullet does not follow the crosswind precisely. The crossrange bullet motion is accelerated relatively slowly, and in fact the crossrange component of the bullet's velocity never does grow to equal the crosswind velocity. Figure 5.3-2 is an example of these effects. The 200 grain .308 HPBT MatchKing bullet is fired straight downrange with a 2700 fps muzzle velocity and a 5 mph crosswind. If the bullet precisely followed the wind, it would have the path represented by the dashed line in the figure, and after

traveling 1000 yards it would have a crossrange deflection of about 137 inches. But in reality, the bullet follows the true path shown in the figure, and at 1000 yards it is actually deflected about 39 inches. While the 39 inch deflection certainly requires a windage correction, it still is a lot less than the 137 inches.

A mathematical equation has been derived for the deflection of a bullet by a crosswind. In the case of level fire (rifle barrel level) and without a headwind, this equation is

where Z is the crossrange deflection (in inches) V ew is the crosswind velocity (in inches/second) (1 mph = 17.60 inches/second) t is the bullet true time of flight (in seconds) X is the range from shooter to target (in feet) V o is the muzzle velocity (in feet/second)
The quantity inside the parentheses in this equation has been called the lag time. This name came about in the following way. The quantity t is the total time of flight of the bullet. The quantity X/V o can be recognized as the time of flight the bullet would have if it were fired in a vacuum. In a vacuum there would be no air drag to slow the bullet down, so the time of flight would be the level distance X to the target divided by the level component of velocity, which would be the muzzle velocity V o . Then the difference between the true time of flight and the vacuum time of flight is the delay, or lag, caused by the air drag slowing the bullet down. It is also interesting to examine the equation for the crossrange component of the bullet velocity. This equation is

where V z is the velocity of the bullet in the crossrange direction V x is the velocity of the bullet in the downrange direction V ew is the crosswind velocity V o is the muzzle velocity The downrange velocity component V x is equal to the muzzle velocity when the bullet leaves the muzzle, and then it continually decreases as the bullet flies down the range and air drag slows it down. The quantity in the parentheses in this equation can be regarded as a "velocity lag factor." This quantity has a value between zero (at the muzzle where V x = V o ) and one (when V x drops to zero). In practical shooting situations V x never approaches zero, and so V z never grows to be as large as the crosswind velocity V ew . We can apply these formulas to the example in Figure 5.3-2 to see how they work. The crosswind velocity V ew is 88.0 inches/second (5 mph). For a range of 1000 yards, our computer program calculates the true time of flight to be 1.552759 seconds and the remaining downrange velocity V x to be 1396.0 fps. If the bullet exactly followed the wind, in other words if it had the full crosswind velocity, then the deflection at 1000 yards would be

Z = V ew t + 88.0 x 1.552759 = 136.64 inches

This is the coordinate of the upper dashed line in Figure 5.3-2 . The range X is 3000 feet and the muzzle velocity V o is 2700 feet per second. The vacuum time of flight would be

Then, the lag time caused by the drag is

The true deflection of the bullet at 1000 yards is

The velocity lag factor is

And the bullet's crossrange velocity

So, V z is less than half the crosswind velocity even after the bullet has traveled 1000 yards. These equations are important for understanding crosswind effects, but they are not particularly useful to the shooter because it has not been a practice historically to compute and list bullet time of flight in ballistics tables. Even if time of flight were listed, the shooter would still have the inconvenience of calculating the crosswind deflections he needed from the equation. For this reason, we decided to calculate and publish the crosswind deflections for all Sierra bullets, rather than the times of flight. These deflections are listed in the Ballistics Tables of the Manual.

5.3.3 Winds from Any Direction

As explained earlier, a wind blowing from any general direction can always be regarded as made up of a crosswind and a headwind or tailwind. These components then cause both a horizontal and a vertical bullet deflection simultaneously. We already know what deflection to expect from each component wind acting alone, and we now want to see if any changes occur when both act together.

We can clearly expect that when two wind components exist simultaneously, there will be some interaction between them to produce deflections that are at least a little different from those produced by each component acting alone. For example, we know from the previous subsection that the horizontal deflection caused by a crosswind depends on the time of flight. We also know from Section 5.3.1 that a headwind or tailwind causes a change in the time of flight. Therefore, we must expect that the horizontal deflection due to a crosswind acting together with a headwind or tailwind will be different from the deflection caused by the same crosswind acting alone. It turns out that this interaction is really quite small. Table 5.3-3 has been prepared to show this. It contains five of the bullets listed in Tables 5.3-1 and 5.3-2 . For each bullet it shows the vertical and horizontal wind deflections (at maximum range) for three wind conditions, (1) a 30 mph headwind only, (2) a 30 mph crosswind only, and (3) both acting together (a true wind of 42.4 mph blowing at 45 degrees to the line of sight). Consider the 150 grain FN bullet listed first in Table 5.3-3 . When this bullet is fired at 2200 fps muzzle velocity in a 30 mph crosswind alone, it has a horizontal deflection of 101.84 inches at 300 yards. If it were fired in a 30 mph headwind instead, it would shoot 2.03 inches lower at 300 yards. When both wind components act together, the bullet shoots 2.04 inches lower (instead of 2.03) and 106.43 inches to the side (instead of 101.84). The interaction of the two components therefore causes the bullet to shoot 0.01 inch lower and 4.59 inches farther to the side, but these are relatively small additional effects. Table 5.3-3 only shows the effects of the interaction at maximum range for each bullet entry. At shorter ranges these effects are much smaller. Also, if a tailwind occurs instead of a headwind, the horizontal deflection will be decreased by about the same small amount when it interacts with the crosswind. Two conclusions may be drawn from Table 5.3-3 . First, when a crosswind interacts with a headwind (or tailwind), there is almost no effect on the vertical deflection caused by the headwind (or tailwind) acting alone. Second, the interaction does cause a change in the horizontal deflection, but it is small enough to be neglected for almost all shooting situations, unless the range is very long and the wind is very strong. Although the data in Table 5.3-3 are for a wind blowing at 45 degrees to the line of sight, the conclusions apply to winds blowing in any direction. In general, we can always separate a wind into its to components. Then we can calculate the vertical and horizontal deflections caused by each component independently, forgetting their interaction. Neglecting the interaction will cause an error in the vertical deflection which is totally negligible, and it will cause an error in the horizontal deflection small enough to be neglected in almost all shooting situations.

5.4 Changing the Zero Range

Some of the questions most often asked in letters and telephone calls from shooters, concern what happens to the bullet trajectory when the zero range is changed to values not used in the Ballistics Tables. To help answer these questions, Sierra has prepared the Ballistics Tables in this Manual with four zero range selections for each bullet. We have tried to pick an appropriate selection of zero

ranges for each bullet, depending on its primary purpose and on the muzzle velocities of the cartridges in which it is loaded. If you glance ahead to the Ballistics Tables, you will notice that bullet path data are listed for most rifle bullets at zero ranges of 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards, and at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards for handgun bullets. In the Silhouette Ballistics section the zero ranges for both rifle and handgun bullets coincide with the ranges to the targets. Clearly, it is not possible to present bullet trajectory data in the Ballistics Tables for all possible choices of zero range. Furthermore, the bullet path depends not only on zero range, but on the height of the gun sights above the bore centerline, and thus on whether the shooter uses iron sights or telescope sights ( Figure 5.4-1 illustrates these concepts. The "bullet path height" is the bullet's distance above or below the shooter's line of sight , rather than the level line between muzzle and target.) For the Ballistics Tables in this Manual, Sierra's choices for sight height and zero range are reasonable for a large number of shooters, but it is clear that many shooters need trajectory data for a different set of these conditions. Shooters generally have one or more of three typical questions. The first usually goes something like the following example: "I load the .30 caliber 165 grain spitzer boat tail bullet at 2700 fps muzzle velocity in my .3006, and my sight height is 1.8 inches. I want to set my zero range at 250 yards, but I need to use a 100 yard target to do it. How high should I set my rifle to shoot at 100 yards to be zeroed in at 250 yards?" The second question the is: "After I zero in at 250 yards, where does my rifle shoot at other ranges?" The third question occurs less frequently, but it is still important. In this example it would be: "My rifle is now zeroed in at 100 yards. How many 'clicks' do I need on my telescope sight to change the zero to 250 yards?" The answers to these questions require some numerical calculations. Fortunately, there are simple equations for both the bullet patch height and the sight change to adjust the zero range, and these equations work for both rifles and handguns. To use these equations, you must know bullet drop as a function of range for your cartridge and load, and drop is almost always listed in ballistics tables. You must also know your sight height, and you can measure this easily. If you use a telescope sight, it is the distance between the centerline of the bore and the centerline of the telescope (to within a very small error). If you use iron sights, it is exactly the distance between the bore centerline and the top of the front sight. The equation for bullet path height at any range from the muzzle is the following:

where y b (R) is bullet path height in inches at the range R (positive values for bullet above line of sight, and negative values for bullet below line of sight); R is the range from the muzzle at which y b is to be calculated, measured in yards; y(R) is the bullet drop (always negative) at the range R , measured in inches, and is taken from the drop column in the ballistics table; h s is the sight height above the bore centerline in inches (always positive); R z is the zero range in yards; y z is the drop in inches at the zero range R z (always negative), and it also is taken from the drop figures in the ballistics tables.

Figure 5.4-1 will help define the meanings of the terms used above.

This formula is good for ranges greater than R z as well as for ranges less than the zero range. The accuracy of the formula is very good for practical shooting purposes. The calculated bullet path height for level fire will be accurate to a small fraction of an inch for pistol bullets to ranges of 400 or 500 yards, and for rifle bullets to ranges exceeding 1000 yards. The calculations for sight adjustments to change the zero range make use of the angle A shown in Figure 5.4-1 . This is the angle between the bore centerline and the shooter's line of sight. If the gun is zeroed in at some initial zero range R z1 , the first value of this angle is given by:

where the variables h s , y z1 , and R z1 have the same meanings and physical units as in the definitions above, and the second subscript (1) just reminds us to use values corresponding to the first zero range. The numerical factor (95.493) causes the angle value to be expressed in minutes of angle (MOA). Now, if the zero range is to be changed to a new value R z2 , the new angle, A 2 will be given by:

Then, the sight adjustment needed to change the zero range is the difference between these angles. Sight Change = A2 - A1 (MOA)

When you calculate this difference, you get both the number of minutes of angle and the direction of the change that you must use. If the difference is positive, you must move the bullet upward on the target, and if the difference is negative, you must move the bullet downward on the target. Telescope sights are usually set so one "click" is 1/4 MOA, that is, it moves the bullet 1/4 inch at 100 yards. With iron sights it might not be as simple, since the MOA change caused by one "click" depends on the distance between front and rear sights on the gun. The calculations described by these equations can be done by hand, and they are especially easy if you have an electronic calculator. It is necessary to manipulate negative numbers in the calculations, which might be a little unfamiliar to you if you're not a whiz at math. The following example calculations will show how the method works and how the negative and positive numbers combine. If you follow the method in the example, you can perform these calculations for your own pet loads even if you aren't a whiz at math! Example Calculations Cartridge: .30-06 with Sierra .308 diameter 165 grain spitzer boat tail bullet Muzzle velocity: 2700 fps Zero range: 250 yards (change from 100 yards)

Sight height: 1.80 inches (telescope sight, high mounts) Calculate: (1) Bullet path height at 100 yards to use for zeroing the rifle in at 250 yards. (2) Bullet path height at 200, 300, 400, and 500 yards. (3) Sight change required to move the zero range from 100 to 250 yards. Ballistics Tables for reference: Sierra Rifle Reloading Manual To start these calculations, we first note that R z = 250 yards, and h s = 180 inches, but when we look in the Ballistics Tables to find y z , we find that no value is given for 250 yards. This is not an unusual situation, and that was one of the reasons for choosing this example. There are many times when we need numbers that do not appear directly in the tables, and we have to determine them from numbers that do appear. In our case here, the Ballistics Table for the .30 caliber 165 grain SBT lists drop at 100 yard intervals. The easiest way to determine the drop at 250 yards is to use a piece of rectangular graph paper, plot the values of drop at 0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 yards, and then pass a smooth curve through all these points. If you do this carefully, you can read the drop at 250 yards from this curve to within an accuracy of about 1/10 inch, which is sufficient for most purposes. In this case the drop at 250 yards is about 16.6l inches, so y z = -16.6 inches. (1) At R = 100 yards, y (100 = -2.37 inches from the Ballistics Table, and the bullet path height is calculated from the first formula above as follows:

= 3.19 inches If you set your sights to shoot 3.2 inches high at 100 yards, your rifle will be zeroed in at 250 yards. (2) The calculations proceed just as above, except that values for the desired ranges are used. Note that the values of Rz , y z , and h s do not change, which shortens some of the numerical calculations. At R = 200 yards, y (200) = -10.25 inches, and the bullet path equation gives:

At R = 300 yards, y (300) = -24.56 inches, and

= (-26.36) + 22.08 = -4.28 inches (minus sign denotes bullet below line of sight)

At R = 400 yards, y (400) = -46.37 inches, and :

= (48.17) + 29.44 = -18.72 inches (below line of sight)

At R = 500 yards, y (500) = -77.03 inches, and:

= (-78.83) + 36.8 = -42.03 inches(below line of sight) (3) To calculate the sight adjustment to be used to change the zero range, we must first calculate the two angles A1 and A2 . In the first case, R z1 = 100 yards y z1 = -2.37 inches h s = 1.80 inches

and

= 3.98 MOA

For the second angle, R z2 = 250 yards y z2 = -16.6 inches h s = 1.80 inches

and

= 7.03 MOA

The sight adjustment, then is the difference between these angles: Sight Change = 7.03 - 3.98 = 3.05 MOA

If your telescope sight is graduated in 1/4 MOA clicks, you need to move the setting 12 clicks in the direction which raises the bullet impact point on the 100 yard target.

5.5 Point Blank Range

Point blank range is a concept which is extremely useful to hunters, and it is well understood by most of them. This idea is also important for some types of target shooting, as, for example, silhouette shooting. The point blank range of any gun is the distance out to which a hunter can hold right on this game and be assured of a hit within a vital zone of the animal. In other words, the hunter doesn't have to hold high or low to correct for the bullet trajectory. In a sense, point blank range is a measure of how flat a gun will shoot. It is clear, though, that point blank range depends on the size of the game animal, as well as on the cartridge and load used in the gun, since, for example, the vital zone of a varmint is considerably smaller than the vital zone of a deer-sized animal. What we wish to point out in this section is that there is a practical way to maximize the point blank range of any cartridge, and this can be done just by selecting the right zero range for the gun, which in turn depends on the size of game animals for a particular hunt. Surprisingly, maximum point blank range usually turns out to be considerably larger than you might expect. For example, suppose you have a .30-30 Winchester with iron sights and you load Sierra's 150 grain flat nose bullet to 2200 fps muzzle velocity. In today's magnum world, you can't expect much from a .30-30 load. Most gun writers won't even mention a .30-30 for deer where ranges might exceed 150 yards. However, the maximum point blank range of your load is 220 yards for deer-sized game! You have to zero your rifle in at 180 yards in order to get the 220 yard maximum point blank range. Under these conditions, you will find that your bullet trajectory never rises more than 5 inches above your line of sight (at ranges shorter than the zero range), nor will it fall more than 5 inches below your line of sight until ranges exceed 220 yards. Your point blank range is maximized for animals with a vital zone 10 inches in height. Of course, we must hasten to add that the maximum point blank range of a .300 Winchester Magnum firing Sierra's 150 grain spitzer flat base bullet at 3200 fps is 370 yards for deer-sized game. The big magnums have an appreciable edge over lower velocity cartridges in the point blank range department, just as we expect. The central point of these examples, though, is that maximizing the point blank range for your rifle and for the game you are going after can really help you bag it, because it helps relieve uncertainties about where to hold when you don't know how far away the animal is. For this reason, Sierra has included maximum point blank range (and the correct zero range to reach the maximum) in the Ballistics Tables of this Manual. If you glance ahead to the Ballistics Tables, you will find these values listed for every bullet and every muzzle velocity level. Figure 5.5-1 illustrates the vital zone for a deer. A hit within this zone is likely to kill the animal instantaneously, or disable it so that it can be quickly dispatched with a second shot. The point blank range concept calls for the hunter to aim at the center of this zone. Then, as long as the animal is not farther away than the maximum point blank range, a well-aimed bullet will strike within the vital zone. Sierra has chosen to use a vertical vital zone dimension of 10 inches for deer and larger game. This choice might be too small for larger North American game, but it is reasonable for the majority of game hunted on this continent. For varmints and small game, we have chosen 5 inches as the vertical dimension of the vital zone. This choice might be a little large for very small animals like ground squirrels, but it is reasonable for rabbits, woodchucks, and larger varmints. For rifle and

handgun silhouettes, we have chosen 6 inches as the vertical dimension of the vital zone for the steel targets. The vital zone dimension selected for each bullet is listed at the top of each page of the Ballistics Tables, and the selection for each bullet depends on its primary purpose. For example, the .22 caliber 40 grain Hornet bullet is used primarily for varmints and small game. The top line of the first page of the Ballistics Tables reminds us that the maximum point blank range occurs for a trajectory which rises 2.5 inches above the line of sight and then falls 2.5 inches below it, for a total vital zone dimension of 5 inches. This trajectory relationship is shown pictorially in Figure 5.5-2 . Notice that the line of sight goes down the center of the vital region. When the point blank range is maximized, the bullet trajectory rises above the line of sight and just touches the top boundary of the vital zone. Then, the maximum point blank range is the point where the bullet trajectory crosses the lower boundary of the vital zone. This has to be the condition which maximizes point blank range, because if the trajectory does not rise far enough to touch the upper boundary, it will cross the lower boundary at a range shorter than the one shown in the figure. The zero range shown in the figure is the value that makes the trajectory just touch the upper boundary, so it is the right choice to maximize the point blank range. Figure 5.5-2 is the trajectory picture for which the point blank range values in the Ballistics Tables are given. For each bullet and for each muzzle velocity level in the Tables list both the maximum point blank range and the zero range which must be used to obtain it.

5.6 Muzzle Velocity Dependence on Cartridge Temperature

(CAUTION: The tests described in this section were conducted under carefully controlled laboratory conditions. Sierra recommends strongly that readers should not attempt to conduct such tests, because a safety hazard can exist.) The muzzle velocity developed by a cartridge/load combination depends on the temperature of the cartridge (and its primer and power) at the instant of firing. This dependence can be important. Although it is really an interior ballistics effect, the variations in muzzle velocity cause changes in exterior ballistics performance which are important to understand. The general trend in muzzle velocity versus temperature is that the higher the temperature of the cartridge and its components, the higher the muzzle velocity. Of course, the rise in muzzle velocity is caused by a rise in chamber pressure, and this is a possible safety hazard for loads which are near the upper extreme of safe chamber pressure at normal shooting temperatures. Sierra conducted a series of tests with three popular cartridges for rifles and handguns to investigate the dependence of muzzle velocity on cartridge temperature. The three cartridges chosen were the .30-'06 Springfield, the .243 Winchester, and the .44 Magnum. The test cartridges, conditions, and the results are shown in Tables 5.6-1 , Tables 5.6-2 , Tables 5.6-3 and Tables 5.6-4 . The .44 Magnum cartridge was tested with two bullets from Sierra's line, the 180 gr and 240 gr JHC. Two powder types, a ball powder and an extruded powder, were tested for each cartridge. The test procedure was as follows. The bullet chosen for each cartridge/load combination was a popular hunting bullet in each case. The choices were the 165 gr SBT for the .30-'06, the 100 gr SBT

for the .243 Winchester, and the 180 and 240 gr JHC bullets for the .44 Magnum. For each rifle cartridge 30 rounds were loaded identically for each powder type (total of 60 rounds per cartridge type). All loading was performed in the laboratory at the ambient temperature (72 degrees F). Then, the 30 rounds for each powder type were separated into 3 groups of 10 rounds each. One group of 10 rounds was maintained at laboratory ambient temperature as a control group. One group of 10 rounds was cold-soaked in a freezer at 20 degrees F for several hours, while the remaining group of 10 rounds was soaked in a warm oven for several hours at a temperature near 135 degrees F. These temperatures were chosen to simulate conditions that might be encountered when cartridges are carried in an exposed backpack in the northern, mountainous regions of North America, or stored in the trunk of a car in the hot southern deserts, or left in the open sunlight on the bench at the local shooting range. Each test was conducted by first firing the 10 round of the room temperature control group as quickly as possible, recording the muzzle velocity for each round. Then, the 10 rounds in the freezer were removed and fired as quickly as possible, recording the muzzle velocities. Finally, the 10 rounds in the oven were removed and fired as quickly as possible, recording the muzzle velocities. It is not likely that the temperatures of the cold and hot rounds changed by more than one or two degrees during the firing sequence, which took well under two minutes for each group of 10 rounds. The tests of the .44 Magnum handgun cartridges were conducted in exactly the same way, except that the size of each group of rounds was 5 instead of 10. For each cartridge/load combination tested on a moderate powder charge was chosen, so that the chamber pressures produced by the heated and cooled cartridges would not vary beyond the safe limits for chamber pressure. It must be clearly understood that any conclusions drawn from the test results shown in Tables 5.6-1 , Tables 5.6-2 , Tables 5.6-3 and Tables 5.6-4 apply for the moderate loads listed in the tables. Perhaps the most important conclusion from these tests is that much more testing is needed to precisely quantify the effects of cartridge temperature on muzzle velocity, especially at near maximum loads. However, the following conclusions can be drawn from the data in Tables 5.6-1 , Tables 5.6-2 , Tables 5.6-3 and Tables 5.6-4 : (1) A c thidge has a muzzle velocity sensitivity to cartridge temperature of about 1 fps per degree Fahrenheit. These are only approximate, and they apply only for the moderate loads used. (2) The muzzle velocity sensitivity to cartridge temperature for the two ball powders used in these tests does not appear to be much different than the sensitivity for the extruded powders used.

The consequent effects on ballistics performance of the cartridges tested are measurable, but they are not especially large. For example, here in Southern California hunters sight in their rifles at outdoor ranges where temperatures are typically in the mid-80's to mid-90's. Many of these hunters go after deer in Northern California where early morning temperatures during hunting season can be in the 30's and 40's. This amounts to a temperature difference of about 50 degrees F between the shooting range and the hunting territory. If a hunter were using a .30-'06 cartridge with one of the loads shown in Table 5.6-1 , the change in temperature would cause the muzzle velocity of his rifle to lose about 100 fps, from near 2700 fps at the shooting range to about 2600 fps at the hunting location. If we look at the Ballistics Tables for the .308 diameter, 165 gr SBT bullet, we see that drop increases by about 0.8 inch at 200 yards, 2 inches at 300 yards, and not quite 4 inches at 400 yards.

In other words, the hunter can expect his rifle to shoot lower than it does at his shooting range by those amounts at those ranges. If the hunter were to use a .44 Magnum handgun against, for example, feral pigs in Northern California, the same change in temperature would cause the muzzle velocity to be decreased by about 50 fps for any one of the loads in Tables 5.6-3 or 5.6-4 . If we look at the Ballistics Tables for the .4295 dia., 240 gr JHC bullet at 1400 fps, we see that drop increases by approximately 0.8 inch at 100 yards, 1.25 inches at 125 yards, 1.8 inches at 150 yards, and 4.9 inches at 250 yards. So the handgun hunter will find that his pistol shoots lower than his reference trajectory by those amounts at those ranges because of the change in temperature. For typical hunting scenarios like those in the examples above, changes of 50 degrees F or so between the shooting range where the rifle or handgun is sighted in an the hunting location should not be the sole cause of misses, unless the hunter fires at game which is a very long distance away. It is not impossible, however, to have a change in temperature of 100 degrees F between the shooting range and the hunting territory here in North America. If you live in any of the southern, southeastern, or southwestern states, it would not be unusual to sight your rifle or handgun at a shooting range where the temperature is around 100 degrees F. Then if you hunt in Alaska, Canada, or the northern continental U.S., you can encounter weather conditions with temperatures near 0 degrees F. The decrease in muzzle velocity caused by the 100 degree F decrease in temperature would approach 200 fps for rifles and 100 fps for handguns, with the loads listed in Tables 5.6-1 , Tables 5.6-2 , Tables 5.6-3 and Tables 5.6-4 . The changes in drop then become considerably more important. It should also be mentioned that a change in temperature can be caused by a change in altitude, as well as a change in weather, between the shooting range and the hunting location. At higher altitudes any gun will tend to shoot flatter (less drop). But at lower temperatures (which go with higher altitudes) the cartridge temperature tends to make the bullet trajectory have more drop. Thus, for a temperature change that occurs because of an altitude change, these effects offset each other partially.

In closing this section we repeat our earlier admonition. All the data in this section are for moderate loads. If you are using a handload which is near the maximum level recommended in the Loading Data section of this Manual, be aware that high cartridge temperatures can elevate chamber pressures. Use care and caution in developing your loads. When you are at the shooting range, do not allow unfired rounds to lie in the open sunlight for extended periods of time.

6.0 Equations of Bullet Flight

Many shooters and readers of earlier editions of the Sierra Reloading Manual have written to us over the years with questions about the theory and equations of exterior ballistics. We have referred those persons most often to the book Exterior Ballistics by McShane, Kelley, and Reno. This book, published in 1953, contained much information stemming from research prior to and during World

War II. We have found it an excellent reference, and practically the only reference available to the general public. Modern work in ballistics has been done by the military departments and other government agencies, and results are not generally available to the public. The book by McShane, Kelley, and Reno has long been out of print, and we have reports from several of our readers that it can no longer be found even in advanced technical libraries. Because so many of our readers need a basic reference on the theory of exterior ballistics, we have decided to include this section in this edition of the Sierra Reloading Manual. This section will derive the differential equations of bullet motion, treating the bullet as a point mass with a ballistic coefficient. It will describe the drag model, and develop Siaccis approach and Mayevskis analytical descriptiolet trajectories. We will generally follow the developments in McShane, Kelley, and Reno, even though there are more modern and up-to-date treatments of slender bodies moving in air. We have taken this approach for two reasons. First, some readers do have access to that reference, and our developments will therefore not be strange. Second, the drag function G 1 is historically and technically linked to the developments cited in that reference, and we will therefore avoid entangling ourselves in explanations of other technical approaches. Treating the bullet as a point mass with 3 degrees of freedom, we neglect 6 degree of freedom effects on the spin-stabilized bullet such as Magnus forces and the dependence of aerodynamic drag and lift on bullet precession. Also neglected are Coriolis effects related to rotation of the earth. The effects of altitude on air density and speed of sound, and in turn their effects on drag, are treated in the following developments.

6.1 Differential Equations of Bullet Motion

In the three-degree-of-freedom analytical model of bullet ballistics, the bullet is considered as a point mass characterized by its mass m and ballistic coefficient C . The bullet moves along a trajectory as shown in Figure 6-1 under the influence of two forces, the aerodynamic drag force D and the gravitational force mg (where g is the acceleration due to gravity, 32.176 ft/sec 2 in the Northern Hemisphere). Figure 6-1 also shows the coordinate system used to describe the bullet motion. The origin of the coordinates is at the muzzle of the gun. The x axis is level at the firing point and points downrange. The y axis is vertical at the firing point, so that gravity acts in the negative y direction. The z axis completes a right-handed cartesian coordinate frame, and the x-z plan is horizontal. The bullet is fired along the extended bore centerline, which is in the x-y plane. In the absence of a crosswind, the bullet trajectory then remains in the x-y plane. In the absence of a crosswind, the bullet trajectory then remains in the x-y plane. The bore line is elevated at an angle X with respect to the x axis. As the bullet flies downrange its trajectory curves downward. At any point on the trajectory (such as the point shown in Figure 6-1 ) the bullet velocity vector V is in the x-y plane and tangent to the trajectory. The aerodynamic drag force D acts directly opposite to V , so it is also in the x-y plane. The velocity vector V is elevated at an angle X relative to a line parallel to the x axis, as shown in the figure. The angle X is positive when the trajectory is rising, as depicted in the figure. After the trajectory peaks and begins to descend, X becomes negative.

The mass of the bullet is its weight divided by the acceleration due to gravity: (6.1-1)

where w is the bullet weight in grains and the factor 7000 converts grains to pounds (7000 grains = 1.0 lb). Equation (6.1-1) expresses the bullet mass in slugs, and mg is bullet weight in pounds. The differential equations of bullet motion result from applying Newtons second law to the bullet and resolving the motions and forces along the coordinate axes:

(6.1-2) (6.1-3) (6.1-4) In these equations the position coordinates x, y, and z and the angle X are functions of time t . The drag force D also varies with time, but the mass m and the gravitational acceleration g are constants. The velocity components are defined by

(6.1-5) The angle X is the slope angle of the trajectory and is defined by: (6.1-6)

The bullet leaves the muzzle at t = 0, and the initial conditions of the motion are then: x(0) = y(0) = z(0) = 0 v x (0) = v m cos X v y (0) = v m sin X v z (0) = 0 where v m is the muzzle velocity of the bullet and X is the bore elevation angle defined earlier. With the initial conditions z(0) = 0 and v z (0) = 0 , equation (6.1-4) has the solution: z(t) = 0; v z (t) = 0 (6.1-7)

for all t . This corresponds, of course, to bullet motion only in the x-y plane. Therefore, the following discussions will be concerned only with the x and y components of the bullet motion.

6.2 Drag Force and the Drag Function

Turning now to a description of the drag force D on a bullet, we first consider the drag on the standard bullet. The firing tests performed around the turn of the century revealed that the aerodynamic drag force on a bullet is a function of the air density through which the bullet flies, the axial cross-sectional area of the bullet upon which the drag acts, the velocity of the bullet, and the speed of sound. The research conducted at that time showed that the drag on the standard bullet can be expressed by the following equation: D sb = r m d 2 sb v 2 K D (v/v s ) (6.2-1)

In this equation the subscript sb denotes the parameters which are peculiar to the standard bullet. The parameter r m is the mass density (slugs/cu ft) of the air, d is bullet diameter, v is bullet velocity, vs is the speed of sound, and K D is a function of the bullet Mach number v/v s . K D also includes the constant X/4 which, when multiplied by d 2 expresses the bullet cross-sectional area. The mass density r m of air is not a readily available parameter, but the weight density r (lbs/cu ft) is listed in almost every reference on atmospheric conditions. The two densities are related by: (6.2-2)

Now, consider the drag on the standard bullet at sea level standard atmospheric conditions:

(6.2-3)

Where r o is the standard weight density of air and V so is the standard speed of sound at sea level. Rearranging the terms:

(6.2-4)

The term in the square brackets in equation (6.2-4) is defined to be the drag function G 1 : G 1 (v) = r o v K D (v/v so ) (6.2-5)

G 1 (v) is a function only of bullet velocity v because r o and v so are constants. Substituting equation (6.2-5) into (6.2-4) yields:

(6.2-6)

At any altitude other than sea level both the air density and the speed of sound change. For standard (dry air) atmospheric conditions at any altitude, the equations that we recommend for calculating air density and speed of sound are: r = r o exp(-3.02149 x 10 -5 (L + y)) v s = a v so (6.2-8) a - 1.0 - 1.126666 x 10 -5 (L + y) - 6.753074 x 10 -11 (L + y) 2 (6.2-9) (6.2-7)

Where L is the altitude of the firing point and y is the vertical coordinate of bullet position (see Figure 6-1 ). For small arms trajectories, the vertical coordinate effects on r and a negligible, and ( L + y ) is replaced by ( L ) in equations (6.2-7) and (6.2-9). Now, let us write the drag on the standard bullet at any altitude:

(6.2-10)

Equation (6.2-10) shows explicitly that at any altitude other than sea level there are two distinct effects on drag. First, there is a correction for the air density change, which is the factor r / r o in equation (6.2-10). Second there is a correction for the speed of sound change which is the factor [ a G 1 (v/a) ] in the equation. Next, we turn to the question of how to express the drag on a bullet other than the standard bullet. We can imagine repeating the drag determination tests on the new bullet, and we would expect a result similar to equation (6.2-10), with d sb replaced by the diameter of the new bullet and a different factor replacing K D . But if we had to repeat such a test sequence for every bullet, it would be tedious and enormously costly. Instead, ballisticians around the turn of the century made an assumption of great importance to small arms ballisitics. This assumption is that the drag function G(v) for a bullet which is generally of the same shape as the standard bullet is related to G 1 (v) simply by a constant scale factor. In other words, the drag force on such a bullet can be expressed by the equation:

(6.2-11)

where d is the bullet diameter and i is the scale factor, known as the form factor. All other parameters are as defined above. Equation (6.2-11) then expresses the drag on any bullet of the same general shape as the standard bullet for atmospheric conditions at any altitude. If equations (6.2-7) and (6.29) are used to calculate r / r o and a , then (6.2-11) expresses drag force for standard atmospheric conditions at the altitude of the firing point. The final step in this section is to substitute equation (6.2-11) into equations (6.1-2) and (6.1-3). After dividing through by m and substituting (6.1-5), we obtain:

(6.2-12) (6.2-13)

In these equations we can immediately recognize the bullet ballistic coefficient:

(6.2-14)

where w is the bullet weight in pounds and bullet diameter d is in inches. The standard bullet for G 1 (v) has a weight of one pound, a diameter of 1 inch, and form factor defined to be unity. Therefore, the ballistic coefficient of the standard bullet is C sb = 1.0 Rewriting equations (6.2-12) and (6.2-13) using the ballistic coefficient yields:

(6.2-15) (6.2-16)

These are the differential equations of motion of the bullet. They are nonlinear and coupled because

To solve these equations directly requires numerical integration. However, Siacci and Mayevski made contributions which simplified these equations further.

6.3 Siaccis Method

Siaccis appr simplified their solutions.

6.3.1 The Change of Independent Variables

Siacci introduced the pseudovelocity u shown in Figure 6-2 as a new independent variable replacing time t in our previous equations. The pseudovelocity u is a velocity in the direction of the extended bore centerline which would give the correct component v x resolved along the x-axis. Then u and v are related by the equation. (6.3-1)

Then

(6.3-2)

Also

(6.3-3) (6.3-4)

Using equations (6.3-1) through (6.3-4) in equations (6.2-15) and (6.2-16) we can derive the following differential equations of bullet motion in terms of the new independent variable u :

(6.3-5) (6.3-6) (6.3-7) (6.3-8)

The initial conditions for the solution of these equations are:

to=0 uo=vm xo=0 yo=0 (tan q ) o = tan q o

(6.3-9)

The velocity components v x and v y at any point in the trajectory are given by [equations (6.3-1) and (6.3-3)]: v x = u cos q o V y = v x tan q = u cos q o tan q

(6.3-10)

and the total velocity is

(6.3-11) We now have a set of first-order differential equations for the time of flight t , the range x , the vertical coordinate y , and the trajectory slope tan X. But these simplified equations of the bullet motion are still nonlinear coupled.

6.3 Siaccis Method

Siaccis appr simplified their solutions.

6.3.1 The Change of Independent Variables

Siacci introduced the pseudovelocity u shown in Figure 6-2 as a new independent variable replacing time t in our previous equations. The pseudovelocity u is a velocity in the direction of the extended bore centerline which would give the correct component v x resolved along the x-axis. Then u and v are related by the equation. (6.3-1)

Then

(6.3-2)

Also

(6.3-3) (6.3-4)

Using equations (6.3-1) through (6.3-4) in equations (6.2-15) and (6.2-16) we can derive the following differential equations of bullet motion in terms of the new independent variable u :

(6.3-5) (6.3-6) (6.3-7) (6.3-8)

The initial conditions for the solution of these equations are: to=0 uo=vm xo=0 yo=0 (tan q ) o = tan q o

(6.3-9)

The velocity components v x and v y at any point in the trajectory are given by [equations (6.3-1) and (6.3-3)]: v x = u cos q o V y = v x tan q = u cos q o tan q

(6.3-10)

and the total velocity is

(6.3-11) We now have a set of first-order differential equations for the time of flight t , the range x , the vertical coordinate y , and the trajectory slope tan X. But these simplified equations of the bullet motion are still nonlinear coupled.

6.3.2 The Assumption

Siacci was concerned with flat fire trajectories for small arms. Ballisticians have long distinguished between flat fire and level fire. W hen the extended bore line in Figure 6-2 is horizontal or nearly so, we have level fire. For flat fire the initial elevation angle X can have any value. Flat fire means that the downrange elevation angle X is not very much different from X at any point in the useful trajectory of the bullet. In other words, the trajectory does not curve away from the extended bore line very much. This is really a restriction of the maximum range of the gun, and not on the elevation angle of the gun.. The flat fire idea is not valid for mortars or artillery, but it is very useful for rifles and handguns. Siaccis assumption for flat fire trajectories was that, since qqo

then v = u cos q o sec q u

and

(6.3-12)

G 1 (v/a) G 1 (u/a)

This author has checked this assumption by mathematical computations, and it is very, very good. For modern high powered rifles and bullets with ballistic coefficients of 0.4 or higher, u and v differ by no more than a few tenths of a fps at ranges exceeding 500 yards. So, u can replace v in the drag model with only a very, very small error. If we substitute equation (6.3-12) into equations (6.3-5) through (6.3-8), the results are:

(6.3-13) (6.3-14) (6.3-15) (6.3-16) Notice that q is maintained as a variable. The approximation q q o is used only in the drag model, where it introduces a negligible error. However, q must be considered a variable in order to maintain accuracy in the calculation of the vertical position y and vertical velocity v y . Notice also that the differential equations are linear now. Furthermore, equations (6.3-13) and (6.3-

14) for time of flight and range are now decoupled . Equations (6.3-15) and (6.3-16) are still coupled and must be solved simultaneously. Initial conditions are given by equations (6.3-9) and the velocity components are given by (6.3-10).

6.4 Mayevskis Analytical Form of the Drag Model

The Krupp firing tests which generated the first table of values for G 1 (u) took place in 1881. General Mayevski fitted an analytical expression to the tabulated drag function data, forming what is referred to mathematically as a piecewise continuous analytical expression for the drag function. This mathematical expression was used by Col. James Ingalls of the U.S. Army to compute the first ballistics tables which he published in 1893. These tables were updated in 1917. They include the S and T functions. The analytical expression which Mayevski chose was the following: G 1 (u) = A k u nk In this expression k is an index that denotes a velocity subrange. Mayevski separated the total velocity range of 0 to 3600 fps into seven subranges, and then found a value of A and a value of n for each of these subranges. The bullet muzzle velocity will fall in one subrange with index k , and as long as u remains in that subrange the drag function is calculated from (6.4-1) using the values of A k and n k for that subrange. When u decreases to the boundary between that subrange and the next lower one, then drag is computed from the same equation, but with the new values A k+1 and n k+1 . The specific values of A k and n k found by Mayevski are now only approximately correct because G1(u) has been redetermined several times through the years as instrumentation and computational technologies have improved. Table 6-1 lists the values of G 1 (u) which are most current to our knowledge. Table 6-2 shows the velocity subranges and corresponding values of A k and n k used by us. We use nine subranges to cover velocities from 0 to 4400 fps.

6.5 Closed-Form Solutions for Trajectory Parameters

Mayevskis choiceThis autby those ballisticians, but these solutions are not published in any references available to us. We have found them useful because they are exact solutions to Siaccis equations of motion and they obviate the necessity of numerical integration techniques and the inaccuracies associated with those techniques. To see how the closed-form solutions are derived, let us begin by substituting equation (6.4-1) into equations (6.3-13) through (6.3-16). The results are:

(6.5-1) (6.5-2) (6.5-3) (6.5-4)

Note that in these substitutions

Equations (6.5-1) and (6.5-2) can be integrated directly. Let us integrate the equations between an initial pseudovelocity u 1 and a final pseudovelocity u 2 , both of which are in the same subrange k :

(6.5-5) (6.5-6) Equation (6.5-6) is correct for all but the final subrange 9 where n 9 = 1 . In that subrange:

(6.5-7)

Equation (6.5-4) can also be integrated directly. However, to solve equation (6.5-3), we must first integrate (6.5-4) from u 1 to a value u , substitute that result into (6.5-3), and finally integrate the result of those steps. The final results are:

(6.5-9)

In equations (6.5-8) and (6.5-9) the symbols (tan X) 1 and (tan X) 2 mean the slope of the trajectory evaluated at u1 and u2 , respectively. Equations (6.5-5) through (6.5-9) are the closed-form solutions for the bullet trajectory (the time of flight, range slope, and vertical position) within any single pseudovelocity subrange denoted by k . When the bullet is fired, it begins flight at a velocity u1-vm in one of the subranges. As it flies, it slows down. When the pseudovelocity reaches the boundary of that subrange u 2 = u k, k+1 we must then calculate the time of flight, range, slope, and vertical position at that boundary value. Then we must change subrange coefficients A k and n k to their new values A k+1 and n k+1 . After that we can continue to compute the trajectory in the new subrange, using the boundary values of the trajectory parameters as initial conditions for the new subrange.

6.6 Other Useful Equations

As a final note to this section, we will provide some other equations which are very useful for trajectory calculations. Velocity Required to Reach a Specific Range When trajectories are calculated, it is customary for the trajectory parameters (drop, time of flight, remaining velocity, etc.) to be provided at specific ranges from the muzzle (100 yds, 200 yds, etc.). Consequently, we need an equation which gives the pseudovelocity required to reach a specific range point. This equation is: (6.6-1)

where x 2 is the required range to be reached and u 2 is the pseudovelocity at that range point. Equation (6.6-1) applies in all pseudovelocity subranges except the lowest velocity range in which k = 9. In that subrange the correct equation is: u 2 = u 1 exp(- f ) (6.6-2)

where

(6.6-3)

Drop

Drop is defined to be the vertical difference between the trajectory vertical position y and the extended bore centerline: d = y - x tan q o

This definition applies at every range point x and for any firing elevation angle X. According to this definition drop is always a negative number, signifying that the trajectory curves downward from the extended bore line.

Determination of True Muzzle Velocity

The velocity of a bullet always is measured a few yards downrange from the true muzzle position. If the chronograph is too close to the muzzle, then erroneous velocity values are caused by effects such as muzzle flash or powder gases. Because the chronograph is downrange from the muzzle, we need an equation which gives the true muzzle velocity based on the velocity measured by the chronograph. This equation is:

where v m is the true muzzle velocity, v c is the velocity measured by the chronograph, and D mc is the distance between the gun muzzle and the center of the two screens of the chronograph. For the special case in which k = 9, equation (6.6-5) reduces to:

6.6.1 References
The following references are listed for those who have an interest in pursuing the subject of ballistics further. 1. Hatchers Notebook by Maj. Gen. Julian S. Hatcher, U.S.A., Retired, The stackpole Company, 1966. This book contains the Ingalls Tables and a description of how to use them. It is a popular reference on many shooting subjects. 2. External Ballistics of Small Arms Projectiles by E.D. Lowry, Winchester-Western Div., OlinMatheson Chemical Co., 1965. This book contains drag function data utilized in this manual. It does not seem to be available in general print. 3. Exterior Ballistics by E.J. McShane, J.L. Kelley, and F.V. Reno, University of Denver Press, 1953.

This is the classical book in the field, but is highly mathematical in content and very general in treatment. 4. Mathematics for Exterior Ballistics by G.A. Bliss, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., second printing, 1953. This book describes the basic problems of ballistics with great clarity from a mathematical point of view. It gives a particularly good description of the Siacci method. 5. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics , 64th Edition, 1984, CRC Press, Inc. This book is a basic reference for atmospheric conditions and transformation laws. 6. Ingalls Ballistic Tables, Artillery Circular M by Col. James M. Ingalls, 1893 (revised 1917), U.S. Government Printing Office, 1918. This document is now out of print. It is a very important historical reference. The authors copy was kindly supplied by Homer W. Powley. 7. Handbook of Problems in Exterior Ballistics, Artillery Circular N by Lt. Col. James M. Ingalls, Third Edition, 1900, U.S. Government Printing Office. This document is also out of print. It is another very important historical reference, containing a mathematical explanation of Siaccis method and derivation of the closed form solutions to the equations of motion of bullet flight. A copy was loaned to the author by Mr. John Villarreal of Broken Arrow, OK