There are many ways to consider the effects of Ballistic Coefficient (BC) variation at long range. In this series, we’ve looked at how much variation in drop will result from inconsistent BC’s, the distribution of BC’s within a bell curve, stability effects, etc. But what does it all mean in real world results? Why is Berger so obsessed with consistency of BC? The following information talks about hit percentage on target, and explains why we are so dedicated to producing bullets with the highest consistency possible, and why we think it matters enough to have an educational campaign on the topic of Ballistic Coefficients.
This figure shows a 30 caliber magnum cartridge shooting a high BC bullet at 1500 meters out of a 1/2 MOA rifle with a Muzzle Velocity Standard Deviation (SD) of 5 fps, a wind call within +/- 1 mph, and a distance measurement within +/- 2 meters. The only difference between the three above targets is variation in BC. As you can tell, hit percentage is greatly affected by the consistency of BC. Going from a BC SD of 0.5% to 2% cuts the hit percentage from 56% to 26% at 1500 meters!
Unfortunately most shooters don’t have access to instrumentation to measure the SD of BC directly. However if you’re shooting Berger Bullets, you can be assured that your bullets have been designed and tested with Doppler Radar to insure that the BC SD is 1% or less. Thru testing of many other brands, we find this is an unusually high standard, considering we routinely see BC SD’s of 2% or greater for competitors bullets.
Berger’s new Long Range Hybrid Target bullet line implements our proprietary Meplat Reduction Technology, which not only increases the BC of a bullet, but reduces the BC variation.
If you’ve ever worked hard to develop a load that shoots small groups at 100 yards, and has low MV SD, and wondered why you’re seeing excessive dispersion at long range, this could be one of the reasons, and an important consideration when selecting a bullet to use for serious distance shooting.
Want a bullet that has both a high BC and a consistent BC? Learn more about our new Long Range Hybrid Target bullets.