John, thanks for the great article on BC. I use that as a bullet selection factor in long range shooting. However, BC relies on the accuracy of the information put out by the bullet manufacturers. I ran across a study published in 2012 by four cadets at the US Air Force Academy. That study concluded that most bullet manufactures do not accurately set out the ballistic coefficients of their bullets. I read the article with interest. My conclusion is that it is not an accident, believing that if it were accidental, the results would be scattershot around true bc.
My reading the article, including an analysis of standard deviations, in an attempt to measure intentional missreporting vs measurement error, it appears that at least one manufacturer was significantly overstating BC intentionally.
My conclusion is that BC may be a starting point, but beware of manufacturers claims of BC. The proof is tight consistent groups rather than BC Claims.
The article is available at:
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a554683.pdf
