Ballistic Coefficient Tables (2024)

I am constantly asked where to get ballisticcoefficient tables for various bullets. There is a built in BC table in RSI's Shooting Labsoftware which I compiled forRSI and have been givenpermission to publish the table here. In addition I generated a table ofG7/G8 BCs for military caliber bullets from data provided by Aberdeen ProvingGrounds as well as conversions via Shooting Lab, and form Brian Litz's book"Applied ballistics for Long Range Shooting." and.Both are in MS Excel format.

Every attempt has been made toinsure that these tables are accurate and up to date but no warranty isexpressed or implied as to their accuracy or usefulness. Inaddition, no attempt was made to remove discontinued bullets from thetables. For the most current information you shouldalways contact the manufacturer'sdirectly, and most companies have the data on their websites. If youdiscover any errors please let me know by clickinghere.

For thosewho wonder why I don't keep the tables update, the work involved is tremendousand I simply don't have the time. If you'd like to volunteer for the job clickhere.

I stronglysuggest that you read the information on ballistic coefficients on the externalballistics page so you will know and understand the pit-falls and fallacies ofBCs, by clicking here.

Note that there are two "standard" sets ofmeteorological conditions in common use. conditions" refer to anassumed used to standardize computations. The older one, is known as"Standard Metro" or "Army Standard" and the more modern"standard" is called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)standard. The characteristics of these two "standards" are listedbelow.

While they are similar, the different parameters do have aslight affect on calculations and in effect change the standard atmosphericdensity by about 1.8 percent. Under ICAO conditions the speed of sound1116.5 f/s and under Standard Metro conditions it is 1120.27 f/s.

Since a quoted ballistic coefficient depends on atmosphericdensity, the same bullet has two different BCs depending on the conditions used.If a quoted BC based upon the "Standard Metro" conditions is used in aballistics program based upon the ICAO standard the BC needs to be modified bymultiplying it by .982. Conversely, ICAO based BCs need to be multipliedby 1.018. While this is a very small change and has little effect at short(under 600 yards) range it does have an effect at long ranges. The tablebelow gives what various manufacturers use.

A word to the wise. Many commercial manufacturer give rather generous BCs for their bulletsbecause: a) they want to look good--high BCs sell bullets; b) they were derived by visualshape comparison rather than actual firing data; or c) they were derived from short rangefirings rather than long range firings (which are more difficult to do). You shouldconfirm your calculations by actual firing if you require exact data. Several manufactureshave recently "readjusted" some of their BCs to more closely conform to actualfiring data. For a more in-depth discussion of ballistic coefficients see the sectionbelow.

Commercial G1 BC Table

Thisis a list of the manufacturer’s published "G1" ballisticcoefficients (BCs) for commercial rifle bullets currently manufactured byBarnes, Berger, Breneke, Hornady, Lapua, Nosler, Sierra, Speer, Swift, and Woodleigh from dataprovided by the manufacturers as of March, 2009.Handgunbullets are not included in the compilation.Bullets listed as "Govt" are various US military bullets convertedto the G1 multiple BC Sierra format to closely match published governmenttrajectory data.

"G1"BCs means they were calculated using the original blunt-nosed, flat-basedstandard projectile drag model designed in the 1870's by Krupp of Germany.Ballistic coefficients were originally defined by Ingals as a numberindicating velocity erosion due to air drag for a given bullet compared to astandard projectile of the same shape- 1 inch in diameter and weighing 1pound. By sticking with this 120-year-old non-aerodynamic standard, bulletcompanies ensure their BCs will be as large as possible.This explains why some 30 caliber VLD bullets claim a BC of over 1.0(obviously a wrong drag model). As long asthere are shooters who believe their rifle can be made to shoot like a laserwith the proper bullet selection, there will be a marketing value to inflatedBC's; and the industry will be hesitant to publish properly calculated BCs.

TheG1 model is not really a suitable standard projectile shape for modern bullets,it is still the most commonly published basis for BCs.However, owners of Shooting Lab can convert these G1 BCs to other moreappropriate drag models.

To download the current (2012/2/14) Excel spreadsheet of commercial BCs clickhere.

Military Caliber G7 BC Table

This table provides the G7 or G8 BCs for some current US Military caliber bullets andseveral foreign and commercial bullets as determined by Aberdeen ProvingGrounds, conversion via ShootingLab, and the work of Brian Litz. This data is only usable if you have software capable of handlingthe G7 and G8 drag models.

To download the current (2012-04-18) Excel spreadsheet of confirmed G7/G8 BCsfor various bullets clickhere.

Please email comments or questions to Fr. Frog byclicking here.

| Return to main Ballistics page |Back to Fr. Frog's Homepage |

Disclaimer

Every attempt has been made toinsure that these tables are accurate and up to date but no warranty isexpressed or implied as to their accuracy or usefulness.
For the most current information you should contact the manufacturersdirectly

Updated 2015-09-22