After having been studied by eminent scientists for at least the past couple of centuries, exterior ballistics might be expected to be well understood by now. However, I have found that the present
analytical theory of bullet flight perpetuates historical work based solely upon precision measurements made indoors in instrumented spark photography ranges in the
total absence of crosswinds. I address the incorporation of crosswind effects directly into the modern theory of the bullet’s flight in flat firing, as in a rifle match, in the following articles. These articles have been revised since their original publication in
Precision Shooting Magazine. They are now more self-consistent and no longer chronicle my
own evolving understanding of exterior ballistics. A derivation of Dedion’s Equation from air drag effects on the bullet has now been included in the first article. An Excel spreadsheet (.xls file format) is included for any who wish to play around with the BRL data
for the 168gr bullet.
