We really need to bring ballistic modeling into the computer age...
I have, more of less, given up on the ballistic coefficients provided by bullet manufacturers, I consider them advertising. Target bullets have wildly differing published values, as target shooters want the highest ballistic bullets possible, and so, that’s what they get. For many, the placebo effect is real. Some placebo tests are interesting. One involved telling the patient, that they were being given a placebo, and a significant percentage of patients reported positive effects! Don’t doubt bullet manufacturer’s have figured this out. Between essentially identical bullets, shooters think the bullets with a higher ballistic coefficient buck the wind better, but they really can’t tell the difference on target because of chaotic nature of wind and they are never shooting different brands in identical conditions. But, shooters can read ballistic numbers, and so, they believe the bullet with the higher published number has to be bucking the wind better. I have seen this all the time on the firing line. A guy has a hot streak, and it is all due to the new bullets he purchased. Sometimes it is real, usually, it is not. I used to compare the ballistic coefficients of Sierra Match bullets, in 223 and 308, compare them to the Hornady numbers, and I could never figure out why there were such differences. I used to compare my come ups between brands, and decided, buy some, shoot them, if they shot good, they were good.
Shooters take these numbers for real. A bud of mine, a F Class National Champ, I remember when he was shooting a 7 mm Mauser. He dumped his 6.5 Rem Magnum for the 7 mm Mauser because someone offered a 7mm bullet with an extremely high ballistic coefficient, and he won matches with his 7mm Mauser. Then, the bullet manufacturer dropped the ballistic coefficient, and he sold his 7mm Mauser rifle. Went back to a 6.5, various cartridges and wild cat versions. Anyway, last I saw, he is shooting a 7mm wildcat, because someone has a 7mm bullet with an ungodly ballistic coefficient.