Thank you, Mike (and Watchman) for your very astute responses. My apologies, Mike, for not getting to this last evening over the 3-day holiday weekend. The Universe tossed us all a few unexpected experiences to figure out and it caused me to be AFK.

Lynda
From CGI member Mike.

**********************************

This experiment can't fly.

Air and wind are the confounding factors.

If this operation could be performed in a vacuum it would prove that the Earth is a sphere.

The rifle has a rotational velocity with respect to the Earth at a given radius from the center of the Earth. The projectile has that same quality until it clears the bore because the bore carries the round.

At dead stop the projectile has a longer radius than the rifle but the same rotational velocity with respect to Earth. It cannot complete the same degree of arc as the rifle and it would land in the line of rotation and slightly behind the rifle. If all things were precise additional rounds would land on top of each other.

If the Earth were flat all rounds would fall right back down the bore.

Mike