Why does it seem that all the centerfire match jacketed rifle bullets are hollow points? How does that contribute to accuracy, if the shape and even condition of the point are relatively minor factors compared to the base? Is it just a way of increasing ballistic coefficient by making the bullet longer for a given weight?
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Hollow point match bullets
- Thread starter Khornet
- Start date
Steve Smith
New member
I am not a bullet engineer, and I don't play one on the internet, either. I remember reading a Sierra pub that explained that yes, the base does seems to be more important than the tip, yes, they make the bullets longer to increase BC, and that's where the HP comes in.
Mike Irwin
Staff
Yes, the base is very very important.
Gary Siuchetti (sp?) wrote an article for American Rifleman a couple of years ago in which he on purpose damaged tips on bullets he was shooting out of his one rifle. Results really weren't all that much different than with undamaged bullets.
Then he started damaging the bases, and accuracy got a lot worse very fast.
Gary Siuchetti (sp?) wrote an article for American Rifleman a couple of years ago in which he on purpose damaged tips on bullets he was shooting out of his one rifle. Results really weren't all that much different than with undamaged bullets.
Then he started damaging the bases, and accuracy got a lot worse very fast.
Okay - you guys want to get technical? The short version:
The best "accuracy" bullets are essentially handmade - You get jackets from an outfit like J4 (Berger), cut lead wire to length, "squirt" the lead cores to a preset size, then swage them into the cores. Then you put the cylinders into a pointing die. This leaves a hollow point.
One of the greatest detriments to accuracy is bullet yaw exiting the barrel - This can be caused by damage to the rifle's crown, or by damage to the bullet's base (one theory about moly is that it helps "fill" imperfections, resulting less initial yaw).
The best "accuracy" bullets are essentially handmade - You get jackets from an outfit like J4 (Berger), cut lead wire to length, "squirt" the lead cores to a preset size, then swage them into the cores. Then you put the cylinders into a pointing die. This leaves a hollow point.
One of the greatest detriments to accuracy is bullet yaw exiting the barrel - This can be caused by damage to the rifle's crown, or by damage to the bullet's base (one theory about moly is that it helps "fill" imperfections, resulting less initial yaw).