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tip damage
Posted by George on Mar 19 2006
Thank goodness deformation of the exposed lead tip is the least cause for concern as far as accuracy and ballistics with most bullets. The larger the caliber the less the effect. It is mostly a cosmetic thing, and agreed, it looks really bad sometimes- I find myself looking at them after shooting a few with a loaded magazine :):). Target shooters who shoot mostly hollow points anyway would be the ones most concerned- but they are dealing in .1" increments of accuracy. The obvious solution in the bullet marketing end has been the polymer, plastic or polycarbonate tip that Nosler began in their ballistic tips. The other type bullet that overcomes the problem is the "protected point" type where the jacket extends far enough up the bullet and protects the exposed lead. The protected point types would be my choice in preventing the cosmetic deformation while using a more conventional bullet but the protected point choices are limited. The old 'silvertip' and 'bronze point' designs were earlier attempts in correcting the deformation and "controlling" expansion. The accuracy and long range aerodynamic advantages of plastic tip types cannot be argued with but the terminal ballistics is another matter. If the terminal impact velocity is too high and the target material is hard or tough, the plastic tip is driven the length of the bullet down its axis very rapidly. Fragmentation both laterally and radially (enhanced by the centrifugal force of bullet's rotation) tends to cause poor bullet performance. I've seen it time and again with the 'ballistic tips', where very long shards of bullet jacket and core are ejected at angles approaching 90' from the path of the bullet along with the inadequate penetration- not good performance. Like DW posted, lengthening OAL can help but must be compatible with the throat length of the chamber. So, just have to balance the cosmetics, accuracy, aerodynamics with the terminal performance. No perfect bullet out their that I'm aware of. The X bullets would also solve it but I don't shoot them. I'm sure someone out there has attempted to line the magazine with a cushioning material- not a good idea because the cartridges need to slide (or bang around), without friction, in the box. The earlier thread about deformed tips covered some of the subject. I haven't noticed enough loss of accuracy or ballistic efficiency from deformed lead tips to worry about it at normal hunting ranges. No big worries
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