To trim (meplat) or not?

[Shooter13]

I’m reading now, yes that’s dangerous for me. Do only the thousand yard plus (600 plus) guys trim and point (meplat)? Or is there a benefit for short range? I really can’t see one from what I’m reading but want to know your guys opinion. The more I read the post by @gunsandgunsmithing the more intriguing each aspect becomes.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

It's a 1000 yard thing. Forget about it for short range. Didn't we talk about this...eliminating variables, getting back to basics and introducing one thing at a time? Well, just my two pennies but trimming and pointing for short range would come right after wearing the same pair of underwear for matches. Yep, definitely after anyway. Lol! Don't tell me..I don't want to know. Lol!

 

[shoot4fun]

I could never grasp the concept of sorting by overall bullet length but discussed it with some really smart guys and was told that overall length variance will produce BC variation. Yes, it will be slight but for long range I can see that it could make a difference.
In the past I sorted by base to ogive and mainly because I used a Giraud meplat trimming set up on my Giraud Trimmer. The insert that held the bullet used the meplat for a "stop" and the benefit (in my mind) was doubled as I had all bullets the same length overall and pointed with consistency.
For short range I don't see it being as beneficial to sort by overall length or trim meplat. Just my opinion.

 

[tom]

The oal thing is just an easy and fast way to weed out the smallest and largest meplats for me. From there I do whatever the test targets tell me to do. The kind of BC variation it takes to add 3 inches of vertical at 1,000 is likely also noticeable by just looking the meplats over before loading also, as it's the meplat diameter that matters the most. That same 3 inches is worth 1/2 inch at 600 and worth 72 inches at 2,000.....but those are just ballistic program studies punching in different numbers. The test targets should determine the process used if we're going to leave nothing on the field.

Tom

 

[Shooter13]

would come right after wearing the same pair of underwear for matches

You mean...........you don't do this??????

 

[Shooter13]

Didn't we talk about this

Nope, but we are now

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Nope, but we are now

Yes we did. But we can talk more any time. Merry Christmas!

 

[PopCharlie]

Yeah, they're my favorite boxers.....

 

[jackieschmidt]

It is difficult to imagine anything more precision than a bullet that comes out of a set of precision Benchrest Bullet Dies made by a skilled bullet maker.

Screwing around with them with a little hand held tool? No.

 

[liljoe]

What about if you don't wear any?
Joe

 

[Shooter13]

Yes we did. But we can talk more any time. Merry Christmas!

Hey, I'm just curious LOL, you and others have been doing this for 20 plus years! I'm just a baby! ;-)

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

What about if you don't wear any?
Joe

That's my secret too!

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Hey, I'm just curious LOL, you and others have been doing this for 20 plus years! I'm just a baby! ;-)

Just dumb it down to the basics and re-introduce one thing at a time, like annealing, trimming every firing, cleaning/uniforming primer pockets, etc. Ring a bell yet? Lets hold off on the bullet pointing for now and change your drawers for the next match! Lol!

 

[1shot]

I'm in the same camp as @shoot4fun. By trimming to a nominal length, it gets rid of the light/heavy bullets within a group of bullets. I then point them and proceed to loading. As a 1K sling shooter, I have seen a real world reduction in vertical using this method.
I hope this helps,

Lloyd

 

[gunnermhr]

Simple test, take your best barrel with your proven load, point, trim and mark 5 bullets with a sharpie and pull 5 bullets straight out of the box, mark them with a different colored sharpie. Shoot a 10 shot record group mixing the bullets up every other one. Do those test at different distances and post the results, we'll quickly know where trimming and pointing come into play. It'd be interesting to see taking Jackie's comment if it would make a difference between good custom bullets and mass produced.

I know it's been mentioned but I've never seen where a target shot in that manner has been posted. Plenty have been on seating depths and powder charges. Sounds like a good project for this spring

 

[Shooter13]

Just dumb it down

I'm pretty good at being dumb! I mean dumbing things down

 

[JEFFPPC]

The oal thing is just an easy and fast way to weed out the smallest and largest meplats for me. From there I do whatever the test targets tell me to do. The kind of BC variation it takes to add 3 inches of vertical at 1,000 is likely also noticeable by just looking the meplats over before loading also, as it's the meplat diameter that matters the most. That same 3 inches is worth 1/2 inch at 600 and worth 72 inches at 2,000.....but those are just ballistic program studies punching in different numbers. The test targets should determine the process used if we're going to leave nothing on the field.

Tom

So why not sort by using pins to measure the replay diameter and forget the rest?

 

[Chaotik]

So why not sort by using pins to measure the replay diameter and forget the rest?

Jeff,
Are you suggesting using pins to measure the meplat diameter?

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I'm pretty good at being dumb! I mean dumbing things down

Not even close, my friend. Certainly no dummie.

 

[JMayo]

I suppose if a lott of bullets didn't shoot well I'd look and compare the meplats and maybe try trimming them to see if that improves poi.
I
Some bergers i had had lead coming out of the meplat. I was going to point them ... Then i sold them and the guy beat me in matches with them.

But if they are shooting well why experiment.