90 vld pointing

[jsthntn247]

I've had decent luck with the 90 vlds out of my 223 at mid range. I'm going to try them at a few long range matches this year and suspect I need to trim and point them for best results. I've read that over doing it can cause more harm than good, so can anybody with experience tell me how much I should be trimming off them initially and what diameter should I be looking for on the pointed meplat? I've never trimmed or pointed anything before.

 

[Terry]

Oh boy! Look out for the flood gates to open.

I started pointing by reducing the hole in the point by 50%. No trimming.
Pointing at 50% allows you to see the odd ones. If they are tighter, they are longer. Bigger hole = shorter.
If you sort, this helps.

 

[Gabe22BR]

I'd be interested in try the 22 tipping/trimming. Hate to spend the funds if it doesn't work out though.

 

[Scott Harris]

We just point our bullets: no trimming. I'm a believer in the KISS principle and and the law of diminishing returns. Pointing is simple, doesn't take much time at all, and measurably improves results. Introduce trimming and now you are going to spend a lot more time on an activity with marginal benefits IMHO. and now the trimmers can let the tomatoes fly! ;D

 

[jsthntn247]

I also have not yet been able to force myself to sit down and trim large numbers of bullets. I tried it initially, but wasn't satisfied with the appearance of the trimmed and pointed meplats. I tried each of the different # inserts produced by Whidden. However, I still didn't like the appearance of the final product, for different bullets in both .224 and .308.

Finally, I decided to try length-sorting bullets into groups of ~.0020"-.0025", then point them without trimming. For the majority of the various Berger bullets I load, this typically results in 4 length groups per lot of bullets. I adjust the pointing die based on the median bullet length and leave it there throughout pointing of a specific length group. I haven't found as yet that length variance of this magnitude dramatically affects the appearance of the pointed bullets. However, you will notice that by not trimming, you still will see some unevenness in the meplat after pointing (ie. there might be some minor unevenness at the edge in a small area on one side). Because the meplat has been closed significantly, this unevenness is much closer to the axis of rotation than it was in the unpointed bullets and I don't worry about it. The Whidden pointing die comes with two example bullets, one pointed properly, one purposely overdone, which causes a slight bulge in bullet just below the point. I played around with a few different bullets to get a feel for the process and where the die should be set for each before pointing larger quantities. It's really pretty easy to see where you want to be, whether the bullets are trimmed first or not.

This is the method I've been using with all the bullets I load, including the 90 VLDs, which I recently used in a 1000 yd for the first time and shot my personal best 3 x 20-shot score (585-19X). I have shot a variety of loads in different calibers side-by-side using length-sorted and pointed bullets or straight out of the box. The difference is noticeable, even at a distance of only 300 yd. The pointed loads routinely shoot tighter groups with less vertical dispersion than the unpointed. Because these bullets were both length-sorted and pointed, I cannot say which procedure had the greater effect. Based on the drop at 300/600/1000 yd, I estimate a 3-4% increase in BC for the 90 VLDs by pointing. At the end of the day, I simply find it much easier to length-sort bullets than to trim them, and I'm much more satisfied with the appearance of the meplats using this method. YMMV.

I could live with a 585 19x, great shooting

 

[M14AMU]

I shoot 90 gr. Sierra HPBT through a 22/250 and if they shot any better I'd have to change underwear after every round fired!! My analism only goes so far!!

 

[manitou210]

On my third barrel shooting F class in Canada over 9000 rounds 90gr VLD
iI have put 12 of 15 shots under 5" at 900 m 981 yards.
I us a Hoover pointing system and here is a bit of free advise.

THERE IS NOTHING BETTER YOU CAN DO TO YOUR LOADS THAN POINT THE BULLETS.
Assuming you do all prep work on brass, and by the way the RCBS Charge master
is not advised to use, must use a good quality electronic scale if you don't you will have big elevation problems

manitou