Are Sierra 80g SMK's factory "pointed" ?

[LVLAaron]

Shot thousands of 77g MK's and decided to give the 80's a try. Just opened my delivery and it looks like the tips are already pointed, whereas all of the others Ive shot (69,77) have huge open tips that I take the time to point in a whidden die.

Have the 80's always been this way?

 

[Ned Ludd]

Sierra started pointing the 95, 90, and 80 SMKs during the manufacturing process a couple or three years ago (or thereabouts). I do not particularly care for this practice because they apparently don't length sort the bullets the way I do prior to pointing, and the resulting points are not as uniform in length as I can make them myself. Nonetheless, the pointed SMKs can still be sorted by OAL, and the points within each length group will then be much more uniform than straight out of the box. In my hands, the pointed 95s and 90s shoot very well.

 

[shoot4fun]

You likely had a few boxes of the 69/77 SMK stored up. The SMK line has been factory pointed for around two years now. I don't shoot the 80's but have some new 90's and they are pointed. Also, my .264 123SMKs and .243 110 SMKs are both factory pointed as well.
You might be interested to know that it appears Berger may be getting into the same thing. I bought some new 85.5 Hybrids and they are factory pointed as well.

 

[LVLAaron]

You likely had a few boxes of the 69/77 SMK stored up. The SMK line has been factory pointed for around two years now. I don't shoot the 80's but have some new 90's and they are pointed. Also, my .264 123SMKs and .243 110 SMKs are both factory pointed as well.
You might be interested to know that it appears Berger may be getting into the same thing. I bought some new 85.5 Hybrids and they are factory pointed as well.

Nice! - I buy the 500ct boxes off the shelf at cabelas. Some are from this summer but thats great news, I dont care to point 500 bullets at a time!

 

[Ned Ludd]

...You might be interested to know that it appears Berger may be getting into the same thing. I bought some new 85.5 Hybrids and they are factory pointed as well.

Like the new Berger 85.5, Nosler 85 RDFs are also "pointed" during manufacturing (possibly all the RDF line of bullets are manufactured that way). However, it is worth noting that the pointed Sierras have a visible cone-shaped point, typical of what I do at home with a Whidden pointing die and the appropriate insert. The RDF "points" have not been done by the same mechanism as there is no visible cone-shaped tip, such as you normally see with a pointing die. The RDF ogive/nose simply transitions smoothly down to a beautifully small (almost nonexistent) meplat. Further pointing of the RDFs in my hands actually reduced the BC slightly. In other words, there was no further BC improvement to be had once they left the factory. My understanding is that the tips on the new Berger 85.5 look much more similar to the RDFs (i.e. no visible cone shape), suggesting they both may be pointed using a different mechanism at the manufacturer.

 

[rebs]

what is pointing ?

 

[LVLAaron]

what is pointing ?

Its a lot like adding pinstripes to your race car. Adds 50 horsepower.

 

[LVLAaron]

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/09/pointing-basics-how-to-use-a-bullet-pointing-die-system/

 

[rebs]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it

 

[r bose]

Shot thousands of 77g MK's and decided to give the 80's a try. Just opened my delivery and it looks like the tips are already pointed, whereas all of the others Ive shot (69,77) have huge open tips that I take the time to point in a whidden die.

Have the 80's always been this way?

Hopefully you know the 80's are not to be loaded at mag length like the 77's? Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious but I've seen reloaders make this mistake before. 3 grains makes a difference!!

 

[LVLAaron]

Hopefully you know the 80's are not to be loaded at mag length like the 77's? Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious but I've seen reloaders make this mistake before. 3 grains makes a difference!!

Yes. Fully aware!

 

[rebs]

what can happen if you load 80's to mag length

 

[Ned Ludd]

what can happen if you load 80's to mag length

The boattail and bottom of the bearing surface will be sunk pretty far down into the neck, leading to a significant reduction in effective case volume. Although it is not generally the ideal way to go, it can be done. However, you need to be cognizant that powder charge weight will likely need to be reduced to accommodate the decreased case volume and prevent over-pressure issues.

 

[rebs]

Thank you for the reply