Here is some test data I gathered a while back. I make a "recipe" sheet for each test session. This is an excerpt from the notes which will explain how the test was conducted. Shooting was from a bench at a range of 200 yards, the greatest distance offered at my local public range. NOTE: "Chamfering" in this instance does NOT refer to chamfering the case neck. Rather it refers to using a tiny chamfering cutter used after meplat pointing to cut a tiny counter bore on the very tip of the bullet. As those who point bullets already know, the pointing die can produce a tip reduced in size and more pointed but often produces a bullet with a distorted shape at the very tip, especially if the factory tip isn't very uniform. The tiny chamfering die cleans up any distortion on the tip and makes the bullets more uniform and better looking while still retaining the pointed shape.
I brought the targets home, scanned them, and measured them using On Target Software which plots the bullet holes very accurately and calculates the results with great precision.
Here are my
loading notes:
POINTING DIE TEST. Loaded 100 rounds of Berger Hybrid 105gr bullets with 29.00gr IMR 4895. Four round robin groups to test 5-shot groups at five different configurations; Factory meplat (Control), Trimmed, Pointed, Trimmed & Pointed, Trimmed Chamfered and Pointed (TCP). Each round robin test uses a different sequence for testing @ 200 yards with cleaning and 5 shot fouling rounds between each sequence. Uniformed Lapua Match fire-formed brass was neck sized with a .266" bushing, then wet SS tumbled, annealed, and a mandrel expanded the neck to provide .001" tension and uniform roundness just prior to priming. Powder charge was weighed to exactly 29.10 gr on a digital scale with a resolution of 0.02gr. Bullet seating force was moderately light and uniform.
RESULTS: Mixed results. The trimmed, chamfered, and pointed bullets (TCP) are the clear winner. What is less clear is why the pointed or the trimmed bullets didn't do better.
This is a chart of each treatment showing the vertical displacement from the aim point. NOTE: The aim point was set (by adjusting my scope) at 1.5MOA higher than the intended POI to avoid shooting out my aim point. In other words, -1.5 MOA is the intended point of impact. Better BC would be expected to result in a higher POI on the target (less drop) and it looks like the trimmed, chamfered, and pointed versions did best in these tests (less negative is better).

Below is a chart of the Average MOA, Average Mean Radius, and Average Group Height for each treatment. Although the TCP versions didn't product the lowest vertical dispersion, they did win when it comes to MOA and essentially tied with the Trimmed version for best Mean Radius (smaller is better)
All together, the data shows that, on average, the fully treated bullets come out best; i.e. TCP. The actual sequence is trimming, then pointing, finally chamfering. Less negative numbers indicate the bullets hitting higher on the target.
