What's your experience on bullets for accuracy? Hollow points vs. Plastic tipped
- Thread starter Boattail
- Start date
Re: What's your experience on bullets for accuracy? Hollow points vs. Plastic ti
My personal experiences have been better with match hollow points, but I'm pointing mine as well.
Polymer tipped bullets have the advantage of having a more consistent B.C. (generally) than hollow point bullets but bullet pointing can negate that. A good article on the subject: http://www.6mmbr.com/bulletpointer.html
Cmillard's points are valid as well though.
Wayne
My personal experiences have been better with match hollow points, but I'm pointing mine as well.
Polymer tipped bullets have the advantage of having a more consistent B.C. (generally) than hollow point bullets but bullet pointing can negate that. A good article on the subject: http://www.6mmbr.com/bulletpointer.html
Cmillard's points are valid as well though.
Wayne
I've often been surprised at the level of accuracy/group sizes I've been able to get with some of the polymer tip bullets. For instance, the 58 gr. Hornady V-Max in my 6ppc and 1-14 6BR's. But when it's "match time" my standard "go-to" bullet is always the typical 68 gr. Berger hp flat base #24411, for example. Over the long run and hundreds of 5 shot targets, the match hollow points are always just a little bit better, and for the confidence factor alone that's my first choice.
That's the kind of feed back i'm looking for....Thank you...The reason i'm asking is i shoot the 168gr A-max in .308 and worked up a pretty sucessful load with it 1/2 inch groups at 100....and roughly 2-1/4 inch groups at 300yards....Haven't really used much of the hollow point match bullets....somehow when i started hand loading i got on a plastic tipped bullet kick and never went much further....Now a friend who is a very very good shooter and rifle builder...ex army sniper...blah... blah sais the match hollow points will give a little better results....however we all know each rifle likes certain components....Just wanted to hear if anybody else has gone through the trials and tribulations of all the various bullets in their particular rifles
I use plastic tipped and hollow point bullets in my gun. Plastic tipped is 165 grain SST, hollow point is 175 gr Matchking.
The SST is a hunting bullet, it performs like one. I average a .6" group at 100 yards.
The Matchking is built for accuracy, I get .3"-.4" groups with it at 100 yards.
I feel that both of these will be improved on as my shooting continues to improve.
The SST is a hunting bullet, it performs like one. I average a .6" group at 100 yards.
The Matchking is built for accuracy, I get .3"-.4" groups with it at 100 yards.
I feel that both of these will be improved on as my shooting continues to improve.
Klong
Gold $$ Contributor
For ultimate accuracy? I do not know of a single benchrest shooter (long or short range) shooting anything but hollow points. Berger makes some of the most accurate bullets made,1111111111111111111 and not one has a polymer tip that I know of.
For hunting accuracy at most ranges, polymer tips are fine and can produce .5 MOA groups on a regular basis.
For hunting accuracy at most ranges, polymer tips are fine and can produce .5 MOA groups on a regular basis.
Both types are hollow-points - just given a different final step so to speak. So, I think we're comparing different varieties of apples to apples here, not apples to pears.
The traditional HPM bullet has the tip closed up by as much as the manufacturer is able to while retaining some meplat area for the nose-swaging die ejection-pin to bear on and push the finished bullet out of the die.
The Hornady A-Max type is made exactly the same way but in the final nose-forming step is swaged to leave a larger nose aperture then has the polymer tip inserted subsequently to provide a sharp point. It's marginally sharper and more consistent bullet to bullet than the open tips, and so has less BC variation - but improvements are such you won't notice anything ballistically either way except at very long ranges.
If one bullet gives better accuracy than another in any rifle, it won't be down to the tip form, rather as Cole says whether the overall bullet design and final dimensions suit the barrel dimensions. All American (Plus Finnish and Swedish) match bullets are very well made these days.
I've had excellent results from both types in different cartridges and rifles. I wouldn't pay more for a plastic tip bullet just because it has it though! If you've got a load you're happy with, stick with it and never mind what your friend says.
Good Shooting,
Laurie,
York, England
The traditional HPM bullet has the tip closed up by as much as the manufacturer is able to while retaining some meplat area for the nose-swaging die ejection-pin to bear on and push the finished bullet out of the die.
The Hornady A-Max type is made exactly the same way but in the final nose-forming step is swaged to leave a larger nose aperture then has the polymer tip inserted subsequently to provide a sharp point. It's marginally sharper and more consistent bullet to bullet than the open tips, and so has less BC variation - but improvements are such you won't notice anything ballistically either way except at very long ranges.
If one bullet gives better accuracy than another in any rifle, it won't be down to the tip form, rather as Cole says whether the overall bullet design and final dimensions suit the barrel dimensions. All American (Plus Finnish and Swedish) match bullets are very well made these days.
I've had excellent results from both types in different cartridges and rifles. I wouldn't pay more for a plastic tip bullet just because it has it though! If you've got a load you're happy with, stick with it and never mind what your friend says.
Good Shooting,
Laurie,
York, England
Boattail,
We shot the 155 amax against the Sierra 155 for a couple of years in Palma matches and concluded we could not see any worthwhile difference in performance.
There are two new designed bullets for the 308 which will outperform the plastic tip 308 bullets.They are the Sierra 2156 (the new Palma 155 grain bullet) and the new Berger 155.5 fullbore bullet.
The plastic tips are used by a few in long range bench rest matches, I did see a 0.5xxx" five shot groups shot with the Hornady 105 amax at the 600 yard BR nationals.
I've had some good groups at 600 yards with the Hornady 80 grain amax bullets in my 223 Palma rifle.
Most of the barrels I've shot the HPBTs have shot better than the plastic tipped bullet. Some (not all) of the hollow point bullets will see quite a big increase in performance by trimming and pointing the tips.
Jerry
We shot the 155 amax against the Sierra 155 for a couple of years in Palma matches and concluded we could not see any worthwhile difference in performance.
There are two new designed bullets for the 308 which will outperform the plastic tip 308 bullets.They are the Sierra 2156 (the new Palma 155 grain bullet) and the new Berger 155.5 fullbore bullet.
The plastic tips are used by a few in long range bench rest matches, I did see a 0.5xxx" five shot groups shot with the Hornady 105 amax at the 600 yard BR nationals.
I've had some good groups at 600 yards with the Hornady 80 grain amax bullets in my 223 Palma rifle.
Most of the barrels I've shot the HPBTs have shot better than the plastic tipped bullet. Some (not all) of the hollow point bullets will see quite a big increase in performance by trimming and pointing the tips.
Jerry
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