Balistic tip , plastic or metal , pro and con
- Thread starter Tirea
- Start date
palmer_mike
Well-Known Member
Until the same bullet is available with plastic and metal tip you will never know.I just want to see the opinion of people using on the field not theory
Bavarianbrit
Well-Known Member
Remington did do bronze points years ago I still have some.
palmer_mike
Well-Known Member
Peregrine do lead free bullets with metal tips, I have used these but pointless to compare them to a different bullet (Barnes for example) as bullet construction will effect terminal performance much more than tip material I would have thought
Smellydog
Well-Known Member
Why?I just want to see the opinion of people using on the field not theory
One bullet from one rifle may behave completely differently from another rifle.
UpNorthMI
Well-Known Member
I've shot a lot of both over the last 40 years. Both have worked really well for me. My early use of factory ammunition like Remington Corelokt would often flatten out the tips on my .308 / .243 ammo in the rifle mag. I'd scrape away any lead lip that bulged proud of the copper jacket, leaving the round being more of a flat tip, then I'd use it and see no difference in performance on cull shots out in the 300-400 yard range. I loaded a lot of Nosler ballistic tip in calibers from .243 - 338, they all performed great.
My conclusion is the bullet tip does not matter, it's about bullet type, construction and if your rifle likes that particular round / bullet weight. My recommendation for anyone starting out in the sport or even experienced stalkers is to find a bullet that your rifle likes and to then buy or load a lot of it, just standardize and stop worrying about you ammo or changing up your ammunition.
My conclusion is the bullet tip does not matter, it's about bullet type, construction and if your rifle likes that particular round / bullet weight. My recommendation for anyone starting out in the sport or even experienced stalkers is to find a bullet that your rifle likes and to then buy or load a lot of it, just standardize and stop worrying about you ammo or changing up your ammunition.
Tirea
Well-Known Member
Yes I have same type of bullets with different points as in the picture, I test plastic one in the field now I start testing the metal tip
Over 18 years always used Norma ballistic tipped ammo (plastic red tipped) 120gn swede. My tikka loves them, accurate and kills deer.
BC.
BC.
palmer_mike
Well-Known Member
What bullets are they?
Virtually all polymer tipped bullets these days are polyacrylic/lexan IIRC. After the whole Hornady "melting tip" campaign, pretty much everyone changed to the harder, less heat sensitive polymer for the tips.
Personally, on game, I think the polymer tips work the best. They provide reliable expansion (like a conventional HP at speed), while also retaining a good BC.
The reality is that most hunting in the UK doesn't require a high BC bullet because the ranges are so short, so use what you find works best for you. But it's always nice to know you could take a longer shot if you had to with a polymer tipped bullet.
JMTCW...
Personally, on game, I think the polymer tips work the best. They provide reliable expansion (like a conventional HP at speed), while also retaining a good BC.
The reality is that most hunting in the UK doesn't require a high BC bullet because the ranges are so short, so use what you find works best for you. But it's always nice to know you could take a longer shot if you had to with a polymer tipped bullet.
JMTCW...
I'm not convinced that the tips serve any useful purpose at all, other than as a marketing gimmick that makes the bullet look more "pointy". Give it an exciting sounding name and a bright colour and the punters will love it!
If you pull the tips off, the bullets work just as effectively.
If you pull the tips off, the bullets work just as effectively.
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
I suspect the one thing with a plastic tip as opposed to a metal tip is that plastic tip is much less dense and hence the centre of gravity and mass of the bullet is more compact and shorter hence it stabilises better in any given twist rate.
But with a plastic tip you can still have a heavy for calibre bullet but that has a decent aerodynamic shape.
Putting on a bronze tip, for the same overall mass the bullet will be a little shorter and hence a lower BC and less aerodynamic.
Plastic tips, may however not stand up the friction created by high velocities and start melting and deforming. I believe doplar radar has shown this up, hence some bullet manufacturers using high performance heat resistant polymers for the ballistic tips. Whether this is fact or marketing BS - most humble rifle shooters don’t have the equipment nor the eyesight to see.
Metal tips - eg on the RWS H mantle
were there a long time before plastics were really a material. The H-Mantle was introduced in 1934, wheras the Nosler Ballistic Tip not until 1984.
But with a plastic tip you can still have a heavy for calibre bullet but that has a decent aerodynamic shape.
Putting on a bronze tip, for the same overall mass the bullet will be a little shorter and hence a lower BC and less aerodynamic.
Plastic tips, may however not stand up the friction created by high velocities and start melting and deforming. I believe doplar radar has shown this up, hence some bullet manufacturers using high performance heat resistant polymers for the ballistic tips. Whether this is fact or marketing BS - most humble rifle shooters don’t have the equipment nor the eyesight to see.
Metal tips - eg on the RWS H mantle
were there a long time before plastics were really a material. The H-Mantle was introduced in 1934, wheras the Nosler Ballistic Tip not until 1984.
palmer_mike
Well-Known Member
Still waiting to hear what bullets you are using that are identical apart from tip material?
maximus otter
Well-Known Member
paulbshooting
Well-Known Member
shot placement is more of a factor
Plastic tips - tits on a bull
They do nothing more than impact external BC
Pull the tips and run the same bullet as a hollow point and you will see and increase in expansion. Tested them in clay and gel
Most ballistic tipped bullets that expand violently or have a reputation for expansion at range do so because the meplat is a very thin jacket
Compare ELD-X vs ELD-M
Metal tips with flat perpendicular shoulder to the meplat are much less significant than those with radial junctions to the hollow point
Peregrine are the latter
Tapping the tip (of the bullet!) on the table will nitiate meplat expansion
The rear of the hollow point has a radial surface like the back of a trumpet
They do nothing more than impact external BC
Pull the tips and run the same bullet as a hollow point and you will see and increase in expansion. Tested them in clay and gel
Most ballistic tipped bullets that expand violently or have a reputation for expansion at range do so because the meplat is a very thin jacket
Compare ELD-X vs ELD-M
Metal tips with flat perpendicular shoulder to the meplat are much less significant than those with radial junctions to the hollow point
Peregrine are the latter
Tapping the tip (of the bullet!) on the table will nitiate meplat expansion
The rear of the hollow point has a radial surface like the back of a trumpet
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