Doc Beech, Applied Ballistics Support Team, September 14th 2023Tech TipBullet pointing is a very important topic. The bullet will determine how much pointing and trimming is required. How bad the bullets were to begin with. It will mean two things to start with a better quality projectile, such as Bergers. You will not need to correct the meplat as much, and the improvement will be less. We recommend that you DO NOT POINT your hunting bullets. The terminal performance can be negatively affected by pointing.
Do not over-point your bullets
It is important to never over-point. It is better to under-point than to over-point. This will prevent the tips from being crushed. Bryan Litz said it best: “Leave a tiny gap in the tip to avoid crushing the metal. The bullet tip is lowered to this point, which gives the most benefit in pointing. “Going a little farther doesn’t show up on target”. You are bringing the tip of the bullet down only a small amount. And you want to leave an air gap. Bullet pointing is not likely to be beneficial if you only shoot between 100-200 yards. You need to shoot at a long range to see the benefits. These can range from 2-10% (and possibly more with poorly-designed bullets). Bryan says, “With pointing you will see an average increase of 3-4% in BC. If the nose is long, pointy (VLD shape), with a large mplat, pointing can have a big effect. It could be up to 8% or 9%. If the meplat on a short, tangent nose is tight, the increase could be as little as 1% or 2%.” For example, if you point a Berger Juggernaut.308 caliber 185gr, expect only a 2% BC increase.
You can sometimes see small imperfections after pointing. But to say that you “need to” trim after pointing means you are saying that the small imperfections matter. Bryan Litz says: “If you want bullets to fly uniformly and at high levels, trimming them may not be necessary.” Bryan Litz states that he has never trimmed a tip of a bullet, either before or after pointing. It’s up to you in the end.
The process of pointing is simple. The effort required to point bullets is about the same as that required to seat them. We are simply reducing the air gap at the tip of the ball. Do not rush — take your time. When pointing bullets, apply a steady and smooth pressure to the press. You don’t need to trap air inside the die, which could damage the bullet tip. You can use any press with the correct die insert and caliber-specific sleeves. The Whidden Bullet Pointing Die System is available from Whidden Gunsworks. It has a micrometer-top so adjustments are easy. Bryan Litz helped design it. Be sure to order the correct caliber sleeves and inserts. The Whidden Bullet-Pointing Die System includes the die, a tipping insert and a caliber-specific sleeve. Click this link to see which inserts you need for the bullet types that you use.
Similar Posts:Tags: BC, Bryan Litz, Bullet Pointing, Whidden Gunworks, Whidden Pointing Die
