OK,,,you bullet guys,,what do you think about this?

[Capt Rick Hiott]

I sanded off the red tip on this Hornady 140Gr Match bullet today.
Do you think it will be a better hunting bullet for deer and hogs when it comes to a little bit of meplat? I do.....

I'm not sure what it will do when it comes to accuracy, but I don't think that will change.
I plan on doing a few more just to see if it effects it.

[243winxb]

Without the HEAT SHIELD® TIP, the bullet will melt as soon as it clears the muzzle.

[HiBC]

I just don't get it.
First of all,my speculation on the effects of your tip mod is really not worth anything.Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm curious as to why you don't select one of the many excellent hunting bullets we have available.

What is it this bullet will do "better"? I'd like to understand.

[Capt Rick Hiott]

Hahahaha,,,,Thanks guys.

Why do you think the bullet will melt that soon 243?

[jonnyc]

I just don't understand why you're second-guessing years of work and testing by qualified and experienced ballistic engineers, and think that filing-off the tip will improve anything. As mentioned above, there are many choices available if you are not satisfied with the results you're getting with the Hornady 140gr bullets.

[50 shooter]

I don't think it will work any better, that tip is there for controlled expanding of the bullet. It will still expand but at a faster rate, could snap apart and tumble, might not give as good of performance as you think.

Plus you'll have to shoot some on paper as you've also changed the aerodynamics of the bullet, could change your point of impact. You've also changed the weight of the tip, making the rear heavier than what the manufacturer has designed it for.

Just sayin', be careful!

[TXAZ]

The lightweight red tip of the bullet moves the center of gravity back improving stability, and improves aerodynamics compared to your flat nose version.
When the bullet is intact and impacts a target, the red tip flattens and causes the energy dissipation causes the bullet to expand.

Your Hornady 140gr will make a significant hole the way it was designed, and cutting the red tip off only decreases stability and increases drag.

You'll note in the following picture that a 6.5 ELD Match Hornady 147gr round with a softer plastic tip, (top right large circle) made a much larger hole in the Grainger's catalog that the 2 .50 BMG ball rounds, lower left dashed circles.

[Dufus]

Many years ago when I was still a young teen, I found a box of Greek ammo at Western Auto for my 8x57.

They were something like a 195 gr FMJ best I can remember.

A box of 100 cost me $5.95 and I bought them for the brass to reload.

Much to my dismay, they were Berdan primed and I could not do anything with them as I did not have the resources.

So, I started thinking that maybe there is a way to convert them into usable hunting ammo......

I found my Dad's side cutters in his tool box along with a mill file.

I whacked the end of the FMJ off, flattened the end with the mill file and wowee, I had a soft point. Then I got more creative and dug through Dad's assortment of drill bits and found a suitable size, got the drill motor out and in short time created a hollow point.

They were accurate to 100 yds. Don't know about more as I only shot them at 100.

Deer season came along and I had maybe 10 or 12 of the cartridges in my coat pocket. Dad wanted to hunt on the hill so I had the blind closest to camp.

That afternoon, an unlucky 6 pointer came out to feed and I waited until he presented himself broadside.

I lit a round off, he circled 360 and took off. I knew I hit him because during his circle, I saw the offside was completely covered with red.

After I found him, I rolled him over and there was a good 6-7" hole on the off side. The inside were a mess. It was a heart shot, but the stomach still got ruptured and it was full of food.

I prolly gagged 4 or 5 times in the process of field dressing him out due to the smell from the stomach contents.

So much for that experiment as I never shot another animal with those modified cartridges.

As suggested in an earlier post, I saved my money and got some real hunting cartridges. They only cost around $3 or $4 back then.

[HiBC]

The OP does not have to be concerned about what I'm going to tell you,his jackets have a closed base.

But military FMJ has an open base. The lead core is directly exposed to pressure.No problem when the point of the jacket cup is closed.

But when you cut the tip off,the jacket becomes a tube open on both ends.

The lead core is subject to being blown out. That leaves the jacket lurking in the bore as an obstruction for the next round.

What I just told you used to be published in gun magazines frequently...back in the day,other folks had your same idea.It didn't always work out.

[Capt Rick Hiott]

WoW!!! I thought some of you thought outside the box.

Sorry for the post,,,I didn't know I would get blasted like that.

Hey Mods,,,please delete this horrible post I started......Hahahahaha

[std7mag]

My guess would be that it would "balloon up" in the middle of the bullet.
Penetration good, expansion not so much.

[jmr40]

The plastic tip is designed to be driven into the bullet like a wedge on impact and improve expansion. Taking it off probably doesn't make much difference in how well it expands, but it does change the aerodynamics.

Why do you think the bullet will melt that soon 243?

That was sarcasm. Hornady advertises the newer bullet tips as "heat resistant". They claimed the older designs melted in flight and changed the bullets BC. I, and most other shooters are skeptical that the older tips actually melted, but who knows.

[HiBC]

Sorry for the post,,,I didn't know I would get blasted like that.

You posted a question: What do you think of this??
While I did not see anyone say "Great idea" I did see rational and respectful responses,even if they may not have been encouraging.

No one "Blasted " you.

I said I did not understand,I wanted to,and invited you to fill me in.

You have not offered anything.

Now we are the problem because we don't think outside the box and we blasted you???

I think I will peacefully excuse myself. Good luck with that!

[jersurf101]

Sometimes, "because I want to" is all the motivation you need. All the speculation is just that. Try it and test for accuracy and expansion. It is unlikely but maybe you find someting worth while. If not you have fun trying. Sometimes the journey is better than the destination.

[Dufus]

The OP does not have to be concerned about what I'm going to tell you,his jackets have a closed base.

But military FMJ has an open base. The lead core is directly exposed to pressure.No problem when the point of the jacket cup is closed.

But when you cut the tip off,the jacket becomes a tube open on both ends.

The lead core is subject to being blown out. That leaves the jacket lurking in the bore as an obstruction for the next round.

What I just told you used to be published in gun magazines frequently...back in the day,other folks had your same idea.It didn't always work out.

HiBC: I am well aware of that now, but 55 years ago I didn't have access to much reading material other than going to the public library and hoping something would be available. All that was before Al Gore invented the internet.

[Capt Rick Hiott]

Thanks Jersurf101......

"Sometimes the journey is better than the destination"

What in the world is wrong with trying something new or different? No reason to be so negative,,,ya know.

But then again,,,,some people are like that.

No need to comment,,,Im done here.

[Evan Thomas]

If someone asks folks here what they think about something, they're going to get honest opinions from a bunch of smart, knowledgeable people. The only "negativity" I see here is in the OP's reaction to those opinions, so there's not much point in continuing this.

Closed.