Ballistic Tip Or No Ballistic Tip....That is the question.

[evan1395]

So I was thinking. What does doing this to a .17HMR Hornady round do? I imagine it flies slightly slower. As for damage on impact, think it inflicts more or less?
 
Just curious!

[corbanzo]

The ballistic tip really doesn't do much for normal muzzle velocity, they are pretty light. 


But it does two things:


1:  It increases expansion.  The tip gets shoved back into the nose of the bullet upon impact and makes it mushroom faster and more easily.


2: Increases the ballistic coefficient by lowering drag.  Of course if it was a metal tip like a spitzer it's the same, but vs a hollow point, it is going to have better ballistics, in this round only affects pretty far down range.


So basically ballistics of a spitzer with expansion of a hollowpoint, if not better.

[jeepmann1948]

Interesting idea there amigo. Try a few and report back please
Thanks
George

[evan1395]

Interesting idea there amigo. Try a few and report back please
Thanks
George

Why thank you there fellow Jeeper !
I was just thinking about it the other day. It basically turns them into a hollow point, right?
Whether it be 00 Buckshot, my .45-70 or the .17HMR...I really enjoy shooting into rounds of soft pine, then taking a splitting maul to it afterwards and extract the bullet from the wood. Just to see how it reacts on impact.
 
I will for sure be doing it with a couple of these ballistic tips VS non ballisitc tips bullets. It'll be interesting as to see how each one reacts.

[gcrank1]

It may improve the 'penetration' through the air front, but cant do anything to affect drag because that takes place at the back of a bullet (or car, or semi).
Look at the front of a submarine or an airliner, you see kind of a round nose, but then look at how that body tapers back to a point, thats lets the flow gently part, then cuise smoothly along the sides and finally lets it off the back to come together without a bunch of turbulence (thats where drag takes place). Fast jets have a more pointy nose, but the rest is the same. Just splitting the air column in front does not necessarily good aerodynamics make (and air acts much like water, so the sub analogy is apt).
  huh?

[evan1395]

I was thinking maybe the deep dish like hollow point (not as pinpoint or small as Federal or Winchester "HP's") would cause alot more drag as longer distances. Especially once it's start to slow its velocity.
I mean if you shot each of these for there maximum distance, I would imagine the bigger hollow point would slow a bit faster.
I fully understand your logisitics there gcrank and it does make a bit more sense than mine! I was over thinking it or somthing
 
Just my $0.02 though.  I was supposed to go up shooting today and test these little fellas out, but neded up wrenching on my buddies truck. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the results to post!

[gcrank1]

'Logic' tells us that a hollow point 'has' to affect the penetration (though does nothing to affect drag), and maybe with a big, wide HP like some pistol defense ammo it does, but ,IIRC, on a small dia. projectile the HP has little effect as drag from behind is more important to flight than penetration and the small HP 'fills' with air pressure that acts like a 'nose' on the front to the air column it is continuing to penetrate.

[SHOOTALL]

The hollow point does help stablize the bullet though. So in theory the HP might fly truer than the BT. To test this take a can with one end removed . throw it like a football with spin. Do it once open end first then closed end first. The open end first will fly smoother and strighter. Reason match bullets are almost always non expanding HP bullets.

[evan1395]

The hollow point does help stablize the bullet though. So in theory the HP might fly truer than the BT. To test this take a can with one end removed . throw it like a football with spin. Do it once open end first then closed end first. The open end first will fly smoother and strighter. Reason match bullets are almost always non expanding HP bullets.

 
^
Excellent explanation there. Makes much more sense to me now.

[Sourdough]

I know this is Rim Fire but my words make a point here.
 
As many of you know I shoot longer ranges a lot.  The best performing bullet at long tange with my 30-06 is a Sierria 165gr Hollow Point Boat Tail.  It far outperforms all other bullets at 700 yards.  The Boat Tail lets it pass through the air with less drag.  As for a point, I don't care how meticulious you are putting a point on a bullet will affect it's balance.  You can not get it perfectly center, and that will affect balance.  If balance is off the bullet will wabble in flight.  The hollow point helps stabalize ballance by removing the point, and filling with air it pushes a pocket of air that is very effective at splitting the air in a more balanced way.  I got this information from my brother in law who is an aeronatical engineer that designs air craft for NASA and does a lot of work with the wind tunnel at Langley AFB.  We have had many discussions about bullets and compared it with the results he has learn from his test of diffarant designs in the wind tunnel.