Why Are Hollow Point Rifle Bullets More Accurate?
BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 4 months ago
From the standpoint of interior ballistics, the ideal match rifle bullet would be a bore-diameter, homogeneous cylinder with flat ends perfectly square to its body. Such a bullet would be cheap, easy to manufacture and have maximum bearing surface for superior accuracy.
From the standpoint of exterior ballistics, an efficient match rifle bullet would have a high length-to-diameter ration; a sharp, drag-reducing point; and a tapered base (boattail). Such a bullet would offer high retained velocity, flat trajectory and minimum wind drift.
From the standpoint of terminal ballistics, the ideal match rifle bullet would offer a center of gravity displaced toward the base, a jacket with no sidewall variations and a core with no weight variation. Such a bullet would offer consistent, reliable, sub-minute-of-angle (MOA) accuracy from lot to lot.
These requirements pull match rifle bullet designers in different, often mutually exclusive, directions. As a result, all match rifle bullets are a compromise—none are perfect.
I think it might have been clearer if the author had said “from the standpoint of gyroscopic stability, the ideal rifle bullet would be a bore-diameter, homogeneous cylinder with flat ends perfectly square to its body.”
But overall, this is an informative article and worthy of a little time.
On August 19, 2018 at 11:47 pm, MTHead said:
I asked Dave Corbin, of Corbin bullet making equipment that question once. My blank stare after about 45 seconds into his discourse made him stop and say: because they just are.
On August 20, 2018 at 11:18 am, Bill Robbins said:
To quote Ryan Cleckner’s “Long Range Shooting Handbook,” “open tip match (OTM bullets) are not considered “hollow-point” (HP) bullets becasue the opening in the tip of the bullet is a byproduct of the manufacturing process and is not designed to expand on impact like true HP bullets are. The open-tip on an OTM bullet is called a “metplat.”
Cleckner also mentions the possibility that the “meplat” creates a small bubble of air at the nose of the bullet, thereby reducing turbulence…
Cleckner also cites greater attention to quality (versus hunting ammo, I suppose) in important parts of manufacturing of OTM rifle bullets (thereby being more consistent from round to round.)
For me, Cleckner makes sense.
On August 20, 2018 at 3:08 pm, John said:
Henry makes a rifle in this caliber to match your ammo with your revolver. A quick check on
ballistics shows the 85-115 grain bullets at around 1,900-2100 fps with ft. lbs. of 700-1,000.
Hot Stuff !