Don Fischer
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2017
- Messages
- 3,165
The only tipped bullet's I use are 75 gr V-Max in my 243. at 200 yds they hit the target attached to 2" thick foam and explode like a bomb, jacket material every where behind the target frame. Had a friend's 7nn Rm Mag to reload for. He wanted 162 gr A-Max bullet's in it. Had trouble loading them out. They were really deep in the case to keep the bullet off the lands. And to make matter's worse, they didn't shoot worth a dink. I got him switched over to 162 gr Inter Locks and they shot well, lot better than he did!. From all I've read about the easrly TSX, it was hard on copper fouling. Seem's that that is why they went to the TTSX. Read a number of report's by JJ Hack, African outfitter that actually live's in Washington state. He claimed he saw several times when the un-tipped bullet's failed to expand and it bothered him. Then Winchester came out with their factory ammo with tipped bullet's and said in their advertising that one purpose of the tip was to insure expansion. Something about HP bullet's. I shot some into bundled newspaper years ago, don't recall the bullet now but most likely a Sierra. I though it would go to pieces, I was wrong. Three different bullet's and the tip closed and the bullet bent on every one. I only shoot hp bullet's now for target bullet's, love them. If I were to find some need for a monolithic bullet, it would have to have the tip simply ti ensure the tip would open. When Nosler first came out with the Ballistic Tip bullet there were a whole lot of report's on the bullet's blowing up on the side of animals. There were,of course stories of success also. Seem's if the bullet got inside it mushed everything and seldom exited. I shot a deer years ago with the 75gr V-Max out of my 243. Bullet went in just behind the shoulder and didn't exit. Made a mess inside and the deer went right down. I guess if you could stand the mess and were to carefully pick your shot's it would work well. I see tip's as nice for varmint/predator bullet's and pretty much unnecessary on other than monolithic bullet's. On everything else I view them as a gimic to sell bullet's. Big claim is made for how they don't deform in the chamber and increase in BC. Increase in BC, big deal. Standard lead tipped cup and core bullet's have been killing things quite dead for a long time with less BC. I don't know how old you are, you might not have seen this. When Speer first brought out the mag tip bullet, in their advertisement's they showed a high speed photo of a lead tip bullet leaving a barrel. Amazing, the tip melted off! Seem's to indicate we've been killing's animals at very long ranges for a very long time with pretty much tip less bullet's. I have here a very old box of 25 cal 120 gr core locks. The tip is about exactly like the Speer mag tip. Core lock's have made quite a reputation for themselves over the years, without much of a lead tip. But as rifle's improved and ammunition improved, there had to be something done with bullet' real of imagined. Today's hunter's seem to think they need to be ready for shot's to 500 yds. Of course with improvement's in rifles they think it's a good thing but they had to have an improvement in bullet's, real or imagined. That's what sales is about! I am absolutely certain I could relpace my Hornady interlocks with several different brands of bullet's of the same weight and get the same results, But no reason to change as Hornady spire point/iintelock have never let me down one time in over 50 yrs of hunting! Plastic tips on cup and core bullet's or even bonded bullets, I don't think they do much and perhaps tear the bullet up quicker. If you believe your getting something extra with them and your happy with them, go for it. I am not a big fan of bonded bullet's either, seem's they all have that plastic tip. Another test I did years ago was Hornady interlock's and Speer hot core bullets into the newspaper at 100yds. I have suggested that the Speer hot core is actually the original bonded, I have been told I'm looey. But in the test I did with a 7mm Rem mag, the Hornady bullet's maintained 84% of their weight but the core was loose in the jacket. Did not separate. The hot core on the other hand also maintained 84% of their weight and the core did not come loose in the jacket! I went with the Hornady for no other reason than I got just a bit better accuracy with them. It seem's to me now that the main difference between a Speer hot core and any other bonded bullet is not much more than price. The Nosler bonded bullet is designed to maitai 70% of it's weight, that is from Nosler. There was an ad some time back by Hornady that their bonded core bullet's were maintaining up to 90% of their weight. But for me I found great weight retention with the Speer hot core and a lot less money. I found it strange when I asked about the Nosler bonded bullet, 70% retention is the same as the partition. If that's so and that is what Nosler told me, what is the advantage to one over the other? Sales and marketing, that's about it and neither retain's what I found the old Hornady spire point and Speer hot core did. Shooter's today get lost in all these bullet's claims yet the difference's are marginal other than the monolithic bullet. I have little use for a monolithic bullet, I don't live in California and without more to offer than they do, I'm not spending the extra money they cost. How in the world were 1000 yd shot' ever made prior to our modern super bullet's? How in the world were elephant's killed in the early 1900's late 1800's without these super bullet's of today?
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