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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rifles, Bullets, Barrels & Ballistics
Berger Meplats - Improved Uniformity
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<blockquote data-quote="Pdvdh" data-source="post: 1065501" data-attributes="member: 4191"><p>'<strong>elkaholic</strong>' makes bullets for his own use, and has tested a lot of different bullets for expansion at reduced velocity. He's told me that he runs a 0.040" drill bit down into the tips of the VLD/Hybrid/OTM style bullets he uses, to ensure the hole is opened to a uniform diameter. Also told me that a guy could use a 0.050" drill bit if he wanted to thin down the jacket a little more to help weaken the jacket at its leading edge. I've never done this, because I already own $200 worth of Montour County Rifles' meplat uniforming tools to trick up the tips on .338, .308, and .284 diameter bullets. The additional benefit of these tools is the precise manner of the hollow-pointing feature. The leading edge of the jacket can be trimmed in a precise and repeatable shape to a sharp edge, or to any degree one desires, leaving a V-shaped hole in the tip of the bullet to catch and drive meat/flesh/water into the void. Now I don't know that is exactly what happens when these bullets expand properly, but that's the physical concept initiating expansion in my mind, and that's why I think the wider and weakened leading edge at the tip of the bullet jacket improves the odds of the bullet expanding.</p><p></p><p>If I didn't have the Kevin Cram tool, I would run the small drill bit into the tips using a drill press, as <strong>elkaholic </strong>recommends. I don't know what size/number drill bit that equates to, but a 1/16" drill is 0.0625". I've going to take my dial/digital calipers to the local hardware store and purchase a 0.050" diameter drill bit. I tried to drill out the jacket tip on the 300gr .338 OTM I encountered with the sealed tip. That bullet tip was so tightly sealed that my 1/16" drill bit wouldn't track and center down the tip of the bullet jacket. The drill bit squirreled off to the side and exited the side of the bullet. That's is to say, the jacket was a solid mass of copper with no remaining pilot hole to center and pilot the drill bit. So the drill bit won't work on every single bullet, as I experienced failure in trying to open up this bullet tip with a drill bit. But the drill bit should work on the vast majority of bullets with even the tiniest pilot hole remaining in the jacket.</p><p></p><p>A small diameter drill bit will at least ensure the jacket tips have a similar sized open cavity (hollow-point). That might be enough. Dunno. I don't have vast, extensive first hand experience. I don't kill enough large game animals to report extensively from first hand experiences. I've only harvested 3 large game animals with the meplat uniformed and hollow-pointed tips, over the past four hunting seasons. Two 210gr .308 VLDs and one 168gr .284 VLD. These were all ribs shots, and all bullets expanded on these animals.</p><p></p><p>Why all the fuss, is what some readers must be thinking by now? I have first-hand experiences with three expanding bullets that failed to expand on game animals - over the past 43 years. These three animals were eventually recovered for inspection and confirmation of zero bullet expansion. I had one additional negative experience that caused suspicion, but that bear wasn't recovered to I don't absolutely know. Two bullet failures were experienced with Nosler Ballistic Tips. One at 12yds and one at 200yds. The third bullet was a 210gr Berger VLD at ~325yds. With all the time I invest in preparation trying to make sure my equipment is in good working order and ready to go prior to each hunting season, it's a bitter disappointment when my expanding style bullet doesn't expand. And the experience justs gets worse if a wounded animal escapes with a hole punched thru its torso. Thus my quest to eliminate FMJ performance from my 'expanding' hunting bullets. And why I state I'll take my chances with overly agressive bullet expansion, compared to no bullet expansion at all. The readers should understand that I target the lungs with broadside profiles 100% of the time. I don't aim for the front shoulders. My LRH bullet only needs to be tough enough to perform on rib cage hits. For LRH use on game, I seek a bullet that will enter the rib cage behind the front shoulders, expand internally, and exit the other side of the rib cage - or not. The exit isn't critical to me. If the bullet expands in the boiler room, I'm content either way.</p><p></p><p>I should also inform that I carry and use tougher controlled expansion bullets for closer range encounters with bear/moose/game. I've never encountered a controlled expansion bullet that wasn't accurate enough to cleanly harvest large game animals at closer ranges, after sighting my rifle in with my LRH bullets. This is to say, I don't require my long range hunting bullets also perform at close range. So I carry controlled expansion bullets in my magazine and use them should I choose to kill an animal at close range. That's just the way I choose to operate. We have large bears and large moose where I live and hunt, and I want confidence my short range use bullets will penetrate deeply into these huge animals, under any exposure profile presented - such as a head-on charge.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pdvdh, post: 1065501, member: 4191"] '[B]elkaholic[/B]' makes bullets for his own use, and has tested a lot of different bullets for expansion at reduced velocity. He's told me that he runs a 0.040" drill bit down into the tips of the VLD/Hybrid/OTM style bullets he uses, to ensure the hole is opened to a uniform diameter. Also told me that a guy could use a 0.050" drill bit if he wanted to thin down the jacket a little more to help weaken the jacket at its leading edge. I've never done this, because I already own $200 worth of Montour County Rifles' meplat uniforming tools to trick up the tips on .338, .308, and .284 diameter bullets. The additional benefit of these tools is the precise manner of the hollow-pointing feature. The leading edge of the jacket can be trimmed in a precise and repeatable shape to a sharp edge, or to any degree one desires, leaving a V-shaped hole in the tip of the bullet to catch and drive meat/flesh/water into the void. Now I don't know that is exactly what happens when these bullets expand properly, but that's the physical concept initiating expansion in my mind, and that's why I think the wider and weakened leading edge at the tip of the bullet jacket improves the odds of the bullet expanding. If I didn't have the Kevin Cram tool, I would run the small drill bit into the tips using a drill press, as [B]elkaholic [/B]recommends. I don't know what size/number drill bit that equates to, but a 1/16" drill is 0.0625". I've going to take my dial/digital calipers to the local hardware store and purchase a 0.050" diameter drill bit. I tried to drill out the jacket tip on the 300gr .338 OTM I encountered with the sealed tip. That bullet tip was so tightly sealed that my 1/16" drill bit wouldn't track and center down the tip of the bullet jacket. The drill bit squirreled off to the side and exited the side of the bullet. That's is to say, the jacket was a solid mass of copper with no remaining pilot hole to center and pilot the drill bit. So the drill bit won't work on every single bullet, as I experienced failure in trying to open up this bullet tip with a drill bit. But the drill bit should work on the vast majority of bullets with even the tiniest pilot hole remaining in the jacket. A small diameter drill bit will at least ensure the jacket tips have a similar sized open cavity (hollow-point). That might be enough. Dunno. I don't have vast, extensive first hand experience. I don't kill enough large game animals to report extensively from first hand experiences. I've only harvested 3 large game animals with the meplat uniformed and hollow-pointed tips, over the past four hunting seasons. Two 210gr .308 VLDs and one 168gr .284 VLD. These were all ribs shots, and all bullets expanded on these animals. Why all the fuss, is what some readers must be thinking by now? I have first-hand experiences with three expanding bullets that failed to expand on game animals - over the past 43 years. These three animals were eventually recovered for inspection and confirmation of zero bullet expansion. I had one additional negative experience that caused suspicion, but that bear wasn't recovered to I don't absolutely know. Two bullet failures were experienced with Nosler Ballistic Tips. One at 12yds and one at 200yds. The third bullet was a 210gr Berger VLD at ~325yds. With all the time I invest in preparation trying to make sure my equipment is in good working order and ready to go prior to each hunting season, it's a bitter disappointment when my expanding style bullet doesn't expand. And the experience justs gets worse if a wounded animal escapes with a hole punched thru its torso. Thus my quest to eliminate FMJ performance from my 'expanding' hunting bullets. And why I state I'll take my chances with overly agressive bullet expansion, compared to no bullet expansion at all. The readers should understand that I target the lungs with broadside profiles 100% of the time. I don't aim for the front shoulders. My LRH bullet only needs to be tough enough to perform on rib cage hits. For LRH use on game, I seek a bullet that will enter the rib cage behind the front shoulders, expand internally, and exit the other side of the rib cage - or not. The exit isn't critical to me. If the bullet expands in the boiler room, I'm content either way. I should also inform that I carry and use tougher controlled expansion bullets for closer range encounters with bear/moose/game. I've never encountered a controlled expansion bullet that wasn't accurate enough to cleanly harvest large game animals at closer ranges, after sighting my rifle in with my LRH bullets. This is to say, I don't require my long range hunting bullets also perform at close range. So I carry controlled expansion bullets in my magazine and use them should I choose to kill an animal at close range. That's just the way I choose to operate. We have large bears and large moose where I live and hunt, and I want confidence my short range use bullets will penetrate deeply into these huge animals, under any exposure profile presented - such as a head-on charge. [/QUOTE]
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