Why plastic ballistic tip? Why not metal?

[gVale]

Hi guys,

Hoping someone can tell me why you would ever want plastic in a bullet? e.g. The ballistic tips what all brands do.

Why cut the tip of a full metal jacket and replace with weaker plastic?

Surely a metal tip penetrates better and does... everything better than plastic?

[Turkle]

Surely a metal tip penetrates better and does... everything better than plastic?

It goes straight out the back of your target without doing much damage better too.

[Lorgar]

The plastic tip isn't designed to do any damage.

It's strictly to penetrate enough that the bullet can expand as required and do its real damage.

[Monty]

If you were talking about making an actual metal tipped round, i.e. a separate copper/steel tip attached to a bullet, and not simply a full metal jacket bullet...

It wouldn't make any difference anyway.

As outlined above, ballistic tips (an many other kinds of bullets) and designed to penetrate only as much as required, then expand as fast as possible.

A basic tip achieves this, the added difficulty/cost of doing this with metal instead of plastic wouldn't add anything to the bullet.

As soon as the bullet has penetrated, the tips work is done.

[ebr love]

Sounds like you're confusing metal being 'harder' with it being 'better'.

The point of a BT has been explained enough already.

Talking full metal jacket though, as touched on above, FMJ bullets are not for hunting game.

Precisely due to the make up of the bullet/tip they have a tendency to either shoot through like a needle and cause a narrow would channel, or bounce off bone and come out reasonably intact.

In either case the bullet exits with most of its energy still in tow.

[Noisydad]

More likely it's purely clever marketing to try sell a product that looks a little different in a market where everything looks like and does pretty much the same thing. That's why I'm slowly crossing to the "dark side" - black powder!

[Lorgar]

More likely it's purely clever marketing to try sell a product that looks a little different in a market where everything looks like and does pretty much the same thing.

Nosler sold a few of their ballistic tips my way because the girlfriend liked the green ones

[bunnybuster]

With a magazine rifle,the tip on an exposed lead projectile takes a beating each time the rifle is fired [the rounds in the mag]

and is deformed,not helping accuracy,I'm starting to buy ballistic tips to negate this.There is also the issue of gyroscopic stability

with the bullet being" tail heavy "with a plastic tip so the designers don't re-engineer a projectile [design,testing etc ] without

good reason other than giving you an optional coloured point.Maybe oneday there will be multi-colours in a pack to cater for

all preferences'

BB.

[Yelp]

With a magazine rifle,the tip on an exposed lead projectile takes a beating each time the rifle is fired [the rounds in the mag]

and is deformed,not helping accuracy,I'm starting to buy ballistic tips to negate this.

Hmm. I've been shooting Sierra Matchkings and Game kings with no problem like this that I can tell.

Depends on the tip shape and make up I guess...

[bunnybuster]

With a magazine rifle,the tip on an exposed lead projectile takes a beating each time the rifle is fired [the rounds in the mag]

and is deformed,not helping accuracy,I'm starting to buy ballistic tips to negate this.

Hmm. I've been shooting Sierra Matchkings and Game kings with no problem like this that I can tell.

Depends on the tip shape and make up I guess...

I expect the point damage is relevent to the recoil generated,the softness of the exposed lead tip and it's shape.

Next time you shoot,leave one round in the bottom of the mag and check the point at the end of the day.

My 243 mashes the point of a Sako 90gr sp after about 5-7 shots.

BB

[Yelp]

Hmm.

Hadn't noticed any change, not that I was examining thoroughly at the time though.

Will test further as you suggested next time.