How will a marred tip affect short range accuracy.

[scythefwd]

Guys, I figured that competitions are, quite frequently, about accuracy... so you would be the ones to ask. If this isn't the right place, Moderators please move the thread to where you consider the best subforum.

I am looking at different types of soft point hunting ammo and seeing that many of the tips are deformed, asymmetrical, gashed, etc.. I prefer to see a uniform and unmarred tip, but that is getting into more than I need (all copper bullets, nosler partition ballistic tips, etc) for what I will be using the ammo for.

I am unsure of the accuracy of the firearm (cva optima elite in .308 win) and would strongly consider using the marred bullets if it won't affect accuracy that much at 100y. If it can throw my round off by .2 MOA, then I will look into better bullets, but is it really necessary? I just don't want to use a bullet that will throw my groupings until I have a clue what the gun itself can do. I prefer to test fire using the most accurate bullets I can, but I don't see a need for match grade since this rifle won't be shooting matches.

Will the slight but obvious imperfections be seriously detrimental to accuracy out to a range of about 300y (I won't take shots further in the field due to limitations on my skills)?

 

[Howard B]

The base of the bullet is more important for accuracy. Boattail base bullets tend to be more accurate a longer ranges than flat base. At short range (<200yds) in a typical hunting rifle, I don't think you will notice a significant difference in performance with minor damage/imperfections of the bullet tip. Shoot'em. Gun topics being what they are, likely others will disagree. Howard.

 

[RippinSVT]

There was an article in Handloader magazine a while back where the author loaded up 25 or so rounds with bullets ground down, backwards, cut diagonally, etc, and the results at 100 yards were staggering. They all still shot "minute of deer lung", and many shot pretty small groups.

 

[AKElroy]

I have loaded & emptied my 94 with every trip to the ranch, which really does a number on the soft-points. I've never noticed a shift in POI. Both my 94's shoot pretty well, even with mangled ammo. I usually run them downrange after 4 or 5 runs through the chamber. I hunt with them with no worries.

 

[WardenWolf]

That's part of what the rifling does. The spin cancels out imperfections in the bullet, ensuring that it has little or no impact on accuracy. A spinning bullet's minor imperfections would, due to the spin, affect it equally in ALL directions, resulting in no net deviation. In other words, it doesn't matter. What's far more important is the back of the bullet, which regulates the vortex created by the bullet's passage.

 

[Hk Dan]

Heck, I saw...American Rifleman? One of those shows--they clipped the tip off of 5 bullets randomly and then shot a nice group with those 5 bullets. Agreed--the base has a dramatically bigger impact on accuracy than the tip.