What is Bullet Pointing?

Bullet pointing has been around for quite some time. In the beginning, it was a well-regarded secret of many prize-winning shooters. Nowadays, it’s commonly known for its use at shooting competitions. This installment of the Advanced Reloading Series plans to explain what bullet pointing is and whether you should do it.

What is bullet pointing (tipping)? Well, it’s exactly what the name implies. A person uses specialized equipment to point the tip of their bullets. Doing this can have a two-fold effect. First, you can increase the ballistic coefficient of your bullets. Second, it can help uniform your ballistic coefficient (drag model)

In short, you are going to shoot better at a long distance unless you’re the type of person that can’t hit the side of a mountain with unlimited ammo. Yeah, everyone has run into a few of those people at public ranges.

How much will bullet pointing help you?

The answer to that question depends on your projectile and your shooting distance. Every single bullet is different. Most likely, you will have to experiment and see what works best. To date, very few projectiles have been lab-tested, so there are very few concrete numbers to work off.

To my knowledge, the only book covering this subject in detail is Modern Advancements in Long-Range Shooting Vol. 2.

What is the downside of bullet pointing?

You will not notice any difference if you are engaging a target at a close range. You won’t be able to see any of the benefits until you start shooting beyond 600 yards.

It also takes some time, but since I live in the Arctic, I have plenty of that, and it sure beats penguin bowling. (It’s kind of like cow tipping, but it’s more sanitary and requires less drinkable gasoline.)

I highly advise against pointing hunting bullets. The bullet may not expand when you hit your mark. You could very well inadvertently wound the animal you are harvesting. That is not ideal for all parties involved.

Contrary to popular belief, hunters do not relish taking life and certainly would not want to wound an animal needlessly. Seriously, I know people who say a small prayer after they have taken an animal.

So much for the bloodthirsty maniacs we are commonly made out to be—but that article is for another day.

If you’re looking for a simple “should I or shouldn’t I?” answer to whether you should point your bullets, you need to ask yourself these simple questions. If you are a long-range or an extreme long-range target shooter, then the answer is yes. It would undoubtedly help if you pointed your bullets.

Suppose you are hunting and shooting short-range or burning up some ammo for fun. In those cases, tipping is a waste of your time (unless you shoot bench-rest competition).

Berger bullets are now pointing certain lines at the factory. I believe they call it Meplat Reduction Technology (MRT).

I am planning to upgrade to one of those offerings soon. Unfortunately, I will have to re-develop a competition load. That said, I have a thousand rounds to shoot first.

I advise purchasing already-tipped bullets immediately if you’re the type of person who likes to tinker around, like myself. Then pointing is probably your cup of tea, or, in my case, a gallon of coffee.

I hope this article answered your questions. If not, reread it. Then have all your friends read it. Yeah, that’s the ticket. [[[ASIDE: No shameless plugs here. LOL]]]

Disclaimer: Reloading/handloading can be hazardous to your health, like many things in life. You take full responsibility when performing these procedures. 5 Gun Nation is not liable for your decisions. Don’t be an idiot; if you are, it is not our problem.