Joel, I'm sorry I missed seeing your post earlier, a good question. As you point out, exposed lead at the nose doesn't cleave air as well as pointed polymer, and lead-tipped bullets aren't chosen for shooting at extreme range. Further, I suspect that measuring changes in tip shape during flight would be more difficult with lead noses, as they're not as uniform as polymer tips. Hollowpoints like Sierra's MatchKing would not show tip melt... WvZ
WVZ, welcome!
From your article: "Joe Thielen sums it up: "To oversimplify, impaired flight due to tip melt happens to bullets with a starting BC of .550, at 3,000 ft/sec exit speed, over ranges exceeding 300 yards.""
Really interesting statement.
Do you know of any info on the effect of heat on other bullet types, such as hollow point (I assume negligible) and lead tipped? Of course lead tipped bullets don't have high BCs, so the comparison may not be a fair one.
Thanks!
v/r
Joel
