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Thread: Turning round nose into plat point?

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Turning round nose into plat point?

    I was goofing off with my little arbor press and made some flat points out of round points. I'm going to test to see how they shoot eventually, but thought I would ask if anyone has tried things like this and how did it fare?

    These are NOE HTC358-133-RN-BO5

    Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master tazman's Avatar
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    I own an older NOE 358-135 rf mold that produces boolits much like the one you flattened. They perform great. Good feed and function. Great accuracy.
    I can even make them up as a hollow point if I wish albeit in a slightly lighter weight.

  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    You might find that as you flatten the nose, you also cause it to expand. More likely on rifle bullets, but could probably happen on handgun bullets as well.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master


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    well, I could be all wrong but I think you have deformed a bullet.
    Rick

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    I have several vintage file-trim dies which cut off .32 S&W Long, .38 S&W or .38 Special old school LRN factory loads to produce flat nosed carry loads. I use heavy duty bandage shears to make the initial cut, then true up with a file. The .38 Special 158 LRN loads end up at 147 grains with a 1/4" meplat and shoot to the same point of impact as wadcutters, but at higher velocity and are speedloader friendly. Not a bad load load.
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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
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    I flattened some 311410 mould boolits using a belt sander so I wouldn't deform them. Put just enough blunt on them to achieve what needs to be done in a tube gun. Used a finer grit paper.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    Put em back through the sizer, to make sure the whole thing didn't expand a bit.

    Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by RickinTN View Post
    well, I could be all wrong but I think you have deformed a bullet.
    Rick
    Yep. Take it one step farther with a die, and you can call it swaging.

  9. #9
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryanmattes View Post
    Put em back through the sizer, to make sure the whole thing didn't expand a bit.

    Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
    I did and they slipped right through the sizer

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    So maybe only the nose/ogive was deformed, and if you're lucky they'll have deformed fairly consistently (since you used a press and didn't just hit em with a hammer or something). As long as they don't give you feeding problems, I'd shoot em and see how they work.

    Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by ryanmattes View Post
    So maybe only the nose/ogive was deformed, and if you're lucky they'll have deformed fairly consistently (since you used a press and didn't just hit em with a hammer or something). As long as they don't give you feeding problems, I'd shoot em and see how they work.

    Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk
    And the worst that'll happen is they don't shoot well and I never do it again lol

  12. #12
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Frank Marshall wrote an article years ago where he did this to a 311284 for use in a .30-30 Savage 340. IIRC he also used 4350 powder.

    Robert

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    I have been doing this for years. I retrofitted my old Lyman #45 sizer luber to have a positive stop and every one of what ever boolit I want to make a flat nose on comes out exactly the same length. It is adjustable so I can set it for each bullet length I want to flatten. This process is done at the same time that I size and lube them.
    Last edited by 45-70 Chevroner; 01-26-2021 at 10:37 PM.

  14. #14
    Boolit Master
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    I use a Swag-o-matic to reform boolit noses to what ever I want and can make a point form die for.

  15. #15
    Boolit Master 44Blam's Avatar
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    I have some 40 cal boolits that I make gas checks for. The checks are too big to just stay on without resizing, so I tend to powder coat these and then pass them base first through the sizer.

    It already has a flat nose, but it does make it ever so slightly flatter.
    WWG1WGA

  16. #16
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by 45-70 Chevroner View Post
    I have been doing this for years. I retrofitted my old Lyman #45 sizer luber to have a positive stop and every one of what ever boolit I want to make a flat nose on comes out exactly the same length. It is adjustable so I can set it for each bullet length I want to flatten. This process is done at the same time that I size and lube them.
    I have the arbor press set so the handle will stop at the same spot to hopefully be consistent with every nose flatten. I don't think I want all of my rounds to be like that, though I was curious if the larger flat spot would create a meplat of sorts for defensive rounds.

  17. #17
    Boolit Grand Master In Remembrance
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    The good news is that all a meplat is, is a flat spot at the nose end of a boolit

  18. #18
    Boolit Bub
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr_Sheesh View Post
    The good news is that all a meplat is, is a flat spot at the nose end of a boolit
    Haha! Very true. But does it make a difference for 9mm like this? Assuming they fly the same as the as cast round.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    You might notice a very little more drop and wind drift out past 70-100 yards, if you shoot your 9mm beyond 75 yards. Maybe an extra 1" of wind drift at 100 yards(10 mph full value crosswind), another half inch of drop, if your 9mm is accurate enough to notice at 100 yards.

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
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    If I’m shooting my 9mm pistols at 100yds I don’t think I could put the blame on them or the bullets for any wide groups... haha

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check