Opinions on non hollow point nose profiles

[curioushooter]

What is generally considered the best non hollowpoint bullet nose profile for medium game like deer launched at moderate velocity...like 1400-2000 fps.

Wide flat nose?
Semi-wadcutter?
Wadcutter?

Can mushrooming be expected from such profiles with appropriate hardness and sufficent velocity?

Is hollopoint performance so superior that it should be preferred?

[rking22]

I would pick them in the order you listed, noting that the WC might not shoot very well past 50 to 75 yards. They will all upset if the alloy and velocity are appropriate. That said, these aren't jacketed pointy things, their initial shape will give decent performance. Expansion of a HP can actually be overdone. I want a shallow cavity leaving 2/3 or so of the bullet shank to carry on thru and out the other side. At the velocities we use,generally speaking <2400 fps, you are not going to get that "Weatherby effect" caused by the supersonic shock wave in the bodies fluids. Makinging a HP turn into a silverdollar size disk is not going to be as effective as a WFN or stronger HP going all the way thru. Going to be lots of various thoughts here, those are just what works for me.

[bmortell]

at 1400 plus it would have to be hard to not expand. at 1300 a swc air cooled ww expands nicely, wide flat nose needs about extra 100fps to expand the same due to having more meat. talking based off 44 mag with wet pack and water. ive never had something that will do fast wadcutters accurately so idk what its like. I don't see a need for hollow points unless its to slow to expand otherwise, if you have a big flat nose at good speed you don't really need expansion anyway. in general id go heaviest and widest meplat within reason.

[elk hunter]

I prefer the wide flat nose as it doesn't have to expand to deliver a lot of energy and will generally give complete penetration which I find works best for me as exit wounds leak a lot better than entrance wounds. I also like an alloy that will deform rather than shatter. I had one 45 caliber, 400 grain, wheel weight metal bullet break up when it hit the upper leg bone of a mule deer at close range but, the only cast bullet I recovered from an animal was cast from linotype and it did show some deformation and had lost only 7 grains from the original 525 grain as cast weight.

[RED BEAR]

I have to say i have asked this before and never really could get a consensus. I personally don't think it matters much. A lot of hunting bullets are round nose. And as long as a bullet does not pass through it will expend all of its energy. I almost exclusively carry factory ammo in my carry guns but when i use hand loads i prefer dead soft lead with the biggest bullet for caliber i have.

[ole_270]

Accurate 38-250B, 12Bhn, shot at velocities from 1250-1600 fps into my backstop made of dimension lumber and filled with ground ag lime from 100 yards. This bullet has a fairly large flat nose and is not a hollowpoint.
https://i.imgur.com/V3qJK89.jpg
I've killed 3 deer at woods ranges out of my Marlin 38-55 and none have made it over 30 yards.

[Smoke4320]

Wide flat nose with appropriate hardness and sufficient velocity and powdercoated for good measure and you have a winner

[jmort]

WFN, WLN, WC, SWC or RFP
The Magic Meplat does the work
Lead Bullets Technology
Very effective

[mattw]

In my 41 mag I use the LBT 230 OWC, widest nose. If they are not handy, I run the Saeco 411 230 grain wide SWC. I have taken deer with both out of a 5" S&W 41 mag loaded with a hot load of 2400. I have a 255 grain WFN, but it just really is not needed for Illinois whitetail's. Early on I used the Lyman 358439HP with a softer alloy and it worked well, but not as well as the 41 mag.

[Good Cheer]

Curious,
Going heavy boolit for caliber use a very wide flat nose, wider the better.
Not so heavy and the semi-wadcutter will assist in penetration.

[Outpost75]

The only time I use HP cast bullets is for HANDGUN loads below 850 fps as in the .45 ACP, .455 Eley, .38 Special.

In the .357 Mag., .44 Spl., .44 Mag., .44-40, .45 Colt at 900 fps+ all you you need is a bullet with meplat 0.6 of the diameter or larger, cast from 1:40 tin-lead alloy, and this penetrates well on large game, rivets upon striking bone and will upset larger than bullet diameter in soft tissue impacts, giving through and through penetration on deer sized game up to 200 lbs.

At higher velocities as in the .44-40 Winchester '92, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt Ruger, .32-40, .38-55, .45-70 up to 1450 fps, use 1:25 alloy and a bullet of same general description, heavy for caliber, meplat 0.6 of diameter to 0.7 of bullet diameter.

With GC bullet at higher velocity in .30-30, .30-40, .303 Brit., .35 Remington, .444 Marlin, .45-70 Marlin 1895, use either 1:20 alloy or 50-50 COWW and lead with 2% tin added with GC bullet up to 1850 fps, if bullet "fits" and is well lubricated.

Above 1850 fps to 2200 fps use 50-50 wheelweights and linotype with bullet of same general description, full large loads in .30-30, .30-40, .303 British with bullet which is heavy for the caliber, 170-grs. in .30-30, and 200+ in larger cases with ten-inch twist barrels.

[Larry Gibson]

What is generally considered the best non hollowpoint bullet nose profile for medium game like deer launched at moderate velocity...like 1400-2000 fps.

Wide flat nose?
Semi-wadcutter?
Wadcutter?

Can mushrooming be expected from such profiles with appropriate hardness and sufficent velocity?

Is hollopoint performance so superior that it should be preferred?

You don't specify handgun or rifle?

However, in either, if a non HP is used at those velocities a full WC is not going to hold accuracy for much distance. In many repeaters the SWC is going to feed better than the WFN. Actually would prefer a good blunt nose GC'd bullet cast of soft malleable alloy that will expand. If hard cast a SWC has always worked well enough.

"Is hollowpoint performance so superior that it should be preferred?"

Yes, it is my preferred bullet if the HP is of appropriate size and dimension and is cast of an appropriate malleable alloy that allows expansion to allow expansion w/o excessive sloughing off of expansion petals. It must also expand at impact velocities within the expected range of use.

[Ramjet-SS]

I like the WFN and the HP of appropriate alloy and velocity range as Larry has said.

Now I have done allot of work with the WFN and LFN with softer alloy heavy for caliber and am impressed with the penetration and expansion. All those designs are gas checked. First and foremost put the bullet in the vitals.