Bullet Cross Sections

D

Dirty Hippie

New member
I have been sanding down some of the bullets I use to try and find the perfect bullet for different applications. I am going to start posting pictures of the cross sections of them in case anyone wonders how thick jackets are and what the polymer tips look like from the side. If this seems interesting I will continue to add bullets to the collection. Keep in mind these bullets are sanded in half by hand so it is not a true scientific dissection.

1766.jpg


Above are several .224 caliber bullets. Left to right 50 Vmax, 52 Amax, 55 Zmax w/c, 55 Hornady SP w/c. Nosler 55 Ballistic Tip, 55 Nosler Varmagedon. 63 Sierra SP, 50 Sierra SP

A huge thanks to hm1996 for labeling all the photos!
 
Last edited:
DH, Very interesting to me and answers the question why so many choose the Nosler Ballistic Tip over a lot of the other polymer tip bullets for Predator hunting

Would like to see more

Another one of the bullets that comes highly recommended here is the Sierra 55gr. SBT Gameking (#1365)
Would like to see this one and the 65gr. SBT Gameking (#1390) compared to the 2 Sierra's in your picture

I have many brands & weights of .224 bullets if you need some for "scientific dissection" just let me know would be glad to send you some
 
Cool! Keep 'em coming.

Used to do the same a million years ago when I had access to an end mill at work. I'm sure I still have all those sectioned bullets in a box somewhere in my junk pile.

- DAA
 
Originally Posted By: GLShooterThose look cool and very informative.

Greg

Yes, well done, Hippie! This helps explain why I get such great tosses with those 50 grain Vmaxes.
 
I'm glad you guys find this interesting. I will post up a second batch later tonight. I had to edit the first post as the second bullet was actually an Amax rather than Vmax. I will try polishing them with finer sand paper to make the jacket thickness a little more clear. I found after sanding these down that bullet performance became more clear to me. On varmints it is really hard to beat the explosive effects of the Vmax and Amax bullets due to the large tips likely forcing expansion. It think it also explains why I saw such large splashes on entry into coyotes from time to time with the Vmax. After this project I did switch to Nosler ballistic tips on coyotes and thus far the results have been very good. I really like the solid base that should continue to penetrate after initial expansion. Not to take any glory away from old favorites I have killed coyotes with all these bullets with the exception of the 63 Sierra with bang flop effectiveness. The 63 just never made to the field.
 
Interesting stuff for sure. If you have them, I'd like to see .224 55gr blitzking and 60gr hp from Hornady and sierra. As well as 6mm 70gr blitzking compared to 75gr vmax.
 
Maybe just explain how you are going about it. Guys can do all the bullets they want and post the pics. I know my buddy Steve has sanded some too maybe he'll add his pics.

Now that I think about it, getting a whole bunch of pics of a whole bunch of bullets together would be cool. Think maybe a post on my blog dedicated to showing a ton of these all in one place organized by caliber could happen.

-Daa
 
My method of sanding these bullets down is pretty ghetto. I use 60 grit paper to get through the jacket then move down to 120 for the finished look. I held them gently with little slip joint pliers to keep from crushing them. It Takes less than 10 minutes per bullet. Hm1996 had cool idea to mount them on a plaque, which I will be doing as I get through the bullets I have in stock. The more bullets posted up will just make this thread more useful.
 
I might have to steal this picture amd pull it out the next time i get ridiculed for using "match" bullets (52 Amax) to shoot coyotes.

They look well done I've seen a few others try doing this and usually the edges end up looking "smeared" not giving a real clear cross section view.

Id love to see more "unethical match" bullets cross sectioned.
 
Here are the Vmax and the Amax bullets. I cleaned them up on 300 grit and found they have cavities behind the tips. The Amax has a cavity but it seems very small. Not enough to push the lead film into. Left to right 40 Vmax, 50 Vmax, 52 Amax, 55

1761.jpg

1763.jpg



50 Zmax, 55 Zmax, Hornady 55 SP
 
Last edited:
These are the Noslers, 55 NBT, 55 Varmagedon, 69 Custom Competition. After cleaning these up you can see the tip does extend down into the lead core. Getting decent lighting is tough!

1762.jpg
 
Last edited:
Good work, thanks for sharing. Is the Amax tip slightly narrower inside the bullet than the vmax, or does it just appear that way? There appears to be very little difference, a little less cavity like you said.
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top