Flat nose or round nose?

[blkpowder50]

Whats the advantages of both? Is a flat nose better for penetration?

 

[Cormac Siegfried]

The main advantage of a spitzer shaped bullet is its aerodynamic qualities that help it to be more accurate at a greater distance. The elongated tip betters the bullet's stability. It also reduces the violence of the bullets disruption through the air, making it more efficient (similar to hull speed on a boat).

Many bullets are round nosed because they were first designed for use in rifles that employ a tubular magazine. If those bullets were spitzers, users might have problems with random discharges. Hornady's flex-tip bullets increase the effective range of many traditionally round nose bullets.

Most hunters hunt with expanding bullets, even if the bullet is of spitzer shape. When the bullet expands it is increasing its ability to cut arteries and destroy tissue and no longer resembles the spitzer design. Many dangerous game bullets will have round noses because it does do a better job at penetrating. The flatter nose will deform less drastically than an elongated nose and will therefor penetrate further and straighter. The problems of ballistics with round nose bullets are mitigated by the fact that shots on dangerous game should be fairly close.

This isn't the most comprehensive answer, I apologize for that but this should get you started and if I am unclear, feel free to ask again, there are plenty of knowledgeable people on this site. If you are insatiably interested in bullets and rifles and ballistics a good book to read is Rifles for Africa by Gregor Woods. It is not the end all be all of bullet info, but it is a well written, clear and logical start to the conversation.

 

[MS 9x56]

Are you asking differences between round nose and flat meplate tipped bullets? O r round nose and spitzer tipped bullets?

 

[Velo Dog]

Whats the advantages of both? Is a flat nose better for penetration?

If the question is regarding solids / full metal jacket projectiles then, all else being equal, the flat nose ones usually penetrate a bit further than round nose ones do.
This seems to be due to the relatively sharp edge of the flat nose bullet cutting its way through the live target.
The round nose bullet has to push its way through same.

Perhaps the only advantage round nose bullets have over flat nose ones is that, in some repeaters, they feed from the magazine more reliably.
That said, a professional Gunsmith can work over a repeater to feed smoothly with flat nose bullets.
It just requires skill, patience and money.
However, it is commonly done to rifles belonging to people who are serious about big game hunting.

 

[Red Leg]

Assuming we are talking solids, a few years ago I would have advocated a flatnose. However, the Woodley Hydro with its cup point is the best solid I have used.

 

[spike.t]

Many bullets are round nosed because they were first designed for use in rifles that employ a tubular magazine.

Tubular magazines need flat nose bullets... Google a photo of a 30-30 ..

 

[Uwe Jaspersen]

Bikpowder, this will probably turn into quite an interesting point. May I ask you what your intentions are with regards to your chosen hunting - open plains, long shots or close up bushveld hunting. For bushveld hunting with shots no further than 150 yards with a high possibility of having to shoot through some vegetation then I would say there is no better choice than flat meplat bullets. They travel straight through obstructions, be it vegetation or animal. Open plains, long shots - there is nothing that beats a high BC bullets. Now, when it comes to brands there will be massively differing opinions

 

[tarbe]

Tubular magazines need flat nose bullets... Google a photo of a 30-30 ..

We better tell Federal! Lol

 

[Major Khan]

During the time of my career ( 1961 - 1970 ) ... round nose bullets were all that was available.
For the .375 Holland & Holland magnum and the .458 Winchester magnum calibre ... Winchester would produce a solid metal covered cartridge with a round nose .
As would Remington . Hornady would sell just the bullets ... which were offered as a re loading component . They worked well enough for even the largest Indian and African elephants .

But I have closely been following the development of flat nose bullets over the years . With all other factors being equal ... a flat nose bullet will invariably out penetrate a round nose bullet of the same calibre and weight .

During our time , the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre with round nose 300 grain solid metal covered bullets ... was an excellent choice for royal Bengal tigers . But while it also saw plenty of successful use on Indian gaur bison ... there were a few times when it just did not do the trick on these large 2000 pound thick skinned animals . It was only after the introduction of the flat nosed bullet ... that the .375 Holland & Holland magnum came to be seen as a SERIOUS contender for African Cape Buffalo and elephants . The flat nose design of modern bullets greatly boosted performance .


Monolithic bullets which have a flat nose will out penetrate solid metal covered bullets ( of the same calibre ) which have a round nose .
There is an excellent book titled , " Ballistics ln Perspective " . It is written by a South African elephant culler by the name of Mr. Mike LaGrange . This gentle man shot 6000 African elephants during the culling programs in the 1980s . He published the 2nd edition of the book in 1990 . He dedicates a chapter solely to bullet shape . I would highly recommend that you purchase a copy of this book .

 

[spike.t]

We better tell Federal! Lol
View attachment 344821

Ok wrong.. Only seen the flat ones that I got years ago....Winchester I think......

 

[tarbe]

Ok wrong.. Only seen the flat ones that I got years ago....Winchester I think......

Heck, my favorite 30-30 bullet is a roundnose - Nosler’s 170gr RN.

 

[Major Khan]

Ok wrong.. Only seen the flat ones that I got years ago....Winchester I think......

If I may lend an insight , Spike T ...
you see , the bullets to be utilized in rifles with tubular magazines need to have a BLUNT NOSE ( in order to prevent 1 cartridge's bullet point from striking the primer of the cartridge before it ) . Whether the bluntness is accomplished by flattening the nose or rounding it off ... is at the bullet manufacturer's discretion .
That said ... I still prefer the classic flat nose Winchester Super X 170 grain soft point cartridges for the .30-30 Winchester . It is traditional.

 

[IvW]

We better tell Federal! Lol
View attachment 344821

Those are not solids....

 

[tarbe]

Those are not solids....

Really?

 

[IvW]

Solids for use on Elephant, Rhino and Hippo on land should in these times be of Solid brass and should either be of Meplat(Flat) or the Woodleigh Hydro solid brass bullet. They offer the best straight line penetration of any solid and give the biggest wound channels.

Old style round nose solids are best used in large bores for small game like duiker because they do minimal damage to the cape....not what you need when dealing with the three hard skin DG animals....

That is if it is a bolt action or double such as VC which will allow you to use them. Krieghoff the warranty will be void if you use solid brass bullets....

When using meplat bullet they should be 65-75% of bullet diameter for best results and needless to say heavy for caliber to provide the best straight line penetration.

 

[IvW]

Really?

Assuming solids of course as the OP mentions which penetrates the best....

 

[tarbe]

Assuming solids of course as the OP mentions which penetrates the best....

Truth is, with such a nebulous question we are all doing a bit of assuming!

Not to mention a bit of thread drift by Mike and I.

 

[IvW]

Sure I should also assume less, who knows maybe he is asking about expanding bullets on PG but I do not think so......

 

[spike.t]

Truth is, with such a nebulous question we are all doing a bit of assuming!

Not to mention a bit of thread drift by Mike and I.

It's an old thread so don't see a problem by us waffling a bit...

 

[IvW]

Nothing like corona to revitalize some old topics...