Soft point vs. Ballistic tip ricochets?

PT_hunter

New member
I just got my new 22-250 and I've been researching my different options for ammunition. Everyone certainly has there favorite coyote loads!

For now I will be using only factory loads probably at or near 55 grains. I will often be hunting from the top of our hillside down into a crop field. This will mostly be predator hunting, but likely groundhog too for more shooting practice.

My question comes because I'd like to understand the difference in ricochet potential for a soft point round vs. ballistic tipped ammunition? My back drop is completely clear and my property extends well into the next hillside but I wanted to minimize the chances of ricochet as much as possible. Would there be a difference between the two (say Hornandy V-Max vs Hornandy SP) if they were to strike the ground in this field?

Please trust me that I have been hunting many years and understand the aspects of identifying whats behind my target, hunting safety, etc... I just don't have experience with a rifle as we are mostly shooting shotgun slugs and muzzle loaders in Ohio.

Thank you!!
 
Your ballistic tip is more likely to fragment on impact with any degree of solid object than a soft point round, including a clod of dirt...That's not to say that the fragments can't extend past the point of initial impact...But at that time, the smaller fragments will lose momentum much quicker and usually travel a shorter distance...

We used to carry soft pointed rounds in our police service revolvers and we did some experiments with ricochets for various purposes...When striking a hard flat surface, the round will usually 'bounce' about 12-18" from the surface and then continue in a straight line along that surface until losing momentum and gravity becomes more pronounced...

Ballistic tip bullets are designed, usually with thinner copper jackets and softer cores, to increase fragmentation on impact..They also shed their retained weight much quicker than most soft nosed rounds...
 
Thanks so much for the great information! Very helpful!

I'm hoping to get my rig sighted in by friday and then out for a couple dusk hunts this weekend!
 
I agree...I don't worry much about ricochets with ballistic tips as they really fragment. If it is a concern, I'd go with the ballistic tips.
 

Keep in mind that "Ballistic Tip" is not the name of all plastic tipped bullets.

"Ballistic Tip®" is a registered trade marque of Nosler - and it is NOT the same as the V-Max or BlitzKing.

The Ballistic Tip has a solid base that WILL ricochet like a solid bullet.

The V-Max and BlitzKing will not. They will turn into tiny particles.
 
Good point catshooter...I was specifically thinking VMax and Blitzking...People due tend to use the term "Ballistic Tip" interchangably and I am guilty of it myself even when I KNOW there is a difference.
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtle
We used to carry soft pointed rounds in our police service revolvers and we did some experiments with ricochets for various purposes...When striking a hard flat surface, the round will usually 'bounce' about 12-18" from the surface and then continue in a straight line along that surface until losing momentum and gravity becomes more pronounced...


O.T.
I can't believe you said that. You made it sound like gravity is changing due to speed, but gravity is a constant. I doubt you meant it to come out that way.
 
I shot hundreds of ground squirrels with 223 40gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. Occassionally I'd get a pass thru on a kill and I'd see a poof of dust behind it and hear the zing of a rochochet. I guess that was the solid base...

I switched over to the 223 40gr Vmax and have never once had that happen since.
 
Quote:I can't believe you said that. You made it sound like gravity is changing due to speed, but gravity is a constant. I doubt you meant it to come out that way....You are right,, I should have written that the effect of gravity becomes more pronounced, but I guess I was thinking that most of our intelligent readers would catch that...
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtleQuote:I can't believe you said that. You made it sound like gravity is changing due to speed, but gravity is a constant. I doubt you meant it to come out that way....You are right,, I should have written that the effect of gravity becomes more pronounced, but I guess I was thinking that most of our intelligent readers would catch that...

When a bullet strikes the ground many variables are introduced into the mix that determine where the bullet comes to rest, but gravity or the effect of gravity is not one of them. Just impacting the ground reduces velocity and causes unpredictable changes to the bullet shape, rotation, and aerodynamics. The bullet bounce will depend on angle of incident, jacket composition, and the friction of the surface material among other factors. Just think of gravity as a constant that is always there to pull the bullet toward the ground. The speed and shape of the bullet are the main variables. The acceleration of gravity is a constant that is built into bullet trajectory calculations.

The bottom line is: Bullets that fragment easily don't ricochet much. I doubt the original poster is much interested in the physics discussion, so I'll take my science manual and go home now.
 
Another look at this topic,now im not directly sticking up for either kind of bullet , BUT the polycarbonate or plastic tip of a "ballistic tip"(yea I know) bullet does two things ,it retains it shape better than soft exposed lead for accuracy and ballistics and apon a frontal impact it pushes back through the bullet to help expansion.So if you were to miss the target animal and don't hit anything with the plastic tip like a rock or dirt clump ect.ect. and just flat ground at the normal very shallow angle ricochet's occur at the tip wouldn't be pushing back through the bullet to expand it soooo would it matter if it had a plastic tip or not.As far as I understand most .224 dia bullets are made to expand anyway because they were designed for varmint's and predators not deer sized game that you need penetration for. In conclusion my thinking would be research and find the bullet with the thinnest jacket that is the most frangible that shoots good in your gun It might very well have a plastic tip but it might not.
 
Originally Posted By: bthomasb1Another look at this topic,now im not directly sticking up for either kind of bullet , BUT the polycarbonate or plastic tip of a "ballistic tip"(yea I know) bullet does two things ,it retains it shape better than soft exposed lead for accuracy and ballistics and apon a frontal impact it pushes back through the bullet to help expansion.So if you were to miss the target animal and don't hit anything with the plastic tip like a rock or dirt clump ect.ect. and just flat ground at the normal very shallow angle ricochet's occur at the tip wouldn't be pushing back through the bullet to expand it soooo would it matter if it had a plastic tip or not.As far as I understand most .224 dia bullets are made to expand anyway because they were designed for varmint's and predators not deer sized game that you need penetration for. In conclusion my thinking would be research and find the bullet with the thinnest jacket that is the most frangible that shoots good in your gun It might very well have a plastic tip but it might not.

Huh????
 
I was basically saying I don't think it matters if it has a plastic tip or not it depends more on how the bullet is built,jacket thickness lead hardness ect.
 

I would think that a plastic tip would be a big one under the "How it was built" category.

While the soft point and the plastic tip may skip off the surface the same at shallow angles, when they plunk into flesh, they sure don't act the same.
 
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