By Gary “The Human Manual” Kieft
When the fully self-contained cartridge was developed in the 1850s and 60s, the first bullets used were little changed from those in use during the muzzleloading era. Lead, round nose, some hollow base, others flat based were the norm. But as firearms moved past the single shot and into the repeating era, it was realized that a material harder than lead was needed to reduce malfunctions as cartridges were fed from magazines into chambers. The full-metal-jacketed (FMJ) bullet was first created by a Prussian major in 1875 or 1876 and adopted for use by the Swiss under Colonel Rubin in 1882. The early jacketed bullets were initially round nose in shape, like their lead predecessors. With the development of smokeless powder in 1886, the bore diameters were greatly reduced, and velocities significantly increased. Jacketed bullets were needed to withstand the much higher pressures that smokeless powders developed. In 1899, the Hague Convention prohibited use of bullets that expanded or deformed in warfare. So, for military use, the FMJ bullet was mandatory.
In 1898, both France and Germany were experimenting with pointed bullets. Pointed bullets have less bore contact than round bullets, extending barrel life. They also offer improved downrange performance, as the more streamlined nose and improved center of gravity lose velocity more slowly than round nose bullets fired at the same speed. France adopted the spitzer nose profile in 1898 for their 8mm Lebel, “Balle D”, a 198-grain solid bullet at 2300 fps. It stayed supersonic to 870 yards. Germany adopted their version in 1904, a 153-grain jacketed spitzer bullet at 2880 fps. The US changed from the .30-03 cartridge and its 220-grain round nose bullet in 1906, shortening the case neck slightly at the same time. The 150-grain spitzer design was launched at 2700 fps. The United Kingdom switched to a 174-grain spitzer bullet at 2441 fps in 1910, Russia adopted their 148-grain spitzer bullet in 1908, moving at 2838 fps. Hornady called their spitzer bullets “Spire Points” when they redesigned them in 1961. They changed the nose shape to a secant ogive, as opposed the tangent ogive used in most spitzer bullets.
At the same time, they adopted the spitzer bullet, the French made another step forward in bullet design – the “boattail.” Instead of the base of the bullet being the same diameter as the bore, it is tapered somewhat, with the actual bottom of the bullet being noticeably smaller than the bore diameter. Doing this reduced the air drag on the bullet, reducing bullet drop at longer distances. The reduction in bullet drop was found to be noticeable beyond about 400 yards. The Germans adopted this design in 1914, changing to a 198-grain boattail bullet at 2493 fps which stayed supersonic to over 1100 yards. The US waited until 1926 to adopt the boattail design. The .30 M1 cartridge was a 174-grain bullet at 2647 fps. (Due to the limitations of most military shooting ranges and resultant safety concerns, this increase in long-range performance was reversed in 1936 with the adoption of the .30 M2 cartridge, a 150-grain flat-based bullet launched at 2800 fps.)
Bullets underwent only marginal improvements in external ballistics until the 1980s. In an effort to extend the range of bullets without increasing the muzzle velocity, the very-low-drag bullet (henceforth referred to as a VLD bullet) was created. The VLD bullet has a more streamlined profile, with a longer nose combined with a hollow point (sometimes filled with a polymer tip) that gives the bullet a greater ballistic coefficient. This bullet is typically longer and heavier, so it loses velocity (and energy) more slowly. Because of the longer bullet length, a faster barrel twist is required to stabilize the VLD bullets. When it was introduced in 1963, the .223 Remington/5.56mm cartridge had a 1:14” barrel twist and a 55-grain bullet. Now, most 5.56mm NATO barrels are 1:7 or 1:8” twist, and can stabilize a 77-grain bullet. The classic .270 Winchester has a 1:10” barrel twist. The usurper 6.5 Creedmoor has a 1:8” twist rate. While the .270 Winchester launches a 130-grain boattailed spitzer at about 3100 fps, the improved ballistics of the 140-grain VLD bullet leaving the 6.5 Creedmoor barrel at a lowly 2800 fps will begin to surpass the .270 at about 500 yards, with a bit less in recoil and the ability to work in a short-action rifle.
Another advantage to the VLD bullet at longer ranges is improved wind resistance. The lower bullet drag means crosswinds can’t push a bullet as far off course as much.
Hornady’s version of the VLD is the ELD (Extremely Low Drag) bullet. The ELD bullet has the hollow point filled with a high temperature polymer, so this tip won’t deform, and increase drag during flight. The ELD bullets continue with the Hornady secant-ogive design. Hornady offers variations of their ELD bullet suitable for both long-range hunting as well as long-range match shooting.
What type of bullet do you need? It depends on what you want to do with it. For casual shooting, an inexpensive FMJ bullet is fine. If the first round fails to blow up a dirt clod, then one of the other 29 in the magazine might. For medium- and big-game hunting, a flat base spitzer or spire point is fine out to about 400 yards. A boattailed spitzer can increase that distance by about 200-250 yards, if your firearm and optics are up to the task. If your barrel has a fast enough twist rate to stabilize the longer VLD/ELD bullet, you can double that distance.
For varmint hunting and precision rifle, where ranges can often surpass 600 yards and reach out as much as 1000-plus yards, a target Spitzer or match boattailed hollow point bullet – with or without a polymer tip – will give you the improved performance. Again, if your rifle has an appropriately fast barrel twist, the VLD/ELD bullets are your best long-range performers.
Most VLD/ELD bullets require a bullet seating stem profiled for their nose ogive. A standard seat stem may leave a ring around the bullet at the point of contact. Harmless, yet unsightly.
