A cheap bullet pointing system

[ovenpaa]

Right now there are two main bullet pointing systems on the market, the Hoover System and the Whidden and both are expensive.

The Hoover is a tad over USD245 and the Whidden is USD210 plus the sleeve and die for another USD80, get them into the UK and you are paying a lot of money to make very small albeit possibly worthwhile adjustments to bullet tips.

So consider this post as market research for those of you that would be tempted to try bullet pointing at a more reasonable price. What is a more reasonable price? How would around the GBP60/75 sound for a bullet pointing system, that would included postage from the UK. Is this too expensive?

Comments please.

[Dangermouse]

I have been looking at these my self and feel that they are just a tad too expensive. It had crossed my mind that such a thing could be shared as you could sit down and do all your boolits in one go.

Certainly would be interested in anything under £100!

I read somewhere that best results are from pointing then taking a bit off with a metplat trimmer but have still to find a metplat trimmer that anyone recommends.

DM

[Mike357]

Where did I see something about this recently? Was it in Target Shooter or some other forum (heaven forbid!)

[Christel]

Mike357,

You on another forum!?

Argh......

Ok, you have my permission. :)

[ovenpaa]

Where did I see something about this recently? Was it in Target Shooter or some other forum (heaven forbid!)

It has been discussed quite extensively on the forums and there was an article in TS as well. I am sure meplat trimming and pointing will give more consistent results with verticals, not so sure about windage but I am prepared to give it a try. The problem is the pointers are so expensive and as such the every day shooter may choose not to try pointing due to the outlay. As an example MidwayUK stock them for GBP229 for a single calibre model.

if however you could get a bullet pointing system home for just over a quarter of the cost US based systems it has to be worth a look and would enable a lot more long distance shooters to give it a go.

What I would say to anyone thinking of getting one right now is hold on a week or so.

[Sim G]

Dave,

Are you talking about a meplat trimmer? If so, the Hoover is $US125 and Sinclair International do one for $US50...

http://www.bullettipping.com/meplattrimmer_detail.asp

http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/pid=3 ... t_Trimmers

[ShootingSight]

I have never looked at Meplat trimmers,but am not impressed. Seems to me the a Dremmel with an abrasive disk (do you have Dremmels inthe UK?) could be set up with a little guide (a plate of steel with a hole in it). so you could stick in a tip and abrade off a few thousandths of an inch. It does not seem to be Rocket Science - more like economics.

[ovenpaa]

The problem with so many of the meplat trimmers is they use a hard nylon insert or body to hold the bullet in place, great in the respect that the bullet is not marked during the process but it leads to a very flimsy affair where the bullet can wobble slightly. As the movement is a at worst a few degrees it should not make a huge difference to the final trimming but it is still not right.

I have a Tubb trimmer that Spud gave me which is a prime example of something like this and I was not impressed with the trimming if you turn the cutter by hand but power it with a cordless drill and it gives a very nice finish. This however does not overcome the wobbling... So a bit of research and the solution seems to be to cast a chamber for the bullet so that it is held perfectly in line every time.

I am going to machine a hole in mine so that it is held at the right depth relevant to the cutting face (final trim length is adjusted with the cutter) Coat the bullet with a release agent such as boot polish and then pour epoxy resin in at the front. Once set knock the bullet out, face the surplus epoxy off and you have a perfect little chamber to hold your bullet in place. Yes there will be some dimensional changes from bullet to bullet but these will be a matter of tenths of thou so you should get a very consistent placement.

Taking it further I have been talking to DangerMouse about a similar project using a Wilson type trimmer which is very simple in it's approach and allows you to trim more than one sized bullet without having to buy new inserts. More on that later

[ovenpaa]

I have never looked at Meplat trimmers,but am not impressed. Seems to me the a Dremmel with an abrasive disk (do you have Dremmels inthe UK?) could be set up with a little guide (a plate of steel with a hole in it). so you could stick in a tip and abrade off a few thousandths of an inch. It does not seem to be Rocket Science - more like economics.

Yes we have Dremmels in the UK and that is another good idea as the guide would be very easy to make and you are using something you already have. Again speed will be the advantage, a cutter run at higher speeds will always give a better finish than one run at low speed.

[Mike357]

Always admire folk that can engineer stuff like this, and build from scratch.

Guess that makes you old school geeks?