Meplat trimming with a dremel?

[Ultraman550]

These SMK's are a bitch. Almost every one of them has that little point of extra copper right at the tip and it's screwing up the OAL I need to get them to properly fit into the magazine. I'll probably end up buying a meplat trimmer from Brownells for $50 but do you think it's ok for now to just "eyeball it" and use a dremel to file them down? I'm not going for extreme accuracy either so that's not a concern.

 

[oldfatguy]

If you are not going for extreme accuracy, why not simply load a few thousands shorter then mag length?

OFG

 

[Ultraman550]

My problem is they're all over the place. Some are obnoxiously long and some are minor. I'm just worried to push the bullet to far back into the case. Am I over thinking this?

 

[Fuzzy Bunny]

I think you are. The seater doesn't touch the meplat, so whatever you cut away won't change COL consistency.

 

[MajorHeadTrauma]

http://whiddengunworks.net/trimmer.html

No question the hot ticket.

 

[wilecoyote]

done_twice_250 rds.each_
with dremel only.
dremel and Tubb's gitzmo,
dremel/Tubb's gitzmo and re-hollow pointed with a f'kn micro drill bit & watchmaker's googles...
...polished_
seemed lasting forever,almost blinded, meplat powder everywhere, nostrils included, winned w.my best score in Ausland w. K98 but...
if I would run for victory in some next future, I rather would try to bribe someone among the Match Directors, if given a choice !

 

[rrflyer]

Get a giraud with a meplat trimmer

 

[Ultraman550]

Good info guys, thank you.

 

[BirdEyes]

I think you are. The seater doesn't touch the meplat, so whatever you cut away won't change COL consistency.

Not quite true. A good bullet seater will reference and seat from at/near the ogive giving uniform seating. This still leave the bullet length disparities due to varying meplat variances intact meaning that COAL differences will persist. These variances should not be excessive and seating depth for magazine length cartridges should be based on the longest round from the lot so yes the OP is over-thinking things a bit but then again that is why there is a market for meplat trimmers.

 

[turbo54]

Why not use a pair of side cutters and just clip the tip?

Or, to maintain weight, you can just smack the tip and peen it down a little.

 

[DGD6MM]

Why not use a pair of side cutters and just clip the tip?

Or, to maintain weight, you can just smack the tip and peen it down a little.

turbo54, now thats funny!

 

[rjacobs]

when ever I see dremel on a gun forum I get scared.

And yes you are way over thinking things. Just seat a little deeper and make sure that every round is seated the same if you have one round that is to long.

I have seen variances with the 175g SMK's of .02 or so(had some at 2.815 and some at 2.795 out of the same box just going off memory). I generally try to shoot for right at 2.800 when re-setting my die(I shoot 3 or 4 different bullets) and I dont tend to measure all of my bullets to find the longest(or shortest or whatever). All my guns are mag fed(AI and LR-Pmags) so I dont use a comparator because its fairly useless when you have no chance of getting close to the lands. So FAR I havent had an issue dealing with the variance's that I have seen(.020) when shooting for a 2.800 OAL. I think in one box so far I have had to go back and re-seat every round because I found one(at the end of course) that was going to end up to long, needed to be seated deeper, so I had to re-seat every round to stay consistent. This is why I really like my Forster Ultra seating die since you can just dial down the micrometer to exactly what you need and then run through the rounds again to seat them all slightly deeper so they are all consistent.

If you measure all your bullets prior to loading I would do my die setup with the longest in the box and call it good on the rest that will end up "short" according to OAL.

 

[nuclear_shooter]

If you feel the need to trim your meplat, get the right tool for the job, namely: Sinclair Meplat Trimmers | Sinclair Intl. Using a Dremel is asking for a mess/health hazard.

 

[Fuzzy Bunny]

Not quite true. A good bullet seater will reference and seat from at/near the ogive giving uniform seating. This still leave the bullet length disparities due to varying meplat variances intact meaning that COAL differences will persist. These variances should not be excessive and seating depth for magazine length cartridges should be based on the longest round from the lot so yes the OP is over-thinking things a bit but then again that is why there is a market for meplat trimmers.

I just went back and read my post, and said that isn't right, before I saw your comment. You are correct. COL will vary do to different bullet lengths.

 

[Ring]

buy hornady, and never trim again....

 

[Ring]

Why not use a pair of side cutters and just clip the tip?

Or, to maintain weight, you can just smack the tip and peen it down a little.

or put all of your stick powder in a coffee grinder so it will meeter better....















NO>>> DONT DO THAT....

 

[wilecoyote]

"...Severals years ago,a former State Champion went to load his stripper clips for Three Rapid,and discovered he had omly Slow Fire ammunition. It was set to a longer setting depth and would not feed into the well for Rapid Fire. No one on the line had a bullet seater with them,but someone did have a flat file.
He filed down the hollow points enough to fit the well. His score was 100 - 7X. ..."

quote above from one of the books of M/SGT James R. Owens, USMC (Ret.)