BluntForceTrauma Wrote:Good find, Stan, although I see no reason they couldn't streamline the nose.John, as shown in the OP, it looks like development did start with a very streamlined bullet (123gr MatchKing, or similar).
I'd guess that such a long ogive design proved problematical in some manner. I don't know why it was done, but I've seen speculation that:
- Perhaps the long jump to the rifling cause accuracy issues with a long-ogive projectile.
- The shorter ogive enabled better bullet stability in the transonic region.
- A weight of 123 grains was desired, which could not be achieved with a long-ogive, lead-free bullet while keeping length below 5.5 calibers.
- The ogive was chosen for optimum compatibility with a Tracer bullet.