What do we really know about the transonic zone?

[Distant Thunder]

First off I have to say I don't think the nose shape matters enough in the transonic velocity range to out weigh accuracy. I also believe we are better served by a nose length that is 40 to 45% of the OAL and that that OAL is best if it's a tad short of what most twist calculations will tell you is maximum (like Don said). A long slender nose is not the best for BPCR velocity.

Brian,

A few years ago I was given a drawing and a bunch of numbers that came from someone working aerospace. The person who gave me the info asked if I could cut a mold to produce that bullet. I knew at a glance it wasn't going to be easy. After two attempts I had something that was close but not perfect, one minor flaw. I cast enough to do some testing for myself and turned the mold over to the guy that gave me the info.

He cast and shot enough to conclude it wasn't any better than a good elliptical, but was a lot lighter due to the nose shape. I came to the same conclusion with the ones I tested. It resembled a nose cone and was very pointed. I don't think it went anywhere after initial testing.

We need enough weight in the front half of our bullets to have the center of mass forward enough to keep things stable when the wind pushes hard against the nose. Move the center of mass too far back and things will become unstable in the quartering headwinds.