Anyone ever here of someone seating a bullet backwards and shooting it? What would happen? Sometimes I think to much. And no I didn't do it.

I've loaded hollow base wadcutters backwards for my 357 & 44mags. Expansion was better but accuracy sucked. It's like trying to throw an unbrella.

Well....some folks will be afraid you might shoot your sighting eye out!

your thinking ain't all bad. The number of pulled FMJs and loaded backwards is in the four figures for me. Many of the Boat tails would serve just fine as hunting bullets. Accuracy has never proven great but isn't all bad either.

Can someone think too much? Only if they out think themselves. Seems like you're doing just fine. roger

Back in early 1962 I received my first issue M14. The military bullets were very easy to remove. I just turned the bullets around and shot them backwards single shot only. They were pretty accurate and sure made BIG holes in what ever we were shooting at, mostly scrap 2x4s. Lots of guys did it.
Regards, Keith

When I was a kid, my buddies and I would buy milsurp ammo 'cause that was about all we could afford. We knew FMJ's weren't legal for hunting so we pulled the bullets and loaded them backwards. We got stopped by a fishcop onetime and he just had to check us out. He asked to see our ammo and we showed him. He took a look at our ammo and with a somewhat puzzled look asked "What kind of bullets are these?" We told him they were "flat soft points." He kinda' shook his head, smiled, and wished us luck. They did, in fact, account for some blacktails (and a few other critters) back in the day.

My standard cowboy action load in a .44 special is a 200 grain RNFP loaded upside down. It started as a joke, till it shot into one ragged hole at 15 yards vs 2" for the "right" way.
I've shot thousands of rounds loaded like this.

I've loaded many of these in an '06 for research. They generate a huge Mach cone. My notes refer to them as FNBT or flat-nose boat-tail.

Ken O

quote:

Originally posted by KenOehler:
I've loaded many of these in an '06 for research. They generate a huge Mach cone. My notes refer to them as FNBT or flat-nose boat-tail.

Ken O

Would you care to elaborate more on this?

It sounds interesting and I was wondering if it was just for research purposes or were you trying to find an answer for a certain question?

I used the "flat nose boat tail" bullets to get a larger Mach cone signal more typical of larger (cannon and tank) projectiles. The Mach cone signal is very roughly proportional to the energy lost per foot of bullet travel. Big flat nose means more energy lost per foot of travel, and a louder Mach cone. We were looking at acoustic target microphone response characteristics. How can your see the primary signal, but ignore reverberations? How does the Mach cone go from a sharp "crack" to a muffled "boom"? Couldn't find the answers in a book.

Ken O

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

So basically you are reiterating the fact that a flat point lowers BC, but in a round-about way? Plus some sciencey stuff that's way over my head?

W.D. (Karamojo) Bell hated softpoints and used to pull them out of his loads and turn them around backwards. He mentioned it in a couple of books.

I've not done it but in days gone by when i used to shoot 180 gr Norma boat tail soft points from my .303, I used to think that reversed they would have made a useful standby FMJ, they were a kind of rounded boat tail & semi pointed so the shape wouldn't have been a complete disaster. Sort of opposite to what most on here have done, must try it sometime, then go find me a buffalo.
Steve

would have a better trajectory if they are travelling under the speed of sound. things like A-maxs and vlds backwards come to mind...

I often shoot boattail bullets backwards when I want FMJ performance, such as for turkeys or hogs. They are especially usefull in 7mm as there is a lack of FMJ options in this caliber. John Wooters, I believe, wrote in Handloader magazine many years back that he does the same thing. I use lower velocity loads (2500-2600 fps) that often feature 4895 or 3031 powder. Most of these low velocity loads are quite accurate. I generally have a few rounds of low-vel reverse BT rounds in my pocket when hunting--you never know when a plinking opportunity may come along....

Sure, but I've always wondered what was going on with the gas pushing on the pointy end. I thought it would be hard on barrels??

I can't say if shooting boattails backwards is harder on barrels than shooting the same bullets normally. My GUESS is that it makes little difference. In my guns, I probably shoot fewer than 25 rounds backwards yearly. I'll wager that, for me, that effect is insignificant.

My cousin bought a new Rem 700 ADL .30-06 in 1967 when he was 13 and I got one just like it when I turned 13 in '68. We were both itty bitty fellers. Between being pretty lightweight, having no scope, and their checkered aluminum buttplates, they fairly kicked the snot outta us with any factory load.

My solution was to shorten the stock, add a recoil pad and a scope and shoot 150 grain Core-Lokts. His was to switch to a Lyman receiver sight and handload 110 grain plinker bullets (Hornaday, I think) to about 2,200 fps.

After a few bullet blowups on deer, he started loading them backwards. They are deadly on deer. Thirty caliber entrance hole, one-hundred caliber exit wound. He has killed literally hundreds of them with that load in the 40 years since.

He now has dozens of rifles to choose from, but when he heads into the woods for whitetails he always takes that old -06 with those backwards bullets.

I've loaded and shot many jacketed bullets backwards in 3 or 5 different rifles to make short range, small game loads in a powerful hunting rifle.

For example, I loaded Sierra 90 hollowpoint varmint bullets backwards in a .270 Winchester to make load for shooting grouse and rabbits. I can't recall the powder charges, but I do recall I ended up about 1300fps because I was afraid of sticking a bullet in the barrel if I went too slow.

These loads were quite accurate to 30 yards (i.e. bottle-cap sized groups), and not very accurate at 100 yards (maybe 7 inches?) -- I don't recall testing at intermediate ranges.

Very useful loads for a relatively quiet shot at a rabbit, fox or grouse (compared to full house loads anyway!).

The flat "point" of the backwards-travelling bullet has a lot of "slap" and really punched the lights out of critters without damaging them like full power loads.

The loads with reversed bullets usually won't feed, but if you miss with the first shot, you are unlikely to have a fox wait for a second anyway.

It is an advantage that, because they look so different, you can't accidentally mix them up with any other load and shoot a big game critter with a greatly reduced load.

John

I remember reading years ago that it was possible (even with bullets seated normally but too deep) that the gasses could blow around the bullet and you could end up with a bullet in the cartridge and nothing coming out the barrel.
I must also say that it was one thing I never tried.

I tried 223 FMJ BT bullets in my coyote rifle pulled, and seated backwards. Instead of 1-1 1/2" groups at 100 yds, I got 2 1/2" groups. But what a blast shooting water filled gallon jugs at 50 yds!! Strangely enough, they shot 2" high at 100 yds-maybe higher pressure from the pointy end taking up space in the case.

When I was earlier shooting lead bullets, I reload Hornady HP-XTP backward for lead removing. Now I use copper pladet resitzed cast bullets.

I have shot 303 Savage with 30-30 brass and the bullet seated backwards.

I have fished for salmon with mooching hooks and the herring put on backwards.

Neither experiment worked well.

To fireform a new wildcat cartridge I seated the bullets backwards. I also had them touching the lands to keep the cartridge from moving forward by the firing pin. Worked just fine with no problems what so ever. Reduced load to pressure in check but high enough to have the case fill out OK.

Steve

Brit infantry in the trenches in WW1 used them. German snipers would make holes in their sandbag walls then cover the hole on the inside with thick metal plates for removal. Brit snipers would reverse the bullets in their .303 Lee Enfield bullets and shoot the backward bullets at the plate. A nasty piece of metal would punch out at lethal velocity on the opposite side of the plate when the backwards bullet hit.

A few years ago I was at the range testing some new LBT bullets in a .44 magnum handgun. An old man asked me what I was shooting. After listining patiently while I told him about the LBT's and the benefits of there greater frontal area he said "why not just take a regular cast bullet and seat it backward, it'd be alot cheaper and you'd have even more frontal area, if thats what your after."