For many years I have used .22LR ammo utilizing the wide meplat concept employed in the LBT style bullets. Although there are now commercial tools available for this purpose, I have been using jigs made in the home workshop for nearly twenty years. Granted, they are not made of hardened tool steel, but they do work for years and years if used with any amount of care. They can be made from cold rolled round stock steel, old cut off .22 barrels, or mild steel bar stock. Simply cut off the cold rolled stock, the .22 barrel or the bar stock so that it is 0.910" long, making sure that the ends are perfectly square. Drill a hole of .240" with a number 73 drill completely through the 0.910" length of the steel. This being done, you are ready to make some wide meplat .22LR ammo!
Insert a .22LR cartridge in the drilled hole, holding the rim of the cartridge firmly in the jig from the bottom, then file off the protruding nose of the bullet with a mill flat file until flush with the jig, as shown in the photo. You will find that these modified bullets will kill game quickly and cleanly with much more dramatic kills than hollowpoints and less meat loss! Penetration is superior when compared to HP ammo and accuracy is not impaired at all. In fact, accuracy is actually slightly better in some guns when comparing this flat meplat modified ammo to the original configuration than, due to less unsupported nose weight in the barrel and better form stability in flight. The time spent to build a jig and modify your ammo is well worth the investment if superior performance on live targets is desired with your .22 rimfire! Even the cheapest .22 ammo makes superb game killing rounds, provided the accuracy is acceptable in your firearm!
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