What is the proper name for a bullet tip?

The proper name for a bullet tip is referred to as "the meplat." The meplat is specifically defined as the flat or rounded end of a bullet that influences the bullet's aerodynamics and terminal performance. It plays a crucial role in how the bullet behaves once it's fired, including factors like expansion and penetration upon impact.

Understanding the meplat is vital for precision shooting and ballistics, as it can affect the bullet's stability in flight and its impact characteristics. For example, a bullet with a looser meplat can experience increased drag and potentially less accuracy at long distances compared to one with a well-defined meplat.

In contrast, the other terms listed refer to different components or characteristics of a bullet. The ballistic tip is typically used to describe a type of bullet design that enhances aerodynamics and improves expansion upon impact. The core is the inner component of a bullet that provides weight and contributes to its ballistic performance, while the ogive refers to the curved portion of a bullet that transitions from the body to the tip, affecting the bullet's aerodynamic properties. Each of these terms plays a role in bullet design and performance, but the term that directly refers to the tip itself is the meplat.