Pointy end forward. That’s how I was told to load ammunition into a gun, and it remains good advice. But over the past half century, the pointy end of ammunition—the bullet end—has gotten a lot pointier. The technical term for the forward end of a bullet is “meplat.” It’s derived from a French word that means the flat surface of cylinder. Few of our most modern bullets are flat on their pointy end, but the term remains in use.
Since we’re discussing bullet anatomy, let’s dive in all the way. At the rear of the bullet is the base, and if tapered, it’s called a boattail. If
