From the old Sixgunner.Com files -The SGB Tool

by JimT, Texas, Sunday, February 12, 2023, 22:20 (649 days ago)

(This article is obviously quite old and the data is dated. However if you continue to the end there is an update that is current as of Feb. 2023)

When I was a kid I shooting my .22 I did what I suppose every other kid with a .22 has done, I modified the bullets. The reasons for this are varied but mostly had to do with the fact that I could not afford hollowpoints. Wanting my bunny-killer to be more effective I split the bullet noses part way back, cut "x's" on the noses of some, flattened them to various degrees and tried drilling my own hollowpoints. The effectiveness of these modifications were questionable but I felt at the time that they helped. Besides, it was fun to experiment!

Dad was interested in all these things I was doing and he came up with an effective way to modify the roundnose .22 bullets so as to seriously enhance their performance. He made a tool that you could use to flatten the nose of the bullet by removing a small amount of it. The tool kept the overall length of the cartridges the same and kept the nose flat to the same size so that accuracy was not harmed.

In the 1980's Ed Wosika of Hanned Precision got hold of Dad's idea and started making some little tools to flatten the noses of the bullets. He called them the "SGB Tool"- "SGB" standing for "Small Game Bullet".

These first tools Ed made by hand in his garage. He sold them by word-of-mouth to shooters around the country. After a while all that work on nights and weekends became something much more than a hobby. Ed started looking around to see if he could find an outfit that would help market the tool. In the course of events he approached RCBS with the idea. They looked it over, but rejected it since it had been marketed already and they could not patent it or cover themselves so they had exclusive rights on it. Strangely enough, in less than a year CCI came out with a new .22 hunting cartridge. It had a flat nose and was called ... SURPRISE! ..... the SGB (Small Game Bullet)!!

Now it is no big deal that the idea was picked up by someone else and no one is fussing about it other than to say that the least they could have done was to acknowledge where the idea came from. A case of ammo to Dad and Ed would not have hurt .... But......whatever. Such is life.

Lately the CCI SGB has a much more rounded nose than the early production of it had. Most likely this is to enhance feeding in certain semi-automatics. However this rounding of the nose seriously destroys the effectiveness of the flat point. Even if the price of "specialty" ammo does not bother you, the only way you can get true SGB performance is to get an SGB Tool and make them yourself from solids.

In the meantime Ed hooked up with Dennis Smith who formed The Hanned Line to market the SGB Tool and other products Ed has come up with. They began to produce the Hanned Line of SGB Tools which are the finest on the market. These are made of heat-treated steel and will last a lifetime if properly taken care of. If you look at one of these little tools you will note a good amount of work goes into them. They are quality.

Shooting game with these has proven the effectiveness .. and some people report they do not tear up the meat as badly as hollowpoints. I have shot critters from squirrels up through 50 to 60 pound dogs and other varmints with them and found them to work very well. I know they will anchor a cat pretty fast.

Why would you want to modify the roundnose bullets? Because you can purchase 550 of them here in my area for $9.99 plus tax. Try buying some hollowpoints and see what you pay. A little work in the evening and you have a .22 hunting round that is more effective than a hollowpoint.

Besides, Dad invented it.

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NOTE: THE SGB TOOL HAS NOT BEEN MADE OR SOLD FOR MANY YEARS NOW. BUT MY FRIEND GARY REEDER (www.reedercustomguns.com) IS MAKING AND SELLING A "FLATTOP TOOL" THAT IS THE SAME THING. WITH HIS TOOL YOU CAN DO 3 CARTRIDGES AT A TIME. IT IS A QUALITY TOOL! AND THE CONCEPT BEHIND THE TOOL IS STILL THE SAME AND STILL VALID, EVEN AT TODAY'S PRICES FOR AMMUNITION.