ILuv2Hunt is exactly right with his advise and information about the Savage 99. One of the few designs Savage did extremely well on over the years!! I've always wanted a clip fed version in .243 and haven't been able to fine one that isn't all screwed up yet....
mines in .308 and is in really good shape. i would love to have one in .243
the pointy bullet problem your buddy described is when the point of a lower bullet in a tube magazine rests against the primer of the bullet above it and could potentially cause a discharge if the gun is slammed down or during heavy recoil. a polymer tip is supposed to not allow this to happen as they are too soft. but IMO they bite for hunting with and as far as increased accuracy from less wind drag that would only come into play at extreme ranges, over 300 yds or so. you're good to go with the 99 and can load whatever you want.
I use a Winchester Silver Ballistic Tip, 168 grain in my Remington 760 Pump Carbine in .308 and my Browing BLR Lever in .308. Last time I was at the range with that ammo I was shooting 4" plates at 200 yards with the BLR. You should be able to do the same thing with the Savage 99 Clip fed in .308 if the rifle likes the Silver Tips and you have good optics (scope) on the gun....
the ballistic tips I had problems with,(very poor performance) were with the noslers when they first came out and were the only brand that had them at the time. I suppose they have worked the bugs out of them by now. but I'm sticking with partitions they have worked reliably for a lot longer than polymers have been around. leverevolutions were not avail in any levers I had so I can't speak for them, although I don't think I've heard any bad reviews about them.
