Lesson 14

the
BULLET

cdKworks /2020
learning objectives
 Identify the significant contributions of the
pioneers in bullet making
 Name the type of a bullet based on its
appearance/description, design and function
 Explain the ballistic function of bullet
 Discuss the significance of bullet in firearm ID
What do you know about the
‘BULLET’?
 sometimes erroneously used to
describe a round of ammunition
or a cartridge
 does not contain propellant or
explosive (in contrast with ammo.)
 a single solid projectile as
opposed to ‘shot’
What is a BULLET?
BULLET
 solid metallic or non-metallic
projectile that is fired thru the gun
barrel
 the ammo component designed to
be launched, reach the target, and
damage the intended target by
impact and/or penetration
according to the shooter’s intention
Various kinds/types of bullets
 -
History
 Originally, bullets were stone balls or
round metallic objects used in a sling
as a weapon and for hunting.
History
 When firearms were invented, round
metallic objects were placed in front
of the propellant at the breech end of
a barrel to serve as projectiles in
place of arrows or other missiles.
History
 As firearms improved, projectiles
changed very little from 1500 to
1800.
 They remained simple round
(spherical) lead balls, called ‘rounds’,
differing only in their diameter.
History
 The development of the hand
culverin and matchlock arquebus
brought about the use of cast lead
balls as projectiles.
History
 Bullet is derived from the French
word ‘boulette’ which roughly
means little ball.
 The original musket bullet was a
spherical lead ball smaller than the
bore, wrapped in a loosely-fitted
paper patch which served to hold
firmly the bullet in the barrel.
History
 During the 1st half of 19th century,
there was significant change in the
shape and function of the bullet.
 In 1826, Delvigne, a French
infantry officer, invented a breech
with abrupt shoulders on which a
spherical bullet was rammed down
inside the barrel deforming the
bullet.
The first POINTED BULLET
 Among the first pointed or ‘conical’
projectiles was ‘bullet-shaped’ bullet
designed by Capt. JOHN NORTON
of the British Army in 1823.
 Norton's bullet had a hollow base
which upon firing expanded under
pressure to engage with a barrel's
rifling.
The POINTED BULLET
 In 1836, English gunsmith
WILLIAM GREENER invented a
bullet similar to Norton's bullet
except that the hollow base was
fitted with wooden plug which forced
the base of the bullet to expand and
catch the rifling.
The MINIÉ BALL
 In 1847, the soft lead Minié ball was
first introduced by Claude Étienne
Minié, a captain in the French Army.
 As designed by Minié, this bullet
(nearly identical to the Greener bullet)
was conical in shape with a hollow
cavity in the rear fitted with a little
iron cap instead of a wooden plug.
The MINIÉ BALL
 When fired, the iron cap force itself
into the hollow cavity at the rear of
the bullet, thereby expanding the
bullet to engage the rifling.
 In 1855, the British adopted the
Minié ball for their Enfield rifles.
Early Pointed Bullets
The WHITWORTH BULLET
 By 1857, JOSEPH
WHITWORTH proved that
smaller bore of barrel and
elongated bullet are more
advantageous.
 He designed a bullet that fit
the grooves of a rifle
mechanically.
The METFORD BULLET
 About 1862, W. E. Metford carried out
a series of experiments on bullets and
rifling.
 He invented -
 light rifling w/ increasing spiral

 hardened bullet
The 1st JACKETED BULLET
 The next important change in the
history of the rifle bullet occurred in
1882, when Major EDUARD
ALEXANDER RUBIN, director of the
Swiss Army Laboratory at Thun,
invented the copper jacketed bullet
 an elongated bullet with a lead core in
a copper jacket.
The SPITZER BULLET
 a German name for a
tapered, aerodynamic
bullet design used in most
intermediate and high-
powered rifle cartridges

An example of a pointed spitzer

round for a rifle (left)
and a round nosed (non-spitzer)
round for a pistol (right).
The SPITZER BULLET
 By the beginning of the 20th
century, most world armies begun
to adopt spitzer bullets.

 These bullets reach greater distances more

accurately and carried more energy with
them.
 Spitzer bullets combined with machine
guns greatly increased the lethality
firearms.
The Modern Bullet
 The latest advancement in
bullet shape is the boat tail
- a streamlined base for
spitzer bullets.
 The vacuum created as air
moves at high speed passes
over the end of a bullet
slows the projectile.
The Modern Bullet
 The streamlined boat tail
design reduces the drag
by allowing the air to flow
along the surface of the
tapering end.

 The resulting aerodynamic advantage

is currently seen as the optimum
shape for rifle technology.
HANDGUN BULLETS
Parts of standard handgun bullet
8
Nose/Tip
1 7
Jacket
Ogive
2
Cannelure Core
6

Bearing
3
Surface

5
Heel
4
Base
Bullet
Collection
HANDGUN BULLETS

with different
calibers
HANDGUN BULLETS

Safety
slug

cut-away view
 Lead Bullets
fired from Handguns
ROUND-NOSED BULLET
 plain ball of lead that is rounded
 often used as target practice
ammunition, but leads to more
fouling in your barrel
 usually the least expensive type
of ammunition
LRN bullet also called ‘ball’
or ‘hardball’

Lead round-nosed
WAD CUTTER BULLET
 the nose of the bullet is flattened
 often used during shooting competitions,
as it typically makes a larger & clear cut
hole than a jacketed bullet
* This increases the likelihood of a shot
that is close to a target ring actually
touching that ring, giving you higher
points.
Wad-cutter Bullet

LWC (Lead wad-cutter)

Wadcutter Bullet

LWC (Lead wad-cutter)

Wad-cutter Bullet

LSWC
(Lead semi-
wad-cutter)
Semi-wad-cutter Bullet

(Semi-wadcutter gas check bullet)

 Jacketed &
Semi-jacketed Bullets
fired from Handguns
JACKETED BULLET
 - the lead bullet is either fully or
partially covered (jacketed) in a
harder metal - usually copper
 - a good cartridge to use while
practicing with your gun at the
range, as it leaves less fouling in the
barrel
FMJ Bullet

Standard bullet
completely encased in
copper.
Probably the most
common.
FMJ (Full metal jacket)
FMJ Bullet

FMJ (Full metal jacket)

JSP Bullet

JSP (Jacketed Soft-point Bullet)

JSP Bullet

JSP (Jacketed soft-point)

JSP Bullet

JSP (Jacketed soft-point)

Common revolver bullets
 Cal .38 bullets

 Cal .38 lead bullets

 Cal .357
commercial bullets
SPECIAL HANDGUN
BULLETS
HOLLOW-POINT BULLET
- a bullet that has a cavity (hollow)
at the nose portion
* When the bullet strikes a target, it
‘mushrooms’ outwards, transferring
much more of the energy of the
bullet into the target.
JHP Bullet - bullet with a hole drilled in
the tip to help the bullet
expand on impact

JHP (Jacketed hollow-point bullet)

SJHP Bullet

SJHP (Semi-jacketed hollow-point)

Hydra-shok Bullet

(Federal Hydra-shok)
Silvertip Hollow-point Bullet

Winchester silvertip hollow-point

Expanding Point Bullet

Winchester Expanding-point
FRANGIBLES
 In general, these are bullets that
have been broken into many tiny
pieces and re-assembled (usually
with some sort of glue or adhesive).
 When they hit the target, they re-
break on impact.
FRANGIBLES
 The idea behind these is that they
can transfer a lot of the energy of
the bullet to the target, while also
reducing the chances of a missed
shot going thru a wall and hitting
another person.
FRANGIBLE BULLET
designed to:
1. disintegrate into tiny particles upon
impact to minimize their penetration
for reasons of range safety
2. limit environmental impact
3. limit the shoot-thru danger behind
the intended target

An example is the Glaser Safety Slug.

Glaser Safety Slug
Handgun Armor-piercing Bullet

1. Jacket
2. Lead filler
3. Steel core
Handgun Armor-piercing Bullets
THV Brass Penetrator

THV – tres haute vites

Rifle Bullets
Standard
Rifle
Bullet
Standard Rifle Bullets
Rifle Bullets
Rifle Bullets
Cal .30 Rifle bullets

-
Special Rifle Bullet

Accelerator Bullet
Rifle Armor-piercing Bullets

Made of depleted uranium

Special Rifle Bullet

Spitzer hollow-point bullet w/ sabot

SPECIAL BULLETS
Armor Piercing Bullets
Special jacketed bullets with core material
composed of very hard, high-density metal such
as:
1. Tungsten
2. Tungsten carbide
3. Depleted uranium
4. Steel
* A pointed tip is often used, but a flat tip on the
penetrator portion is generally more effective.
Armor-piercing Shot & Shell
 a type of ammunition designed to penetrate
armor
 From the 1860s to 1950s, a major
application of armor-piercing projectiles was
to defeat the thick armor carried on many
warships.
 From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing
weapons were required for anti-tank
missions.
Armor-Piercing Shot & Shell

1 - Light weight
ballistic cap
2 - Steel alloy
piercing shell

3 - Desensitized bursting charge (TNT, RDX...)

4 - Fuse (set with delay to explode inside the
target)
5 - Bourrelet (front) and driving band (rear)
Shotshell Loads
projectiles loaded in shotgun
ammunition
Shotshell Load

Bird shots
Standard Shotgun Load

Buck shots
Special Shotshell Load

Rifled Slug
Special Shotshell Load

Breneke Slug (Rifled slug from shotgun)

Special Shotshell Load

S&W Sabot Slug

classified as transonic bullet