why is a hallow tipped bullet more deadly?

Question

what does it do when it is fired and it hits its target?

Answer 1

You've got some good answers here, espeically the guy with the links, but my two cents.
Solid, non expanding bullets, such as most military and police ammunition tend to go "through and through" the target when they hit it. Since the bullet goes out the other side basically undamaged, it transmits relatively little of its kinetic energy to the target.
Soft-point bullets do a little better, flattening on impact to present a broader wound track and transmitting more energy to the target.
Hollow-point bullets take this a step farther, the thin walls of the bullet around the hollow (in theory) peel back, expanding the bullet faster than a soft-point bullet does - with a corresponding increase in energy transferred to the target. In addition, many hollow point bullets fragment, resulting in multiple wound tracks and more rapid blood loss.
Remember, when you're hunting the critter you've shot, unless it is very small, is not likely to die instantly of the shock of being shot. Unless you make a head shot (which hunters generally do not do due to high miss probability), the animal is going to run until it bleeds out. The larger the wound, and the more energy transferred from the bullet in flight to the animal, the faster and more humanely this happens.

Answer 2

Hollow-points are not necessarily more deadly. They function on impact differently. Since there is no explosive material like you would find in a missile, they do not explode on impact. People who call them "cop killers" are uneducated as to how projectiles preform. Teflon coated bullets are the ones that supposedly penetrate flack jackets. Take your basic .22 lr cartridge for example. when shooting gophers and squirrels, a hollow-point is preferred because it is designed to expand more. however this expansion reduces its ability to penetrate so for game such as grouse and rabbit which are thicker skinned and tougher, you'd be better off shooting a solid-point. Solid-point bullets have more tendency to ricochet than do hollow-points because they do hold together better. If you want to use a human target for an example then lets take the .223 rem. as a cartridge.(same as the military uses in their M-16 rifle) You can buy what they call a ballistic-tip bullet that is designed to come apart on impact. These bullets have such a low penetration ability that a human rib may be enough to keep any fragments from entering the chest cavity. This is a bullet preferred by varmint hunters because it is safer in regards to ricochets and causes less damage to the pelts of animals like foxes, coyotes, and other fur bearers. The Military uses a solid-point to guarantee lethal penetration even though often the .223 doesn't produce one shot kills.

Answer 3

Bullets hit their target with massive kinetic (moving) energy which allow them to penetrate deep and to transfer energy into the flesh as they move through it. That path through the flesh is called a "wound channel". If you fired a needle at someone at a thousand feet per second, it would go right through and leave practically no damage. The wound channel is too small.

A hollowpoint bullet hits with massive energy, parts of the flesh fill the hollow point and cause it to swell up like a balloon, and the wound channel then becomes several times bigger than it would have been with a solid bullet. Much more damage.

Answer 4

Hollow-point ammunition does more damage because it is intended to expand upon contact with soft tissue. It is not 'cop-killer ammo' as it is not any more likely to defeat Kevlar than a 'regular' pistol bullet. The hollow cavity 'fills' with matter as it plows through the target, in the case of hunting ammo it fills with tissue and expands violently creating more shock and trauma thus being deadlier than a regular bullet. The results appear explosive, as someone already stated: A small hole going in and a large hole exiting.

There have been cases of hollow point pistol bullets NOT expanding when the cavity fills with clothing material and act like a solid bullet.

H

Answer 5

Bound's hubby here:

The human body is about 95% water. When the hollow point bullet encounters the human mass fluids in the body get caught into the hollow point and, by design, the jacket and the core peel back to enlarge the wound cavity.

Answer 6

hollow tipped...when it hits its target it spreads thus causing a larger wound and exit point. meaning it takes out more flesh and organs and causes much more damage than a normal bullet...don't ask me how i know this. ; )

Answer 7

They expand on impact, kind of peel open doubling in size, and leaving very jagged edges, that cut and shread.
Thats why most hunters do not use them, they do to much damage and ruin meat.

Answer 8

the bullet expands upon impact,
then tumbles thru the tissue of body

Answer 9

in fast moving rounds the bullet usually fragments on impact of the target.

Answer 10

it mushrooms out larger than a normal bullet. Which in turn creates a bigger hole.