what do the different typs of bullets do?

Question

right the title says it all..

i know of lots of kind of bullets.. but little about what they are good for.

halow (is that even the right word) points kind of explod in the target right??

FMJ's are good for punching through things if i remember right.... on a side note... how can you tell if a bullet is FMJ or not??

but there are lots of other kinds of bullets out there... i was just woundering what they all do.

Answer 1

Typically you are right about the FMJ or Solid Base Bullet(s). However, it could take a complete book to answer your question about all bullets. Usually the lighter the bullet the farther you can shoot or the trajectory is flatter on a 150 grain as opposed to a 180 or 200 grain bullet. Many hunters use the heaver based bullets for hunting in thick cover believing that if the bullet clips a twigg the deflection is minimal. Now, hollow-point bullets are used for quick expansion which means no penetration or "blood trail". These answers are the tip of the ice berg. The best thing you can do is to acquire a good reloading manual which could give you a better idea on "all" bullets.

Answer 2

Wow, that's a very open-ended question, as there are so many kinds of bullets. I'll give you a run-down of the most common types:

Shot - fired from a shotgun shell. While shot is not technically a "bullet," people seem to confuse rifles and shotguns and what they do. A shotgun shell holds shot or pellets of various sizes. "Buckshot" refers to 3 or 4 of the largest sizes of shot - the name derives from the fact that it can be used to hunt deer. Usually, the smallest shot is #9, but there are some exotic loads with smaller shot. Shotgun pellets have a maximum effective range of about 70 yards, but are most effective inside 50 yards. Used against another person, a shotgun is probably the most effective firearm there is, inside 20 yards. A shotgun shell may also be loaded with a slug, which is a large bullet-type projectile.

Hollow-point - a hollow-point bullet is generally used for hunting or defense. The purpose of the hollow-point is that upon impact, it "mushrooms," making a larger wound-channel than the original diameter of the bullet. This also means that all (or nearly all) of the kenetic energy of the bullet is transferred to the target, increasing the damage to the area around and beneath the wound. Hollow-point ammunition is banned for military use by the Geneva Convention.

Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) - is used for target shooting and military applications. Bullets are generally made out of lead, which is soft and heavy. A solid lead bullet will expand to some degree, though not as much as a hollow-point. Lead bullets also leave lead residue on whatever they rub against, and accumulated lead will eventually affect the performance of a firearm. FMJ ammunition is used to address both these issues. A copper jacket around the lead bullet is used to prevent lead rubbing off and (for military purposes) to make a "clean" wound channel. Personally, I think the military issue is silly, but then, I didn't write the Geneva Convention. With the advent of soldiers wearing body armour, many military rounds now also have a steel "penetrator" core.

Wad-cutter - these are lead bullets with a flat nose. They are used for shooting paper targets because they make neat, round holes that are easy for the shooter to see. There are also semi-wadcutter rounds that have a slight taper at the nose.

Cowboy rounds - these are solid lead bullets designed to be used in "cowboy" caliber pistols and rifles. FMJ is a relatively recent invention, so cowboys didn't shoot those rounds.

Boat-tail - refers to the back end of a bullet. A boat-tail bullet tapers at the back, giving it a more aerodynamic shape for a longer, flatter trajectory.

This isn't a complete answer by any means, but it's a pretty good starting point, I think.

Answer 3

These days, the technology is so complex, there's no way short of a book to give you a complete answer, but a little synopsis will at least give you a starting point.
200 years ago, the standard was a round lead ball. In the Civil War, conical lead bullets, with increased accuracy, were the norm. These bullets are still quite useful, and many hunting bullets for those of us who hunt with revolvers are lead alloys, hardened to prevent deformity.
Jacketed bullets are more common now. The jacket is a copper alloy (and sometimes plain copper). Full metal jackets are required of the military. These punch a hole, and in military calibers, it's a fairly small hole, without expanding or deforming, at least in general. Hollow points don't explode, but many are designed to expand, as are bullets with soft lead tips, and now there are bullets with a hollow point that's filled with a polymer tip. All hollow points aren't made to expand, but for discussion's sake, the general idea is to use a small-caliber bullet that does the job of a larger caliber by having it expand to the greater diameter when it strikes its target. Most bullets also still have only a thin jacket covering a lead or lead alloy core that's essentially the same as bullets made over a century ago. Others have various harder metals in the core. Bullet design also includes varying thicknesses of jacket, various ballistic shapes, etc. each for specific intended purposes. However, with very few exceptions, they all do essentially what bullets have always done, and the demonizing of some particular design is just a matter of ignorance. For instance, if I lived where hollow-point bullets weren't allowed in handguns, I'd simply get a larger-caliber handgun. As large-bore afficionados are quick to point out, a small-caliber bullet may expand, but a large-caliber bullet never shrinks!

Answer 4

Bear in mind that this is a quick and dirty overview of a subject upon which a whole bookcase full of books have been written.

FMJ - aka Ball ammo- the tip of the bullet is completely enclosed in gilding metal and is generally rounded. The base is open for the insertion of the lead core. The intent is to ensure feeding in military weapons. FWIW, The Hague Conventions forbid use of non-FMJ ammunition in "civilized warfare."

Jacketed Hollowpoints, Jacketed Soft-points, and Hydro-Shok bullets are all intended to ensure expansion of the bullets on impact with the target.

Glaser Safety Slugs, Mag-Tech, and other frangible or pre-fragmented bullet designs are intended to break up on contact with the target. Penetration is not very good and the wound is often a nasty surface wound with less than desired stopping power. On the good side, they don't penetrate walls and endanger innocent bystanders. Neither will they penetrate walls to hit badguys on the other side.

Wadcutters and Semi-Wadcutters are intended to cut nice neat holes in paper targets to make scoring easier. Semi-Wadcutters also make very good hunting and defensive ammunition due to their ability to penetrate, and cut neat holes all the way through a flesh and blood target.

There is plenty more that can be said, but that gives you a general idea of the more common types of handgun bullets now on the market.

Doc

Answer 5

I would suggest , that you go to your local library & get a couple of books on guns & bullets & STUDY them. That way, maybe you can get some understanding about guns & ammunition