To be sure, a bullet is not just a bullet, and as L.P. Brezny explains, the type and design of the projectile can vary greatly.

In most cases, experts agree that among massive developments in modern centerfire rifle and handgun ammunition comes the major advance in the design of bullets themselves. As varied cartridge types evolve from light, short-range cartridges to much longer range or harder-hitting, big-bore rounds, the design of each bullet needs to change drastically. So, as to progress with a clean start, I will review the basic types of bullets within this examination.

Ball bullets

Starting with the military variants in bullets, note the development of the “ball” bullet design as applied to combat-style projectiles that meet the rules of war as per the Geneva Convention. Ball bullets—sometimes known as full metal jacket rounds—are one solid copper covering in the form of a jacket over a lead core. The bullet is designed to reduce expansion upon contact with a warm target, versus the hollow-point, open lead tip designed bullet.

In many cases, military surplus ball bullets are sold for informal target shooting, varmint shooting where expansion is not an issue, and for shooters who want to maintain a low-cost factor regarding ammunition expenditures. I often shoot ball when setting up a basic zero with a new scope or rifle, and on small prairie gopher and prairie dog targets out in the wide-open country of the west-central United States. The problem with ball as a bullet design is that it can go through a whole lot of material and even ricochet a very long way, making it a poor choice for use in populated areas.

AP bullets

A close cousin to the ball bullet is the AP round or armor-piercing bullet. In general, this military bullet is identified by its painted black tip. These are just what the term implies—designed to penetrate light armor. They are very dangerous if used where target backstops are questionable or people are about. In terms of basic bullet design, these two different bullets carry the “long O” jive (bullet shape at the main body and nose), and a boat tail rear section of the bullet, which aids in maintaining bullet velocity and accuracy to long ranges.

Solid bullets

With a move to very large game, an additional full-jacketed bullet is offered, but this time it is machined out of a solid piece of copper and dubbed as a “solid.” Solids are shot when brain shots or other nerve interruption targets are selected, being these are not considered good choices for taking vital area shots on game. These bullets are set aside for very large caliber weapons such as the 458 Winchester, 600 Nitro (English) as well as other related very large game cartridges. Solids are not very streamlined in that they are almost always used at close range and make use of a stubby, round-nosed designed with a flat bullet base built for strength versus aerodynamic design.

H.P. bullets

Getting into the hunting bullet types, we have the old school and standard-based “H.P.” bullet, or hollow-point type design. This bullet retains a copper jacket, but the lead core is exposed at the bullet tip and allows the bullet’s frontal section to roll back and expand when contacting a resistant target. This is called “mushrooming,” and can expand the bullet as much as twice its normal frontal size. In almost all cases, manufacturers that offer different bullets in their ammunition also offer this basic bullet. In the Remington line it is called a Cor-lok, and in the Winchester line it is called a Power Point. Because the bullet is based on a simple design, it’s cost effective much of the time. I know of many local mountain hunters here in western South Dakota that use them in the timber country, and even on the open prairie when stalking speed goats or mule deer. I like them as applied to whitetail deer hunting, as they have what is referred to as rapid expansion against light-skinned targets.

Designer bullets

The next and final example of a general bullet design is the “designer” bullet. These bullets are making a move into the space age of projectile development by way of special alloy materials, polymer or plastic tip expansion control materials, and experimentation with shapes regarding downrange velocity retention and performance.

Because a bullet goes through three major regions of space during flight, the engineers at places like Federal and Hornady are always searching for the letter-perfect bullet design that will fight the negative forces that drive a bullet off its mark at longer ranges.

Hornady Ammunition offers a bullet called the ELD design. This bullet uses a unique shape that is long and very pointed. The base of the bullet is of the angled boat tail design, and the material at the very tip of the bullet is designed to push expansion upon contact. It is made of a material that will not overheat and cause the bullet’s tip to turn on itself (melt due to speed friction) and thereby cause the projectile to drift off course.

What we call “poly” bullets today have taken over the industry in terms of offering specialized long-range and hard-hitting, game-harvesting rounds of ammunition. These bullets make use of varied types of internal design features, and companies like Nosler, Sierra, Speer, Winchester, Hornady and Berger offer numbers of designs in these specialized long-range target, game and military-based projectiles.

In part two of our examination of bullet types and how they differ, we will take a look at caliber and bullet sizes.

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