The bullet is the object that delivers the power of a modern firearm to the target. In the vernacular, it is where the rubber meets the road. This small, exquisitely formed bit of metal has been the focus of endless study, design, and research. Although bullets of one sort or another have been in use for several centuries, modern hunting bullets are the best ever.

Bullet construction

The typical hunting bullet has a lead core inside of a gilding metal jacket. The jacket covers all but the nose of the bullet, where some lead is left exposed to initiate expansion. Some rifle bullets have a "hollow point" instead of exposed lead at the front, and some have a plastic or bronze tip that acts as a wedge to split the jacket and initiate expansion upon impact. All of these approaches work about equally well if executed properly. In most cases, the forward edge of the bullet jacket is scalloped or cut in several places to help it start to peel back.

Lead is used for the core because it is heavy, relatively inexpensive, extremely stable, and easy to mold. The lead used in bullet cores is usually alloyed with a small amount (1% to 3%) of antimony to make it slightly harder than pure lead. Lead is a natural element. It is one of the most stable of all elements, completely safe to animals (including birds, fish, and people) unless it is somehow taken into the system (eaten, for example, or vaporized and inhaled). That is why it is commonly used in aquariums to hold plants in place--it doesn't dissolve in water, and won't harm even the extremely fragile tropical fish. Because of its great weight for its volume, a small lead bullet can strike a fearsome blow when accelerated to high speed by a firearm.

Gilding metal is an alloy of about 90% copper and 10% zinc. Bullet jackets made of gilding metal are designed to contain the lead core during its journey down the barrel and its flight to the target, while leaving a minimum of residue in the bore of the rifle. Some hunting bullets use pure copper jackets, which are softer than gilding metal and typically leave more fouling in the bore. After the bullet hits the target, the jacket is designed to peel back from the core, allowing the lead core of the bullet to expand or "mushroom."

The jacket not only protects the lead core; it is also designed to control expansion to enable adequate penetration. As you might imagine, this delicate balance between expansion and penetration requires careful design. Usually the goal is to allow the front part of the bullet to rapidly expand to about twice the bullet's original diameter (to cause as much tissue damage as possible), while keeping the rear portion of the bullet intact to retain as much weight as possible (to aid penetration). If the design works perfectly, a bullet recovered from a game animal has a perfect mushroom shape after having penetrated deep into the animal's vitals.

Sectional Density

As a general guide, the following SD's are recommended for hunting bullets of suitable construction. For 5 to 50 pound animals (varmints and small predators), a SD of .130 or higher. For medium size big game of 75-350 pounds, which includes most deer and antelope, a SD of .215 or higher (a SD of about .225 is good). For large game weighing over 500 pounds (elk, alg, moose, and greater kudu), a SD of .230 for the big bore rifles over .40 caliber, and a SD of .260 for rifles under .40 caliber. For huge thick skinned animals like buffalo, rhino, and elephant, a SD of .300 or better.

Ballistic coefficient

Ballistic coefficient (BC) is a measure of how well a bullet flies through the air. It is the ratio of a bullet's sectional density to its coefficient of form. For comparison purposes, the higher the number, the better the BC. For example, a Hornady 180 grain round nosed .30 caliber bullet has a BC of .239; a Hornady 180 grain spire point bullet has a BC of .431, and a 180 grain Speer boat tail spitzer bullet has a BC of .540. The more streamlined the bullet, the higher the ballistic coefficient.

Round nose and flat point bullets

The original form for jacketed bullets was the round nose (RN) or flat point. The pointed bullet came later; it was developed for aerodynamic reasons. But the traditional flat or round nosed bullet still has many adherents, and some real advantages.

For one, with much more lead exposed at the nose of the bullet, it is easier to initiate expansion, and expansion is more reliable (compared to pointed bullets). For another, blunt bullets are more likely to get to the target if they encounter obstructions like leaves, brush, or twigs en route. They also tend to follow a straight path inside an animal on their way to the vitals, which is why they are preferred for hunting extremely large game.

Some popular rifles have tubular magazines, in which the nose of each bullet rests on the primer of the cartridge in front of it. These rifles, such as the Winchester 94 and Marlin 336, require flat point bullets to avoid the danger of a chain fire in the magazine due to recoil when the rifle is fired.

Bullets of the same caliber and weight will have identical sectional densities, regardless of their shape. But pointed bullets have a higher ballistic coefficient than round nose bullets. For example, a Hornady round nose 150 grain .270 bullet has a BC of .259. The Hornady pointed bullet of the same weight and caliber has a BC of .443. Both bullets have a SD of .279.

Pointed bullets

Pointed bullets are commonly referred to as spitzer bullets. The word "spitzer" is derived from the German term for pointed, as this style of bullet was developed in Germany. A spitzer bullet has a more aerodynamic shape than a round nose or flat point bullet. In other words, it has a higher ballistic coefficient. This enables it to retain more velocity and energy at long range, and gives it a flatter trajectory. Spitzer bullets come into their own at ranges in excess of 250 yards.

The spitzer form has no advantage once it hits the target. In fact, because less lead is exposed at the front of a pointed bullet, it is more difficult to initiate expansion upon impact with the target. It is also widely supposed that spitzer bullets are more easily deflected off course by twigs, brush, and the like, which makes them less satisfactory for woods hunting than round or flat nosed bullets.

The boat tail

Boat tail bullets have an inward taper at the back of the bullet shank that ends in a reduced caliber base. In other words, the back of the bullet ends in a short truncated cone. This reduces aerodynamic drag, and improves ballistic coefficient. Somewhat flatter trajectory and slightly higher retained velocity and energy at extreme long range are the benefits of the boat tail bullet. They are also nice for the handloader, as they slip easily into resized case necks.

Contemporary bullets

Bullet makers use various strategies to attain the desired bullet performance. Soft point, hollow point, and plastic point hunting bullets of conventional design are constructed with a gilding metal (or occasionally pure copper) jacket enclosing a lead core. Many have a tapered jacket that gets thicker toward the base of the bullet. This is intended to control expansion by making it increasingly difficult to peel open the jacket as expansion moves down the length of the bullet.

Some bullets also use a cannelure (crimp in the jacket) to help keep the jacket from peeling back beyond that point and keep jacket and core together. The cannelure also allows the bullet to be crimped into the case.

The Barnes Original, Federal Soft Point, Hornady Interlock, Norma Soft Point, Nosler Solid Base, Remington Core-Lokt, Sierra Pro-Hunter and Gameking, Speer Hot-Core and Boat Tail, Winchester Power Point and Power-Point Plus bullets are all jacketed, lead core, soft point bullets of basically conventional construction. The Hornady SST, Nosler Ballistic Tip, Remington Bronze Point and AccuTip, and Winchester Ballistic Silvertip are similar but use a bronze or plastic tip to increase BC and initiate expansion. These are usually very accurate bullets. It is probably easier to assure good concentricity and uniformity during production than with bullets of more complicated design.

A-Square

The A-Square Company offera a "Triad" of premium round nose bullets that are identical in SD and BC in any given caliber and weight. This allows all three to be used as required in the same rifle without a change in the point of impact. One bullet is a homogenious solid for elephant, rhino and buffalo. Another is the "Lion Load" bullet, designed to penetrate and then fragment for great stopping power on large predators. The third is a sophisticated all-around design called the "Dead Tough." The latter is designed for deep penetration and controlled expansion in big, tough animals. The Dead Tough has earned an excellent repuation as a general purpose bullet for large African game

Barnes
The Barnes premium X-Bullet dispenses with the lead core altogether. It is a hollow point design made of pure copper. The hollowed-out tip of the bullet splits along four lines and peels back to create a mushroom effect, while the solid body of the bullet insures deep penetration. The tip is designed to mushroom at impact velocities over 1,600 fps, and to roughly double its original diameter at impact velocities of at least 1,800 fps. The X-Bullet has proven suitable for CXP2 class game (deer, antelope, black bear), CXP3 class animals (elk, alg, moose), and even for CXP4 class (thick-skinned dangerous) game in appropriate calibers. It usually retains 70-100% of its original weight. X-Bullets are available in various styles for nearly all calibers from .22 to .45. They are also available with Barnes proprietary XLC coating, a blue dry-film lubricant that is said to reduce copper fouling.

The Triple Shock is an improved version of the X-Bullet, which is easily identified by the three wide grooves around the shank of the bullet. These are designed to reduce the bullet's friction during its trip down the barrel, and also reduce copper fouling. Like the X-Bullet, the Triple Shock is a pure copper, hollowpoint projectile. Its basic form is a spitzer boat-tail. The Triple Shock seems to be an accurate bullet that provides very deep penetration, good expansion, and often retains 100% of its original weight.

The Barnes Triple Shock and X-Bullets have developed something of a reputation as general-purpose bullets. They are suitable for medium size game and outstanding for large and heavy game at impact velocities over 1,800 fps. They usually provide about the deepest penetration of any popular expanding bullet.

The latest Barnes design is the MRX, essentially a Triple-Shock bullet with a polymer tip in its nose and a cylindrical tungsten core shoved up its rear. Tungsten is heavier than copper, and therefore shortens the bullet's overall length compared to an all copper Triple-Shock of the same weight and caliber. This reduction in length allowed the addition of the plastic tip, which improves BC by about 10%. However, the MRX is a complex bullet, made from three different materials, and therefore a big departure from the simplicity of the previous homogeneous (all copper) Barnes premium bullets.

Combined Technologies
CT is an entity set up as a cooperative effort by Winchester Ammunition and Nosler Bullets. CT bullets are available in factory loaded ammunition from Winchester and as reloading components from Nosler. The bullets include the Ballistic Silvertip (a black "Lubalox" coated version of the Nosler Ballistic Tip), Partition Gold (a moly coated, tougher version of the original Partition that trades some early expansion to retain a greater percentage, about 80%, of of its initial weight), Partition Gold Moly-Free (identical to the Partition Gold without the moly coating), and Fail Safe (a bullet that, in cut-away, looks like the front of a Barnes-X grafted to the shank of a Partition Gold).

The unique Fail Safe is a complex bullet design with no lead in the hollow-pointed front half, and a tapered jacket as well as a steel insert protecting the rear lead core. It has proven effective on CXP3 and CXP4 class game where very deep penetration is required. It usually retains 80-100% of its weight. The Fail Safe tends to produce a long, narrow wound channel, with penetration depth similar to that of a Barnes X-Bullet.

Federal
Federal's best known premium bullet is the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, designed by Jack Carter. This bullet is marketed to reloaders under the Speer brand. (Federal and Speer are owned by the same parent company.) It is designed for deep penetration and for use on CXP2 to CXP4 class game. The front approximately 55% of the bullet resembles a normal soft point bullet with a bonded lead core; the shank of the bullet is solid hard copper. In cross section it looks like the front half of a Nosler Partition married to the shank of a Barnes X-Bullet. It is the reverse of the CT Fail Safe. It is intended to perform in a manner similar to the Nosler Partition and Swift A-Frame.

More recent than the Trophy Bonded is the Barnes MRX, developed by Barnes and Federal. This is a polymer-tipped, tungsten core variation of the Barnes Triple-Shock bullet. Federal offers it in selected Premium factory loads and Barnes offers the MRX to reloaders.

The Fusion is Federal's latest popular priced bullet. Its core is "fused" to the plated jacket by electro-chemical means. This bullet is optimized for shooting deer, and performs much like the various premium plastic-tipped, bonded core bullets.

Hornady
Hornady Interlock bullets are of conventional design, with a cannelure and the addition of a small raised edge on the inside of the jacket near the base of the bullet (the Interlock) to help prevent core slippage during expansion.

The SST is an Interlock type bullet with a red plastic tip and a boat tail base. It features an extremely high BC and quick expansion.

Hornady InterBond bullets are visually smilar to Hornady's plastic tipped SST bullets without a cannelure. Internally they are constructed more like a Remington Core-Lokt Ultra. They feature a red plastic tip, a tapered jacket with a very heavy midsection, and a lead core bonded to the jacket. They feature high ballistic coefficients combined with good weight retention. They are a top choice for high velocity calibers and mixed bag CXP2-CXP3 game hunts.

Norma
Norma of Sweden is now offering a bonded core bullet to reloaders and in some of its factory loads. This is the Oryx, a flat point design that looks like a spitzer type bullet with the usual lead point eliminated, much like the Speer Mag-Tip. This bullet expands rapidly, so penetration is similar to a conventional soft point bullet, but the Oryx retains around 80-100% of its initial weight, depending on the impact velocity.

Norma also offers conventional Soft Point bullets and the Vulkan, a design that folds the jacket into the core at the front of the bullet to delay expansion. This bullet's jacket also incorporates a crimping cannelure plus a crimp in the shank of the jacket to retain the antimony hardened lead core. Norma claims 2x expansion for this bullet.

Nosler
Nosler pioneered a premium bullet design with a jacket that has an internal partition that completely separates the front part of the core from the rear part. The front of the bullet (roughly 60%) is designed for rapid expansion, while the shank of the bullet below the partition is not intended to expand at all. The Nosler Partition bullet has proven to be the best of both worlds, combining quick expansion for good stopping power with deep penetration over a wide range of velocities. Partition bullets recovered from game animals typically retain about 65% of their original weight. The Nosler Partition is suitable for CXP2 and CXP3 class game at a wide range of velocities.

CIL's defunct Saber Tip bullets were the first to use a plastic tip to streamline the nose of a spitzer bullet and help initiate expansion. Nosler adopted the idea for their very successful Ballistic Tip bullets. Ballistic Tip bullets are otherwise of conventional tapered jacket construction and do not have an internal partition. They are, in my experience, generally more accurate than the Partition bullets and have a high BC. The plastic tip caught on, and has since been copied by many other bullet makers.

Nosler AccuBond bullets look like Ballistic Tip bullets but have a white plastic tip. Their core is bonded to a jacket that thickens internally (much like a Core-Lokt Ultra) for superior weight retention, typically 60-70%, over a wide range of velocities.

Remington
Remington has shown a good deal of useful creativity in bullet design. With their famous Core-Lokt bullet they pioneered a soft point bullet with an internal belt, or thickening, of the jacket about midway between the tip and base. This has proved to be an excellent design, allowing good expansion of the front part of the bullet, but usually retaining the core below the belt for decent penetration. The Core-Lokt comes in a wide variety of bullet styles, including flat point, round nose, and Pointed Soft Point (spitzer) types, and for practically all calibers. It is suitable for use on both CXP2 and CXP3 class game in appropriate calibers and with appropriate bullet weights. The regular Core-Lokt bullet will give better expansion and faster kills on CXP2 class game than the Core-Lokt Ultra, particularly at lower impact velocities.

Remington also offers the tougher Core-Lokt Ultra premium bullet, which combines an inner-belted Core-Lokt type jacket with a bonded core to insure high weight retention (Remington claims up to 90%) with 1.8x expansion. The Core-Lokt Ultra jacket is 20% thicker than a regular Core-Lokt jacket, and the inner belt is 50% thicker. This new Ultra bullet is intended for high velocity applications and large CXP3 class game, while still providing adequate performance on medium size CXP2 game at normal velocities.

Long ago Remington pioneered the use of a hard tip to further streamline certain spitzer bullets and act as a wedge to initiate expansion on impact. This is the Bronze Point bullet, and it is still being made today in a few calibers. The Bronze Point does not have the Core-Lokt's inner belted jacket. A newer tipped bullet from Remington is the Accu-Tip, which uses a gold color polymer tip plus a boat tail and appears to be manufactured by Hornady. It looks like the SST bullet, cannelure, interlock, and all. Like other tipped bullets, the Bronze Point and Accu-Tip are quick opening designs.

Sierra

Sierra Pro-Hunter bullets are the best selling bullets on the market. They are conventional soft point bullets with tapered jackets and flat bases. They are known for accuracy and fast expansion, which leads to quick kills on CXP2 class game. Pro-Hunters come in flat point, semi-pointed, hollow point, round nose and spitzer form, depending on caliber and intended use.

Sierra GameKing bullets are conventional soft point or hollow point spitzers with tapered jackets, but tend to feature high ballistic coefficients. All are boat tail designs. Their terminal performance and application is similar to other soft point bullets, producing quick kills on CXP-2 class game such as deer, antelope, and black bear. GameKing bullets intended for larger game simply have heavier jackets and harder cores (lead alloyed with antimony). The .375 caliber, 300 grain spitzer boat-tail, for example, has an extra-heavy double-taper jacket and a core of 3% antimony lead alloy. Sierra bullets have a reputation for extreme accuracy, which I have found is deserved. Often when I receive letters from readers with accuracy problems, my first suggestion is to try a Sierra bullet.

Speer
Speer Hot-Cor bullets are made by pouring a molten lead core into a gilding metal jacket, rather than swaging the jacket cup around a solid lead core. This process is supposed to eliminate voids and make for an accurate bullet. The Hot-Cor is a conventional soft point bullet, not a bonded core design.

The Speer Mag-Tip looks (and is manufactured) similar to a Hot-Cor spitzer bullet without the soft lead tip. This gives the Mag-Tip a lower BC, but prevents tip deformation in the magazine. The Mag-Tip has a 45% heavier jacket than the standard Hot-Cor in the shank of the bullet, and internal fluting at the jacket tip for reliable expansion at lower velocities. Speer claims that it is reliable over a wide range of impact velocities.

Speer Grand Slam premium bullets are designed for high impact velocities and controlled expansion. They typically show a weight retention of about 55-85%. Grand Slam bullets have a heavy tapered jacket with a thick shank and a "heel lock" to aid in core retention. They also have internal fluting at the mouth of the jacket to initiate expansion. The bullet's proprietary ternary lead alloy core is injected into the jacket at 900 degrees F using Speer's Hot-Core process. There is also a cannelure to help retain the core during penetration. The Grand Slam may not kill light framed animals as quickly as the Hot-Cor bullet, or penetrate as deep as a Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullet in heavy game. Still, it is a good general purpose compromise.

The tougher African Grand Slam comes in soft point or tungsten core "solid" styles. Both are intended to maximumize penetration on the world's largest game (CXP4). The soft point version uses a jacket machined from a bar of gilding metal. This jacket is so thick that it accounts for about half of the bullet's total weight.

Speer is now offering reloaders premium Trophy Bonded Bear Claw bullets. These feature a bonded lead core in the front part of the bullet and a solid copper shank in the rear. Performance is reputed to be similar to the Swift A-Frame bullet. The Trophy Bonded Bear Claw was also covered in the preceding Federal section.

Swift
Swift bonds the lead core of their Scirocco bullet to a heavy, tapered, pure copper jacket. This prevents separation of the jacket and core to insure good weight retention (about 65-75%) for deep penetration. The Sirocco uses a polymer tip and a boat tail base to achieve rapid expansion and a very high BC. Reliable expansion occurs from impact velocities of 1440 fps to 3000+ fps. The idea of a bonded core, plastic tip bullet has been copied by other bullet manufacturers.

Swift's premium A-Frame bullet combines a heavy jacket bonded to the core with a Nosler-like partition in the middle of the bullet that positively stops expansion at that point. The jacket is crimped over the heel of the bullet. This bullet is particularly recommended for use on tough game at magnum velocities, and usually retains an extremely high (90-100%) percentage of its original weight. It also performs satisfactorily at lower velocities.

Winchester
The Winchester Silvertip bullet is a variation on the basic softpoint bullet design that would leave a lot of lead exposed at the tip of the bullet were it not for a very thin, nickel plated, gilding metal nose cap. This silvery cap keeps the nose of the bullet from being battered in the magazine due to recoil. Winchester claims that it also delays expansion by allowing the bullet to penetrate the first layers of skin before the tip ruptures, allowing expansion to begin. Silvertip bullets have a cannelure in their tapered jacket, intended to stop the jacket from peeling back past that point. The Silvertip performs much like a conventional soft point bullet.

Winchester also offers a Ballistic Silvertip bullet, which is made by Nosler as part of their Combined Technologies arrangement. This is basically a Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet with a silver-gray colored polycarbonate tip and a black oxide ("Lubalox") coating. Its BC and SD are identical to the equivalent Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet.

The Winchester Partition Gold is a moly-coated Partition bullet produced for Winchester by Nosler as part of their Combined Technologies agreement. It has a steel insert protecting the rear core and a thicker partition than a standard Nosler Partition bullet. It is also available in a moly-free version.

A new premium bullet from Winchester is the moly coated Fail Safe, also made by Nosler as a Combined Technologies product. See the CT section for details.

Woodleigh
The Woodleigh Weldcore is a premium bonded core soft nose bullet made in Australia. It uses a 1.6mm thick gilding metal jacket to which a 100% lead core is bonded. 80-85% weight retention is claimed. It is designed primarily for use on heavy game. The Weldcore is made in the most common small and medium bore diameters from .270 to .375, and a great variety of big bore calibers from .411 to .700. Woodleigh also offers an extensive line of solid (FMJ) bullets.

Bullets for medium size big game

A good bullet for most CXP2 class game, such as deer, goats, antelope and sheep, should optimally expand to approximately twice its original diameter and create a wide wound channel that destroys the maximum amount of tissue on its way through the animal's lungs. A bullet that fragments inside the vitals and scatters bits of lead and jacket material all through the animal's heart/lung area will kill quicker than one which creates a long, narrow wound channel through the lungs and exits the far side. But the bullet must not fragment before reaching the vitals, which is why varmint bullets are not suitable for shooting even the smaller species of big game. For light framed CXP2 class animals, a quick expanding bullet that dumps the maximum amount of energy into the heart/lung area usually gives the quickest kills.

The Federal Soft Point; Hornady SST and Interlock; Norma Soft Point, Nosler Ballistic Tip and Solid Base; Remington Bronze Point, AccuTip and Core-Lokt; Sierra Pro-Hunter and Game King; Speer Hot-Core; and Winchester Power Point, Power Point Plus, Silvertip and Ballistic Silvertip bullets all deliver the rapid expansion necessary for quick kills on medium size animals. These bullets are a particularly good choice for a standard velocity rifle, and are suitable for magnum rifles in the heavier weights, particularly at long range. They also kill large CXP3 class game quite well with broadside lung shots, but are less effective if they hit heavy bones or must penetrate the paunch on their way to the vitals.

The Remington Core-Lokt, Federal Fusion, and Winchester Silvertip enjoy a reputation for deeper penetration than most conventional bullets and are considered a good choice for the tougher species of CXP2 game such as black bear and wild hogs. They are also often used on mixed bag hunts that may include CXP3 class game. Ballistic gelatin tests have indicated that conventional soft point bullets such as the Barnes Original, Hornady Interlock, Speer Hot-Cor, and Sierra Pro Hunter offer good penetration and expansion--about on a par with most of the premium bullets--at moderate impact velocities around 2,000 fps.

General purpose bullets for high velocities and mixed bag hunts

Bullets that offer good weight retention combined with good expansion are appropriate for both CXP2 and CXP3 class game. The new generation of bonded core bullets such as the Swift Scirocco, Hornady InterBond, Nosler AccuBond, Norma Oryx, and Remington Core-Lokt Ultra are examples of such bullets. These are probably the best general purpose hunting bullets available

The Nosler Partition and CT Partition Gold, Speer Grand Slam and Mag Tip, along with the Norma Vulkan, are also in this same general category, although they lack a bonded core. The Nosler Partition/Partition Gold are particularly versatile and have long been considered top general purpose bullets.

The Federal/Speer Trophy Bonded, and Swift A-Frame bullets are expensive, but have earned an enviable reputation on all sorts of game worldwide, including dangerous game. They produce a deep wound channel as well as a reasonably large expansion cavity, and can be used as general purpose hunting bullets. Partitioned bullets (regardless of brand) are, however, often not quite as accurate as more conventional bullets.

Bullets for heavy game

For the deep penetration required to reach the vitals of large, heavily built animals (CXP3 and CXP4 class game) premium bullets like the A-Square Dead Tough, Barnes X-Bullet and Triple Shock, CT Fail Safe and Partition Gold, Federal/Speer Trophy Bonded, Nosler Partition, Speer African Grand Slam, Swift A-Frame, and Woodleigh Weldcore come into their own. These bullets are excellent for use on large and heavy animals worldwide. They will kill medium size game like deer and antelope, but with the exception of the Nosler Partition/Partition Gold, usually not as quickly as less heavily constructed bullets. For more on killing power, see my article "The Killing Power of Big Game Bullets."

Conclusion

Fortunately, modern bullets from the major American bullet makers generally perform pretty well for their intended purpose. Choose a bullet intended for the type of game you are hunting in the cartridge of your choice, and it will probably do its job if you do yours.