Why do bullets have different tips and what do they do? We Explore Them All

Ammunition is one of the most important factors in the firearms world. Afterall, you might have a gun but without bullets it’s just a nice decoration.

Bullets are a hotly debated subject in gun circles. Caliber, loadings, projectiles are all tossed back and forth to determine what is best  for you and your gun. The options seem like they’re endless.

The types of bullets used today are varied and come in multiple different styles. This raises the question “Why do bullets have different tips?”

Let’s look into the how and why of different bullet tip designs.

Why Do Bullets Have Different Tips?

Bullets have different tips to provide different performance. This might be to comply with local laws dealing with ammunition, to optimize the bullet’s effectiveness out of certain barrel lengths, or to help ammunition feed better.

Each bullet tip has a different usage, especially after refinements occurred after some style’s original development. Let’s look at these different styles and what they are used for.

Different Styles of Bullet Tips

Before we get into bullet tips let’s talk about what we are not covering today. We are not covering the types of bullet bases or the difference between a bonded and an unbonded bullet.

Each of those subjects are extremely interesting when you start to look into ballistics but we have a lot to cover with just tips alone.

We are going to cover most of the standard manufactured types of bullet tips. This means strange one-off experimental designs will not be covered.

Due to the fact that bullet tips and designs sometimes are referred to differently from manufacturer to manufacturer, we will be painting with broad strokes today. Even then we are going to be dealing with roughly 15 different bullet tip designs.

Standard Tips

Standard bullet tips are what we are most likely going to see in the civilian market. These bullets tackle the hunting, self-defense, and tactical spheres for most of the ammunition available. 

They are also a single projectile, this means shotshells like rat or snake shot are not going to be covered.

Let’s look at some of these standard designs.

Lead Round Nose

These basic bullets are solid pieces of lead without a jacket. They feature a rounded tip and provide a decent amount of penetration.

They have  very little expansion ability, which means their wound channel will only be as wide if not slightly wider than the diameter of the bullet. Any expansion will be due to the lead deforming upon impact.

These were the standard projectiles of early repeating firearms and are still used today, although mostly overshadowed by more modern processes.

Hollow Point

Hollow points are designed to expand. Early versions of these types of rounds were referred to as “Dum-Dum” bullets.

These rounds can be jacketed or not. Most variations of this type of bullet tip today feature a jacketed bullet.

Hollow points are great for self defense as they increase the size of the bullet’s wound channel. The hollow of the bullet allows the bullet to expand beyond its basic diameter. Jacketed versions tend to have more consistent expansion than non-jacketed types which is a factor when selecting a self-defense round.

These types of round are predominantly found in handguns, but hollow point rifle rounds and shotgun slugs are also available.

Full Metal Jacket

These are considered to be the standard round today. They feature a layer of brass or similar material around a lead core. This results in bullets that are very good for penetration but not for wound channels.

Due to their more solid construction, Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) bullets tend to over penetrate. This is less than ideal for self-defense and generally results in FMJ being used as training rounds only.

However FMJ bullets and some of their variants have been the standard round for most militaries since the bullet concept was developed. FMJ rounds are still lethal, but they have the ability to cause additional casualties due to over penetration.

Expanding Full Metal Jacket

This special variant of FMJ rounds try to bridge the gap between hollow point and FMJ ammunition.

This is done by creating a space within the bullet itself. This space is the cavity of a hollow point, just covered with the jacket. This allows the bullet to expand, in reality collapse, upon impact generating the desired expansion.

These rounds should offer you FMJ like feeding with similar expansion to a hollow point, perfect for those ammunition picky guns.

Semi-jacketed

Like the name implies, semi-jacketed bullets have jackets that only partially cover the lead core. This can cover a number of different variations which are considered their own bullet types.

But they all feature at least some lead being exposed and are usually a hollow point design. This allows for performance somewhere in between FMJ and soft point ammunition. In other words you get better penetration with extra expansion.

These are good self-defense options but not necessarily on par with proper hollow points. That exposed lead also means that these are best paired with revolvers so that the tips are not deformed by the feeding ramp of a semi-automatic.

Soft point

Soft point bullets are technically a version of semi-jacketed bullets. They feature exposed lead at the tip of the bullet to allow for expansion.

The term “soft point” is usually applied to rifle rounds and are used in hunting for the most part. Soft point bullets take a variety of shapes but fall within three categories: Round, flat, and Spitzer/soft.

Jacketed round nose

These early types of bullets feature the pre-spitzer revolution of ammunition design. The rounded tip features a bit of exposed lead as is expected of soft point ammunition.

It’s performance falls between a flat point bullet and a soft point/spitzer style bullet. This translates to moderate expansion and penetration.

It is also slightly more aerodynamic than a flat nosed bullet. These bullets are better suited for lower velocity calibers and are great for tubular magazines. This is because they do not have the risk of a chainfire that spitzer bullets in a tubular magazine have.

Jacketed Flat Point

These types of bullets can be either soft point or completely jacketed. The flat nose provides enough consistent surface area to increase the bullet’s effectiveness. These bullets are geared toward your closer range shooting.

This is because of the consistency of that flat nose. These work well in short barreled revolvers although they can be used in semi-automatic

On semi-jacketed versions the expansion is controlled while providing better penetration. They also work better in semi-automatics than semi-jacketed hollow points

In the fully jacketed versions, they offer better effectiveness than standard FMJ round nose bullets.

Jacketed Soft point

The standard jacketed soft point round is actually a soft point spitzer round. Spitzer rounds feature a more spike-like conical design. This allows for better ranges, penetration, and performance.

While spitzer designs are the standard rifle design there are not many pistol rounds that feature a spitzer design. 

These soft point versions are very typically hunting rounds. This is because of their mix of penetration and expansion capabilities. They are better for a wider variety of medium to large game and are sometimes legally required in certain areas for hunting.  

Wad Cutter

Wad cutters are very cylindrical bullet types. They were originally developed for shooting competitions in order to create easily read results.

This consistency made them suitable for use as defensive rounds. Since the wad cutter is low pressure (depending on the manufacturer) and consistent in diameter it is a good option to use for snub nosed revolvers.

Wad cutter rounds are almost exclusively used in revolvers since they don’t have anything a loading ramp would work on. Additionally their design allows for similar results out of a number of barrel lengths. This means that it is not hampered by barrel length to reach its optimal velocity.

Semi Wad Cutter

Semi wad cutters are longer range versions of wad cutter rounds. They tend to be higher pressure than standard wad cutters which pushes out their maximum range and effectiveness.

Some versions are jacketed while others are not. There is even a variation that is a hollow point. Either way these rounds work well in revolvers but can also be used in semi-automatics.

Their crayon head like shape allows them to be fed into the chamber of a semi-automatic but still features some of the benefits of a normal wad cutter. Those benefits being a consistent hole. Additionally semi-wad cutters are more aerodynamic, providing better long distance performance.

Rounded Flat point

These bullet types are designed for tubular magazines and are similar to both round nose bullets and ball FMJ. The greatest difference being the flat nose of the bullet itself.

These bullets have pretty standard performance when compared to FMJ. They do not have significant expansion abilities and are similar to flat nosed soft points. However they have a less aggressive shoulder than other flat nosed projectiles.

Polymer Tips

Polymer tip bullets are common hunting rounds. Some use plastic or other material to make a cone at the top of the bullet to finish the spitzer profile.

This results in better aerodynamics which means longer ranges and more consistent shots. Polymer tipped bullets also provide protection for the hollow-point-like cavity they feature.

While more common in rifle rounds, pistol rounds also feature polymer tips. This generally results from legal restrictions on hollow point ammunition. For the most part you will encounter polymer tipped hunting rounds from most reputable manufacturers.

Specialty Tips

Armor Piercing

Armor piercing rounds are specialty bullet designs. They generally feature spitzer-like tips which may or may not have the penetrator exposed.

More often than not the hardened steel core is covered in a layer of lead underneath the jacket. Or the jacket is extended past the penetrator for better aerodynamics

These types of rounds were developed to combat armored vehicles and cover. This generally translates to poor performance on unarmored targets.

Some pistol ammunition was designed as armor piercing to deal with car doors and other improvised cover.

It is harder to encounter these types of rounds. Not all versions feature an exposed penetrator, some are marked by the coloration of the tip.

However this method of identification is not fool proof. 

Armor Piercing Incendiary

Even harder to encounter than armor piercing, armor piercing incendiary or API rounds feature an armor penetrator and a chemical that will light burnable objects on fire.

Many times API rounds are only delineated by their coloration, these spitzer-like rounds do not feature exposed penetrators depending on the design.

However, these are highly counterfeited items and while some areas allow for the purchase of these rounds there are large numbers of fakes floating around. This can result in potentially dangerous situations and damage to the firearm used and the user.

If someone claims the round is either API or AP be sure to do your research before purchasing if it is legal to do so.

Conclusion

Most modern bullet tips are designed to provide better penetration, better expansion, or a little of both.

As ammunition technology advances we are sure to see new designations and designs. There are numerous other types of designs out there, however many of them are experimental, gimmicks, or not effective.

While ammunition development is important you should stick to proven designs if you plan on actually using the rounds during hunting or for self-defense. Don’t bet your life on an experimental design.

Ammunition is one of the most important factors in the firearms world. Afterall, you might have a gun but without bullets it’s just a nice decoration.

Bullets are a hotly debated subject in gun circles. Caliber, loadings, projectiles are all tossed back and forth to determine what is best  for you and your gun. The options seem like they’re endless.

The types of bullets used today are varied and come in multiple different styles. This raises the question “Why do bullets have different tips?”

Let’s look into the how and why of different bullet tip designs.

Why Do Bullets Have Different Tips?

Bullets have different tips to provide different performance. This might be to comply with local laws dealing with ammunition, to optimize the bullet’s effectiveness out of certain barrel lengths, or to help ammunition feed better.

Each bullet tip has a different usage, especially after refinements occurred after some style’s original development. Let’s look at these different styles and what they are used for.

Different Styles of Bullet Tips

Before we get into bullet tips let’s talk about what we are not covering today. We are not covering the types of bullet bases or the difference between a bonded and an unbonded bullet.

Each of those subjects are extremely interesting when you start to look into ballistics but we have a lot to cover with just tips alone.

We are going to cover most of the standard manufactured types of bullet tips. This means strange one-off experimental designs will not be covered.

Due to the fact that bullet tips and designs sometimes are referred to differently from manufacturer to manufacturer, we will be painting with broad strokes today. Even then we are going to be dealing with roughly 15 different bullet tip designs.

Standard Tips

Standard bullet tips are what we are most likely going to see in the civilian market. These bullets tackle the hunting, self-defense, and tactical spheres for most of the ammunition available. 

They are also a single projectile, this means shotshells like rat or snake shot are not going to be covered.

Let’s look at some of these standard designs.

Lead Round Nose

These basic bullets are solid pieces of lead without a jacket. They feature a rounded tip and provide a decent amount of penetration.

They have  very little expansion ability, which means their wound channel will only be as wide if not slightly wider than the diameter of the bullet. Any expansion will be due to the lead deforming upon impact.

These were the standard projectiles of early repeating firearms and are still used today, although mostly overshadowed by more modern processes.

Hollow Point

Hollow points are designed to expand. Early versions of these types of rounds were referred to as “Dum-Dum” bullets.

These rounds can be jacketed or not. Most variations of this type of bullet tip today feature a jacketed bullet.

Hollow points are great for self defense as they increase the size of the bullet’s wound channel. The hollow of the bullet allows the bullet to expand beyond its basic diameter. Jacketed versions tend to have more consistent expansion than non-jacketed types which is a factor when selecting a self-defense round.

These types of round are predominantly found in handguns, but hollow point rifle rounds and shotgun slugs are also available.

Full Metal Jacket

These are considered to be the standard round today. They feature a layer of brass or similar material around a lead core. This results in bullets that are very good for penetration but not for wound channels.

Due to their more solid construction, Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) bullets tend to over penetrate. This is less than ideal for self-defense and generally results in FMJ being used as training rounds only.

However FMJ bullets and some of their variants have been the standard round for most militaries since the bullet concept was developed. FMJ rounds are still lethal, but they have the ability to cause additional casualties due to over penetration.

Expanding Full Metal Jacket

This special variant of FMJ rounds try to bridge the gap between hollow point and FMJ ammunition.

This is done by creating a space within the bullet itself. This space is the cavity of a hollow point, just covered with the jacket. This allows the bullet to expand, in reality collapse, upon impact generating the desired expansion.

These rounds should offer you FMJ like feeding with similar expansion to a hollow point, perfect for those ammunition picky guns.

Semi-jacketed

Like the name implies, semi-jacketed bullets have jackets that only partially cover the lead core. This can cover a number of different variations which are considered their own bullet types.

But they all feature at least some lead being exposed and are usually a hollow point design. This allows for performance somewhere in between FMJ and soft point ammunition. In other words you get better penetration with extra expansion.

These are good self-defense options but not necessarily on par with proper hollow points. That exposed lead also means that these are best paired with revolvers so that the tips are not deformed by the feeding ramp of a semi-automatic.

Soft point

Soft point bullets are technically a version of semi-jacketed bullets. They feature exposed lead at the tip of the bullet to allow for expansion.

The term “soft point” is usually applied to rifle rounds and are used in hunting for the most part. Soft point bullets take a variety of shapes but fall within three categories: Round, flat, and Spitzer/soft.

Jacketed round nose

These early types of bullets feature the pre-spitzer revolution of ammunition design. The rounded tip features a bit of exposed lead as is expected of soft point ammunition.

It’s performance falls between a flat point bullet and a soft point/spitzer style bullet. This translates to moderate expansion and penetration.

It is also slightly more aerodynamic than a flat nosed bullet. These bullets are better suited for lower velocity calibers and are great for tubular magazines. This is because they do not have the risk of a chainfire that spitzer bullets in a tubular magazine have.

Jacketed Flat Point

These types of bullets can be either soft point or completely jacketed. The flat nose provides enough consistent surface area to increase the bullet’s effectiveness. These bullets are geared toward your closer range shooting.

This is because of the consistency of that flat nose. These work well in short barreled revolvers although they can be used in semi-automatic

On semi-jacketed versions the expansion is controlled while providing better penetration. They also work better in semi-automatics than semi-jacketed hollow points

In the fully jacketed versions, they offer better effectiveness than standard FMJ round nose bullets.

Jacketed Soft point

The standard jacketed soft point round is actually a soft point spitzer round. Spitzer rounds feature a more spike-like conical design. This allows for better ranges, penetration, and performance.

While spitzer designs are the standard rifle design there are not many pistol rounds that feature a spitzer design. 

These soft point versions are very typically hunting rounds. This is because of their mix of penetration and expansion capabilities. They are better for a wider variety of medium to large game and are sometimes legally required in certain areas for hunting.  

Wad Cutter

Wad cutters are very cylindrical bullet types. They were originally developed for shooting competitions in order to create easily read results.

This consistency made them suitable for use as defensive rounds. Since the wad cutter is low pressure (depending on the manufacturer) and consistent in diameter it is a good option to use for snub nosed revolvers.

Wad cutter rounds are almost exclusively used in revolvers since they don’t have anything a loading ramp would work on. Additionally their design allows for similar results out of a number of barrel lengths. This means that it is not hampered by barrel length to reach its optimal velocity.

Semi Wad Cutter

Semi wad cutters are longer range versions of wad cutter rounds. They tend to be higher pressure than standard wad cutters which pushes out their maximum range and effectiveness.

Some versions are jacketed while others are not. There is even a variation that is a hollow point. Either way these rounds work well in revolvers but can also be used in semi-automatics.

Their crayon head like shape allows them to be fed into the chamber of a semi-automatic but still features some of the benefits of a normal wad cutter. Those benefits being a consistent hole. Additionally semi-wad cutters are more aerodynamic, providing better long distance performance.

Rounded Flat point

These bullet types are designed for tubular magazines and are similar to both round nose bullets and ball FMJ. The greatest difference being the flat nose of the bullet itself.

These bullets have pretty standard performance when compared to FMJ. They do not have significant expansion abilities and are similar to flat nosed soft points. However they have a less aggressive shoulder than other flat nosed projectiles.

Polymer Tips

Polymer tip bullets are common hunting rounds. Some use plastic or other material to make a cone at the top of the bullet to finish the spitzer profile.

This results in better aerodynamics which means longer ranges and more consistent shots. Polymer tipped bullets also provide protection for the hollow-point-like cavity they feature.

While more common in rifle rounds, pistol rounds also feature polymer tips. This generally results from legal restrictions on hollow point ammunition. For the most part you will encounter polymer tipped hunting rounds from most reputable manufacturers.

Specialty Tips

Armor Piercing

Armor piercing rounds are specialty bullet designs. They generally feature spitzer-like tips which may or may not have the penetrator exposed.

More often than not the hardened steel core is covered in a layer of lead underneath the jacket. Or the jacket is extended past the penetrator for better aerodynamics

These types of rounds were developed to combat armored vehicles and cover. This generally translates to poor performance on unarmored targets.

Some pistol ammunition was designed as armor piercing to deal with car doors and other improvised cover.

It is harder to encounter these types of rounds. Not all versions feature an exposed penetrator, some are marked by the coloration of the tip.

However this method of identification is not fool proof. 

Armor Piercing Incendiary

Even harder to encounter than armor piercing, armor piercing incendiary or API rounds feature an armor penetrator and a chemical that will light burnable objects on fire.

Many times API rounds are only delineated by their coloration, these spitzer-like rounds do not feature exposed penetrators depending on the design.

However, these are highly counterfeited items and while some areas allow for the purchase of these rounds there are large numbers of fakes floating around. This can result in potentially dangerous situations and damage to the firearm used and the user.

If someone claims the round is either API or AP be sure to do your research before purchasing if it is legal to do so.

Conclusion

Most modern bullet tips are designed to provide better penetration, better expansion, or a little of both.

As ammunition technology advances we are sure to see new designations and designs. There are numerous other types of designs out there, however many of them are experimental, gimmicks, or not effective.

While ammunition development is important you should stick to proven designs if you plan on actually using the rounds during hunting or for self-defense. Don’t bet your life on an experimental design.