Rifle Ammunition, Rifle Bullets

Rifle cartridges are occasionally referred to as rifle bullets. A rifle bullet is only part of the complete cartridge; but the most important part. Take the bullets out of your ammunition and a rifle is only a noise maker.

Different bullets are designed for taking different game animals. Generally the lighter weight bullets for a particular cartridge are designed for smaller animals and the heavier bullets for bigger, tougher animals. But there are many other important factors.

The best deer rifles are no better than the bullets fired from them. Perfect bullets would always fly straight, retain all their speed, and kill instantly. That doesn't happen.

Simple Ballistic Coefficient Information: The bullets which fly best are streamlined; sharp pointed, and tapered at the rear (spire-pointed / boat-tail). An associated fact is that the same load will push a lighter bullet faster, but a heavier bullet can retain it's speed better if it's shape is as good as the lighter bullet.

Take a look at the ballistics table (pdf). You may find two bullets from the same cartridge, same weight, same muzzle velocity (starting speed), yet one is faster at long range, it's because of that bullet's shape.

Likewise you could find two bullets from the same cartridge of a slightly different weight where the lighter bullet starts faster, but at long range the heavier bullet is moving a little faster.

A lighter, shorter, fatter, less streamlined bullet will slow down quicker. But! A fat bullet with a round or flat nose expands more easily. It may expand better, and may kill better. Rifle bullets need to expand considerably as they enter the vital organs to deliver the maximum killing energy.

To do everything well, a bullet should change from a tiny sharp point into a much larger diameter, and it needs to do this at the right depth in the animal. No easy task!

Modern bullets are remarkable, but not perfect.

In the lab, where the range, velocity, and target density are known it can be about perfect. But, in the field the bullet may hit muscle, fat, bone, or any combination of them; each with a different density...

There is also a speed problem.

These are the same rifle calibers and we could use the same bullet in both, but it's not a good idea. The bullet may preform well at .30-30 speed, but at the much faster speed of the magnum it could expand far too quickly, and not penetrate enough at close range.

We need a tougher bullet for the faster magnum. If we fire it from the slower .30-30 the tougher bullet may not expand enough at the slower speeds.

Shape is another factor.Many .30-30s are lever-actions and must have a flat or round tip because of the tube magazine. (Some use soft plastic points today.) They are expected to be used at short to medium range so a streamlined bullet is often less important.

The bullet tip starts out bigger and doesn't have to expand as much. The .30-30's velocity will never be extremely fast, so its bullets are much less likely to blow-up or fragment.

The magnum's bullets are expected to preform at short, medium, and long range.

At long range the bullet has slowed to near .30-30 speed; now it needs to expand at a much lower speed.

This has lead to the development of premium rifle bullets: Sometimes the copper jacket is bonded to the lead which helps hold it all together.

Most have a design to reinforce the bullet's base. By making the back end of the bullet very strong the base will stay together even at short range and very high speed. The bullet's tip may fragment, but the base can stay together to reach the vital organs; usually.

For long range some bullets have a hollow point, plastic tip, or some design element to help them expand at the lower speed they have slowed to.

Premium bullets are incredible designs, but they also have an incredibly difficult job.

Rifle Bullets to Rifle Calibers
Rifle Bullets to Score-Your-Hunting.com