Bullets can travel at over 2,600 feet per second and they’re created in a variety of ways. The modern bullet has industrialized ways of creation that streamlined the process.
There are different types of bullets, and each of them is unique in its own way. Whether this is through their makeup, formation, or their final properties, bullets are individually crafted.
Knowing your bullet anatomy and its anatomy is important for a variety of reasons. From the standpoint of self-defense, hitting the target is paramount.
Read on and we’ll break down the anatomy of a bullet and how the two intersect.
Components of a Bullet
Reloading brass is a skill every shooter needs to master in order to save on ammunition costs and ensure maximum safety and accuracy in shooting. Understanding bullet anatomy is essential to the successful and safe reloading of brass.
Bullets are complex pieces of art, composed of several components including the jacket, core, tip, and base. The jacket is the outer layer of the bullet, providing it with aerodynamic qualities, as well as protecting the core from deformation when fired.
The core is the main component that contains lead or other materials of the same softness, giving it shape and mass. A tapered tip on the front of the bullet improves accuracy, terminal performance, and ballistic coefficient. Finally, the base contains the primer and propellant which together ignite to propel the bullet forward.
How Bullets Work
To understand how a bullet works, it’s important to learn about its parts. Bullets have a bullet jacket, which is an outer metal layer that covers the lead core.
There are small spots of nitrocellulose, which is an oxidizing agent, inside the lead body. When the gun fires the bullet, the nitrocellulose burns quickly, making hot gases that spread and give the bullet enough power to go through anything.
The Materials Used in Bullet Construction
Bullets are generally composed of six different sections, a metal casing, a primer, wadding, propellant, and the bullet itself. Bullets are typically composed of lead, copper, and/or zinc, and alloyed with other metals such as antimony, iron, and nickel.
The Different Shapes and Sizes of Bullets
The shape, size and weight of a bullet all influence its performance in flight and on a target. Bullet shapes can range from round balls to flat nose to wadcutters and even some custom shapes.
Different bullet sizes, or calipers, affect the amount of felt recoil and the penetration depth upon impact. When it comes to sizing up bullets and selecting the best one for a particular application, familiarity is key.
Learning the Bullet Anatomy
Bullet anatomy is a complex but essential topic to understand for those making a purchase in the ammunition market. It is important to remember that bullets are a personal choice and the best fit is best determined by doing thorough research. Now that you have been given the tools to understand how underneath the shell, get to the range and try one out for yourself!
Keep learning more about guns and the world around you by browsing through the blog posts on our site.
