hollow bullets.

[dr.jayakumar]

hi friends, i would like to know 1,whether hollow bullets are legal in our country 2,pro's and cons of using it. 3,cost according to the caliber, thanks.

[MoA]

Are you refering to holloow points?

[eljefe]

They were 'almost ' invented in India-search dumdum bullets on google...just a step before hollowpointus indicus.
Legal for what? HP are game bullets-Usually,target bullets are Full Metal Jackets, the exception being FMJ bullets used for dangerous game like elephant and buffalo -for good penetration... (before some one jumps on me with some arcane hollow point TARGET load, I admit, I dont know ALL target bullets, but the few that I do are FMJ!! )
Game/hunting is legal only in very few places in india, I guess HP are also available.
Cost? ask your friendly neighbourhood arms dealer-its a sellers market

[MoA]

Actually the vast majority of target bullets are Hollow Point. These include everything from Clinch River to Lapua Scenar to Berger VLD/LTB to Sierra Matchkings to custom bullets made by Bib et al. The reason for this is that having a hollow point shifts the center of gravity to the rear and improves the ballistic coefficient, and makes it less prone to wind deflection as well. Dependent on profile and purpose the bullets can be flat based or boat tailed. The former is more popular in short range shooting, and the latter for long range. This is applicable for centerfire only. In .22 LR the target bullets are not HP most often they are flat nosed.

The other major use for hollow point is that they can be designed for quick expansion and hence rapid energy tranfer. Very popular in pistols in particular where some of the common bullets are the black talon, hydra shock, golden saber etc.

You also get quite literally explosive hollow points, very popular in varmint hunting. Typically in .22 caliber. These are hollow point bullets that typically contain powdered tungsten etc and quite literally explode on impact. Look for Varmint Grenade on you tube.

In terms of pricing, these vary greatly dependent on caliber, purpose and manufacturer.

[winnie_the_pooh]

How about making your own from KF cartridges..32 S&W Long being a prime candidate.

[youtube][/youtube]

[Vikram]

Cool clip,Winnie.Good one. I wonder what kind of penetration can be achieved with such deep-hollow points.What if the target is wearing thick clothing?Or what if it hits bone?Thanks.


Best-
Vikram

[gandharvc]

You can always make an small asterisk, not too deep, just 1 or 1 and half mm on the KF S&W Long Revolver Cartridges. The bullet will be much more effective upon strike as it will break down into five pieces and ripp the flesh apart.

[MoA]

Cool clip,Winnie.Good one. I wonder what kind of penetration can be achieved with such deep-hollow points.What if the target is wearing thick clothing?Or what if it hits bone?Thanks.


Best-
Vikram

Unless you're wearing thick clothing made out of kevlar its not going to make a difference.
If it hits bone it is going to shatter it and keep moving. HP ammo isnt really about penentration, more about delivering the maximum amount of trauma and creating a big wound channel. At least in hunting/killing applications. For example say a 7-08 loaded with an FMJ will easily pass through a deer, if it doesnt hit any bone. While an equivalent HP designed for hunting will bring the animal down and will not pass through.

Simillarly shooting say parairie dogs with FMJ .22 cal bullets will generally pass through. However shooting them with Varmint grenades blows them in half.

See the real effect

[Vikram]

Thanks,MoA. I understand the general principles behind bullet designs.My question was specific to this particular video.After taking out so much metal, will the bullet be able to retain enough structural integrity to do deliver the energy a little deeper instead of fragmenting at surface level due to the thick clothing and/or bone.


Best-
Vikram

[MoA]

I have no idea if the bullet in the video will penentrate deep. It will certainly get through clothing.
Making hollow point like the video above can certainly be done. But your recipie is shot to hell.

For example if you started with a 124 grain bullet in 9mm over 4.1 grains of N-320 you are at a +p load. Then you drill a hole, and remove how much lead? 10-20 grains, and end up with a 114 grain bullet, which could actually do better with about 4.3-4.4 grains to reach +p loading levels.

End of the day it is just cheaper to buy hollow point bullets. Plus the terminal ballistics of say a golden saber would be much better than drilling your own.

[dr.jayakumar]

friends, thanks a lot for all the information.

[winnie_the_pooh]

No golden sabers here and hollow point ammo is very expensive and rarely available.

[MoA]

No golden sabers here and hollow point ammo is very expensive and rarely available.

Another reason to load your own. Stragnely thanks to varying local Laws and a single EU without borders its easy to source even the HP type bullets for pistols, which can be loaded quite easily.
Another reason to load your own.

[Sakobav]

But are there any specs in Indian bullets in the sense thickness and depth of hole? Issue being Quality control being out of whack means its spec arent consistent.
I would stay away from rimfire .22 they can blow up. ALso ensure that one has proper information along with safety precautions especially glasses and if possible under guidance of a gun smith or some expert..

Best

[MoA]

Given the extremly small size of the .32 bullet I would not attempt it. Especially with FMJ bullets.