[Ridgeway]

Hate to admit but atm I'm just a little bit confused as to the different cartridge types/uses/effectiveness.

My confusion just started after recieving some ammo I ordered this week:
For clarity sake I'll list/number my queries...

1) Why is some ammo flat on the top and other rounded? Penetration/speed(not refering to JHPs, just FMJ here)? Curious as a box of 9mm I just recieved has the bullet being longer and rounded(its even taller than a .40S&W round.) While other 9mm ammo I have has the same flat top that I usually see on the ammo I purchase.

2)A box of .40S&W I just recieved says on the side "FMJ BALL". I understand FMJ, but the Ball confuses me(as the top is flat, not rounded as one would imagine a "ball" to be, and the 9mm rounds that are rounded it does not say "BALL" on the box- btw both are the same brand). I have heard it in reference alot but I guess I just always pass it by w/o comprehending. No other boxes of ammo I currently have in front of me say BALL on them- yet most of the boxes are FMJ- are there different types of FMJ rounds?


-Thanks-

[1911Tuner]

Howdy ridgeway,

Easy to get confused without a little history first.

Ball doesn't refer to a specific bullet shape, but is related to
"Ballistic"...In the day of the smooth bore musket, which was
loaded and fired with a round lead ball, the science of ballistics
began, or so it's said...and the same can apply to early artillery,
which also used its share of round balls.

"Ball" can also refer to spire-pointed rifle ammo...See Cal.30, M-2 Ball...
M-193 Ball...7.62 M-84 Ball, etc. It has come to generically describe
any FMJ, mil-spec ammo and civilian FMJ ammo, even though the
internal "ballistics" may or may not be the same as the mil-spec.

As for the different shapes, the reasons are varied. A FMJ
flat point bullet would theoretically have a more effective impact
in soft tissue, although it's debatable as to whether it would
make any real effect on the effectiveness of the round, velocity
and caliber being equal. Accuracy is another reason. I've found
that the 230 grain FP...or Truncated Cone .45 caliber bullet is
often more accurate than the FMJ round nose fired from the same
gun with identical powder charges. The physics that explain it is
simply when the weight of the bullet is concentrated farther back
toward full bullet diameter, the more accurate the bullet tends to
be. This is why 168-grain 30 caliber Match bullets have a hollow
point. Not to make them expand, but to get the weight away from
the front of the bullet and toward the rear. The bullet is more stable
in flight, especially as the distance grows longer. Less weight up
front means that the point of the bullet will be less likely to yaw,
or wobble in flight...and any that does take place will settle down
sooner.

There are other considerations, but much of it is my own theory
and thus has no real merit in a factual discussion.

Hope this helps...Some of it may not be exactly correct, in a
technical or historical sense, but I've never explained it in
depth before.

Tuner

[Keith]

Umm, and FMJ refers to "Full Metal Jacket" - meaning the entire front is covered with a brass instead of having an exposed lead tip, etc.

Most people shoot "ball" ammo for practice because it's cheaper than hollowpoints.

Keith

[BluesBear]

Ball is the term for military type non-expanding bullets. Derived from the fact that a musket ball does not expand. Lead bullet ammunition for the 1873 .45 Colt Single Action Army was referred to as ball ammo.

Many match bullets for rifles were made with a hollow point because,
a) it is easier to make a true edge on the nose this way than it is to create a perfect point, and
b) it's less likely to get buggered up in the feeding cycle of a semi auto rifle. A ding or a scratch right at the tip will affect accuracy.
Those Camp Perry guys (and gals) are a picky lot.

[Tamara]

This is why 168-grain 30 caliber Match bullets have a hollow
point. Not to make them expand, but to get the weight away from
the front of the bullet and toward the rear.

Actually, from what I've heard, it's to ensure jacket uniformity at the base. Apparently it's a lot easier when the open part of the jacket is at the nose, rather than at the base, as in conventional FMJ...

[1911Tuner]

Actually, from what I've heard, it's to ensure jacket uniformity at the base. Apparently it's a lot easier when the open part of the jacket is at the nose, rather than at the base, as in conventional FMJ...

That too...but the main reason was to move the weight toward the rear.

--Edited--

On that same line of thought, yet another reason was that, when
swaging the core, it's easier to get the larger, closed base filled
out completely than swaging from an open rear to the smaller
space in the FMJ. A void in the tip would add to the tendency
of the bullet to wobble in flight.

[Ridgeway]

very interesting, thx for the help all :)