Bullet anatomy?

[jski]

Below is a bullet I pulled from some factory 9mm pistol ammo. The base of the bullet is concave and the lead core is exposed.



The jacketing extends somewhat down into the concave base, so I don’t think leading would be an issue.

Are there any issues with this type of bullet?

 

[LoonWulf]

Looks like a rifle FMJ, cant honestly remember if pistol fmjs have an open base or not. Either way should be an issue.

 

[Odd Job]

Pistol bullets do indeed come in that configuration.

 

[FROGO207]

Have a pile of Hornaday 9MM FMJ that look just like that at the base. You do not get leading with one of those. You would have to have lead at the sides of the bullet base where it contacts the rifling and hot gasses at that spot to melt the lead. That is why a gas check on a leaded bullet stops it from happening.

 

[Random 8]

Most FMJs look that way. Even rifle caliber military FMJs intended for machine gun service. Leading is certainly not an issue. There are some HG and rifle FMJs on the market with an encapsulated base, intended for indoor ranges to eliminate any vaporized lead from dispersing atmospherically.

 

[cfullgraf]

Historically, FMJ bullets are made with an exposed lead base. The base of the copper cup used for the jacket becomes the nose of the bullet. Even FMJ rifle bullets generally have an exposed lead base.

Hollow points, on the other hand have the exposed lead at the nose of the bullet. the base of the jacket cup becomes the base of the bullet.

In recent years, companies have made some totally enclosed full metal jacket bullets by placing a copper disc at the base of the bullet. One of the reasons is to minimize lead exposure at indoor ranges.

Plated bullets are completely enclosed due to the plating process.

As FROGO207 said, if the lead cannot touch the rifling, leading is not an issue.

 

[reddog81]

It's very common. It's much easier to fold the copper jacket over and have a concave base rather than try and get a uniform flat base

 

[jski]

Time for a confession: that bullet came from a Polish made 9x18 Mak.

Didn’t want to bias the answers any. Mak ammo comes in various qualities and some folks are dismissive of East European ammo. The Polish ammo came with brass cases and stick powder. Mesko, the Polish manufacturer, has a good reputation.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Nothing left to do here.

I'm not sure why the country of origin would change any facts about the bullet profile?

 

[buck460XVR]

Historically, FMJ bullets are made with an exposed lead base. The base of the copper cup used for the jacket becomes the nose of the bullet. Even FMJ rifle bullets generally have an exposed lead base.

Yep. Years ago before security was tightened, I use to go out to the small arms range at the local military base and dig spent .45 ball projectiles from the sand berm. Used to get a coupla 5 gallon buckets of them every time I went. I then would take them and easily melt the lead outta them since their base was exposed. Then I would sell it to folks that cast their own. At that time I did not reload and did not need the lead. Now I wish I woulda kept some of it or at least still had access to the Military base. The FMJ is kinda a misnomer. The jacket is not really "full".

 

[jski]

Nothing left to do here.

I'm not sure why the country of origin would change any facts about the bullet profile?

People tend to be dismissive of “East Bloc” made ammo. “It’s all crap!” I’ve heard it a million times.