Fmj Vs Hp

[SFvet]

We all know that hollow point bullets transfer the most energy to the target - when the design works - however, which cases are ball rounds better suited?

- Armed Forces use ball type for penetration in the field.
- Hollow point bullets are less effective at longer ranges
- HP bullets transfer more energy at closer range

Well lets see how many other situations would be better suited for FMJ....

 

[RancidSumo]

Out of small caliber handguns like the .380 that need the extra penetration.

 

[VHinch]

This discussion has been done to death, and is there is an active thread on the subject going on right now in Handguns.

 

[SFvet]

Well the reason I bring this up is more for rifles but pistols can play too lol.

 

[belus]

- Armed Forces use ball type for penetration in the field.

I thought we used ball because of the Hague Convention of 1899 and that we're members of NATO.

 

[csmkersh]

No, the military does use open tip ammunition for certain situations. The Sierra .308 Match King is/was their gold standard.

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[SFvet]

Where I was stationed we used HP for base law enforcement - FMJ outside of the base in accordance with regs. We didnt have any long range rifles though - just the M-60, 240b, Mk19, M-4/203 and ofcourse our M9s.

 

[MMCSRET]

It has been said, not entirely in jest, that Military uses FMJ in order to wound, A dead soldier can be left, but it takes an average of 4 other able bodied soldiers to care for and protect a wounded comrade, thereby eating up enemy resources.

 

[Aaryq]

Back in October of 07 for our deployment to Iraq, one of my buddies was issued 30 hollow points for his M16. None of us knew why. He didn't use them.

 

[Drgong]

JHP are banned due to a treaty (Hague Convention of 1899) and also FMJ are not prone to breakage.

For self defense, I prefer JHP due to not wanting it going though 10 walls if I miss.

 

[Halo]

Back in October of 07 for our deployment to Iraq, one of my buddies was issued 30 hollow points for his M16. None of us knew why. He didn't use them.

Aren't some of those new 77 grain bullets an open-tip design? I wonder if that's what your friend got.

 

[csmkersh]

JHP are banned due to a treaty (Hague Convention of 1899) and also FMJ are not prone to breakage.

No, you are mistaken. First, the US is not a party to July 1899 convention which did ban soft point or open-tip ammunition. The US is a party to the 1907 Hague Convention that states:

"…it is especially forbidden -

To employ arms, projectiles, or material{sic} calculated to cause unnecessary suffering;"

Based on that, DoD has determined that open-tip ammunition is legal and if you'd been reading the all posts you'd have known that open-tip ammo has been used in the past and is being used today in the Sandbox.

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[Aaryq]

I'm guessing that's what it was....sadly we're air wingers so we just get a batch of rounds, throw them in our mags, ride a few planes to get to where we're going and fix aircraft until the deployment is over...of course this will change if the USMC ever decides to send us to Afghanistan where expeditionary warfare is king and where Marines belong (The army can have Iraq)

 

[azredhawk44]

Hollow point bullets are less effective at longer ranges

Incorrect.

Sierra's matchking bullet is a hollowpoint rifle projectile used by the military for squad designated marksmen and sniper ammunition. The extended bullet length caused by the hollow tip gives greater ballistic coefficient and less drag in the air. This means greater efficacy at extended range.

We all know that hollow point bullets transfer the most energy to the target - when the design works - however, which cases are ball rounds better suited?

The design works just about always in rifle ammunition. Softpoint rifle bullets will mushroom nearly 100% of the time above about 1800fps. Thin-jacketed hollowpoint rifle bullets will mushroom nearly 100% of the time even slower.

Ball rounds are better economically, and when increased penetration is desired. Shooting through a sandbag or cinder block wall to hit a target behind, for example.

In rifles, when shot against non-armored targets, it is nearly always better to have an expanding bullet of some sort than a FMJ projectile... unless you are somehow undergunned (such as attempting to shoot a Grizzly with a .223 rifle). Then you want a heavy FMJ bullet or even an AP projectile.