Shell bullet: features, characteristics and types

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

Shelled and semi-sheathed bullets are an element that has a coating of copper alloy or iron. This "shirt" almost completely envelops the surface of the core and acts as a protection for it from changes during operation, loading, as well as from destruction in the rifling of the barrel.

A bit of history

This part better preserves the original characteristics of the projectile, which has a great effect on ballistic properties and penetrating ability. All-metal coated weapons became relevant back in the 80s of the 19th century, when there was a great demand for rifles in stores. Under the 1899 Hague Accords, the use of expansion bullets in military affairs was prohibited, but the shell bullet is not one of them.

Bullets with a jacket that destroys

Due to their design characteristics, some gun cartridges inflict more serious wounds than others. Not every bullet has a full metal core.

1. Even thoughthat British weapons comply with the Hague conventions, bullets can cause large damage due to the layout. The center of gravity of such a projectile is shifted back, the most important part of the core is made of a material of negligible mass, due to which it turns around in the presence of an obstacle, thereby creating large wounds. The Soviet 5.45x39 mm has a similar design, which has a hollow recess in the main zone.
2. NATO weapons (7.62x51mm) use a jacketed bullet made of steel instead of copper, which causes destruction after an obstacle.

What is this type of cartridges

The jacketed bullet is an important part of any weapon. The composition of the cartridge which includes a soft core, it is mainly made of lead. The bullet is enclosed in a coating of hard metal, for example, copper, cupronickel, sometimes it is steel. This shell can be present not only around this element or on some of its parts (as a rule, tail or leading), the head zone is always made of lead. It is called semi-sheathed (have a soft tip).

This sheath makes it possible to obtain higher speeds than lead. In addition, it does not leave many elements of iron inside the barrel. The shell prevents various damages that are caused to the bore by a variety of cores. Compared to parts with a cavity or an expansive recess, the difference is clear. According to historical data, for the first time such a projectile was made in 1882 by Lieutenant Colonel EdwardRuby in Switzerland. The jacket bullet was originally used as a conventional ammunition for 4 years.

Cons

The jacketed bullet has a variety of characteristics both in terms of behavior in the barrel and in general when shooting. Expansive notch elements as well as half-shell models are required to expand on impact, and the shell type has limitations in expansion. In rare situations, this can lead to minimizing the damage that is caused to a particular object. However, this property does not appear in every case. For example, the NATO cartridge used in the M16/M4 weapon, colliding with an object, can take a vertical position, creating significant wounds.

Characteristics of half-shell bullets

Shelled and semi-sheathed bullets, the differences between which are obvious, are in demand all over the world. A projectile with a soft tip refers to expansive lead bullets, where the shell is made of copper or brass. If you compare these ammunition closely, you can see the obvious difference.

After the invention of cordite, experts noticed that lead bullets at significant muzzle velocities, which cordite gives, leave a lot of iron fragments inside the barrel. This situation led to instant clogging of the trunks, mainly with lead. To prevent this, the bullets are sheathed, but due to this, the wounds they cause will be minimal. However, without damaging the barrel, such bullets have acquired another plus due to the soft tip, which, whencollision expands. The zone is reduced due to the absence of a recess in which the hydraulic pressure acts on the lead. Thus, a bullet with a soft tip will expand more slowly.

Comparison of shell and semi-shell options

The use and manufacture of jacketed bullets is more popular than semi-jacketed ones. This is due to the fact that the expansion is weak, therefore, during penetration to a considerable depth, they perform a couple of functions that are not subject to expansive recess. In some situations, a minimum expansion is needed to allow for greater penetration before the bullet begins to rapidly decelerate. In other cases, a smooth profile element, according to experts, is better than a concave head of an expanding bullet.

Some modernized firearms were designed specifically to be reliable when introducing expansive bullets into the barrel, but older mechanisms and military models did not have this feature. The 7.62 jacketed bullet is found in many types of military firearms. But there is a significant number of weapons that are not designed for the use of jacketed bullets. When using expansive ammunition, misfires are not ruled out, as well as delays in the firing process, so now such weapons are used extremely rarely.

Projectiles used in war are usually marked JHP. As expansive bullets, shell models are also used, havingflat head. They are necessary for rifles like the Winchester, when the bullets in the magazine fit one after another. The use of pointed projectiles in such rifles can be extremely dangerous, because the tip of the tip is located close to the next cartridge, which sometimes leads to detonation under the influence of recoil force. The difference between jacketed and semi-jacketed bullets is an important aspect to consider.

Cartridges for rifled weapons

Cartridges for rifled weapons originated in the 19th century. Initially, the ammunition in it was made of lead and without a casing. As long as black smoke powder was used in weapons with a relatively low starting speed, a lead bullet was quite slow. With the advent of smokeless powder, the starting speed began to gradually increase. Lead, even with the addition of tin or antimony, ceased to please shooters, so shells were invented for bullets.

Properties and behavior of bullets

The projectile, which consists of lead, is enclosed in a kind of "shirt" made of copper, steel, and cupronickel. It has many advantages: it can accelerate to significant speeds, while there is no risk that the projectile will break off the rifling. This contributed to the improvement of flatness, as well as the firing range. Minimal deformation when hitting a point gave significant penetration, and a durable bullet did not change when carried or while working with a weapon. This gave an increase in accuracy. However, there were also negative features. projectilein a special shell did not deform, and part of the stopping process was lost. Specialists took this as an advantage, since "humanization" gave approval to parts with considerable speed and minimal caliber.