Why pistol bullets are not made sharp like rifles

  • Dec 14, 2020
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Why pistol bullets are not made sharp like rifles
Why pistol bullets are not made sharp like rifles

Even those who are not interested in weapons should somehow pay attention to the fact that the vast majority of pistol bullets are not the same as bullets in, say, rifle cartridges. Often, the head of the pistol ammunition has a smoothed, flat shape. Why is that? And wouldn't it be better to make sharp points after all? It is quite obvious that the form was chosen by the engineers for a reason.

There are different ammunition. / Photo: allzip.org.
There are different ammunition. / Photo: allzip.org.

Pointed and blunt bullets - is there a fundamental difference between them? Of course there is. The answer to this question lies in two components: the purpose of the ammunition and the power of the cartridge. As you might guess, rifle cartridges have a large powder charge, which means that at the moment of a shot, more kinetic energy is released, which is transferred to the bullet. As a result, the initial speed of movement of the striking element is higher, the speed of the bullet is higher, and the loss of kinetic energy when traveling a long distance is less. All this allows rifle cartridges to use pointed bullets.

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The shape can be different. / Photo: pxhere.com.

They are also needed not for beauty, but to improve the lethality, as well as to improve the ballistic properties. To simplify to a model: such ammunition fly farther, and damage is inflicted more heavily. Everywhere you look, there are solid benefits. So why not use exactly the same submunitions in pistol cartridges?

Bullets are rounded. / Photo: 1zoom.me.

This is because the pistol cartridge has a much lower powder charge, which means that the muzzle velocity of most pistols is much lower than that of rifles. Accordingly, the ammunition flies less distance and, most importantly, it loses the kinetic energy transferred to it at the time of the shot much faster. This means that at the same distance hitting a pistol bullet and a rifle bullet will cause different damage and, more importantly, will have a different stopping effect.

READ ALSO: A pistol from a Mosin rifle and 10 more types of weapons that cause a stupor or a smile

It's all about kinetic energy. / Photo: fonstola.ru.

Due to the high power, rifle cartridges have a high striking and high stopping effect. Pistol bullets, even at close range, must choose between two evils. So it turns out that in a fight at a short distance, it is the stopping effect of the weapon that is much more important, and not the lethal one. Therefore, the pistol bullet must be shaped in such a way that the remaining kinetic energy is used to the maximum. It is for this reason that the vast majority of ammunition for short-barreled weapons have a blunt, rounded shape.

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There may be sharp ones. / Photo: popgun.ru.

A "dull" bullet transfers the charge of kinetic energy to the target much better. Even if he does not kill a person, he will most likely incapacitate him due to monstrous pain and a strong blow, which can also injure internal organs and break bones. Pointed ammunition at a short distance will most likely lead to a through wound and almost no will transfer the kinetic energy available to the victim, leaving it conscious and able to continue the battle.

By the way, pointed pistol bullets exist, but they (as a rule) have a special purpose. Most often, these are special ammunition against targets in body armor.

Continuing the topic, read about
a pistol from a Mosin rifle and 10 more types of weaponsthat causes a stupor or a smile.
A source:
https://novate.ru/blogs/170420/54174/