Subsonic expanding bullet

• US 10,495,427 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2019
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hornady Manufacturing Company
• Original Assignee: Hornady Manufacturing Company
• Inventors: Thielen, Joseph, Quinlan, Jayden, Damman, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Klein, Gabriel J.
• Application Number:
  US16/373,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20190316888A1
• Time in Patent Office: 245 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 12/34 expanding before or on impact, i.e. of dumdum or mushroom type
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 12/74 of the core or solid body
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 12/78 of jackets for smallarm bullets ; Jacketed bullets or projectiles

Abstract

A bullet for expansion at subsonic speed of impact with a target. The bullet includes a pocket in its interior. A tip insert has a stem portion extending into the pocket. The stem portion and the pocket each have a portion with a cross sectional area that decreases from a forward end to a trailing end.

Claims

1. A bullet adapted for expansion at subsonic speed comprising:

a tip portion, a body portion and a tail portion, said tip portion having a forward end portion with a meplat and a plurality of longitudinally extending skives spaced circumferentially about the tip portion and extending inwardly from the outer surface of the tip portion;

a pocket at least partially in said tip portion opening toward said meplat and extending rearwardly toward the tail portion; and

a tip insert having a nose tip portion and a stem portion, said stem portion being at least partially positioned in said pocket, said stem portion having a rear portion with a first portion of the rear portion having a cross sectional area decreasing in transverse cross sectional size from a leading edge toward a trailing end thereof, said pocket having a portion corresponding in shape to the tip insert rear portion and having at least a portion of the stem rear portion positioned therein, and wherein the nose tip portion of the tip insert has a forward face that, on a majority of said face, is blunt.

2. The bullet of claim 1, including a cup in the tip portion extending inwardly from the meplat and opening onto said meplat, said pocket opening into said cup.

3. The bullet of claim 2, wherein the first portion having an included angle of at least 5°

diverging forwardly.

4. The bullet of claim 3, wherein the included angle is in the range of between 5°

and about 45°

.

5. The bullet of claim 4, wherein the first portion being at least partially generally conical.

6. The bullet of claim 4, wherein at least some of said skives open onto the meplat.

7. The bullet of claim 4, wherein at least some of the skives form ribs extending into said cup.

8. The bullet of claim 7, wherein at least some of said ribs engage a portion of the stem portion.

9. The bullet of claim 5, wherein the tip portion, body portion and tail portion being a monolithic construction.

10. The bullet of claim 5, wherein the bullet is a jacketed bullet having a metal jacket and a metal core, part of said jacket partially forming said cup and said pocket being in said core.

11. The bullet of claim 10, wherein the diameter of a leading edge of the first portion is at least about 70% of an inside diameter of said jacket at a longitudinal locus of said leading edge.

12. The bullet of claim 10, wherein the jacket being made at least partially of copper and said core being made at least partially of lead.

13. The bullet of claim 2, wherein tip insert having a nose tip portion with at least a portion of the nose tip portion extending forwardly of the meplat.

14. The bullet of claim 13, wherein the nose tip portion having a rearwardly facing ledge overlying the meplat.

15. The bullet of claim 13, wherein the nose tip portion having a portion thereof positioned in the cup.

16. The bullet of claim 1, wherein said rear portion of said stem portion having a shape corresponding generally to a shape of said pocket in which said rear portion of said stem portion is positioned.

17. The bullet of claim 1, wherein said bullet having a ballistic coefficient of at least about 0.2 at 950 feet/second.