Expanding soft point bullet

• US 6,792,869 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2002
• Issued: 09/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corbon, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zelda, LLC
• Inventors: Pi, Peter R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jordan, Charles T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Alimenti, Susan C.
• Application Number:
  US10/143,296
• Publication Number:
  US 20030209164A1
• Time in Patent Office: 865 Days
• Field of Search: 102/507, 102/508, 102/509, 102/510, 102/516, 102/517
• US Class Current: 102/510
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 12/34 expanding before or on impact, i.e. of dumdum or mushroom type

Abstract

A bullet has a core with a leading end defining a cavity. A jacket surrounds the core and exposes the cavity. A nose element is at least partly received within the cavity. The nose element may be a plastic ball with an exposed nose surface that smoothly transitions to an adjacent portion of the jacket. The cavity may be a conically tapered cavity, and the nose element may enclose a chamber portion of the cavity. The core is formed of a ductile material, and may be a soft lead material of high purity.

Claims

1. A bullet comprising:

a core having a leading end defining a tapered cavity;

the core being formed of a lead alloy;

a jacket surrounding the core;

a nose element in the form of a ball at least partly received within the cavity;

the cavity and the ball enclosing a conical chamber into which the ball may move upon impact with a target;

the nose element being captured by the jacket with a portion of the ball protruding from the jacket, and retained thereby wherein the ball is in the cavity over an initial penetration distance in the target; and

the ball being formed of a resilient plastic operable to elastically deform and exit from the core after the initial penetration distance.

2. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the nose element encloses the cavity, and defines an enclosed chamber portion of the cavity.

3. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the cavity has a tapered shape along substantially its entire length.

4. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the core is formed of a lead alloy having at least 99% lead.

5. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the core is formed of lead having at least 99.9% purity.

6. The bullet of claim 1 wherein a major portion of the nose element is received within the jacket.

7. The bullet of claim 1 wherein a front portion of the jacket encompasses a portion of the nose element, and the front portion and an exposed portion of the nose element form a smoothly radiused nose surface.

8. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the nose element and the jacket entirely covers the core.

9. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the jacket defines a front aperture, and wherein the nose element has a diameter greater than the aperture.

10. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the nose element includes an exposed rounded portion.

11. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the core has an overall length of at least 2 times the depth of the cavity.

12. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the core has an overall length of at most 1.5 times the depth of the cavity.

13. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the cavity defines a rim having a rim diameter, and the cavity has a depth less than the rim diameter.

14. The bullet of claim 1 wherein the nose element has a hardness less than that of the core, such that the nose element elastically deforms with respect to the core upon impact.