Types of Bullets: FMJ, Hollow Point and Every Other Type Explained (2026)

Last updated October 27th 2026

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By Nick Hall

There are two families of bullets: ones built not to expand, like full metal jacket, lead round nose, wadcutter and frangible, and ones built to expand, like hollow points, soft points, polymer-tipped, bonded and solid copper bullets. Non-expanding bullets are for practice and targets. Expanding bullets are for self-defense and hunting, because they open up and stop inside the target instead of zipping through.

Below is every common bullet type with how it’s built, what it’s for, a real load you can buy with live prices from our 200+ retailers on October 27, 2026, and our own ballistic gel numbers from the defensive loads we’ve tested. You’ll also find bullet shapes and bases, and the federal rules on armor-piercing ammo.

Table of Contents

Bullet vs Cartridge: Getting the Words Right

A bullet is only the projectile, the part that leaves the barrel. The whole round you load is a cartridge: the bullet, the brass case, the powder and the primer. Shotguns fire shells loaded with shot or a slug. Saying “a box of bullets” is fine at the gun counter, but a box of bullets at a reloading shop is just projectiles. For how the primer lights the powder, see our rimfire vs centerfire guide.

Types of Bullets at a Glance

Bullet type	How it’s built	Expands?	Best for	Example on this page
Full metal jacket	Lead core, copper jacket over the nose	No	Practice, plinking	Blazer Brass FMJ
Lead round nose	Bare lead, rounded nose	No	Cheap revolver practice	Magtech LRN
Wadcutter	Flat-fronted lead cylinder	No	Paper targets, some snub defense loads	none in stock
Frangible	Compressed copper powder	Breaks apart on steel	Steel targets, indoor ranges	SinterFire
Polymer coated	Lead core in a polymer skin	Practice versions no	Cleaner indoor practice	Syntech Defense
Jacketed hollow point	Jacket with a cavity in the nose	Yes	Self-defense	Federal HST
Bonded hollow point	Jacket bonded to the core	Yes, holds together	Defense through barriers	Speer Gold Dot
Polymer-tipped hollow point	Hollow point plugged with a polymer tip	Yes	Defense, short barrels	Critical Defense
Soft point	Jacket with exposed lead tip	Yes	Deer hunting	Core-Lokt
Polymer-tipped rifle	Pointed polymer tip over a cavity	Yes, fast	Long-range hunting	ELD-X
Bonded rifle	Jacket fused to the core	Yes, holds weight	Big game, tough shots	Federal Fusion
Solid copper	One piece of copper, hollow nose	Yes, petals	Lead-free hunting	Barnes VOR-TX
Match	Open-tip boat tail	Not reliably	Target and long range	Sierra MatchKing

Non-Expanding Bullets

Full Metal Jacket

A full metal jacket bullet is a lead core wrapped in a copper or gilding-metal jacket that covers the nose and leaves the base open. It feeds smoothly, keeps lead off your hands and barrel, and holds its shape on impact, so it punches a narrow hole and keeps going. That makes FMJ the default practice round and a poor self-defense round. It’s also what the U.S. military uses, because it follows the 1899 Hague Declaration against expanding bullets in war.

A total metal jacket, or TMJ, also covers the base, so there’s no exposed lead at all. Our CCI Blazer Brass review ran 10,330 rounds of FMJ through 45 guns with 8 stoppages.

Lead Round Nose and Cast Bullets

The oldest design still sold: a bare lead bullet with a rounded nose. Lead round nose, or LRN, is cheap and gentle on revolver barrels, which is why it’s the standard .38 Special practice load. Harder cast lead bullets, alloyed with tin and antimony, are popular with reloaders and in hard-cast hunting loads for bear country. Bare lead smokes more and leaves lead fouling in the bore, so many indoor ranges ban it.

Wadcutters and Semi-Wadcutters

A wadcutter is a flat-fronted cylinder of lead seated flush with the case mouth. It cuts a perfectly round hole in paper, which makes scoring easy, and it’s the classic bullseye load for target revolvers. Some snub-nose owners carry a full-wadcutter load because it penetrates deeply without needing velocity to expand. A semi-wadcutter adds a cone-shaped nose in front of a sharp shoulder, for better feeding and a clean hole. None of the wadcutter loads were at our trusted retailers when I checked.

Frangible Bullets

A frangible bullet is made from compressed copper or tin powder that holds together in flight and breaks into dust when it hits steel. That means far less splash-back on steel targets and close-range steel drills, and it’s why some indoor ranges require it. Federal law specifically excludes a frangible projectile designed for target shooting from the definition of armor-piercing ammo. SinterFire makes lead-free frangible ball for practice and a Special Duty frangible hollow point.

Polymer-Coated Bullets

Federal’s Syntech line wraps a lead core in a polymer skin instead of copper. There’s no metal-on-metal contact with the barrel and no exposed lead, so it shoots cleaner and is easier on steel targets. Syntech Defense is the expanding version, with a segmented core that splits into three pieces plus a base. Our Federal American Eagle review compares Syntech to FMJ.

Expanding Handgun Bullets

Self-defense bullets are built to open up into a wider shape, slow down and stop inside the target. The FBI’s standard asks for 12 to 18 inches of penetration in ballistic gel, so a bullet reaches vital organs from any angle without over-penetrating. Every defensive load below was shot into gel in our tests, through four layers of heavy clothing from compact pistols.

Jacketed Hollow Points

A jacketed hollow point, or JHP, has a cavity in the nose. When it hits tissue, fluid pressure in the cavity peels the jacket back into petals, and the bullet mushrooms to one and a half to twice its original width. Modern designs like Federal HST and Winchester Ranger T cut the jacket so it opens evenly every time, even after clothing clogs the cavity. In our 9mm test, HST 124 gr went 18.28 inches and opened to 0.61 inches, and Ranger T 147 gr was the widest 9mm load we shot at 0.74 inches. Our Federal HST review charts every shot.

Bonded Hollow Points

Speer plates the copper jacket onto the lead core, so the two cannot separate when the bullet hits glass, steel or bone. Bonded bullets keep more of their weight and expand more consistently through barriers, which is why so many police departments carry Gold Dot. In our test the 9mm 124 gr Gold Dot went 18.14 inches and opened to 0.54 inches. Our Speer Gold Dot review has the full table.

Polymer-Tipped Hollow Points

Hornady fills the cavity of its FTX bullet with a soft red polymer tip. The tip can’t clog with denim, and on impact it’s driven back into the cavity to start expansion, which helps at the lower speeds of a short barrel. Hornady Critical Defense 9mm 115 gr averaged 13.06 inches and 0.50 inches wide in our test, shallower than the HST but well inside the FBI window. Our Hornady Critical Defense review covers six calibers.

Our Gel Results by Bullet Type

Here’s how the defensive designs compared in our heavy clothing test from a 3.5 inch Smith & Wesson M&P9c, against the FBI’s 12 to 18 inch window:

9mm load	Bullet type	Average depth	Average width	Shots in 12 to 18 in
Federal HST 124 gr	Jacketed hollow point	18.28 in	0.61 in	2 of 5
Federal HST 147 gr	Jacketed hollow point	15.24 in	0.61 in	4 of 5
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr	Bonded hollow point	18.14 in	0.54 in	2 of 5
Speer Gold Dot 115 gr	Bonded hollow point	16.44 in	0.55 in	5 of 5
Hornady Critical Defense 115 gr	Polymer-tipped hollow point	13.06 in	0.50 in	4 of 5

Two lessons stand out. Heavier, slower bullets stayed in the window more often from a short barrel, and an FMJ or a hollow point that fails to open behaves the same way: it goes deep and narrow. A 9mm FMJ is about 0.355 inches wide going in and the same coming out.

Rifle and Hunting Bullets

Soft Point

A soft point has a copper jacket with the lead core exposed at the tip. The soft lead starts expansion on impact and the jacket controls how far it goes. Remington’s Core-Lokt has dropped more deer than probably any bullet made since 1939. In our gel test the .308 150 gr pointed soft point went 18.5 inches, opened to 0.54 inches and kept 70% of its weight, which is right for deer-sized game. Our Remington Core-Lokt review has the details.

Polymer-Tipped Rifle Bullets

A pointed polymer tip over a hollow cavity does two jobs: it gives the bullet a sleek, streamlined nose that holds velocity at long range, and it drives into the cavity to start rapid expansion. Nosler’s Ballistic Tip made the idea famous. Hornady’s ELD-X adds a heat-resistant tip and a high ballistic coefficient for elk at long range.

Bonded Rifle Bullets

Just like the bonded handgun bullets, a bonded rifle bullet fuses the jacket to the core so it holds together on bone and at close range, when impact speed is highest. Federal Fusion is the affordable bonded load I’d pick for deer, hogs and black bear.

Solid Copper Bullets

A monolithic bullet is one piece of copper with a hollow nose. On impact the nose splits into petals and the shank keeps going, so it holds close to 100% of its weight and penetrates deep. Barnes TSX and TTSX, Hornady CX and Federal Trophy Copper are the big names. They’re required in California, where all hunting has needed lead-free ammo since July 1, 2019, and on many wildlife refuges. Copper is lighter than lead, so a copper bullet is longer for its weight; pick one a step lighter than your usual lead load.

Match Bullets

Match bullets like the Sierra MatchKing have a tiny open tip and a boat tail, made that way because it’s the most consistent way to build an accurate jacket, not to expand. They’re the standard for target and long-range shooting. Despite the hollow tip, a match bullet does not expand reliably, so it’s not a hunting bullet unless the maker says it is.

Bullet Shapes and Bases

Bullets are also named for their shape, and the names stack: a “BTHP” is a boat tail hollow point.

• Round nose: feeds reliably and is safe in tube magazines, but sheds speed fast.
• Flat nose: the shape for lever guns with tube magazines, so the tip can’t set off the primer of the round in front, and the standard for hard-cast bear loads.
• Spitzer: a pointed nose for less drag, the standard on modern rifle bullets.
• Flat base: simple, accurate at short range and easy on barrels.
• Boat tail: a tapered base that cuts drag at long range.

Armor-Piercing and Green Tip Ammo: What the Law Says

Under 18 U.S.C. 921, armor-piercing ammunition is a handgun bullet or core made entirely of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium, or a jacketed handgun bullet larger than .22 caliber whose jacket is more than 25% of its weight. Licensed makers and importers can’t sell it to the public. Copper is not on that list, which is why solid copper handgun bullets are legal. The law excludes hunting shot, frangible target bullets and anything ATF finds is meant for sporting use.

Green tip 5.56, M855 or SS109, has a small steel penetrator in front of a lead core. Because it’s a rifle round and not built entirely of steel, it’s legal to buy and own, though many indoor and steel-target ranges ban it. Steel-cased ammo is a different thing entirely: the case is steel, not the bullet. State and local laws on hollow points and armor-piercing ammo vary, so check yours.

Which Bullet Type for Which Job?

Job	Bullet type	Why
Range practice	FMJ or lead round nose	Cheapest and feeds reliably
Steel targets	Frangible or polymer coated	Less splash-back
Concealed carry and home defense	Jacketed or bonded hollow point	Expands and stops inside the target
Short-barrel pocket guns	Polymer-tipped hollow point	Expands at lower speed
Deer	Soft point or bonded	Controlled expansion, holds together
Elk and long-range hunting	Polymer-tipped or solid copper	Holds speed, deep penetration
California or lead-free areas	Solid copper	Required by law
Paper and precision	Match or wadcutter	Accuracy and clean holes

For shotguns, the choice is shot size and slugs instead; our buckshot vs slugs vs birdshot guide covers it. For picking a caliber first, see our handgun calibers chart and rifle caliber guide, and for buying in bulk, our ammo buying guide. Our best 9mm ammo picks the top defense and range loads.

Frequently Asked Questions