Patent Application
20160356584
The present disclosure relates to expanding bullets.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
This invention relates to bullets, and in particular to fast-expanding hunting bullets that expand upon impact with a target, creating a more effective wound channel.
There is a wide variation in bullet designs to achieve various desirable attributes, such as stable flight and in-target performance. One common bullet is the hollow point bullet, which typically comprises a core of a soft material such as lead or a lead alloy with a tapering open ended jacket of a harder material, such as copper or a copper alloy. This configuration allows the bullet to expand upon entering a target. Rifle bullets of this type will often also have a tapered polymeric tip to improve the aerodynamics of the bullet, which can be important for bullets fired at high velocities or over long distances. Typically, because the tip is provided solely for aerodynamics, and has no significant function on in-target performance of the bullet, this tip is made as small as possible while still providing a smooth, aerodynamic transition from the jacket ogive to a tip.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
Embodiments of the present invention provide expanding hollow point bullets with improved in-target performance. Bullets of the preferred embodiments more quickly expand in the target, providing more destruction and energy transfer than conventional hollow point bullets. Generally, a preferred embodiment of the expanding hollow point hunting bullet comprises a core having a proximal end, a distal end, and a sidewall therebetween, and a tip having a generally conical distal section, and a generally cylindrical proximal section defining a proximally facing shoulder at their juncture. A jacket has a generally cylindrical proximal portion surrounding at least a portion of the core adjacent its proximal end. The jacket also has a distal portion that tapers to an open end. The distal portion surrounds the distal portion of the core as well as the proximal section of the tip, with the distal end of the jacket abutting the shoulder on the tip to form a smooth tapering ogival surface with the tip. The diameter of the tip is preferably at least about 65% of the diameter of the bullet.
The core is preferably made of a malleable metal or metal alloy, such as lead of a lead alloy. The jacket is preferably made of a harder material than the core, such as copper or copper alloy. The tip is preferably made from a polymeric material, such as polycarbonate.
In some embodiments, the outside diameter of the jacket at the distal end of the core is substantially same as the inside diameter of the jacket at the cylindrical section. The proximal end of the tip abuts the distal end of the core. The jacket tapers from the proximal end of the distal section to the distal end of the jacket.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of the present invention provide expanding hollow point bullets with improved in-target performance. Preferred embodiments of a bullet in accordance with the principles of this invention are indicated generally as 20, 20′, 20″ and 20′″ in
As shown in
The bullets 20, 20′, 20″ and 20″′ each comprise a core 32, having a proximal end 34, a distal end 36, and a sidewall 38 therebetween. The bullets further comprise a tip 40 having a generally conical distal section 42, and a generally cylindrical proximal section 44 defining a proximally facing shoulder 46 at the juncture between the distal and proximal sections. A jacket 48 has a generally cylindrical proximal portion 50 surrounding at least a portion of the core 32 adjacent its proximal end 34. The jacket 48 also has a distal portion 52 that tapers to an open end 54. The distal portion 52 of the jacket 48 surrounds the distal portion of the core 32 as well as the proximal section 44 of the tip 40, with the distal end of the jacket abutting the shoulder 46 on the tip to form a smooth tapering ogival surface with the tip.
In contrast to conventional bullets, the tip is relatively larger, i.e., the ratio of the diameter of the tip to the diameter of the bullet is larger, and the ratio of the tip length to the ogive length is larger. As a consequence, the bullet expands much sooner than conventional bullets, beginning almost immediately upon impact. This results in increased disruption to the target, particularly in the initial portion of the wound channel.
Additional dimensions of bullets of the four preferred embodiments shown in
The maximum diameter of the tip is preferably at least about 65% of the diameter of the bullet, and more preferably at least about 67% of the diameter of the bullet. The maximum cross-sectional area of the tip is preferably at least about 45% of the cross-sectional area of the bullet. Although it depends upon the shape of the ogival portion, the length of the tip is preferably at least about 40% of the length of the ogival portion.
The core 32 is preferably made of a malleable metal or metal alloy, such as lead of a lead alloy. The jacket 48 is preferably made of a harder material than the core 32, such as copper or copper alloy. The tip 30 is made from a polymeric material, such as polycarbonate. The tip 30 could include metal or other filler materials to provide balance or other desirable properties.
In some embodiments, the outside diameter of the jacket 48 at the distal end of the core 32 is substantially same as the inside diameter of the jacket at the cylindrical section. The proximal end of the tip 40 abuts the distal end 36 of the core 32. The jacket tapers from the proximal end of the distal section to the distal end of the jacket.
The action of the bullet with the larger tip is believed related to the energy of the bullet, which is in part related to the weight of the bullet. Table 3 shows the energy in ft-lbs at 200 yards for selected bullets, for selected cartridges that have been found to perform satisfactorily with tip configurations in accordance with the embodiments of this invention.
Table 4 shows the weight ranges and a preferred weight range for the four calibers of the four preferred embodiment, and for three comparative bullets. The bullets of the preferred embodiments preferably have a weight of between about 85 grains and about 185 grains, and more preferably a weight of between about 95 grains and about 150 grains. The bullets of the preferred embodiment are preferably loaded into cartridges that provide sufficient energy at the point of impact so that with the larger tip, the bullet will begin expanding almost immediately after initial impact. For example bullets having the 200 yard energies shown in Table 3, generally will have sufficient energy at the point of impact for most hunting applications to exhibit enhanced expansion from the enlarged tip.
It is believed by the inventors that the tip configurations in accordance with the principles of this invention expand faster and provide larger wound channels because less of the bullet's energy is depleated opening the jacket. This is reflected in the fact that less energy is required to form the jacket in the die because the jacket does not have to be deformed as much to form an aerodynamic tip.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/170,118 filed on Jun. 2, 2015. The disclosure of the above-referenced application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62170118 | Jun 2015 | US |
