By John Kleespies
A number of different bullet types exist, and so I thought it might be helpful to break down the standardized acronyms that we often find in load recipes. This may help a new reloader who is trying to decipher his first recipe book that’s telling him to load an FMJBT the same as an SPBT, but completely differently than a Solid FBHP.
Huh?
Don’t worry, new guy – I’ve got you covered!
More than just listing acronyms, though, I want to concentrate on the base terms associated with bullets and their associated concepts. This is like your old Language Arts teacher telling you to learn Latin in order to speak English better: if you become familiar with these base terms and the concepts that they represent, then you’ll learn how to more effectively speak the language of hand loading… regardless of what the bullet manufacturers’ marketing teams throw at you.
Here’s what I mean by that: one of my favorite rifle rounds is Hornady’s .224 55gr FMJ-BT, meaning that it is a full metal jacketed bullet with a boat tail at the rear. That said, you can find a plethora of .22cal bullets that are visual twins to the Hornady FMJ-BT, but those bullets may be referred to as 55gr BT, or 55gr FMJ, or 55gr BTFMJ, or possibly even a “55-grain Boat-tailed Spitzer” amongst the fancy pants crowd.
Confusingly, all of the above are correct, which is the problem with deciphering these bullet designations: they are usually assigned by the marketing department rather than the engineers who designed them. Throw in the fact that these acronyms also get mixed and matched in no particular order, and it becomes a mess.
Ultimately, learn the concepts. Pay attention. Look at the bullets so that you can recognize what they actually are in order to pair it with a corresponding load recipe, regardless of what the box says on the end flap. For example, please take note of the accompanying photograph showing a box of “Hornady 30 CAL 150 GR RN” bullets, yet the bullets I see are 150gr Flat Base Soft Point (FBSP) bullets. Because I know the concepts of loading, then, for this bullet I can feel comfortable exploring load recipes for either .30 150gr RN or .30 150gr SP or .30 150gr FB… or any combination of acronym thereof.
Hence:
Boat Tail (BT) bullets taper from the mid-section to the rear for improved aerodynamics. Pair this sort of a high ballistic coefficient round with the screaming velocity of modern powders, and you’ve uncovered the secret mojo that drives a modern, high-performance rifle.
Flat Base (FB) bullets have no tapering from the center to the base: they are the opposite of boat tail bullets. While they’re most prevalent in pistol bullets, but you’ll also find these in rifle rounds that seek to pack as much bullet weight as possible into a given area.
Frangible rounds are designed to disintegrate upon impact to mitigate overpenetration and ricochets. These aren’t typically a valued component amongst hand loaders, but the reloader should be aware of their existence when making purchases.
Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) is a bullet designation which tells you that the bullet is fully encased in a metal jacket with no exposed lead. Unless it’s not… because oftentimes FMJ bullets have exposed lead at the base. Yeah, I know…weird. Just accept it and move on.
Hollow Point (HP) rounds have an open nose for expansion in hunting or self-defense scenarios. Take note that these bullets are designed to properly expand at or above particular velocities—1800 feet per second is the industry standard for HP rifle rounds—and so the hand loader should be careful to craft his HP loads to strike at the target with enough velocity to induce expansion. For instance, if you’re loading a subsonic 300blk cartridge, there’s no point in using a standard .30cal HP hunting bullet in the load, because it will never generate enough velocity to expand the hollow point upon impact. Also take note that some hollow points have an open tip that is constructed purely for aerodynamics rather than expansion, and are thus marketed “for match use only.”
Jacketed (J) means that the bullet is, well… jacketed… but in a way that’s somehow different from an FMJ. In the previously referenced photograph, that “Jacketed Soft Point” is basically an open-based FMJ designed in reverse: the base is solid, and the nose is exposed with raw lead.
Lead (L) bullet casting involves its own rabbit hole of acronyms that I won’t delve into here. For the purpose of this article, if the acronym starts with an “L,” then the bullet is solid lead, with no jacket. For example, an LSWC is a Lead Semi Wad Cutter. Be warned that the friction which occurs between a lead bullet and a barrel’s rifling is significantly different from a jacketed bullet, which is thus reflected in the type and amount of powder specified by the load recipe. Never confuse data for a Lead bullet with a Jacketed bullet, or vice versa!
Polymer Tipped (PT) rounds are actually hollow tipped bullets with a polymer cone inserted into the tip for improved aerodynamics, thus turning it into a spitzer. This gives the bullet the expansion advantage of a hunting bullet while also awarding it the aerodynamics of a match bullet. It’s the best of all worlds with a corresponding price tag!
Round Nose (RN) is pretty self-explanatory, but you’ll hear old guys refer to these as “hardballs.” Since RN tends to be inexpensive and feeds reliably, they are the go-to for bulk pistol ammo. That said, before guns were able to handle today’s high pressures, round nose rifle rounds were the choice for “dangerous game guns” where the hunter needed hard hits at close ranges: the combination of a round nose and a flat base allows for the heaviest bullet to be crammed into an available space, thus increasing muzzle energy at low velocities.
Semi Wad Cutters (SWC) are designed to punch a clean hole in paper—like the wad cutters listed below—but SWC’s have a stepped nose to help feed them out of a magazine, up a feed ramp, and into the firing chamber without jamming up. Be prepared to do some gun-specific experimentation with seating depth before taking an auto-fed SWC load to a competition or anywhere that demands absolute reliability.
Soft Point (SP) bullets are typically jacketed hunting rounds with an exposed lead tip to aid expansion, similar to a hollow point.
Solid bullets are just that: made of a single, solid material that is anything but lead. If you’re planning a hunt in an area with “Lead-Free” ammunition requirements, these will be your go-to bullets. While some solids are well-regarded as hunting bullets, they tend to be expensive and have a more limited selection of load recipes to choose from. Also, like lead bullets, they will have weight and friction properties that are different from other types of rounds, so their load recipes should not be interchanged with lead or jacketed recipes. If you are brand new to hand loading, these may not be the best choice with which to learn the craft…
Spitzer (Spitz) is an antiquated term, but it still comes up now and again. Back in the old days, when firearms were transitioning from ball to conical bullets, some German guy called them Spitzgeschoss rounds, which directly translates to… “pointy bullet.” Nowadays, you’ll sometimes hear rifle rounds referred to as spitzers if they have neither a hollow point nor a round nose.
Wad Cutter (WD) pistol rounds have a completely flat nose so that they punch a perfectly round hole through paper. Unless you really like clearing jams, these bullets should be reserved for revolvers.
The above list should cover most, if not all, of your standardized bullet acronyms… which might cause the reader to scratch his head.
“But what about VLD and ELD and a hundred others?” he’ll decry.
Yes, all of those acronyms have meaning… but they are marketing terms that are specific to brands. They are not standardized. For instance, if you see a bullet listed as a BER 80gr VLD, it is telling you that this is a Berger 80gr Very Low Drag bullet— that’s all good info to have, but it is specific to the Berger brand. Hence, a HOR 80gr ELD is a very similar bullet from Hornady (their Extremely Low Drag offering) that will likely share similar load data to the Berger version… yet it has a different brand-driven acronym.
Take the time to look at both of these bullets, though, and you’ll kick your heels and shout, “Oh, those are simply jacketed boat tails! Now I know what kind of a load recipe to search up!”
Overall, this standardized list as a jumping-off point for learning reloading concepts and then employ those concepts to choose the best load and recipes for your needs.
