- 01: Introduction
- 02: History
- 03: Propellants, Firearms, and Ammunition Development
- 04: Modern Firearms Manufacture
- 05: Small Arms Ammunition
- 06: Evidence Handling Procedures
- 07: Equipment and Instrumentation
- 08: Examination of Firearms
- 09: Cartridge and Shotshell Examination
- 10: Characterization and Evaluation of Fired Projectiles
- 11: Bullet Comparison and Identification
- 12: Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination
- 13: Toolmark Identification
- 14: Communicating Results
- Resources
National Institute of Justice
The Research, Development, and Evaluation
Agency of the U.S. Department of Justice
Open Point
Home > Small Arms Amunition > Projectiles > Other Jacket-forming Technology > Open Point
Open or hollow point bullet
The remaining operations in making an open point bullet are devoted to shaping the point. Because metal must be displaced and moved, point shaping is performed in multiple steps to avoid excessive load on the bullet and/or the equipment. The point starts by forming a truncated cone in which the lead in the core is squeezed up toward the open end of the jacket. The next die begins the transition to a curved surface called the ogive. The first die starts to round the profile of the ogive; a second or third die finishes forming the pointed shape.
