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The Components of a Jacketed Bullet

Jacketed bullets are bullets in which a copper outer jacket surrounds the lead so that it never comes in contact with the bore of the firearm, which prevents lead deposits from building up in the bore. A jacketed bullet is made up of distinct components that must be assembled before the bullet is fired.

The Lead Core
- The lead core of a jacketed bullet can be made out of lead wire. Lead wire is placed into a swaging press to put it under very high pressure, forcing the lead into the desired shape, diameter and weight for the core of the bullet. A .185-inch diameter piece of lead wire will actually expand to .191 inch in the swaging process. The lead core could be made into a bullet on its own, but lead bullets without jackets leave minute deposits of lead in the bore of the firearm. As these build up over time, they fill in the rifling and smooth out the bore, eventually destroying the weapon's accuracy.
The Copper Jacket
- After the lead wire is swaged to create a lead core, the core is placed inside a copper jacket. The jacket is then put into the swaging press, and the lead core is swaged into the jacket. The pressure on the lead core is so intense that it forces the copper jacket to expand a little bit as the lead is pushed inside. The copper tends to try to resume its original shape, which causes it to hold very tightly to the lead core. The next step, after the core is added to the jacket, is to put a point on the bullet.
Reloading
- Reloading, or making new bullets by hand and loading them into used cartridge casings, is a favorite hobby among target shooters and hunters. Reloading is less expensive than purchasing new ammunition ready-made, and it can be more accurate as well. Reloading also allows the shooter to design custom cartridges for different purposes. The process of reloading includes cleaning out the old case, removing all of the old primer, reshaping the case, putting new primer and gunpowder in and crimping in a new bullet.
Components
- The components of a jacketed bullet include the lead core and the copper jacket that surrounds it. These make up the bullet as such. The components of a complete cartridge include not only the lead core and the copper jacket but the cartridge casing, the primer and the gunpowder as well. A "full metal jacket" bullet is one in which the jacket completely covers the lead core. A "soft point jacket" is one in which the jacket is open at the tip to expose the lead so that it can expand on impact with the target, which is useful for hunting purposes because it increases the bullet's stopping power.

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