Editing Soft-point bullet (section)

==Evolution==
[[Lead]]-[[alloy]] bullets used with [[gunpowder]] firearms were unsatisfactory at the bullet velocities available from rifles loaded with [[smokeless powder|nitrocellulose propellants]] such as [[cordite]]. By the late 19th century, lead-alloy bullets were being enclosed within a [[Full metal jacket (ammunition)|jacket]] of stronger mild [[steel]] or [[copper]] alloyed with [[nickel]] or [[zinc]] to reliably impart stabilizing rotation in [[rifled]] barrels. The lead-alloy core was [[swaging|swaged]] into a cup of the stronger metal covering the front and sides of the core, but leaving some of the core exposed on the base of the bullet. The bullet jacket may be described as a metal envelope, steel envelope, or hard envelope; and the jacketed bullet may be described as metal-covered, metal-patched, or metal-cased.<ref name=pbs>{{cite book |last=Sharpe |first=Philip B. |title =Complete Guide to Handloading |publisher =Funk & Wagnalls |edition =3rd |date =1953 |location =New York |pages =112–126 }}</ref>
But while these new types of projectile were easier to stabilize at the new high velocities, it was discovered that the new jacketed design was actually less lethal than the softer lead-alloy types that had preceded it. 

The jacketed bullets were typically of smaller diameter than the previous lead-alloy type, and the stronger jacket made them less likely to be deformed on impact. Such deformation increases the effective diameter of the projectile and can also cause an erratic trajectory within the wound.  Enclosing the lead or alloy within a hard jacket cuts down on these tendencies despite the greater velocities employed, and this in conjunction with the typically smaller calibre created a greater tendency for the new rifle bullets both to create a smaller wound and to pass through, rather than lodging within, the anatomy of the target whether human or animal, thus increasing the probability of wounding rather than killing.  For this reason, full metal jacket rounds are considered more humane for military purposes, since it is only necessary to incapacitate enemy soldiers to neutralize them on the battlefield; conversely, they are less effective for hunting animals where killing the quarry swiftly is the objective.  To produce a smokeless-propellant round that would engage in rifling efficiently but also match or exceed the lethality of the old, low-velocity ammunition it was necessary to invent the soft-point.  The process was not difficult: reversing the direction of jacket placement leaves the lead-alloy core exposed at the forward tip of the projectile creating a soft-point bullet.<ref name=pbs/>