page_title: Hollow-point bullet
section_title: Accuracy
hierarchical_section_title: Hollow-point bullet / Mechanism of action / Accuracy
caption_attribution_description: A fired .38 Special hollow-point bullet viewed from the side, showing the intended terminal ballistics sometimes referred to as mushrooming.
context_page_description: A hollow-point bullet is a type of expanding bullet used for controlled penetration, where over-penetration could cause collateral damage. In target shooting, they are used for greater accuracy due to the larger meplat. Hollow point bullets are more accurate and predictable compared to pointed bullets which, despite having a higher ballistic coefficient, are more sensitive to bullet harmonic characteristics and wind deflection.
  Plastic-tipped bullets are a type of bullet meant to confer the aerodynamic advantage of the spitzer bullet and the stopping power of hollow point bullets.
context_section_description: For bullets designed for target shooting, some such as the Sierra "Matchking" incorporate a cavity in the nose, called the meplat. This allows the manufacturer to maintain a greater consistency in tip shape and thus aerodynamic properties among bullets of the same design, at the expense of a slightly decreased ballistic coefficient and higher drag. The result is a slightly decreased overall accuracy between bullet trajectory and barrel direction, as well as an increased susceptibility to wind drift, but closer grouping of subsequent shots due to bullet consistency, often increasing the shooter's perceived accuracy.
  The manufacturing process of hollow-point bullets also produces a flat, uniformly-shaped base on the bullet which allegedly increases accuracy by providing a more consistent piston surface for the expanding gases of the cartridge.
  
  Match or target hollow-point bullets are designed for precision target use and no consideration is given to their expansion or other terminal ballistic performance.     The United States military uses open-tip ammunition in some sniper rifles due to its exceptional accuracy.  This ammunition is arguably not prohibited by military convention in that the wounds that it produces are similar to full metal jacket ammunition in practice.
caption: A fired .38 Special hollow-point bullet viewed from the side, showing the intended terminal ballistics sometimes referred to as mushrooming
exif: {}