A hollow point bullet is a type of bullet that has a hollow at the tip. On impact, this cavity causes the bullet to mushroom, i.e. to increase in cross-section from the tip. Mushrooming can more than double the cross-section of the bullet, causing the bullet to transfer more energy to the target body.
If the bullet sticks, it has transferred all of its energy to the game body in the target, but if it is shot through, the bullet still has enough residual energy to penetrate the game body. Thus, the penetrating power of a bullet is in contrast to the energy dissipated in the game body.
Hollow point bullets can deform more strongly and faster than partial jacket bullets due to the hollowing out, so that the projectile achieves a high stopping power. Compared to less deforming projectiles, the energy output of these projectiles is lower.
To increase the deformation, the lead core is often exposed in the cavity. The hollow point can, independently of this, be covered with a ballistic tip for better flight characteristics. However, ballistic properties are also improved by moving the center of gravity to the base of the bullet.
The degree of mushrooming also depends on the velocity of the projectile at impact. The higher the velocity, the greater the forces acting on the projectile from the front and initiating mushrooming. As a rule of thumb, most bullets are designed to mushroom at velocities of 300 m/s or higher.
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