Why Hollow Points Fly Straight

by
at Hornady Manufacturing Co. posted on January 10, 2017
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
hp-1.jpg

The starting point for an accurate bullet is the jacket concentricity. You have to have a bullet that has a very concentric jacket. If it gets over .001” it will definitely show up on the target. Generally speaking, spending a lot of time trying to get jackets under .0005” is not going to get you much because this will be covered up by a lot of other things.

From a pure physics standpoint, a hollow point does have some advantages for trying to achieve greater accuracy. A lot of bullets are “over stabilized” in the common barrel twist rates that are used in competition. When a bullet is over-stabilized it will take it longer to “go to sleep” or stabilize, following any disturbance at the point of muzzle exit. Hollow point bullets literally have no lead in a significant portion of the jacket at the front of the bullet. This results in a bullet that is longer for a given bullet weight than, say, a soft point bullet with lead all the way to the nose. The result of the longer bullet for the same weight, coupled with the hollow cavity in the nose, is a bullet with a more rearward center of gravity and a slightly lower stability.

The bottom line is the bullet goes to sleep quicker and you achieve better accuracy. You can go too far with this, however, and get a bullet that will fly point first but never go to sleep, never stop yawing, and it will shoot all over the paper.

Latest

2025 Nov Nebraska Is Top Ranked 1 1
2025 Nov Nebraska Is Top Ranked 1 1

Collegiate Rifle: Nebraska Takes Over No. 1 Spot in CRCA Rankings; TCU, Navy Surge into Top Three

Nebraska claims the top CRCA rifle ranking, TCU surges to No. 2 with a big win and Navy jumps to No. 3.

Marksmanship Milestones: 1985 National Matches

The 1985 National Matches featured record scores, historic wins and major facility upgrades at Camp Perry.

Inside the 2025 NRA World Shooting Championship

Nils Jonasson claims top title at multi-discipline 2025 NRA World Shooting Championship, held at Camp Atterbury in October.

White Flyer, Winchester Boost South Dakota’s New Shooting Sports Complex with Massive Target Donation

Winchester Ammunition and White Flyer Targets fuel the debut of South Dakota’s new shooting sports complex with a major donation and focus on community growth.

Collegiate Rifle: Underdog Akron Stuns Top-Ranked Rivals, Wins Four-Team Tournament

Akron rifle stuns top-ranked teams in Columbus as senior Natalia Siek breaks multiple records, leading the No. 17 Zips to victory.

CMP Names Decorated Marksman Hank Gray as New Training and Education Manager

Veteran shooter and Team USA coach Hank Gray joins CMP to lead training and education, fueling the next generation of marksmanship excellence.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.