Deformation bullet for police and authority ammunition

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hollow-point bullet, for example for police and/or authority ammunition with a caliber of at most 13 millimeters, which is made of iron, in particular soft iron.

Claims

1. A hollow-point bullet with a caliber of at most 13 mm, the bullet comprising a bullet tail, and a bullet nose with a central cavity having a front-side opening, wherein a diameter of the front-side opening of the cavity is greater than 50% of the caliber of the bullet, and wherein the bullet is made in one piece of an iron-based material, wherein the bullet nose is ogive shaped, wherein a nose wall delimiting the cavity has a substantially constant inner diameter, wherein a length of the cavity dimensioned in the longitudinal direction of the bullet is at most 50% of the bullet length, and wherein the cavity is not occupied by a filler component.

2. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the bullet is made of steel with a carbon content of more than 0.05% and of at most 1.14%.

3. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the bullet is made of an iron-based material comprising, in addition to iron, at least one further transition metal selected from the group consisting of manganese and copper at a mass fraction from 0.01% to 1.2%.

4. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the iron-based material comprises at least one additive selected from the carbon group, the nitrogen group and/or the oxygen group, and has a weight percentage of at least 0.01% to at most 0.48%.

5. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the iron-based material has a manganese content from 0.01% to 0.8%.

6. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the iron-based material has a silicon content of less than 0.5%.

7. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the iron-based material has a phosphorus content in the range from 0.01% to 0.04%.

8. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the iron-based material has a sulfur content in the range from 0.01% to 0.04%.

9. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the iron-based material has a copper content of less than 0.4%.

10. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the cavity extends from a front-side opening without forming an undercut in the direction of a tail-side cavity base, wherein the bullet is made in one piece, and wherein the cavity is not occupied by a filler component.

11. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 10, wherein the diameter of the front-side opening of the cavity is at least 65% of the caliber of the bullet.

12. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the cavity length is at most 40% of the bullet length.

13. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein a wall thickness of a nose wall delimiting the cavity at the bullet tip is in the range from 0.1 to 2 mm.

14. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the bullet tip is formed by a circumferential ring, whose wall thickness is less than 1 mm.

15. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein an outer diameter of a nose wall delimiting the cavity circumferentially increases starting from the bullet tip in the direction of the bullet tail.

16. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the central cavity has a cross-section which is point-symmetrical and deviates from a circular shape and is substantially constant in the longitudinal direction of the bullet.

17. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein a nose wall delimiting the cavity has on its outer side at least one weakening section oriented in the circumferential direction.

18. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 17, wherein the weakening section forms a predetermined buckling point such that when the bullet impacts a target, the nose wall buckles radially outward at the predetermined buckling point.

19. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 17, wherein the weakening section is realized as a notch.

20. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein a nose wall delimiting the cavity has on its inner side at least one edge oriented in the longitudinal direction of the bullet.

21. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 20, wherein the nose wall has a plurality of edges arranged at a distance from one another in the circumferential direction.

22. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the iron-based material of the bullet body has been subjected to a heat treatment process.

23. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, which is produced without a heat treatment process.

24. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 3, wherein the iron-based material has a carbon content of more than 0.05% and at most 1.14%.

25. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein the central cavity is produced by cold forming.

26. The hollow-point bullet according to claim 1, wherein a nose wall delimiting the cavity at the bullet tip has the property that, on impact of the bullet on a target, the nose wall delimiting the cavity at the bullet tip deforms in such a way that it is widened by less than 90 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the bullet.

Description

(1) In the following, further properties, features and advantages of the invention will become clear by means of a description of preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying exemplary drawings, in which show:

(2) FIG. 1 a schematic view of a production step for producing a bullet according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2-4 schematic sectional views of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 5-9 a schematic stage plan for the production of an exemplary embodiment of a bullet according to the invention starting from a blank; and

(5) FIG. 10 a schematic representation of a deformed projectile according to the invention.

(6) The following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying figures illustrates advantages according to the invention with regard to the simple and cost-effective production of deformation bullets according to the invention. The deformation bullets illustrated in the figures are designed as hollow-point bullets and are used for police and/or government ammunition. The bullets are made of metal, preferably iron.

(7) FIG. 1 schematically shows a production step, namely a solid forming step, in the production of bullets according to the invention, which are generally identified by the reference numeral 1. A combination of FIGS. 2 to 4 and 1 shows a particularly simple way of producing internal geometries of bullets of any cross-sectional shape. This is achieved in that the final cavity geometry or its cross-section can be generated by means of a stamping tool 3 which is pressed axially into an intermediate or blank forming the bullet 1, for forming a central, front-side cavity 5.

(8) FIGS. 2 to 4 show associated schematic cross-sectional views showing the outer shape of the press plunger 3 and the inner cross-sectional shape of the cavity 5. The press plunger 3 and the cavity are point-symmetrical in cross-section, wherein a circular cross-sectional shape results according to FIG. 4, and polygonal cross-sectional shapes in FIGS. 2 and 3. Due to the axial press formation by means of the press plunger 3, the cavity cross section 5 is substantially constant when viewed in the longitudinal direction of the bullet. Thus, the polygonal cavity inner geometry results in axial edges 7 formed along the complete longitudinal extension of the cavity 5 on an inner side of a nose wall 9 surrounding the cavity 5. A general advantage of the present invention is that the bullet geometry can be adapted very flexibly during solid forming. In particular, any internal geometry can be easily produced by simply adapting the outer shape or contour of the elongated substantially cylindrical.

(9) With reference to FIGS. 5 to 9, which show a stage plan for the production of a bullet 1 according to the invention, the individual production steps become apparent. First, a blank 11 of metal, preferably iron, is provided (FIG. 5), which is obtained from continuous raw material, such as a wire or tube, by cutting. The blank 11 is made of a particularly homogeneous material and is constructed in one piece, in particular from solid material.

(10) In a first production step, the blank 11 is cold-formed into a set workpiece 13 by setting, for example by pressing (FIG. 6). As can be seen from a comparison of FIGS. 5 and 6, setting is accompanied by an expansion in length of the intermediate product, wherein the outer diameter remains substantially constant. The increase in length results from the central recess 15 introduced at an end face 17 of the set workpiece 13 during setting, which causes a displacement of material that manifests itself in an expansion in length. Opposite the recess 15, that is, on the opposite face side 23, is a centering recess 21. Setting can be performed via a punch-die arrangement (not shown), wherein the punch outer geometry determines the recess inner geometry 15. A jacket wall 25 surrounding the recess 15 is further deformed in subsequent steps to form the subsequent bullet nose 27.

(11) After setting, the set workpiece 13 is prepressed to form a preform 29 (FIG. 7). The preform 13 is deformed in the region of the jacket wall 25 for forming the preform 29, so that the final cavity geometry of the front cavity 31 of the bullet 1 is already obtained. The ring-cylindrical jacket wall 25 is deformed into a nose wall 33 which tapers at least sectionally in the shape of an ogive. As a result of the nose wall 33 tapering towards the bullet tip 35, i.e. decreasing in wall thickness, the longitudinal dimension of the bullet or the longitudinal dimension of the section forming the later bullet nose 27 is extended relative to the jacket wall 25.

(12) The preform 29 is then further cold-formed for forming a cylindrical blank 37 shown in FIG. 8, which for the most part already has the complete geometry of the final bullet 1. The cylindrical blank 37 is compressed in the axial direction starting from the preform 29, wherein the cavity interior geometry 31 is maintained. Due to the axial compression of the preform 29, the diameter at the cylindrical blank 37 increases. The cylindrical blank 37 has a fully cylindrical section 41 comprising substantially of solid material and located in the area of the later bullet tail 39, which is formed over a large part of the longitudinal extension of the cylindrical blank up to the ogive-like tapering of the nose jacket 33. For the production of the final bullet 1, the bullet nose 27 remains substantially unchanged. The bullet tail 39 may be further machined by cold forming steps.

(13) For example, a chamfer 43, which is circumferential, can be introduced at the tail-side (FIG. 9). The final bullet 1 has a substantially planar bullet bottom 45 at the tail-side, in the center of which the centering recess 21 is located. Furthermore, it is possible that the bullet tail is for the most part no longer fully cylindrical, but deviates for the most part from a cylindrical shape and is cylindrical only in regions, in particular in a region defining the guide band, which defines the caliber. In other respects, for example, the outer diameter of the bullet tail can be slightly reduced starting from the guide band in the direction of the bullet bottom 45.

(14) The cavity 31 may, for example, have a planar cavity base 47 as viewed at least in sections transversely to the longitudinal extension of the bullet 1, which may also be concave in shape. The concave or planar cavity base region 47 leads into an outer cavity base region 49 of greater curvature or inclination relative to the longitudinal axis of the bullet compared to the cavity base region 47. The outer cavity base section 49 merges at a transition 51 into a cavity side wall 53, which is oriented substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis L of the bullet. The cavity sidewall 53 thus delimits a substantially hollow cylindrical front-side cavity section, which may have a longitudinal extension in the range of 10% to 50% of the longitudinal dimension of the bullet. The constant inner diameter cavity sidewall 53 may be present over at least 30%, at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, or at least 90% of a total longitudinal extension of the cavity 31.

(15) For example, in the region of the front-side opening 35, the nose wall 33 may have a wall thickness in the range of 10%-50% of the wall thickness in the nose wall 33 at the axial height of the cavity base in the region of the transition 51 between cavity and side wall 53 and outer cavity base section 49. The wall thickness a in FIG. 9 indicates the wall thickness in the region of the front-side opening 35 and the reference sign b indicates the wall thickness in the region of the transition 51 of the nose wall 33.

(16) A schematic representation of a projectile 1 deformed according to the invention is shown in FIG. 10 and is generally designated by the reference numeral 55. The deformed projectile 55 differs from prior art projectile in particular by a reduced mushrooming effect upon impact with a target. As can be seen in FIG. 10, the front deformed section 57 of the nose wall 33 forming the ogive jacket is expanded or mushroomed by significantly less than 90 with respect to the longitudinal axis L of the bullet, resulting in a trumpet-shaped configuration in the front-side region. The trumpet-shaped deformation section 57 of the ogive jacket 33 has substantially the same cross-section and the same deformation in the circumferential direction.

(17) The features disclosed in the foregoing description, figures, and claims may be significant both individually and in any combination for the realization of the invention in the various embodiments.

REFERENCE LIST

(18) 1 Bullet 3 Press plunger 5 Cavity 7 Axial edge 9 Nose wall 11 Blank 13 Set workpiece 15 Recess 17 Face side 21 Centering recess 23 Face side 25 Jacket wall 27 Bullet nose 29 Preform 31 Cavity 33 Nose wall 35 Bullet tip 37 Cylindrical blank 39 Bullet tail 41 Cylindrical section 43 Chamfer 45 Bullet bottom 47 Cavity base 49 Outer cavity base section 51 Transition 53 Cavity side wall 55 Deformed projectile 57 Deformed section of the nose wall a Wall thickness Deformation angle L Longitudinal axis of the bullet