Which designation describes a bullet designed to penetrate armor?

• A. Armor Piercing
• B. Full Metal Jacket
• C. Soft Point
• D. Hollow Point

Answer: (A)

Armor-piercing rounds are built specifically to defeat protective armor by carrying a hardened core and a design that keeps momentum and shape as it meets armor. That designation signals the bullet’s purpose: to punch through armor rather than just expand inside soft tissue. The hardened core, often steel or tungsten, helps the projectile resist deformation and maintain penetration through a plate, which is what sets it apart from other common bullet designs.

Other bullet types serve different goals. Full Metal Jacket bullets are jacketed for reliability and penetration in general targets but aren’t defined by armor-penetration capability. Soft Point bullets have an exposed lead tip to promote expansion for a larger wound in unarmored targets, not to stay intact through armor. Hollow Point bullets are designed to expand on impact to increase energy transfer and reduce over-penetration, also not aimed at armor penetration.