softnose

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Of a bullet

   Of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact, causing a large amount of damage; soft-nosed.

   • When I got the rifle I shot a coyote in a trap, to see what effect the soft nose bullet would have. He was struck back of shoulder, and a hole torn, where bullet entered, about 3½ inches in diameter.
   • The soft nose bullet if it is fired and hitting any hard object, especially bone, it flattens and becomes distorted and is no longer round and has a tearing force with it.
2. 2

   A bullet of this kind

   A bullet of this kind; (uncountable) bullets of this kind collectively.

   • The soft nose when it strikes a hard substance, mushrooms, would leave ten times as large a hole as a hard nose bullet striking the same substance. A soft nose bullet would leave a ragged edge.
   • And get a couple of boxes of .40 caliber Glasers, too. And about a dozen boxes of .30 caliber softnoses for my SKS. You need some cash for all that?
   • The softnoses were just as quickly outlawed, for the obvious reason that these weapons were designed to kill, and not to incapacitate.

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