I have seen a lot of answers, that are telling that it has more damage area and it fits in auto loaders better. I accept the second one, but not the first. Imagine a 9mm hits a vest and… nothing, probably a couple of broken bones, even though it has a larger damage area. Then the person takes their gun and shoots you. Your shots were probably useless. But if that 9mm was pointy it would, depending on the vest, penetrate it and hit the person, severely damaging the person. You’re now safe. That’s my scenario. So why are low caliber bullets not pointy?
In: Engineering
Pointy bullets are not really better for penetration. Collisions at those speeds work nothing like collisions you’re used to. A pointy tip squishes even easier than a blunt one. Lead and soft steel are like play doh at bullet speeds. If your opponent has a vest that can stop a bullet, the shape isn’t a huge deal.
If you want armor penetration, you need faster, harder, and longer projectiles. The 5.7 pistol cartridge was designed for this purpose, being a higher pressure smaller bullet. Hardened steel or tungsten core bullets are also an improvement. These still have the regular copper and lead body because it’s better for short range aerodynamics and will do more damage without armor, but the hardened core is much more capable of penetrating plate armor.
As for non-plate armor, energy is key. Hardness is somewhat less important but weight and speed are critical. Spitzer (pointy) rounds are lighter.
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