Most hunters know that conventional bullets have two main components: a lead core and a jacket of copper or gilding metal. Mono-metal bullets are different; they do not have a jacket or core, but instead are made from a single metal or alloy. This homogenous construction offers distinctive performance, but it also causes misunderstanding among hunters used to cup-and-core bullets. Mono-metal bullets are excellent choices for big game, so let’s clear up some of this confusion by looking at what they do and how they do it.
For modern centerfire rifle cartridges, the metal in mono-metal bullets is generally copper or gilding metal (copper alloyed with a small amount of zinc). But technically, bullets
