Are explosive bullets useful? If no why no?

>>30630858
Have you ever seen a 30 caliber round? Even at its highest grain it's somewhere around the size of a gummy bear. At this time, we don't have an explosive that would be effective at that size.

I'd invent uses for them, so yes.

With less than a .50 or so you're not going to get much explosives into the bullet. Even the .50 is probably being pretty optimistic. So the bang won't do all that much. And on top of that you need to find space for the fuse. With both of those things compromising the design of the bullet as far as it's aimed at causing damage through its kinetic energy, so in the end you're probably doing less damage this way than with a conventional bullet. And in return you get somethign which is far more expensive, complex, and capable of failure.

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>>30630858

For large caliber autocannons, yes.

For smaller caliber machine guns, no.

If you're gun is chambered for a caliber less than 20 mm, then there is no point in having explosive filler because it won't make any difference and it would probably actually reduce performance.

But if you've got a nice 30 x 173 autocannon then explosive filler is nice to have.

>>30630877
https://www.full30.com/video/82efb579fd3c93d177205966ef3d3c9d

>>30630858

>>30630887
This, and even a leather jacket would likely protect you from fragments cast about by the explosion.

>>30630895
> tfw no explosive BBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTT

>>30630906
Awesome. Did a lot more damage than I was expecting

Normal full size rifle bullets can hold enough explosive to blast a fist sized hole in your torso if they detonate at the right time.

Even if they don't you get a bullet wound plus some nasty burns.

>>30630906
Based

>>30630858
no.
A 5,56 in your chest, leg, or arm will put you out of the action, either dead or wounded.

Also, if the bullet is explosive, and detonates before penetrating a bulletproof vest, it will be less effective than a bullet that penetrates.

The bullet will be lighter, since explosives are lighter than lead/steel/brass, this will decrease its efficient range, and decrease its ballistic coefficiency.

No real reason for small caliber to be explosive, as you still need to get a direct hit to kill something.

Sacrificing penetrative properties for explosive capabilities isn't an issue for anything 20mm or above. But in your typical rifle/pistol round, whose effectiveness lies in its penetration, this is a problem. A BIG one. The miniscule amount of explosive and fragmentation damage that would be caused by an explosive bullet of that size isn't as effective as the damage caused by your standard bullet. It's not worth the research and manufacturing cost, fragility, or potential for accidents or failures.