MULTI-COMPONENT BULLET WITH CORE RETENTION FEATURE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE BULLET

A three component bullet (160) with an improved core retention feature (165) and a method of manufacturing the bullet (160) includes a cylindrical jacket (100) having an open end (105) and a closed end containing a malleable metal core (110) which is forced into a forming die having a bottleneck shaped interior, wherein the outside diameter of the open-ended forward portion of the jacket (100) is smaller than the outside diameter of its closed rearward portion. The open end (105) of the pre-form (114) may be dropped through or forced through a malleable non-rigid locking band (130). A relatively tight-fitting punch (120) enters the open end (105) of the pre-form (114), to radially swell the core (110) and subsequently portions of the jacket (100) fore and aft of the non-rigid locking band (130), thereby securing the non-rigid locking band (130) in place. An inwardly-extending annular band of jacket material (100) embeds itself into the core material (110) to lock the core (110) inside the jacket (100).