what does a red tip on a bullet mean?

Is the red tip a plastic material on the tip of the bullet or is it paint? If it is a red plastic tip then it is a Hornady bullet for hunting. https://www.hornady.com/shop/Bullets_VMAX_popup.ht...

If it is red paint, then it is a military tracer bullet.

Hornady Red Tip

It could be several things. Tracer bullets usually do have red tip on them. Many of the Hornady rounds also have red tips, usually plastic. I have seen some cheaper bulk ammo that had some sort of a red dye on the bullets. Many balistic tip bullets have a pointed plastic tip on them that is sometimes colored red.

You'll need to give more info, possibly even a picture if you want an accurate answer as to what the one you are looking at is.

Hornady InterBond:

The Hornady InterBond is a red-plastic-tipped bullet with a boattail and an overall shape designed for a high ballistic coefficient. The jacket walls are thick and unusually shaped with a type of scallop in the forward section that results from the thinner forward jacket being pressed inward during bullet point formation. Together with a thin base design, the InterBond produces positive bullet upset and mushrooming at low velocity while the thick walls and bonding produce a fairly high retained weight even when the bullet impacts at high velocity.

if it is a plastic or plastic like material that is an insert or "tip" in the bullet then it is likely a Nosler or Hornady made bullet.

If the red is painted on then it is likely some sort of tracer or incendiary projectile. As has been stated don't shoot these outdoors when the fire danger is elevated. Most ranges don't allow them to be fired at all.

This Site Might Help You.

RE:

what does a red tip on a bullet mean?

Nosler makes what they call ballistic tip bullets. they have either a red or green tip to the very point of the bullet. they are supposed to improve accuracy because they don't dent or bend like the regular lead tips of a bullet.

http://www.cabelas.com/link-12/product/00127102135...

here is a link that shows a cut away section with the ballistic tip.

Means it is any of several Hornady bullets, from the v-max to the a-max to the interbond to the leverevolution. Some of the Nosler Ballistic tips are red to. I don't remember what caliber (each caliber has a different color), but .338" is maroon.

Hornady makes their high-performance and hollow point bullets with red tips. I guess because if the hollow point bullets have that little divet on the front, it makes the bullet less aerodynamic, so they put a little tip on it instead.

From experience, it usually means it is a composite round. The ballistic handgun rounds are usually red composite.

If you are talking about red paint on the tip that is a whole different story, and you may be in a whole nother league from tracer to incendiary.