For those who are sometimes confused as I am, here you go.
PART ONE
AJHP: Aluminum Jacketed Hollow Point.
AP: Armor Piercing. Military bullets with steel or tungsten core that penetrates steel armor. Bullet's tip is usually painted black for easier identification.
API: Armor Piercing Incendiary. Designed to penetrate armor and set target on fire. Tips are usually painted light blue.
BB: Bevel Base.
BBWC: Bevel Base Wad Cutter. Pistol bullet that's flat on both ends; has beveled base to increase accuracy similar to a boat-tail bullet.
BC: Bonded Core.
BCHP: Bonded Core Hollow Point.
BCSP: Bonded Core Soft Point.
BEB: Brass Enclosed Base. Pistol bullet with brass plug over exposed lead base to reduce lead exposure. Many indoor ranges now specify use of this bullet to decrease lead contamination.
BJHP: Brass Jacketed Hollow Point. Defensive pistol bullet that controls mushrooming and energy release over longer distances.
BRPT: Bronze Point. Bronze insert in tip improves trajectory, velocity and energy transfer at extreme ranges. Tip expands rapidly when driven back through bullet. Excellent design for hunting long-range medium-size game.
BST: Ballistic Silvertip. Used with hunting rifles, this Winchester bullet has a soft metal tip that causes rapid expansion and penetration of bullet. Typically used for varminting and hunting light- and medium- size game.
BT: Boat Tail. Rifle bullet with truncated conical shape at base of bullet. Streamlining stabilizes bullet and increases accuracy.
BTHP: Boat Tail Hollow Point. Same as plain boat-tail but with a hollow point, which generates rapid expansion and penetration.
BTSP: Boat Tail Soft Point. Like the plain boat-tail but with a soft point to increase penetration and expansion from exposed lead tip.
CC: Copper Coated. Same as full-metal-jacket. Copper coating prevents bullet deformation in feed mechanism and barrel, reduces misfires and lowers risk of barrel damage.
CL: Core-Lokt. Remington's premier bonded bullet. Retains up to 95% of original weight with maximum penetration and energy transfer. Progressively tapered jacket initiates and controls expansion nearly 2x. Unique design and bonded lead core delivers performance from 50 to 500 yards.
CP: Copper Plated. Lead bullet dipped in copper; reduces lead fouling and is cheaper than copper coating.
DEWC: Double Ended Wad Cutter.
EFMJ: Expanding Full Metal Jacket. Federal's answer to areas with restrictions on hollow points. A regular full-metal-jacket bullet with front rubber core covered by a copper jacket. When fired into target media, copper jacket collapses along serrations, produces petal-like expansion and delivers energy without over- penetration.
ENCAP or E: Encapsulated. Totally plated on all sides to decrease environmental lead contamination. Many indoor ranges use this ammunition exclusively to reduce lead clean-up costs.
EP: Expanding Point. Winchester-developed bullet for .25ACP for better stopping power for small calibers. Hollow point with round lead ball inserted into cavity ensures positive feed, increases expansion and transfers energy rapidly.
ERBT: Extended Range Boat Tail. Remington bullet that produces long-range accuracy along with superior stopping power required for hunting.
FB: Flat Base.
FMC: Full Metal Case. Lead core fully enclosed with copper, nickel, brass or steel.
FMHSWC: Full Metal Jacket Semi-Wad Cutter. Designed primarily for target and competition shooting, this bullet exhibits superior accuracy. Its swagged lead core is enclosed by a metal jacket, eliminating barrel leading.
FMJ: Full Metal Jacket. Military round specified by Geneva Convention. Lead core is enclosed by a strong metal jacket on this non-expanding, deep-penetrating, general-purpose bullet. Provides smooth, reliable feeding in all types of semi-auto handguns. Not recommended for hunting, the primary use of the FMJ is target shooting.
FMJBT: Full Metal Jacket Boat Tail. Like FMJ but has a boat-tail to reduce turbulence and increase accuracy.
FMJE: Full Metal Jacket Encapsulated. Like FMJ but also has covered base and doesn't expose any lead.
FMJFP: Full Metal Jacket Flat Point. Non-expanding and deep penetrating, this general purpose bullet is a good choice for target use because of its accuracy. Its lead core is enclosed by a metal jacket, which eliminates barrel leading. Provides smooth, reliable feeding in semi-sutomatic handguns.
FMJSWC: Full Metal Jacket Semi-Wad Cutter.FMJTC: Full Metal Jacket Truncated Cone. The truncated cone shape of this bullet makes feeding smooth and reliable in semi-autos. Cannot lead barrels because its lead core is enclosed by a metal jacket. Excellent accuracy.
FN: Flat Nose.
FNSP: Flat Nose Soft Point. Similar to the Soft Point in construction and performance, but with a flat lead point that allows this bullet to be safely used in tubular magazines. Designed primarily for use in the 30-30 carbine, it delivers reliable expansion at typical 30-30 velocities.
FP: Flat Point.
FPJ: Flat Point Jacketed. FMJ with a flat point. Most .40 S&W and .30-30 Winchester rounds have this design. The .30-30 Winchester has a tubular magazine and uses a flat-point bullet to prevent accidental detonation during recoil, as front round's primer may come in contact with point of round following it.
FPNN: Flat Point Penetrator.
FRAN or FG: Frangible. Prevents ricochet by breaking apart on contact. Can be made from empty cartridge cases filled with epoxy and compressed birdshot, metal dust or filings. Developed for air marshals to avoid over-penetration and ricochet aboard airplanes. All energy is transferred to the target, making it a devastating defensive bullet.
GC or GCK: Gas Check. Metallic cup or disc is attached to bottom of lead-alloy bullet. Decreases gas blow-by, increases velocity and reduces lead fouling.
GDJHP: Gold Dot Jacketed Hollow Point. Speer's hollow point bullet with jacket bonded to lead core to prevent separation and control expansion and penetration.
GS: Grand Slam. Speer's design for hunting big game. Jacket is 45% bigger at base to prevent rollback and retain bullet's weight. Internal jacket flutes ensure proper expansion. Bullet's core is a ternary (three-part) alloy, which is poured into jacket at 900 degrees F to prevent jacket slippage.
HB: Hollow Base.
HBWC: Hollow Base Wad Cutter. Preferred by some target shooters, this flat lead bullet with hollow base punches neat, round holes in paper targets and makes scoring easier. Creates better gas seal to prevent gas blow-by and increase velocity.
HC: Hard Cast.
HE: High Energy. Made by Federal.
HM: Heavy Magnum. Made by Hornady.
HP: Hollow Point. Hollow cavity in bullet's nose allows expansion on impact.
HPBT: Hollow Point Boat Tail. Extremely accurate hollow point bullet with pointed, aerodynamic design. Boat tail heel further reduces drag to improve downrange velocity. Precision balance and exceptional concentricity greatly increase bullet stability to assure superb accuracy.
HPE: Hollow Point Expanding.
HPL: Hollow Point Lead.
HSHK: Hydra-Shok®. Federal's handgun defense bullet. Unique center-post design delivers controlled expansion. Notched jacket transfers energy efficiently and penetrates barriers while retaining stopping power.
HSP: Hollow Soft Point. Exposed lead point and hollow cavity in nose permits expansion on impact.
HV: High Velocity. Ammunition with velocity over 1,200 feet per second.
JFP: Jacketed Flat Point. Flat lead point and full metal jacket. All .30-30 Winchesters have this bullet design. The .30-30 Winchester has a tubular magazine and uses a flat-point bullet to prevent accidental detonation during recoil, as front round's primer may come in contact with point of round following it.
JHC: Jacketed Hollow Cavity. Jacketed bullet with hole in tip to promote expansion on impact.
JHP: Jacketed Hollow Point. The exposed lead at the tip of the PMC jacketed hollow point rapidly initiates uniform, controlled expansion that progresses to the depth of the hollow point cavity. Penetration is also controlled for maximum energy transfer to the target, assuring its suitability as a hunting bullet. Excellent accuracy and bullet integrity.
JPP: Jacketed Protected Point.
JSP: Jacketed Soft Point. Exposed lead soft point initiates reliable expansion, provides deeper penetration than hollow point bullets. Precisely engineered copper jacket and swaged lead core provides the necessary concentricity and balance required for top-level accuracy.
L: Lead. An all lead bullet.
LF: Lead Free (non-toxic).
LM: Light Magnum. Made by Hornady.
LRN: Lead Round Nose. Solid lead, lubricated bullet with rounded ogive for down-range accuracy. Hard-hitting, economical, general purpose bullet for all revolvers.
LSW/LSWC: Lead Semi-Wad Cutter. Solid lead, lubricated bullet with semi-pointed nose. Formed by swaging process with sharp shoulder for clean hole punching in paper targets. Good choice for target or general purpose shooting.
LSWCHP: Lead Semi-Wad Cutter Hollow Point. Lubricated solid lead bullet with hollow point. Swaged to form sharp shoulder to produce clean holes in paper targets. Good choice for target practice or general shooting.
LWC: Lead Wad Cutter. The full wadcutter profile of this solid lead, lubricated bullet cuts clean signature in paper targets for precise scoring. Consistent accuracy results from formation by swaging process, which eliminates balance-destroying voids often found in cast bullets. Excellent choice for competitive shooters.
M or MCH: Match. Bullets with most accurate design, weight, materials and consistencies. Used by snipers and target shooters.
MB: Multi Ball. More than one ball or bullet in cartridge to increase hit ratio.
MC: Metal Case. Same as metal-jacketed bullet.
MCOPE: Metal Case Open Point Expanding.
MCWC: Metal Cased Wad Cutter.
MK: aka Sierra MatchKing. Delivers record-breaking accuracy at long ranges. Pictured is a boat tail variant.
MOLY: Moly Coated. Bullet is coated with molybdenum disulfide to reduce friction and increase velocity.
MON: Monolithic Solid.
MP: Metal Point.
MRX: Maximum Range X bullet. Made by Barnes.