About Unknown Ammunition

[Aryce1221]

Hello everyone,

I recently came across a mysterious .338 caliber projectile that I haven't been able to identify through any usual sources.

Here are some key details:

- **Caliber:** .338 (fits in .338 Lapua Magnum case)
- **Weight:** Approximately 250 grains
- **Suspected Type:** AP (armor-piercing)
- **Construction:** Appears to have an internal sub-projectile or penetrator core
- **Material:** Extremely hard — it took over 2 hours to perform a basic cutaway, even wearing down a high-quality Vallorbe file

The cutaway revealed a dense, unusually hard core that doesn’t match any known commercial .338 AP rounds I’ve seen so far.


Has anyone here come across something like this before? Could it be military surplus, a prototype, or some kind of experimental ammunition?

Any insight or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

Best regards,
*Location: Japan*

[stagpanther]

It looks to me like a custom made lathed solid bullet with a steel hard/metal meplat nose fitted to a solid copper/brass body with bearing bands. I'm guessing the nose is meant to penetrate some level of hard armor/bone/barrier and the core has some kind of lead fitting to help promote opening/expansion of the bullet body after penetrating a certain distance--that's my less than 2 cents.

I think Badland bullets used to make something similar to this IIRC

[Aryce1221]

I have checked the bullets of the company you mentioned, but I have not found any identical bullets. The U.S. Army? I believe that these bullets are only used by the military.
I also assume that the tip is made of tungsten.
It also contains a tungsten child bullet sealed inside. Is it possible that these bullets are custom-made bullets used for special operations in the military?

[Aryce1221]

We consider it very unique that the 338 Lapua Magnum has multiple smaller bullets inside the bullet.