Meanings
- alternativenot comparableAlternative form of softnose.
The soft nose bullet if it is fired and hitting any hard object, especially bone, it flattens and becomes distorted and is no longer round and has a tearing force with it.
1935 November 11, J. C. Shields, witness, New York Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, vs. Stella Jane Gamer, as Executrix of the Will of E. Walter Gamer, also Known as Edward W. Gamer, Deceased: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States; no. 323), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], published 31 December 1937, page 1841 more example
When I got the rifle I shot a coyote in a trap, to see what effect the soft nose bullet would have. He was struck back of shoulder, and a hole torn, were bullet entered, about 3½ inches in diameter.
1898 September, A. A. Haines, “The Ideal Gun for Coyotes [letter]”, in G[eorge] O[liver] Shields, editor, Recreation, volume IX, number 3, New York, N.Y.: G. O. Shields (Coquina), →OCLC, page 216, column 1
- alternativeAlternative form of softnose.
The soft nose when it strikes a hard substance, mushrooms, would leave ten times as large a hole as a hard nose bullet striking the same substance. A soft nose bullet would leave a ragged edge.
1935 November 11, Clyde L. McNeil, witness, New York Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, vs. Stella Jane Gamer, as Executrix of the Will of E. Walter Gamer, also Known as Edward W. Gamer, Deceased: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States; no. 323), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], published 31 December 1937, page 215
Cite this entry
soft nose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft%20nose
“soft nose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft%20nose. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “soft nose,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/soft%20nose.
Source: soft nose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.