Bullet vs. Slug — What's the Difference?

A small metal projectile part of a cartridge used in rifles and handguns.

A large, heavy projectile fired from a shotgun, used for hunting and home defense.

Designed to travel at high speeds for maximum distance and accuracy.

Some slugs are designed with grooves to spin and improve accuracy.

The projectile component of a cartridge, which also includes the primer, powder, and case.

Effective at closer distances due to its size and weight.

Comes in various shapes and sizes for different purposes, including hollow points and full metal jackets.

Designed to deliver significant impact at short to medium range.

Shaped for stability in flight, enhancing long-range accuracy.

Used in shotguns to provide a single, solid projectile instead of multiple pellets.

A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. The term is from Middle French, originating as the diminutive of the word boulle (boullet), which means "small ball".

Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word slug is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a small internal shell, particularly sea slugs and semislugs (this is in contrast to the common name snail, which applies to gastropods that have a coiled shell large enough that they can fully retract its soft parts into the shell).

A metal projectile for firing from a rifle, revolver, or other small firearm, typically cylindrical and pointed, and sometimes containing an explosive.

A round bullet larger than buckshot.

A small symbol used to introduce each item in a list, for emphasis.

A shot of liquor.

A stick of lipstick (considered separately from the tube in which it is encased)

An amount of liquid, especially liquor, that is swallowed in one gulp; a swig.

A usually metal projectile in the shape of a pointed cylinder or a ball that is expelled from a firearm, especially a rifle or handgun.

A small metal disk for use in a vending or gambling machine, especially one used illegally.

Such a projectile in a metal casing; a cartridge.

A lump of metal or glass prepared for further processing.

An object resembling a projectile in shape, action, or effect.

A strip of type metal, less than type-high and thicker than a lead, used for spacing.

(Printing) A heavy dot (·) used to highlight a particular passage.

A line of cast type in a single strip of metal.

A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed.

A compositor's type line of identifying marks or instructions, inserted temporarily in copy.

(informal) An entire round of unfired ammunition for a firearm, including the projectile, the cartridge casing, the propellant charge, etc.

(Physics) The British unit of mass that accelerates at the rate of one foot per second per second when acted on by a force of one pound on the surface of the Earth.

Ammunition for a sling or slingshot which has been manufactured for such use.

Any of various terrestrial gastropod mollusks having a slow-moving slimy elongated body with no shell or with a flat rudimentary shell on or under the skin, usually found in moist habitats.

(typography) A printed symbol in the form of a solid circle, “•”, often used to mark items in a list.

A sea slug.

A large scheduled repayment of the principal of a loan; a balloon payment.

The smooth soft larva of certain insects, such as the sawfly.

A rejection letter, as for employment, admission to a school or a competition.

A slimy mass of aggregated amoeboid cells that develops into the spore-bearing fruiting body of a cellular slime mold.

(slang) One year of prison time.

(Informal) A sluggard.

(slang) An ace (the playing card).

A hard heavy blow, as with the fist or a baseball bat.

(figuratively) Anything that is projected extremely fast.

A commuter who slugs.

(in attributive use) Very fast speedy.

(Printing) To add slugs to.

Chess played at an extremely fast time control, with one minute given to each player. (bullet chess)

(Informal) To drink rapidly or in large gulps

(fishing) A plumb or sinker.

To strike heavily, especially with the fist or a bat.

The heavy projectile thrown in a game of road bowling.

To wait for or obtain a ride to work by standing at a roadside hoping to be picked up by a driver who needs another passenger to use the HOV lanes of a highway.

(Australia) A roughly bullet-shaped sweet consisting of a cylinder of liquorice covered in chocolate.

Any of many terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks, having no (or only a rudimentary) shell.

(obsolete) A small ball.

(obsolete) A slow, lazy person; a sluggard.

(obsolete) A cannonball.

A bullet or other projectile fired from a firearm; in modern usage, generally refers to a shotgun slug.

(obsolete) The fetlock of a horse.

A solid block or piece of roughly shaped metal.

A notation used on pop music charts to indicate that a song is climbing in the rankings.

A counterfeit coin, especially one used to steal from vending machines.

A young or little bull; a male calf.

A shot of a drink, usually alcoholic.

To draw attention to (text) by, or as if by, placing a graphic bullet in front of it.

(journalism) A title, name or header, a catchline, a short phrase or title to indicate the content of a newspaper or magazine story for editing use.

To speed, like a bullet.

The imperial (English) unit of mass that accelerates by 1 foot per second squared (1 ft/s²) when a force of one pound-force (lbf) is exerted on it.

To make a shot, especially with great speed.

A discrete mass of a material that moves as a unit, usually through another material.

A small ball.

A motile pseudoplasmodium formed by amoebae working together.

A missile, usually of lead, and round or elongated in form, to be discharged from a rifle, musket, pistol, or other small firearm.

(railroading) An accessory to a diesel-electric locomotive, used to increase adhesive weight and allow full power to be applied at a lower speed. It has trucks with traction motors, but lacks a prime mover, being powered by electricity from the mother locomotive, and may or may not have a control cab.

A cannon ball.

(television editing) A black screen.

The fetlock of a horse.

(metal typesetting) A piece of type metal imprinted by a linotype machine; also a black mark placed in the margin to indicate an error; also said in application to typewriters; type slug.

A projectile that is fired from a gun

(regional) A stranger picked up as a passenger to enable legal use of high occupancy vehicle lanes.

A high-speed passenger train

A hitchhiking commuter.

(baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity;

(web design) The last part of a clean URL, the displayed resource name, similar to a filename.

(obsolete) A hindrance, an obstruction.

A ship that sails slowly.

To hit A hard blow, usually with the fist.

To drink quickly; to gulp; to down.

To take part in casual carpooling; to form ad hoc, informal carpools for commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking.

To become reduced in diameter, or changed in shape, by passing from a larger to a smaller part of the bore of the barrel.

To move slowly or sluggishly; to lie idle.

(transitive) To load with a slug or slugs.

To make sluggish.

(transitive) To hit very hard, usually with the fist.

A drone; a slow, lazy fellow; a sluggard.

A hindrance; an obstruction.

Any one of numerous species of terrestrial pulmonate mollusks belonging to Limax and several related genera, in which the shell is either small and concealed in the mantle, or altogether wanting. They are closely allied to the land snails.

Any smooth, soft larva of a sawfly or moth which creeps like a mollusk; as, the pear slug; rose slug.

A ship that sails slowly.

An irregularly shaped piece of metal, used as a missile for a gun.

A thick strip of metal less than type high, and as long as the width of a column or a page, - used in spacing out pages and to separate display lines, etc.

To move slowly; to lie idle.

To make sluggish.

To load with a slug or slugs; as, to slug a gun.

To strike heavily.

To become reduced in diameter, or changed in shape, by passing from a larger to a smaller part of the bore of the barrel; - said of a bullet when fired from a gun, pistol, or other firearm.

A projectile that is fired from a gun

An idle slothful person

Any of various terrestrial gastropods having an elongated slimy body and no external shell

Strike heavily, especially with the fist or a bat;

Be idle; exist in a changeless situation;

Bullets are used in rifles and handguns for precision shooting.

A slug is a solid, heavy projectile for shotguns, intended for power and impact at closer ranges.

Slugs are generally used for short to medium range due to their weight and design, not for long-range shooting.

Someone might choose a bullet for tasks requiring high precision and range, such as target shooting or hunting at distance.

A slug might be chosen for its stopping power and effectiveness in dense environments or for home defense.

A bullet is a metal projectile for firearms like rifles and handguns, designed for precision and velocity.

Bullets are highly aerodynamic for stability and long-range accuracy, while slugs are less so due to their larger, heavier design.

Yes, there are several types, including rifled slugs for improved accuracy and sabot slugs for use in rifled shotgun barrels.

Slugs deliver more impact at close range due to their size and weight, but "powerful" can depend on the context of use.

Slugs can be used safely in shotguns, especially when designed for such use, though using appropriate types minimizes barrel wear.

Slugs are used in shotguns, replacing traditional pellets for situations requiring greater impact.

Bullets travel at higher speeds due to their design and the firearms they're used with, enhancing their range and precision.

The main considerations include the desired range, target type, and the specific situation or environment in which the firearm will be used.

Yes, both can be used for hunting, but bullets are preferred for long-range targets, while slugs are better for larger game at closer distances.

Absolutely, bullets come in various shapes for different purposes, including aerodynamics and impact behavior.