A small arms projectile for an increase in accuracy, incapacitation effects, and penetration of light material targets. The projectile includes a monolithic heat-treated steel core with a plated on jacket for strong adherence. A swaged or machined cannelure groove to provide a secure interface with conventional cartridge cases, support operation in semi-automatic and full automatic firearms, and a consistent shot start is also provided. An aero-ballistic efficient nose for increasing the projectile's ballistic coefficient and dynamically adapting to soft and hard targets and light material in a novel manner is also provided.