Cartridge (firearms) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

, gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

and primer

Percussion cap

The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...

into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm

Firearm

A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head (centerfire ammunition

Centerfire ammunition

A centerfire cartridge is a cartridge with a primer located in the center of the cartridge case head. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a separate and replaceable component....

) or at its rim (rimfire ammunition). Electrically fired cartridges have also been made. Caseless ammunition

Caseless ammunition

Caseless ammunition is a type of small arms ammunition that eliminates the cartridge case that typically holds the primer, propellant, and projectile together as a unit...

has been made as well. A cartridge without a bullet is called a blank

Blank (cartridge)

A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...

; one that is completely inert

Inert

-Chemistry:In chemistry, the term inert is used to describe a substance that is not chemically reactive.The noble gases were previously known as inert gases because of their perceived lack of participation in any chemical reactions...

is called a dummy.

In popular use, the term "bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

" is often misused to refer to complete cartridges. This is incorrect; "bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

" refers specifically to the projectile itself, not the entire cartridge.

Design

The cartridge case seals a firing chamber in all directions except down the bore

Gun barrel

A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....

. A firing pin

Firing pin

A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point...

strikes the primer, igniting it. A jet of burning gas from the primer ignites the powder

Gunpowder

. Gases from the burning powder (deflagration) expand the case to seal it against the chamber wall. The projectile is then pushed in the direction that has least resistance to this pressure, down the barrel. After the projectile leaves the barrel the pressure drops, allowing the cartridge case to contract slightly easing its removal from the chamber.

Automatic and semiautomatic firearms, which extract and eject the case automatically as a part of their operating cycle, sometimes damage the case in the process of ejection. Brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

is a commonly used material, as it is resistant to corrosion and ductile enough to be reformed and reloaded several times. However, some low-quality "plinking" ammunition, as well as some military ammunition (mainly from the former Soviet Union and China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

) is made with steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

cases because steel is less expensive than brass. However it cannot be reused and breaks down in the environment through rusting. As militaries typically consider small arms cartridge cases to be a disposable, one-time-use affair, the lack of ductility is inconsequential for this application, although the mass of the case affects how much ammunition a soldier can carry. One downside caused by the lack of ductility is that a layer of carbon soot can blow around the steel case into the chamber and make extraction of rounds difficult. This is less of a problem for weapons of the former Warsaw Pact nations, which were designed with much larger chamber tolerances than NATO weapons. Steel cases found in ammunition are often lacquered, or coated in a thin layer of polymer or copper (referred to as copper-washed) to protect the steel from corrosion prior to firing, after which rusting starts from the inside. Some ammunition is also made with aluminum cases (see picture). Although more ductile than steel, the low tensile strength of aluminum cases prevents them from being reloaded.

Critical specifications include caliber, bullet weight, expected velocity, maximum pressure, headspace, overall length and primer

Percussion cap

type. A minor deviation in any of these specifications could result in damage to the firearm, and in extreme cases injury or death of the user. The diameter of a bullet is measured either as a decimal fraction of an inch, or in millimeters. The length of a cartridge case may also be designated in millimeters. The stated caliber of any given ammunition or firearm may not necessarily correlate to the exact dimensions.

Where two numbers are together, the second number can contain a variety of meanings. Frequently the first is the diameter (caliber) of the cartridge, and the second is the length of the cartridge case. For example, the 7.62×51mm NATO

7.62×51mm NATO

The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...

uses a bore diameter of 7.62 mm and has an overall case length of 51 mm. In the case of old black powder cartridges, the second number typically refers to the powder charge. For example, the .50-90 Sharps

.50-90 Sharps

The .50-90 Sharps rifle cartridge is a black powder cartridge that was introduced by Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company in 1872 as a buffalo hunting round...

is a .50 caliber bullet (.512) with a nominal charge of 90 gr of black powder with a case length of 2.5 inches (6.4 cm).

Cartridge nomenclature is inconsistent and must be carefully considered. The .38 Special

.38 Special

The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...

actually has a bullet diameter of 0.357 inch (0.90678 cm) (jacketed) or 0.358 inch (0.90932 cm) (lead) while the case has a nominal diameter of 0.38 inch (0.9652 cm) to allow the projectile to fit within a case with a wall thickness of half of the 23/1000 of an inch difference. The .357 Magnum

.357 Magnum

The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

is a direct evolution of the .38 Special, but differently named, and no reference is made to the longer case except by the name 'Magnum'. The .30-06 rifle round is a (nominally) 0.3 inch (0.762 cm) caliber round designed in 1906; and the .303 British chamber and bore may vary greatly in actual dimensions. It is prudent to slug the barrel to determine the actual diameter prior to using.

Most high-powered firearms have relatively small projectiles moving at high speeds. This is because while bullet energy

Kinetic energy

The kinetic energy of an object is the energy which it possesses due to its motion.It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its acceleration, the body maintains this kinetic energy unless its speed changes...

increases in direct proportion to bullet weight, it increases more so in proportion to the square of bullet velocity. Therefore, a bullet going twice as fast has four times the energy (see physics of firearms

Physics of firearms

From the viewpoint of physics , a firearm, as for most weapons, is a system for delivering maximum destructive energy to the target with minimum delivery of energy on the shooter. The momentum delivered to the target however cannot be any more than that on the shooter...

). Bullet speeds are now limited by starting bore pressures, which in turn are limited by the strength of chamber and barrel materials and the weight of the firearm people are willing to carry. Larger cartridges have more powder, a heavier projectile and usually high velocities.

Of the thousands of different designs and developments that have occurred, essentially only two basic cartridge designs remain. All current firearms are either rimfire or centerfire (rimmed and rimless). US military small arms suppliers are still trying to perfect electronic firing

Electronic firing

Electronic firing refers to the use of an electric current to fire a cartridge, instead of a percussion cap.In modern firearm designs, a firing pin and percussion cap are used to ignite the propellant in the cartridge and propels the bullet forward...

, which replaces the conventional firing pin and primer with an electrical ignition system wherein an electrical charge ignites the primer.

Centerfire

A centerfire cartridge has a centrally located primer held within a recess in the head / base of the case, which in most modern ammunition, and in some (chiefly premium hunting and match ammunition) manufactured in other countries, can be replaced, so that the brass cartridge case can be reused. Such a cartridge is often Boxer primed. A number of European and Asian manufactured military ammunition use an earlier form of cup primer known as a Berdan

Hiram Berdan

Hiram Berdan was an American engineer, inventor and military officer, world-renowned marksman, and guiding force behind and commanding colonel of the famed United States Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiments during the American Civil War...

primer, which inhibits the easy reuse of the case, because the anvil (on which the primer compound is crushed) is an integral part of the case and can be deformed by firing. With care, it can be reloaded, as Berdan primers are available, yet scarce.

Rimfire

Rimfire cartridges, of which only the popular .22 LR remains in common use, were a popular solution before the centerfire design was fully perfected. They can only be used for fairly low powered cartridges, as the case has to be soft enough to be deformed by the firing pin, which detonates the priming compound in the rim. In the past, 9 mm cartridges were available, as well as .177, .25, etc. cartridges. BB and CB caps

.22 CB

.22 CB Cap is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition which has a very small propellant charge , resulting in a low muzzle velocity of between 350 and 700 ft/s...

were common, as well as .22 Short and .22 Long.

Today, .22 LR (Long Rifle) accounts for much of rimfire ammunition shot. Recently, a .17 HMR

.17 HMR

.17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire, commonly known as the .17 HMR, is a rimfire rifle cartridge developed by the ammunition company Hornady in 2002. It descended from the .22 Magnum by necking down the .22 Magnum case to take a .17 caliber bullet, and it is more costly to shoot than traditional .22...

(nominally .172 caliber) rimfire cartridge was released, and has become extremely popular among target shooters as well as small game hunters, due to its high velocity and flat shooting characteristics. .22 LR rounds normally use a soft lead bullet, and can be supersonic

Supersonic

Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...

or subsonic. They are often copper-washed both for toxicity reasons and to prevent barrel fouling. .22 Magnum cartridges typically contain copper jacketed lead projectiles. The newer .17 rounds all feature bullets similar in construction to those found in centerfire cartridges, such as copper jacketed lead.

The .22 LR is also unique because it is the only mainstream cartridge using a heeled bullet, where the external diameter of the case is the same as the bullet's calibre.

Semi-automatic vs. revolver cartridges

Nearly every semi-automatic pistol cartridge is "rimless", or more explicitly has an inset rim that the extractor engages. Certain exceptions apply, namely for .45 ACP

.45 ACP

The .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...

and 9mm Parabellum caliber rimless cartridges, which can be used in revolvers when the cartridges are held in place at the inset with a half-moon clip, which keeps the otherwise flush cartridges held within contact distance of the hammer. Revolver

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

cartridges, on the other hand, have a rim at the base of the case that seats into the cylinder block to keep the cartridge from moving too far forward in the cylinder. For a visual comparison of similar-sized cartridges with different rims, see .380 ACP

.380 ACP

The .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...

(semi-automatic) vs. .38 Special

.38 Special

(revolver.)

Cartridges in use

See also Table of pistol and rifle cartridges by year
Table of pistol and rifle cartridges by year
Table of selected handgun, submachine gun, rifle and machine gun cartridges by year....

There is great variety in the length and diameter of cartridges for the different kinds and calibers of rifles and pistols. The best cartridge for different purposes is subject to much discussion. However, there are standard uses for certain calibers, and these are a reliable guide to recommended uses.

It is important to note that equivalent caliber is by no means equivalent power. Generally speaking, "stopping power

Stopping power

Stopping power is a colloquial term used to describe the ability of a firearm or other weapon to cause a penetrating ballistic injury to a target, human or animal, sufficient to incapacitate the target where it stands....

" is determined by the weight of the bullet, the terminal ballistics

Terminal ballistics

Terminal ballistics, a sub-field of ballistics, is the study of the behavior of a projectile when it hits its target. It is often referred to as stopping power when dealing with human or other living targets. Terminal ballistics is relevant both for small caliber projectiles as well as for large...

of the bullet—does it stay straight and in one piece, tumble, or "mushroom" on impact—and the charge of gunpowder accelerating it.

The following list samples only a few very well known cartridges; for a complete list, see table of pistol and rifle cartridges by year

Table of pistol and rifle cartridges by year

Table of selected handgun, submachine gun, rifle and machine gun cartridges by year....

. The list is roughly ordered by cartridge length.

Jacketing of bullets

12 gauge/70 mm shotgun ammunition. They are listed from largest to smallest, separating the list into non-armor-piercing and armor-piercing types. The capacities are based on a 70 mm length hull.

Shotgun slug
Shotgun slug
A shotgun slug is a heavy lead projectile, that may have pre-cut rifling, intended for use in a shotgun and often used for hunting large game. The first effective shotgun slug was introduced by Wilhelm Brenneke in 1898, and his design remains in use today...

: Slugs may be made of solid lead, copper, or a composite. Slugs are stabilized in flight by rifling
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...

in the barrel, by means of integral rifling, or fin-stabilized. Solid or hollow-point slugs are available but, due to the relatively low velocity, hollow-point slugs have relatively low expansion.
Baton round
Baton round
A baton round is a generally non-lethal projectile fired from a riot gun. There are three types:* Bean bag round* Plastic bullet* Rubber bullet...

: a generally non-lethal projectile fired from a riot gun.>

000 Buck:	8 lead pellets	(0.36 in (0.9144 cm))
00 Buck:	9 lead pellets	(0.33 in (0.8382 cm))
0 Buck:	12 lead pellets	(0.32 in (0.8128 cm))
1 Buck:	16 lead pellets	(0.3 in (0.762 cm))
4 Buck:	27 lead pellets	(0.24 in (0.6096 cm))

Armor Piercing (AP): A hard bullet made from steel or tungsten alloys in a pointed shape typically covered by a thin layer of lead and/or a copper/brass jacket. The lead and jacket are intended to prevent barrel wear from the hard core materials. For metallic silhouette
Metallic silhouette
Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at metal cutouts representing game animals at varying distances. Metallic silhouette shooting can be done with airguns, black powder firearms, modern handguns, or modern rifles...

purposes, AP is slightly worse on unarmored targets than FMJ. This is to indicate the hard AP projectiles' tendency not to deform or reliably tumble/yaw.
Flat Nose Lead (FNL): Similar to the above, with a flattened nose. Common in Cowboy Action Shooting
Cowboy action shooting
Cowboy Action Shooting , also known as Western Action Shooting or Single Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport that originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s...

loads.
Full Metal Jacket (FMJ): Made with a lead core surrounded by a full covering of brass, copper, or mild steel. These have very little deformation or expansion, but will occasionally yaw/tumble. Despite the name, a FMJ bullet typically has an exposed lead base, which is not visible in an intact cartridge.
Glaser Safety Slug
Glaser Safety Slug
Glaser Safety Slug is a frangible bullet made by Glaser Safety Slug, Inc., a small American ammunition company based in Sturgis, South Dakota . The company was founded in 1975 by Armin Glaser the same year as the Glaser Safety Slug was developed by Jack Canon.-History:The original round was a...

: The Glaser Safety Slug dates back to the early 1970s. The inventor, Colonel Jack Cannon, named it for his friend Armin Glaser. Over the years, the projectiles have evolved from crude, hand-produced examples to mass-production; however, the basic concept has remained the same: copper jackets filled with bird shot and covered by a crimped polymer endcap. Upon impact with flesh, the projectile fragments, with the birdshot spreading like a miniature shotgun pattern. The standard "Blue" Glaser uses a rather fine birdshot that only gives 5 to 6 inches of penetration in flesh. The "Silver" Glaser adds another 1 to 2 inches of penetration with the use of slightly larger birdshot. Due to the much reduced penetration in flesh, some have theorized that the Glaser would be ideal where over-penetration of a projectile could be hazardous to bystanders. For instance, the Glaser may be stopped by an upraised arm. However, for the same reasons, the Glaser’s terminal performance can vary dramatically, producing impressive successes and equally spectacular failures depending on the angle at which the target is struck. Glancing hits on hard surfaces will result in fragmentation, reducing the risk of ricochets. However, the Glaser can penetrate barriers such as drywall, plywood, and thin sheet metal if struck directly.
Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP): Soon after the invention of the JSP, Woolwich Arsenal in Great Britain experimented with this design even further by forming a hole or cavity in the nose of the bullet while keeping most of the exterior profile intact. These bullets could theoretically deform even faster and expand to a larger diameter than the JSP. In personal defense use, concerns have arisen over whether clothing, especially heavy materials like denim, can clog the cavity of JHP bullets and cause expansion failures.
Jacketed Soft Point (JSP): In the late 19th century, the Indian Army at Dum-Dum Arsenal, near Calcutta, developed a variation of the FMJ design where the jacket did not cover the nose of the bullet. The soft lead nose was found to expand in flesh while the remaining jacket still prevented lead fouling in the barrel. For metallic silhouette purposes, JSP is roughly splitting the difference between FMJ and JHP. It gives more penetration than JHP but has more stopping power than the FMJ.
Round Nose Lead (RNL): An unjacketed lead bullet. Although largely supplanted by jacketed ammunition, this is still common for older revolver cartridges. Some hunters prefer roundnose ammunition for hunting in brush, because the bullet deflects less than sharp-nosed spitzer bullets
Spitzer (bullet)
A spitzer, also commonly referred to as a spire point bullet, is an aerodynamic bullet design used in most intermediate and high-powered rifle cartridges...

, and long range is not required.
Total Metal Jacket (TMJ): Featured in some Speer cartridges, the TMJ bullet has a lead core completely and seamlessly enclosed in brass, copper or other jacket metal, including the base. According to Speer literature, this prevents hot propellant gases from vaporizing lead from the base of the bullet, reducing lead emissions. Sellier & Bellot
Sellier & Bellot
Sellier & Bellot is the name of a Czech company situated in Vlašim that manufactures ammunition for firearms.In 2005 Sellier & Bellot celebrated its 180th anniversary.- Foundation :...

produce a similar version that they call TFMJ, with a separate end cap of jacket material.
Wadcutter (WC): Similar to the FNL, but completely cylindrical, in some cases with a slight concavity in the nose. This bullet derives its name from its popularity for target shooting, because the form factor cuts neat holes in paper targets, making scoring easier and more accurate.

The Hague Convention of 1899 bans the use of expanding projectiles against the military forces of other nations. Some countries accept this as a blanket ban against the use of expanding projectiles against anyone, while others use JSP and HP against non-military forces such as terrorists and criminals.

Common calibers

Ammunition types are listed numerically.

.22 Long Rifle
.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...

(.22 LR): A cartridge which is often used for target shooting and the hunting of small game such as squirrel. Because of its small size, self-defense handguns chambered in .22 rimfire, though less effective than centerfire handguns, can be concealed in situations where a larger handgun could not. It is the most commonly fired small arms cartridge, primarily because rimfire ammunition is much cheaper and the recoil from the light .22 cartridge is very mild.
.22-250: A very popular caliber for short to medium range small game and varmint hunting, pest control and target shooting. The .22-250 is one of the most popular calibers for fox hunting and other pest control in Western Europe due to its flat trajectory and very good accuracy on rabbit to fox sized pests.
.300 Winchester Magnum
.300 Winchester Magnum
The .300 Winchester Magnum is a popular, belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963 as a member of the family of Winchester Magnum cartridges. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a magnum cartridge designed to fit in a standard length...

: A long range sniping round, it is favored by US Navy SEALs
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...

and the German Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

. While not in the same class as the .338 Lapua
.338 Lapua
The .338 Lapua Magnum is a specialized rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for military long-range sniper rifles. The Afghanistan War and Iraq War made it a combat-proven round with ready and substantial ammunition availability...

, it has roughly the same power as 7 mm Remington Magnum
7 mm Remington Magnum
The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum...

, and easily exceeds the performance of 7.62×51mm NATO
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...

.
.30-06 Springfield
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...

(7.62×63mm): The standard US Army rifle cartridge for the first half of the 20th century. It is a full-power rifle cartridge suitable for hunting most North American game.
.308 Winchester
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a rifle cartridge and is the commercial cartridge upon which the military 7.62x51mm NATO centerfire cartridge is based. The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65...

: the commercial name of a centerfire cartridge based on the military 7.62×51mm NATO
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...

round. Two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO T65 in 1954, Winchester (a subsidiary of the Olin Corporation) branded the cartridge and introduced it to the commercial hunting market as the .308 Winchester. Winchester's Model 70 and Model 88 rifles were subsequently chambered for the new cartridge. Since then, the .308 Winchester has become the most popular short-action big-game hunting cartridge worldwide. It is also commonly used for civilian targets, military sniping and police sharpshooting.
.357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

: Using a lengthened and strengthened version of the .38 Special
.38 Special
The .38 Smith & Wesson Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & Wesson. It is most commonly used in revolvers, although some semi-automatic pistols and carbines also use this round...

case, the .357 Magnum was rapidly accepted by hunters and law enforcement. At the time of its introduction, it was claimed to easily pierce the body panels of automobiles and crack engine blocks.
.40 S&W
.40 S&W
The .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by major American firearms manufacturers Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The .40 S&W was developed from the ground up as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge which could...

: A shorter-cased version of the 10mm Auto.
.44 Magnum
.44 Magnum
The .44 Remington Magnum, or simply .44 Magnum, is a large-bore cartridge originally designed for revolvers. After introduction, it was quickly adopted for carbines and rifles...

: A high powered pistol cartridge designed primarily for hunting.
.45 ACP
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...

: The standard US pistol round for about a century. Typical .45 ACP loads are subsonic, making them ideal for suppressed weapons.
.45 Colt
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...

: A more powerful .45 caliber round with a lengthened shell designed for the Colt Single Action Army. Other .45 caliber single action revolvers also chamber this round.
.45-70 Government: Adopted by the US Army in 1873 as their standard service rifle cartridge. Most commercial loadings of the cartridge are constrained by the possibility that someone may attempt to fire a modern loading in one of the 1873-vintage rifles. However, current production rifles from Marlin, Ruger, and Browning can accept pressures nearly twice as high as the original black powder specs.
.50 BMG
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...

(12.7×99mm NATO): Originally designed to destroy aircraft in the First World War, the cartridge still serves an anti-materiel round against light armor. It is used in heavy machine guns and high-powered sniper rifles. Such rifles are intended for destroying military matériel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

such as sensitive parts of grounded aircraft and armored transports. Civilian shooters use them for long-distance target-shooting.
5.45×39mm Soviet: The Soviet response to the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge.
5.56×45mm NATO: Adopted by the US military in the 1960s, it later became the NATO standard assault rifle cartridge in the early 80s, displacing the 7.62×51mm. It is a military adaptation of the .223 Remington
.223 Remington
The .223 Remington is a sporting cartridge with almost the same external dimensions as the 5.56×45mm NATO military cartridge. The name is commonly pronounced either two-two-three or two-twenty-three. It is loaded with a diameter, jacketed bullet, with weights ranging from , though the most common...

, a common cartridge for varminting and small game hunting.
7×64mm: One of the most popular long range varmint and medium to big game hunting calibers in Europe, especially in the countries such as France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

and (formerly) Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

where the possession of firearms in (former) military calibers is forbidden or more heavily restricted. This calibre is offered by any European rifle maker in both bolt action rifles and as its rimmed version, the 7×65mm R in double and combination rifles. Another reason for its popularity is its flat trajectory, very good penetration and high versatility, depending on what bullet and load are used. Combined with a large choice of different 7 mm bullets available the 7×64mm is used on everything from fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

and geese to red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...

, Scandinavian moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

and brown bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...

.
7 mm Remington Magnum
7 mm Remington Magnum
The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable .375 H&H Magnum...

: A long-range hunting cartridge.
7.62×39mm
7.62×39mm
The 7.62×39mm round is a rifle cartridge of Soviet origin that was designed during World War II. It was first used in the RPD machine gun. Due to the worldwide proliferation of the SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, the cartridge is utilized by both militaries and civilians alike.The 7.62×39mm...

: The standard Soviet/ComBloc rifle cartridge from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, it is easily one of the most widely distributed cartridges in the world due to the distribution of the ubiquitous Kalashnikov
Mikhail Kalashnikov
Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov is a Russian small arms designer, most famous for designing the AK-47 assault rifle, the AKM and the AK-74.-Early life:...

AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...

series.
7.62×51mm NATO
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries...

: This was the standard NATO rifle round until its replacement by the 5.56×45mm. It is currently NATO's standard sniper rifle and medium machine gun cartridge. In the 1950s it was the standard NATO cartridge for rifles, but recoil and weight proved problematic for the new battle rifle
Battle rifle
A battle rifle is a military service rifle that fires a full power rifle cartridge, such as 7.62x51mm NATO. While the designation of battle rifle is usually given to post-World War II select fire infantry rifles such as the H&K G3, the FN FAL or the M14, this term can also apply to older military...

designs such as the FN FAL
FN FAL
The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...

.
7.62×54mmR: The standard Russian rifle round from the 1890s to the mid-1940s. The "R" stands for rimmed. The 7.62×54R rifle cartridge is a Russian design dating back to 1891. Originally designed for the Mosin-Nagant rifle, it was used during the late Tsarist era and throughout the Soviet period, in machine guns and rifles such as the SVT-40. The Winchester Model 1895 was also chambered for this cartridge per a contract with the Russian government. It is still in use by the Russian military in the Dragunov and other sniper rifles and some machine guns. The round is colloquially known as the "7.62 Russian". The name is sometimes confused with the "7.62 Soviet" round, which refers to the 7.62 × 39 cartridge used in the SKS and AK-47 rifles.
7.65×17mm Browning SR
.32 ACP
.32 ACP , also known as the .32 Automatic is a pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pistol...

(.32 ACP): A very small pistol round. However, it was the predominant police service cartridge in Europe until the mid-1970s. The "SR" stands for semi-rimmed, meaning cartridge case has small rim and usual groove.
8×57mm IS: The standard German service rifle cartridge from 1888 to 1945, the 8×57mm IS (aka 8 mm Mauser) has seen wide distribution around the globe through commercial, surplus, and military sales, and is still a popular and commonly used hunting round in most of Europe, partly because of the abundance of affordable hunting rifles in this caliber as well as a broad availability of different hunting, target and military surplus munition available.
9×19mm Parabellum: Invented for the German military at the turn of the 20th century, the wide distribution of the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge made it the logical choice for the NATO standard pistol and SMG round.
9.3×62mm: Very common big game hunting round in Scandinavia along with the 6.5×55mm, where it is used as a very versatile hunting round on anything from small and medium game with lightweight cast lead bullets to the largest European big game with heavy soft point hunting bullets. The 9.3×62mm is also very popular in the rest of Europe for Big game, especially driven Big game hunts due to its effective stopping power on running game.
12.7×108mm: The 12.7×108mm cartridge is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries. It is the approximate Russian equivalent of the NATO .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO) cartridge. The differences between the two are the bullet shape, the types of powder used, and that the case of the 12.7×108mm is 9 mm longer and marginally more powerful.
14.5×114mm: The 14.5×114 mm is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, the former Warsaw Pact, modern Russia, and other countries. Its most common use is in the KPV heavy machine gun
KPV heavy machine gun
The KPV-14.5 heavy machine gun is a Soviet designed 14.5x114mm-caliber heavy machine gun, which first entered service as an infantry weapon in 1949. In the 1960s the infantry version was taken out of production because it was too big and heavy...

found on several Russian Military vehicles.

History

In 1260, gunpowder cartridges were employed by the Egyptian Mamluks, for use in their fire lance

Fire lance

The fire lance or fire spear is one of the first gunpowder weapons in the world.- Description :The earliest fire lances were spear-like weapons combining a bamboo tube containing gunpowder and projectiles tied to a Chinese spear. Upon firing, the charge ejected a small projectile or poison dart...

s and hand cannons against the Mongol army

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

at the Battle of Ain Jalut

Battle of Ain Jalut

The Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....

. The original cartridge for military small arms

Small arms

Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...

dates from 1586. It consisted of a charge of powder

Gunpowder

and a bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

in a paper tube. Thick paper is still known as cartridge paper from its use in these cartridges.

This cartridge was used with the muzzle-loading military firearm, the base of the cartridge being ripped or bitten off by the soldier, the powder poured into the barrel, and the bullet then rammed home. Before the invention of the firelock or flintlock

Flintlock

Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...

, about 1635, the priming was originally put into the pan of the wheellock

Wheellock

A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock, is a friction-wheel mechanism to cause a spark for firing a firearm. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. The mechanism is so-called because it uses a rotating steel wheel to provide...

and snaphance

Snaphance

A Snaphance or Snaphaunce is a particular type of mechanism for firing a gun . The name is Dutch in origin but the mechanism can not be attributed to the Netherlands with certainty. It is the mechanical progression of the wheel-lock firing mechanism and the predecessor of the flintlock firing...

muskets from a flask containing a fine-grained powder called serpentine powder.

The evolving nature of warfare required a firearm that could load and fire more rapidly, resulting in the flintlock musket (and later the Baker rifle), in which the pan was covered by furrowed steel. This was struck by the flint and fired the weapon. In the course of loading a pinch of powder from the cartridge would be placed into the pan as priming, before the rest of the cartridge was rammed down the barrel, providing charge and wadding.

Later developments rendered this method of priming unnecessary, as, in loading, a portion of the charge of powder passed from the barrel through the vent into the pan, where it was held by the cover and hammer.

The next important advance in the method of ignition was the introduction of the copper percussion cap

Percussion cap

. This was only generally applied to the British military musket (the Brown Bess

Brown Bess

Brown Bess is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. This musket was used in the era of the expansion of the British Empire and acquired symbolic importance at least as significant as its physical importance. It was in use for over a hundred...

) in 1842, a quarter of a century after the invention of percussion powder and after an elaborate government test at Woolwich in 1834. The invention that made the percussion cap possible was patented by the Rev. A. J. Forsyth in 1807, and consisted of priming with a fulminating powder made of potassium chlorate

Potassium chlorate

Potassium chlorate is a compound containing potassium, chlorine and oxygen atoms, with the molecular formula KClO3. In its pure form, it is a white crystalline substance. It is the most common chlorate in industrial use...

, sulphur and charcoal, which exploded by concussion. This invention was gradually developed, and used, first in a steel cap, and then in a copper cap, by various gunmakers and private individuals before coming into general military use nearly thirty years later.

The alteration of the military flint-lock to the percussion musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

was easily accomplished by replacing the powder pan by a perforated nipple, and by replacing the cock or hammer that held the flint with a smaller hammer that had a hollow to fit on the nipple when released by the trigger. On the nipple was placed the copper cap containing the detonating composition, now made of three parts of potassium chlorate

Potassium chlorate

, two of fulminate of mercury and one of powdered glass. The detonating cap thus invented and adopted, brought about the invention of the modern cartridge case, and rendered possible the general adoption of the breech-loading

Breech-loading weapon

A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel....

principle for all varieties of rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

s, shotgun

Shotgun

A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...

s and pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

s. This greatly streamlined the reloading procedure and paved the way for semi- and fully automatic firearms.

But this big leap forward came at a price. It introduced an extra component into each round—the cartridge case—which had to be removed before the gun could be reloaded. While a flintlock, for example, is immediately ready to be reloaded once it has been fired, adopting brass cartridge cases brought in the problem of extraction and ejection. The mechanism of a modern gun not only must load and fire the piece but also must remove the spent case, which may require just as many moving parts. Many malfunctions

Firearm malfunction

A firearm malfunction is the partial or complete failure of a firearm to operate as intended. Malfunctions range from temporary and relatively safe situations, such as a casing that didn't eject, to potentially dangerous occurrences that may permanently damage the gun and cause injury or death...

involve this process, either through failure to extract a case properly from the chamber or by allowing it to jam the action. 19th-century inventors were reluctant to accept this added complication and experimented with a variety of self-consuming cartridges before finally accepting that the advantages of brass cases far outweighed their one drawback.

Integrated paper cartridges

The first integrated cartridge, was developed in Paris in 1808 by the Swiss gunsmith Jean Samuel Pauly

Jean Samuel Pauly

Jean Samuel Pauly , also Samuel Johannes Pauly, was a famous gunsmith of the early 19th century. Pauly was born at Vechigen near Bern, Switzerland on 13 April 1766.-Career:...

in association with French gunsmith François Prélat

François Prélat

François Prélat was a French gunsmith and inventor. He is thought to have invented the first fully contained cartridge in 1808, as well as the percussion cap in 1818....

. Pauly created the first fully self-contained cartridges: the cartridges incorporated a copper base with integrated mercury fulminate primer powder (the major innovation of Pauly), a paper casing and a round bullet. The cartridge was loaded through the breech and fired with a needle. The needle-activated central-fire breech-loading gun would become a major feature of firearms thereafter. Pauly made an improved version, protected by a patent, on 29 September 1812.

Probably no invention connected with firearms has wrought such changes in the principle of gun construction as those effected by the "expansive cartridge case". This invention has completely revolutionized the art of gunmaking, has been successfully applied to all descriptions of firearms, and has produced a new and important industry: that of cartridge manufacture. Its essential feature is preventing gas escaping the breech when the weapon is fired, by means of an expansive cartridge case containing its own means of ignition. Previous to this invention shotguns and sporting rifles were loaded by means of powder flasks and shot flasks, bullets, wads and copper caps, all carried separately. One of the earliest efficient modern cartridge cases was the pinfire cartridge, developed by French gunsmith Casimir Lefaucheux

Casimir Lefaucheux

Casimir Lefaucheux was a French gunsmith. He was born in Bonnétable and died in Paris.Casimir Lefaucheux obtained his first patent in 1827...

in 1836. It consisted of a thin weak shell made of brass and paper that expanded from the force of the explosion. This fit perfectly in the barrel, and thus formed an efficient gas check. A small percussion cap was placed in the middle of the base of the cartridge, and was exploded by means of a brass pin projecting from the side and struck by the hammer. This pin also afforded the means of extracting the cartridge case. This cartridge was introduced in England by Lang, of Cockspur Street, London, about 1845. Later in 1846, M.Houiller, another Paris gunsmith, improved on the system by introducing a fully metallic cartridge in 1847.

In the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

(1861–65) a breechloading rifle, the Sharps, was introduced and produced in large numbers. It could be loaded with either a ball or a paper cartridge

Paper cartridge

Paper cartridge refers to one of various types of small arms ammunition used before the advent of the metallic cartridge. These cartridges consisted of a paper cylinder or cone containing the bullet, gunpowder, and, in some cases, a primer or a lubricating and anti-fouling agent...

. After that war many were converted to the use of metal cartridges. The development by Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson

Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...

(amongst many others) of revolver handguns that used metal cartridges helped to establish cartridge firearms as the standard in the USA by the 1870s although many continued to use percussion revolvers well after that.

Full metal cartridges

The first commercially successful all-metal cartridges were rimfire cartridges. The first of these was the .22 BB

.22 BB

.22 BB Cap is a variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. .22 BB cap and .22 CB refer to cartridges that are low velocity and project reduced noise. These rimfires closely resemble a .22 caliber air rifle in power and are often used for indoor shooting and close range pest control...

Cap, introduced around 1845. This was followed by the .22 Short in 1857. Larger caliber rimfires were soon introduced. Some of these were used in the American Civil War

American Civil War

, including the .44 Henry

.44 Henry

The .44 Henry, also known as the .44 Rimfire, the .44 Long Rimfire, or the 11x23R cartridge was a rim-fire round that uses a .875 inch casing. The round has a total length of 1.345 inches. It uses a 200 or 216 grain bullet with a .446 diameter. The cartridge was loaded with 26 to 28...

and 56-56 Spencer. However, the large rimfires were soon replaced by centerfire cartridges, which could safely handle higher pressures.

In 1867 the British war office adopted the Eley-Boxer

Eley Brothers

Eley Brothers were a manufacturer of firearms cartridges at the Eley's Cartridge Factory, located in Edmonton and bordered by the River Lee Navigation and the Great Eastern Railway at Angel Road.- History :...

metallic central-fire cartridge case in the Enfield rifles

Pattern 1853 Enfield

The Enfield Pattern 1853 Rifle-Musket was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifle-musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867, after which many Enfield 1853 Rifle-Muskets were converted to the cartridge-loaded Snider-Enfield rifle.-History &...

, which were converted to Snider-Enfield breech-loaders

Snider-Enfield

The British .577 Snider-Enfield was a type of breech loading rifle. The firearm action was invented by the American Jacob Snider, and the Snider-Enfield was one of the most widely used of the Snider varieties. It was adopted by British Army as a conversion system for its ubiquitous Pattern 1853...

on the Snider principle. This consisted of a block opening on a hinge, thus forming a false breech against which the cartridge rested. The priming cap was in the base of the cartridge, and was discharged by a striker passing through the breech block. Other European powers adopted breech-loading military rifles from 1866 to 1868, with paper instead of metallic cartridge cases. The original Eley-Boxer cartridge case was made of thin coiled brass—occasionally these cartridges could break apart and jam the breech with the unwound remains of the casing upon firing. Later the solid-drawn, central-fire cartridge case, made of one entire solid piece of tough hard metal, an alloy of copper, with a solid head of thicker metal, has been generally substituted.

Central-fire cartridges with solid-drawn metallic cases containing their own means of ignition are almost universally used in all modern varieties of military and sporting rifles and pistols.

Around 1870, machined tolerances had improved to the point that the cartridge case was no longer necessary to seal a firing chamber. Precision-faced bolts would seal as well, and could be economically manufactured.

Reloading

Some shooting enthusiasts reload their spent brass cartridges. By using a press and a set of dies, one can reshape, deprime, reprime, recharge the case with gunpowder, and seat and crimp a new bullet. One can do this at about half the cost of purchasing factory ammunition. It also allows one to use different weights and shapes of bullets, as well as varying the powder charge, which affects accuracy and power. Enthusiasts usually only reload boxer primed cartridges as the process is more easily automated than berdan priming.

Caseless ammunition

In 1989, Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch

Heckler & Koch GmbH is a German defense manufacturing company that produces various small arms. Some of their products include the SA80, MP5 submachine gun, G3 automatic rifle, the G36 assault rifle, the HK 416, the MP7 personal defense weapon, the USP series of handguns, and the high-precision...

, a prominent German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

firearms manufacturer, began making press releases about the G11 assault rifle, which shot a 4.73×33 square caseless round. The round was mechanically fired, with an integral primer.

In 1993 Voere

Voere

Voere is an Austrian gunmaker best known for its VEC-91 bolt-action rifle using caseless ammunition. The origins of the company date back to the 1948 establishment of the metal-working company Koma in West Germany. Originally producing bicycle tire pumps, the company branched out into the...

of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

began selling a gun and caseless ammunition. Their system used a primer, electronically fired

Electronic firing

at 17.5 ± 2 volt

Volt

The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

s. The upper and lower limits prevent fire from either stray currents or static electricity

Static electricity

Static electricity refers to the build-up of electric charge on the surface of objects. The static charges remain on an object until they either bleed off to ground or are quickly neutralized by a discharge. Static electricity can be contrasted with current electricity, which can be delivered...

. The direct electrical firing eliminates the mechanical delays associated with a striker, reducing reaction time (lock time), and allowing for easier adjustment of the rifle trigger.

In both cases, the "case" was molded directly from solid nitrocellulose

Nitrocellulose

Nitrocellulose is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to nitric acid or another powerful nitrating agent. When used as a propellant or low-order explosive, it is also known as guncotton...

, which is itself relatively strong and inert. The bullet and primer were glued into the propellant block.

Trounds

The Tround (Triangular Round) was a unique type of cartridge designed in 1958 by David Dardick, for use in specially designed Dardick 1100 and Dardick 1500 open-chamber firearms. As their name suggests, Trounds were triangular in cross-section, and were made of plastic or aluminium, with the cartridge completely encasing the powder and projectile. The Tround design was also produced as a cartridge adaptor, to allow conventional .38 Special

.38 Special

and .22 Long Rifle

.22 Long Rifle

The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...

cartridges to be used with the Dardick firearms.

Blank ammunition

A blank is a charged cartridge that does not contain a projectile. To contain the propellant, the opening where the projectile would be is crimped shut or sealed with some material that disperses rapidly on leaving the barrel. This sealing material can still potentially cause harm at extremely close range. Actor Jon-Erik Hexum was killed when he shot himself in the head with a blank, and actor Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee

Brandon Bruce Lee was an American actor and martial artist. He was the son of martial arts film star Bruce Lee...

was famously killed during filming of The Crow
The Crow (film)
The Crow is a 1994 American action film based on the 1989 comic book of the same name by James O'Barr. The film was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and directed by Alex Proyas...

when a blank fired from an improperly checked prop gun shot a bullet lodged in the barrel from a previously used dummy round into the actor's spine.

Blanks are used in training, but do not always cause a weapon to behave the same as live ammunition; recoil is almost always far weaker, and some automatic weapons only cycle correctly when the weapon is fitted with a blank-firing adaptor

Blank-firing adaptor

A blank-firing adaptor or blank-firing attachment , sometimes called a blank adaptor or blank attachment, is a device used in conjunction with blank ammunition. Blank firing adapters are required for allowing blanks to cycle most automatic firearms.-Design:The design of the blank firing adapter...

to confine gas pressure within the barrel to operate the gas system. Blanks may also be used to launch a rifle grenade

Rifle grenade

A rifle grenade is a grenade that uses a rifle-based launcher to permit a longer effective range than would be possible if the grenade was thrown by hand...

, although later systems used a "bullet trap" design that captures a bullet from a conventional round, speeding deployment. This also negates the risk of mistakenly firing a live bullet into the rifle grenade, causing it to explode instead of propelling it forward. Blanks may also be used in dedicated launchers for propelling a grappling hook

Grappling hook

A grappling hook is an anchor with multiple hooks , attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold. Generally, grappling hooks are used to temporarily secure one end of a rope. They may also be used to dredge...

, rope line or flare, or for a training lure for training gun dog

Gun dog

thumb|right|A group of Gun dogs as printed in Dogs of All Nations by W.E. Mason in 1915Gun dogs, also gundogs or bird dogs, are types of dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, usually birds. Gun dogs are divided into three primary types: Retrievers, flushing dogs, and...

s. The propellant cartridges used in a heavier variety of nail gun

Nail gun

A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a type of tool used to drive nails into wood or some other kind of material. It is usually driven by electromagnetism, compressed air , highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated tools, a small explosive charge...

are essentially rimfire blanks.

Drill rounds

Drill rounds are inert versions of cartridges used for education and practice during military training. Other than the lack of propellant, they are the same size as normal cartridges and will fit into the mechanism of a weapon in the same way as a live cartridge. As firing of a weapon on an empty chamber might lead to damage to the firing pin or its assembly, dummy rounds termed snap cap

Snap cap

A snap cap is a device which appears similar to a standard firearm cartridge but contains no primer or projectile and is used to ensure dry firing older firearms of certain designs does not cause damage...

s were designed to protect centerfire weapons from damage during "dry-fire" trigger control practices. To distinguish drill rounds and snap-caps from live rounds they are marked distinctively. Several forms of markings may be used; e.g. setting coloured flutes in the cartridge, drilling holes through the cartridge, colouring the bullet or cartridge, or a combination of these. In the case of centrefire drill rounds the primer will often be absent, its mounting hole in the base left open. Because they are mechanically identical to live rounds, which are intended to be loaded once, fired and then discarded, drill rounds have a tendency to become significantly worn and damaged with repeated passage through magazines and firing mechanisms, and need to be frequently inspected to ensure they are not so degraded as to become unusable—for example the casings can become torn or misshapen and snag on moving parts, or the bullet can become separated and stay in the breech when the cartridge is ejected.

External links

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