Lesson Proper for Week 5

AMMUNITION/CARTRIDGE

Legal Definition

Ammunition refers to loaded shell for rifles, muskets, carbine, shotgun, revolvers and
pistols from which a ball, shot shell or other missiles maybe fired by means of gun powder or other
explosive. The term also includes ammunition for air rifles as mentioned elsewhere in the code. (Chapter
VII, Sec.290 of NIRC as well as Sec 877 RAC)

Technical Definition

Ammunition refers to a group of cartridges or to a single cartridge. Cartridge is a complete unfired

unit consisting of bullet (ball), primer (cap), cartridge case (shell) and gunpowder (propellant).

Origin:

The word cartridge was derived from the Latin word “Charta” meaning – a “paper” and also from
the French word “Cartouche” meaning – a rolled paper. This only indicates that the first type of
cartridge was made up of a rolled paper. It was about the turn of the 16th century that the term
“cartridge” comes to use.

A. General types of Ammunition

a. Dummy (fake) model = a type of an ammunition which merely resembles the genuine one. It is
carefully made replica of a cartridge, usually of tool steel and dimensioned, to be used by weapons
instructor, inspector and repairman when checking the functioning of the weapon.

b. Drill Ammunition (w/o gun powder) = It is a type of an ammunition that is completely inert, without
an explosive and are use in mill training to practice loading and manipulation of the gun. It is sometimes
called “dummy” although in the strict sense there is a difference.

c. Blank Ammunition (w/o bullet) = an ammunition without a bullet, containing gunpowder that is
designed to generate a loud noise to indicate firing. This type of ammunition is used for theatrical
performances or film making, training dogs and military training.

d. Live Ammunition = is the term applied for complete unit of unfired cartridge.
B. Classification of cartridge

I. According to the location of the Primer

Pin-Fire – is a type of cartridge in which the ignition cap (primer) is increased inside of the cartridge case
and has a pin resting upon it. The pin protrudes radially through the side and the gun chamber has a
notch for the pin to stand when loaded and it will be struck by a failing hammer. This type of cartridge is
said to have been

a. used in France in the year 1830’s in shotgun ammunition and later revolver and pistol ammunition.
At present, this is no longer use.

Rim Fire – is a type of cartridge in which the priming mixture is located at the hallow rim of the case can
be fired if the cartridge is tuck by the firing pin on the rim of the case (cavity rim). It may be identified
easily by the smooth base of the cartridge case and which may or may not have a head stump in
imprinted on it (1860-1880). At present, this type of cartridge is entirely confined to the cool. 22 shorts,
long or magnum.

a. Center Fire –it refers to a cartridge in which primer cup (ignition cap) is centrally placed in the base
of the cartridge case and the priming mixture is exploded by the impact of the firing pin and with the
support of the anvil. The flame produces by the thought the vent or flash hole and which ignites and
combust the gunpowder.

Head stamp are frequently used consisting of the design or letter imprinting on the shell head. It
sometimes contains the manufacturer or marker. The two-digit numbers.

I. According to Rim Diameter

a. Rimmed Case type – a type of cartridge in which the case has a well-defined upstanding rim
around the base or simply a cartridge with rim diameter greater than the body diameter of the shell. A
common example of this is cal.22 and .38 cal. Used in revolver.

b. Semi-Rimmed Type – cartridge with a case slightly rimmed. At first look, the cartridge is a rimless
form but the a closer look the rim is slightly greater that the body diameter of the case. This was
invented by John M. Browning for an automatic pistol in 1903 for greater fit to the chamber. Commonly
seen in 6.35 mm, 7.65mm and 9mm. and browning lone automatic pistol cartridges.

c. Rimless Type – a type cartridge with a case having a rim diameter equal to diameter of the body,
with an “extraction groove” cut around the base. The advantage of its use is it allows the cartridge to
slide magazine. This is commonly used 9mm and cal.45 pistols.
d. Rebated Type – refers to the cartridge with rimless pattern, but which has a rim diameter smaller
than the body of the case. It is seen in some Oerlikon 20mm cannon cartridge and later on some
custom-built sporting riffles of unusual calibers.

e. Belted Type – a cartridge with a prominent raise belt around its body just in front of the extraction
groove. This is used for two basic purposes: (1) to position the case and the projectile accurately in the
chamber and (2) to strengthen the rear of the case for use with high-powered propelling chargers.

II. According Caliber

Caliber designation and their interpretation is one of the difficult factors to explain to a layman for its
inconsistence and varieties.

In English speaking countries, the caliber of the gun or cartridge use in expressed in one-hundredth
(.01”) or one thousand (.001”) of an inch. Thus, we have cal. .22 inches, .25 cal, .38 cal., .45cal., etc.

In countries using the metric system of the measurements, the caliber is expressed in millimeters, thus
we have 6.35mm, 7.62mm, 9mm, 11mm etc. in cartridge caliber is generally referred to the base
diameter of the bullet. This is measured with the use of a caliber.

Calibers in cartridges in inches and their approximate equivalent in mm and use:

Inches MM

Cal. .22 About 5.59mm – used in revolver, pistol and rifles

Cal. .25 About 6.35mm – used in pistols and rifles.

Cal. .30 About 7.63mm – (mauser) – for carbines and other rifles

Cal. .30 About 7.63mm – (Luger)

Cal. .32 About 7.65mm – for automatic pistols and revolvers.

Cal. .380 About 9mm – used for pistols

Cal. .357 used in magnum .357 revolvers

Cal. .45 about 11mm – used in automatic pistols

Cal. .50 used in .50 cal. Machine gun

Shotgun Cartridge

It refers to a complete unit of unfired cartridge consisting of the pellets, primer, case, wads, and
gunpowder.

Types of shotgun cartridge

Buck Shots- consisting of nine round lead ball presence in 12 gauge.

Birdshots- consisting of many tiny lead ball presences also in 12 gauge.

Baton round or Rubber bullet – this type was developed by Hongkong Police having a low powder
charge use for city riots and be fired down ward.

Gauge of Shotgun

Compared with other types of firearms, shotgun has a very unique characteristics in terms of its
diameter designation both for its firearm and cartridge use. The unit of measurement used in shotgun is
expressed in Gauge. This is determined by the number of solid lead balls of pure lead, each with
diameter of the barrel that can be prepared from one pound of lead. If for instance we have 12 balls
that can be made out of one pound of lead and each ball exactly fitted to the inside of the barrel of a
shotgun, the gun is called a 12-gauge or 12 bore shotguns. Each lead ball for a 12-gauge should
therefore weight 1/12 of a pound. Such is applied in almost all type of shotgun in which the diameter is
express in a thousandth of an inch. At present the 10-gauge shotgun is considered with the biggest
diameter while the .410 as the smallest one. Listed below are the equivalents of diameter in gauge to
inch.

Gauge Inch

10 .775 inch

12 .729 inch

16 .670 inch

20 .615 inch

28 .550 inch

.410 .410 inch

Types of Shots

1. Soft or Drop Shots – made by pure or nearly pure lead, to which a small amount of arsenic has
been added to make it take on the form of a spherical drop as it falls down the shot tower. This type is
easy to deformed or flattened, loose their velocity quicker, low penetrating power and string out more.

2. Chilled or Hard Shot – is a type of shot with a small amount of antimony mixed with lead to
increase hardness. It does not deform easily, better patterns, less string and more uniform velocity and
penetration.

3. Coated or Plated Shot – also called as “Lubaloy” shot. A chilled shot coated with thin copper
through electroplating design for greater strength and elasticity, great resistance to deform deformation
and leading and better pattern.

Buck Shot – a large size lead shot for used shotgun.

ANATOMY OF A CENTERFIRE RIFLE CARTRIDGE

Case – usually made of brass and contains the powder charge, the primer and the bullet. Before
development of the metallic cartridge, the term was used to mean a roll or case of paper containing
powder and shot. Centerfire metallic include all pistol and rifle cartridges that have primers in the center
of the base.

Bullet – a single projectile fired from a firearm.

Crimp – the portion of a cartridge case that is bent inward to hold the bullet place.

Powder – the general term for any chemical compound or mixture used in firearms that burns upon
ignition. The gases produced by this rapid combustion propel the bullet down the bore. One major type
is black powder, which is mixture of charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter. It’s used in older cartridges. Another
major type is smokeless powder, which is principally used in modern ammunition. It’s a granular nitrated
chemical compound.

Primer – the collective term for the chemical primer compound, cup and anvil. When the primer is
struck it ignites the powder charge.

Rim – the edge on the base of cartridge case. It’s the part of the case gripped by the extractor to remove
it from the chamber. In some cartridges it also prevents the case from entering the chamber.

Case - a tube, usually made of plastic or paper, with a steel or brass head. It contains the powder charge,
the primer and shot.
Crimp – the portion of a cartridge case that is bent inward to hold the shot in place.

Powder – the general term for any chemical compound or mixture used in firearms that burns upon
ignition. The gases produced by this rapid combustion propel the bullet down the bore. One major type
is black powder, which is mixture of charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter. It’s used in older cartridges. Another
major type is smokeless powder, which is principally used in modern ammunition. It’s a granular nitrated
chemical compound.

Primer – the collective term for the chemical primer compound, cup and anvil. When the primer is
struck it ignites the powder charge.

Shot – small, round pellets of leads, steel or bismuth. These are the projectiles in a shotshell.

Wad – a disc used to separate powder from shot, to seal propellant gases behind the shot or to hold
shot together in the barrel.

Shotgun Ammunition – consist of a cylindrical shell of plastic or heavy paper, loaded with a propelling
charge and a number of steel balls called shot.

Shot vary in size from “dust” (diameter 0.04 inches, or 1.016 mm) to BB (diameter 0.18 inches,
or 4.572 mm). For every gauge of shotgun there are several types of shells, differing in the size and
number of shot in the shell. The choice depends on the game being hunted. For large game (bear or
deer) the shell usually contains a single rifled slug or from 10 to 20 pellets called buckshot, which may be
as large as 0.36 inches (9.144 mm) in diameter.

When fired, shot pellets from a dense circular pattern. Shotgun ammunition has great
destructive power at short range, but as the size of the shot pattern increases at increasing distance
from the gun, effectiveness drops.