A Glossary of Ammunition Terms

ARMOR-PIERCING: A type of bullet designed to penetrate hard or soft body armor,

and/or tough objects like automobile bodies. The term is actually very imprecise and hard
to define, as there are many variables involved. Virtually any centerfire rifle bullet can
penetrate soft body armor (especially when firing full metal jacketed bullets) and so
could be considered "armor piercing," even if the intended purpose of the bullet is
hunting or target use. There are many types of true AP ammunition in both handgun and
rifle calibers, most of which are unimportant for sporting or defensive use, and some of
which are illegal to sell to the general public.

BALL: Once almost exclusively a military term, this is now frequently used in a civilian
context as well; it means a bullet that is solid or non-expanding in nature. In early
firearms, projectiles were round lead balls, and the usage has persisted. "Ball
ammunition" in rifle cartridges usually means full metal jacket bullets, but in handgun
cartridges the term may also include solid lead bullets. The French word "balle" is the
origin of this term (and also of the word "bullet," from "boulet," a little ball.)

BOAT-TAIL: A bullet that's tapered at the base, to reduce wind cavitation in the back is
called a "boat-tail" from its resemblance to the stern of a ship. These bullets are almost
exclusively used in rifles, and tend to have flatter trajectories and higher retained
velocities at long range than conventional flat-based bullets.

BULLET: This is what comes out of the muzzle of the gun when you pull the trigger; a
single projectile fired from a handgun or rifle. Bullets may be made solely of lead alloy,
or they may be composite structures with a lead core and a surrounding "jacket" of
copper/nickel alloy. Different styles and shapes of bullets are used for different purposes,
e.g., defensive shooting, targets, hunting, etc. Although virtually all handgun and rifle
cartridges are designed to shoot single bullets, sometimes special multi-projectile loads
are seen.

CALIBER: A means for designating the size of the bullet fired by a particular gun. In
theory, there are two methods of measuring caliber: hundredths of an inch, and
millimeters. To speak of a gun as being ".22 caliber" means that the bullet fired by it is
approximately twenty-two hundredths of an inch in diameter. A "9 mm" pistol fires a
bullet nine millimeters in diameter. Unfortunately, over the years, standardization of
bullet diameters has led to a nomenclature that doesn't quite correspond to physical fact,
and there are many instances in which the nominal bullet diameter and the actual bullet
diameter don't coincide. For example, in a perfect world, all ".38 caliber" handguns
would fire a bullet of that size; but in this imperfect world, none of them do: in fact, the
"typical" .38 caliber bullet is somewhat smaller than its nominal diameter. The situation is
much better with metric-designated bullets, and a "9 mm" or "10 mm" is really nine or
ten millimeters in diameter.
Caliber designation is very confusing, and it's best to think of the numbers as expressing
relative sizes, not absolute ones. Thus a .38 is smaller than a .44 or .45; and a .32 is
smaller than a .38. The actual bullet diameter is unimportant in this sense. The term
caliber is also frequently used as a synonym for "cartridge" and you will often see guns
inscribed with something like this: "CALIBER .38 S&W SPECIAL" or "CALIBER .45
AUTOMATIC" as a means to designated exactly which cartridge they are chambered for.

CARTRIDGE: A complete "unitized" round of ammunition, i.e., one case containing a

powder charge, a primer, and a projectile (or projectiles). The term "bullet" is often
misused (especially in the news media) to mean "cartridge". Of course, all unfired
cartridges have bullets in them, but the two terms aren't synonymous, and shouldn't be
confused.

CASE: The brass, steel, or aluminum cylinder that enclosed the powder charge, and into
which the primer and bullet are seated. Shotgun cases are usually made of plastic, and
sometimes of heavy paper. Whatever the material, the function of the case is to expand
upon firing, sealing off the chamber of the gun and preventing gas leakage (a process
called "obturation"). Since the bullet is movable, and the case isn't, the bullet comes out
of the end of the barrel driven by the gasses behind it. Needless to say, a case failure or
rupture (a very rare occurrence, but it does sometimes happen) will leak hot high-pressure
gas into places where it isn't supposed to be, and it may do some damage to the gun or
shooter.

CAST BULLET: A bullet made by pouring molten lead alloy into a mold, and allowing
it to harden. Cast bullets are inexpensive, and the fired ones, if recovered, can be re-
melted and the metal used again. Factory ammunition rarely uses cast bullets; if the
cartridge is loaded with a lead bullet, that bullet is usually produced by an extrusion
process. Cast bullets are mostly used by people who load their own ammunition.

CENTERFIRE: A cartridge is said to be centerfire if its primer is located in the center of

the case head, usually as a removable unit. Most calibers of ammunition are of this type.
See RIMFIRE.

FULL METAL JACKET: Some bullets are composed of a lead core and an overlying
jacket of copper-nickel alloy. If the nose of the bullet is completely covered by the metal
jacket, so that no lead is exposed, this is a full-metal-jacketed bullet. The core has density
and weight, and the hard jacket reduces fouling of the gun and increases penetration
power of the bullet. Since they don't expand at all, FMJ bullets tend to make neat holes,
and (all other things being equal) they will penetrate more deeply than other types.
Military bullets are usually full-jacketed, but hunting bullets never are. Military bullets
are designed to kill cleanly or to produce a clean wound, in accordance with the Geneva
Conventions and Hague Protocols on warfare. Hunting bullets (which are usually hollow
point or soft point styles) are designed to do the maximum damage possible, and to kill as
rapidly and effectively as possible. Many pistols (especially military-style autoloaders)
function best with FMJ ammunition. FULL METAL JACKET is synonymous with
BALL in speaking of military ammunition. A variant is the TOTAL METAL JACKET
bullet, in which the base is enclosed as well as the rest of the core.

GAS CHECK: A thin disc of hard metal crimped onto the base of a lead bullet. Gas
checks are made to fit the exact groove diameter of the gun, and their function is to
prevent gas leakage past the base of the moving bullet. Leaking gas is hot enough to
partially melt a lead bullet, and the higher the velocity the more the problem. The gas
check permits a cast bullet to be shot at somewhat higher velocity than would otherwise
be possible. It is a design intermediate between the simple lead bullet and the jacketed
types.

HOLLOW POINT: A hollow-point bullet has a cavity formed in the tip, as a means to
initiate expansion when it contacts a target. This increases the diameter and the killing
power of the bullet. Hollow point bullets may be made solely of lead, or they may be
jacketed; and they may have the hollow cavity formed as part of a SOFT POINT, see
below.

JACKET: A thin copper-nickel sheath formed around the core of a bullet. The jacket is
hard and slick, compared to the lead of the core; and so the bullet is more resistant to
mechanical deformation by the action of the gun. Another reason for jacketing a bullet is
to prevent it from breaking up on impact with the target, and dissipating its effect. The
jacket may completely cover the core except at the base (full jacket) or it may be closed
at the base and open at the tip or nose (as in a soft point bullet). Some bullets have jackets
that cover only the base, and the lead portion forms the bearing surface that grips the
rifling of the barrel. This type is called a HALF-JACKET. Jacketed bullets have certain
advantages: they can be fired at higher velocities than lead bullets, and they usually
function more reliably in autoloaders. To offset these, they have disadvantages of
comparatively high cost, a tendency to wear out rifling faster than lead, and to deposit
stubborn fouling in the bore of the gun which requires a lot of effort to remove.

MAGNUM: In 1935, when Smith and Wesson introduced their new handgun cartridge
aimed at police and hunters, they wanted a jazzy name to indicate that it was much larger
than anything else available; and so their marketing department decided that ".357
Magnum" would be a clever and catchy name. The ploy worked, and since then many
other companies have hitched their wagon to this particular horse, and so we have ".44
Magnum," ".32 Magnum," and even ".22 Magnum" calibers, as well as many others. The
term has come to mean any cartridge that's significantly more powerful than others firing
bullets of similar size.
P, +P and +P+: Some ammunition is loaded to higher than standard pressure, to boost
velocity and energy. Such rounds are designated by these two codes, with the "+P+"
designation the more powerful of the two. Some lightweight guns, especially small
revolvers, aren't really suitable for use with these more powerful rounds, and it's a wise
idea to check and see whether the manufacturer has issued any guidelines about whether
you can use this type of ammunition in your gun. You can use industry- standard
ammunition of the appropriate caliber in any gun in sound condition, and this is the best
thing to do if you're in doubt.

PRIMER: A small cup-like container inserted into a pocket at the end of a cartridge case.
It carries a shock-sensitive explosive compound (typically lead styphnate) which
explodes when the firing pin hits the outside of the cup. The flame from this explosion
ignites the main powder charge.

ROUND: One complete unitized cartridge. Boxes of ammunition will be marked as

holding "50 rounds" or "20 rounds" and magazines will be spoken of as holding 10
rounds, 5 rounds, and so forth. Basically a synonym for "cartridge."

ROUND NOSE: A bullet whose front end is shaped into a blunt, rounded form, as
distinct from a flat, conical, or tapered shape. See SPITZER and WADCUTTER. Round
nose bullets may be soft points or hollow points, or they may be solids.

SOFT POINT: a soft-point bullet is one that has some lead exposed at the tip. This
facilitates expansion as it enters the target, and causes the diameter of the bullet to
increase rapidly. It thus does more destruction, and kills more effectively. Soft point
bullets usually have a metal jacket and a lead core. See also HOLLOW POINT.

TRACER: Tracer bullets contain a flammable compound in their base, which permits a
shooter to see the path of the bullet in flight. They have little use for sporting or defensive
purposes, but are very important in military applications. A machine gunner can "walk"
his fire into a target by watching where the tracers he shoots are going, and so achieve
greater effect. Tracers are dangerous to use sometimes: the burning material can ignite
forest fires, and their use is prohibited in some areas.

WADCUTTER: A type of bullet originally designed for target shooting, and still mostly
used for this purpose. Wadcutter bullets have very sharp, square edges, and are cylindrical
in shape. They cut very neat holes in paper targets. They will also make nice round holes
in tissue, and sometimes they are used as defensive bullets, since they tend to be pretty
effective killers. They usually don't feed well in autoloading pistols, but can be used in all
revolvers. A variant form is the SEMI-WADCUTTER, which has a cylindrical body
surmounted by a conical nose section, but which retains the sharp shoulder. True
wadcutters are almost always made of lead, but the semi wadcutter style is frequently
seen in a jacketed soft point type. They may also be hollow-pointed.