Firearms and Ammunition
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Introduction
Introduction
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Introduction
[Link]
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Firearms Terminology
• Rifling – This consists of a series of helical lands and
grooves machined in the surface of the inside
of the barrel.
• Ballistic stability ‐ gyroscopic stability
• Reduce residue build‐up ‐ gunpowder
• Class characteristics – Rifling imprints –
Manufacturer
Rifling
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Calibre – The calibre of a firearm can be defined as
the diameter of the barrel’s bore
Barrel
Calibre – The calibre of a firearm can be defined as
the diameter of the barrel’s bore
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Calibre
A bullet is slightly larger in diameter than the bore diameter of
the barrel in which it is designed to be fired. As a result, a rifled
barrel will impress a negative impression of itself on the sides of
the bullet like those seen below.
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Cartridge
Terminology
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Cartridge Terminology
Cartridge Terminology
• A cartridge case refers to the ammunition case and primer and does not include
the bullet. It can be either a ‘ fired cartridge case ’ or a ‘ live cartridge case ’. A live
cartridge case has a live, unfired, primer, but there is no propellant or bullet
present.
• The propellant is a chemical or mixture of chemicals which, when ignited,
produces a very large quantity of gas. This gas, when confined within a barrel and
behind a missile, provides the propulsion to drive the missile down the bore and
out of the barrel.
• Black powder – mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal
• “Smokeless” – contains nitrocellulose (single base propellant)
– contains nitrocellulose and nitro‐glycerine (double base propellant)
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Cartridge Terminology
Cartridge Terminology
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Cartridge Terminology
Centerfire
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Cartridge Terminology
• Primer Cups –
– Is the component of the cartridge that contains a sensitive explosive
mixture (include lead sulphate, antimony sulphide, and barium nitrate)
which detonates when impacted with sufficient force by the firing pin
or striker and then ignites the propellant
– Two types:
Berdan Boxer
Anvil integral to the cartridge Anvil integral to the primer
Two flash hole More common in casework
Cheap Easy to reload cartridge
Boxer Berdan
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Cartridge Terminology
• Primer Cups – Mainly 2 Types
Easy to push out the fired cap with a thin
Low cost ‐ military ammunition rod for reloading – commercial ammunition
GSR
Rimfire Cartridge
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Cartridge Terminology
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Cartridge Head Stamp
Cartridge Head Stamp
• Manufacturer (by name, initials, or factory code)
• Subcontractor involvement in production
• Casing or projectile material
• Dimensions or chambering (imperial, metric, or gauge)
• Ammunition production lot number
• Date, usually the last one or two digits of the year produced
• Peculiarities of the individual cartridge under inspection, such
as match or competition grade, or material supplier
subcontractors
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Cartridge Head Stamp
Cartridge Head Stamp
X8
Sold as unprimed cartridge cases for reloading
Musgrave Pty Ltd. (South Africa)
by Royal Brass and Bullets. Produced by
Musgrave (Pty) Ltd.
Royal Metal Industries.
Jagersfonteine Road
Bloemfontein, South Africa
9300
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Shape of the base and rim of cartridges
Cartridge cases are classified into five distinctive types and are generally
made of brass.
Shape of the base and rim of cartridges
Rimmed - These have a flange at the base which is larger than the
diameter of the body of the cartridge case. This flange is to enable the
cartridge to be extracted from the weapon in which it is used. When
describing rifle ammunition and the metric method of designating the
ammunition is used, these are often identified by an ‘R ’ after the case
length measurement, that is, 7 x 57 mmR. The vast majority of revolvers
are designed for use with rimmed ammunition.
Semi – rimmed - These have a flange which is slightly larger than the
diameter of the cartridge case and a groove around the case body just
in front of the flange. When describing rifle ammunition and the metric
system is used, these are identified by ‘SR ’ in the cartridge designation.
Rimless - In these, the flange diameter is the same as the case body
and there is, for extraction purposes, a groove around the case body just
in front of the flange. There is generally no letter system to designate
this cartridge base type. Self - loading pistols are almost invariably
designed for use with semi - rimmed or rimless ammunition.
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Shape of the base and rim of cartridges
Rebated - This has an extractor flange which is less than the
diameter of the cartridge case. The designation used in the metric
system is ‘RB’ . This type of cartridge case configuration tends to
be reserved for high – powered cannon ammunition.
Belted case - These have a pronounced raised belt encircling
the base of the cartridge. This belt is for additional strength in
high - pressure cartridges. The metric designation is ‘ B ’ . This
type of cartridge case is generally only found in very high -
powered rifle cartridges or military cannon ammunition.
Cartridge Casing Shapes
The majority of cartridge cases have a cylindrical configuration
although a small number may have a gradual taper or a bottle
neck like design as may be seen in rifle rounds
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Handgun bullets
• Definition – The projectile loaded into the cartridge case
Handgun bullets
• Most bullets are composed of lead and, in many cases, the lead is
hardened with antimony or tin. If the projectile is intended to travel at
high speed through the barrel and suffer the trauma of engaging the lands
and grooves, it frequently needs to be either toughened with additional
metals (lead alloy) or have a protective outer layer of metal (a jacket).
• Brass, bronze, aluminium and steel are also used for bullets
• Commonly 4 designs
– Round nosed bullet (LRN)
– Semiwad cutter (SWC)
– Wadcutter (WC)
– Hollow point (HP)
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Bullet designs
The basic bullet design can be simplified into four essential
shapes:
• Round nosed bullet
• Semiwad cutter
• Wad cutter
• Hollow point
• Full metal jacket
round nosed
• Jacketed semi‐wad cutter
Bullet desings
Round nose bullets are a traditional design often used by
hunters in areas affording shots at game only at short
ranges. This bullet shape is easily recognized by a large,
rounded, exposed lead tip. The large amount of exposed
lead at the nose causes positive expansion of these bullets
at moderate velocity levels.
These bullets have a solid nose and as a result they remain fairly intact when
they strike soft targets. In a lot of cases they will pass right through a target
when they don't encounter something significant like bone.
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Bullet designs
Round Nose Flat Point (RNFP) designs have a gradual change of
angle at the shoulder and curved nose sides leading to a flat point.
Many hollow point bullets follow this design.
Hallow points- Projectile is engineered
to expand from its original diameter to
perhaps twice or even three times the
original diameter
Used for self-defence
Reduces the risk of over penetration by
keeping the projectile within the target.
Bullet designs
Semi-Wadcutter (SWC) bullets are easily identified
because they have a sharp, often 90 degree, abrupt
edge at the shoulder and (usually) straight, tapered
sides leading to a flat point. Round nose versions can
also be found. SWC bullets have a wide shoulder
“ledge” that makes a clean, caliber-wide hole in paper
targets.
Wadcutter (WC) - Cylindrically shaped projectile
that has a flat nose.
- Used for target shooting
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Bullet designs
Armour Piercing ‐ Materials such as tungsten
carbide, hardened steel, iron, brass, bronze,
beryllium, copper, and even depleted uranium have
been or are currently used to construct armor‐
piercing projectiles
contains a steel penetrator core encapsulated
by the jacketing
Handgun bullets
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Handgun bullet designs
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Centerfire rifle bullets
A typical centerfire round .308 calibre
cartridge with a soft point Spitzer projectile
1. Mouth
2. Neck
3. Shoulder
4. Body
5. Base Plate
(containing Primer)
Centerfire rifle bullets
The components of a typical centerfire round.
The .303 British cartridge case,
Primer,
Flash hole,
Propellant and
Projectile.
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Centerfire rifle bullets
SJ – Semi‐Jacketed
FMJ – Full Metal Jacket
SJHP – Semi‐Jacketed Hollow Point
SJSP – Semi‐Jacketed Soft Point
Sp, SPTZ – Spitzer
SPC – Special Purpose Cartridge
SpHP – Spitzer Hollow Point
From left to right: (military) round nosed, Spitzer and Boat tail (hunting),
round nosed soft point, Spitzer soft point, semipointed soft point,
spitzer hollow point, and semijacketed hollow point.
Shotgun Cartridge Terminology
The gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner
diameter (bore diameter) of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight
of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm, and is expressed
as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound,
e.g., a one‐twelfth pound ball fits a 12‐gauge bore. Thus there are twelve 12‐
gauge balls per pound, etc. The term is related to the measurement of
cannon, which were also measured by the weight of their iron round shot; an
8 pounder would fire an 8 lb (3.6 kg) ball
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Shotgun Cartridge Terminology
Shotgun Cartridge Terminology
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Shotgun Shells
Shotgun Shells
Shot shells have five and or six main parts:
Hull: The hull holds the primer, powder, wad,
and shot pellets.
Primer: The primers internal compound
explodes when struck by the firing pin and
ignites the powder.
Gunpowder: The powder burns and creates
expanding gases to move the wad, shot cup
and shot down the bore.
Wad: The wad seals the gas behind the shot
charge.
Shot Cup: The shot cup protects the shot and
the internal portion of the barrel.
Shot: The shot (lead, steel, bismuth, iron,
nickel plated and copper plated, pellets) that
strike the intended target.
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Shotgun Shells
An opened shotgun cartridge of older
design showing the brass head,
propellant, over powder card,
wadding, projectiles, and cap.
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Understanding Headstamps
– There are no rules to naming a cartridge –
– If you invented it you can call it what you like –
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Understanding Calibre
– There are no rules to naming a cartridge –
– If you invented it you can call it what you like –
– The first portion of a cartridge name generally refers to the bullet diameter
(This does not necessarily represent the true diameter.)
– The second portion of the cartridge name could refer to any number of the
following factors:
• Designer’s name (person or company), ex: “308 Winchester”
• Cartridge length, ex: “7.62 x 39 mm”
• Year of introduction, ex: “30-06 Springfield”
• Powder charge within the cartridge, ex: “44-40 Winchester”
– Many cartridges are known by multiple names in different parts of the world.
(“308 Winchester” is also known as “7.62 x 51 mm” and “7.62 NATO”)
Firearms
Impressions
[Link]
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Examination at the LAB
• A low powered microscope is used to examine the breech and bore
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Examination at the LAB
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