Cartridge (firearms)

A modern round consists of the following:
1. Bullet, as the projectile;
2. Cartridge case, which holds all parts together;
3. Propellant, for example, gunpowder or cordite;
4. Rim, which provides the extractor on the firearm a place to grip the casing to remove it from the chamber once fired;
5. Primer, which ignites the propellant

A cartridge,[1][2] also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile (bullet, shot, or slug), a propellant substance (smokeless powder, black powder substitute, or black powder) and an ignition device (primer) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for convenient transportation and handling during shooting.[3] Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often used to refer to a complete cartridge, the correct usage only refers to the projectile.

Cartridges can be categorized by the type of primer. This can be accomplished by igniting a small charge of an impact-sensitive explosive compound or by an electric-sensitive chemical mixture that is located: at the center of the case head (centerfire); or inside the rim (rimfire); or inside the walls on the fold of the case base that is shaped like a cup (cupfire); or in a sideways projection that is shaped like a pin (pinfire) or a lip (lipfire); or in a small bulge shaped like a nipple at the case base (teatfire). Only small-caliber rimfire cartridges and centerfire cartridges have survived into the modern day.

Military and commercial producers continue to pursue the goal of caseless ammunition. Some artillery ammunition uses the same cartridge concept as found in small arms. In other cases, the artillery shell is separate from the propellant charge.

A cartridge without a projectile is called a blank; one that is completely inert (contains no active primer and no propellant) is called a dummy; one that failed to ignite and shoot off the projectile is called a dud; and one that ignited but failed to sufficiently push the projectile out of the barrel is called a squib.

A variety of rifle cartridges: (1).17 HM2 (2).17 HMR (3).22LR (4).22 Win Mag R/F.22 WMR (5).17/23 SMc (6)5mm/35 SMc (7).22 Hornet (8).223 Remington (9).223 WSSM (10).243 Win (11).243 Win Improved (Ackley) (12).25-06 Remington (13).270 Winchester (14).308 Winchester (15).30-06 Springfield (16).45-70 Government (17).50-90 Sharps
  1. ^ "Glossary – SAAMI". Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021. CARTRIDGE: A single round of ammunition consisting of the case, primer and propellant with or without one or more projectiles. Also applies to a shotshell.
  2. ^ "DEFINITIONS OF C.I.P. TERMS" (PDF). Commission internationale permanente pour l'épreuve des armes à feu portatives. 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021. Cartridge – Cartouche: A means to fire a propellant charge by means of a percussion device, with or without a projectile, all contained in a case.
  3. ^ Sparano, Vin T. (2000). "Cartridges". The Complete Outdoors Encyclopedia. Macmillan. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-312-26722-3.