A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled gun ammunition; Ammunition is the material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. In 1847 a Paris gunsmith, Benjamin Houllier, patented the first cartridge capable of being fired by the blow of the gun’s firing pin. A cartridge consists of 4 parts: a projectile(bullet, shot, or slug); a propellant, also known as powder; a cartridge case that holds all the components together; and a primer that ignites the propellant.
The cartridge has to be loaded into the chamber or magazine of a gun. The chamber is the cavity in a gun where the cartridge is inserted before being fired. A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm; a repeating firearm is any gun that can be fired repeatedly before having to manually reload new rounds into the firearm.
Parts
The projectile is necessary to subdue, or kill the target. There are 3 choices of projectile; a bullet; bullets are small components that may be made out of copper, steel, polymer, or rubber. Rubber bullets are not usually deadly, and are used by police forces around the world to stop rioting.
Shot is a collective term for small spheres, typically made of lead. William Watts is an Englishman who began making shot in the 18th century; he produced these projectiles in his “shot tower”.
A slug is somewhat synonymous with bullet. However heavy projectiles that are fired from shotguns are often called slugs. Slugs are often used in self-defense situations when a fatal wound is necessary.
The propellent is what fuels the firing of the projectile. Black powder, also simply known as gunpowder is the oldest firearm propellant. Gunpowder is made of 3 chemical elements, sulfur, carbon(produced from charcoal), and potassium nitrate(saltpeter). Smokeless powder is another substance that is used as a propellant. Smokeless powder produces less smoke and less fouling when fired compared to gunpowder. One advantage of smokeless powder is it doesn’t cause rusting of the barrel(the barrel is the long “pipe” that the bullet ejects from), and It is also easier to load. Smokeless power is better in combat because the soldiers can see clearer because there are no clouds of smoke. The American military has also experimented with liquid propellants.
The case contains both the projectile and the propellant. The case also protects the other components of the cartridge from the elements. Cases are typically made of metal, but are sometimes made of paper. When the projectile is fired from the gun the case has to removed from the chamber or magazine.
The primer is located at the back of the case. When the trigger is pulled, a mechanism known as a firing pin, or striker hits the primer causing the impact action that ignites the propellant.
Caliber
The caliber of a gun cartridge is based on the diameter of the barrel. For example, a cartridge labeled as 9mm caliber is manufactured to fit firearms labeled as 9mm.
