CHAPTER III

AMMUNITION/CARTRIDGE

Introduction:
Fundamental to all firearms is the ammunition. This has a pivotal role in the safe operability of
the firearm in question, and its effectiveness. A firearm cannot be used without proper ammunition. It will
be just a useless piece of metal.
'Ammunition refers to the complete round/cartridge or its components, including bullets or projectiles, cartridge
cases, primers/caps and propellants that are used in any small arm or light weapon' (UNGA1999b, para.14).

This was later adapted in the Firearms Protocol as:

'the complete round or its components, including cartridge cases, primers, propellant powder, bullets or projectiles,
that are used in a firearm, provided that those components are themselves subject to authorization in the respective
State Party' (Firearms Protocol, 2001, Art.3(c)).

AMMUNITION/ CARTRIDGE
This refers to the complete round/cartridge or its components, including bullets or projectiles,
cartridge cases, primers/caps and propellants that are used in any small arm or light weapon'.
Ammunition size is usually expressed in terms of caliber, which is the diameter of the projectile
as measured in millimeters or inches.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/ammunition
https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/firearms/module-2/key-issues/ammunition.html

Legal Definition: (Sec 3 of the Republic Act 10591)

Ammunition refers to a complete unfixed unit consisting of a bullet, gunpowder, cartridge case
and primer or loaded shell for use in any firearm.

Note:
 Ammunition for large caliber guns (such as artillery) is called shell, ammunition for rifles and
handguns is usually called cartridge.
 “Cartridge” is the term for a unit of unfired ammunition.

Origin:
The development of the cartridge was the next step in the history of ammunition. Bullets began
transforming from musket balls into the cylindro-conoidal bullet we see today. The advantage of these
newly shaped bullets was their ability to expand inside the barrel. This combined with the invention of
rifling from German gun makers allowed much more accuracy and reliability but reloading still remained
a slow process. The earliest known cartridges were made of paper in the late 1500s but were replaced
by brass casings.
 Cartridge is derived from the Latin word “charta” which means paper. The French word
“cartouche” meaning a roll of paper.
https://ammunitionstore.com/pages/news/history-of-ammunition-from-origin-to-the-modern-cartridge/

Basic Components of Ammunition

 The basic components of ammunition are the case, primer, powder, and projectile(s). Shotshells
have an additional component called wad.
 a. CASE
- The container that holds all the other ammunition
components together. It’s usually made of brass, steel,
copper, paper, or plastic.

b. GUNPOWDER
- A chemical mixture that burns rapidly and converts to
an expanding gas when ignited. Modern smokeless
powder will burn slowly when ignited in the open
(outside of the case). Black powder is less stable and
can be explosive when impacted or ignited in the open.

c. PRIMER
- An explosive chemical compound that ignites the
gunpowder when struck by a firing pin. Primer may be
placed either in the rim of the case (rimfire) or in the
center of the base of the case (centerfire).

d. PROJECTILE
- The object(s) expelled from the barrel. A bullet is a projectile, usually containing lead, fired
through a rifle or handgun barrel. A slug is a solid projectile, usually of lead, fired through a
shotgun barrel. Shot is a group of lead, steel, tungsten alloy, or bismuth pellets fired through a
shotgun barrel.

e. WAD
- A seal and/or shot container made of paper or plastic separating the powder from the slug or
shot in a shotshell. The wad prevents gas from escaping through the shot and holds the shot
together as it passes through the barrel.
https://www.hunter-ed.com/pennsylvania/studyGuide/Basic-Components-of-Ammunition/20103901_88399/

CLASSIFICATION OF CARTRIDGE
I. Various types of ammunition according to the types of firearms used.
a. Revolve cartridge – it has rimmed base, which allows bullets to be clamped in the cylinder,
and it’s straight. The case is traditionally made of brass or plastic.
b. Pistol cartridge – with a groove instead of a rim, allowing easier packing of the rounds in the
magazine. The material is the same as in a revolver cartridge. These ammos are also used in
carbines or older rifle design.
c. Assault rifle or hunting rifle cartridge – longer than a hand weapon or a carbine round and
generally bottle-necked for larger powder capacity and increased power.
d. Shot cartridge – there are several projectiles, spreading out to create a cone of fire. The case
is generally made of plastic, and a cap to prevent the content from falling. These cartridges
are used in hunting rifles, riot guns (automatic shot rifles) and shotguns with a pump action.
Those weapons have no rifling in their barrel.
e. Caseless cartridge – here, the powder is the casing of the projectile. A varnishing protects it
from moisture and moderate shocks. The cross-section is generally square for a tighter
packing in the magazine, but there are some exceptions.

II. According to the location of the primer.

a. Needle-fire
 b. Teat-fire – a copper case nipple containing the cap protruded through a hole in the rear of the
breech lock to be struck and detonated by the falling hammer.
c. Tail-fire – the opening of the rifle for loading compressed a spring that, once the rifle had
been loaded and the breech closed, snapped up on the operation of the trigger to crush
against the underside of the block, and to detonate a flat percussion tail projecting form the
rear of the cartridge.
d. Pin-fire – using a pin driven by the hammer to strike and detonate the cap.
Note: The first four types are obsolete already.
e. Rim-fire – the primer is in the rim in an area around the circumference of the base.
f. Center-fire - priming powder is located at the center.
High Velocity Center-fire Rifle Bullet Construction:
i. Full metal jacketed – lead or steel core with copper alloy jacketing (military use)
ii. Soft point partial metal jacketed – lead core exposed at tip (pointed or rounded)
facilitating distortion by expansion in target (hunting use)
iii. Hollow point partial metal jacketed – variant of soft point with cavity at tip to
enhance distortion (hunting and competitive shooting use)
iv. Miscellaneous controlled expansion projectiles – e.g. thin aluminum jacket over
lead tip, plastic tip.

g. Ring-fire cartridge – a type of cartridge used only on a sabotage case.

III. According to Caliber

Calibre, also spelled Caliber, in firearms, unit of measure indicating the interior, or bore,
diameter of a gun barrel and the diameter of the gun’s ammunition; or the length of a gun
expressed in relation to its interior diameter (now used only of naval and coastal defense guns).

Equivalent of Calibers in Inches and Millimeters:

a. Caliber .22 – About 5.59 mm.
b. Caliber .25 – About 6.35 mm.
c. Caliber .32 – About 7.65 mm.
d. Caliber .30 – About 7.63 mm. (mouser)
e. Caliber .38 – About 9 mm.
f. Caliber .45 – About 11 mm.
g. Caliber .30 – About 7.56 mm. (Luger)

SHOTGUN SHELL

Shotshell
- A shotgun shell is a “a self-contained cartridge typically loaded with multiple metallic ‘shot’,
which are small, generally spherical projectiles.”
- Shotguns are also capable of firing a single projectile, called a ‘slug’.
- A shotgun shell is cased in plastic with a brass base containing the primer.
- Shot shells are designed to be fired from shotguns and come in a variety of different sizes called
“gauges”. The most common size is a 12 gauge.
https://gunnewsdaily.com/shotgun-shell-sizes-comparison-chart-terms/

Gauge
- This is an old term that refers to the barrel diameter.
- The gauge number is equal to the number of lead pellets of that diameter that add up to a weight of
1 pound. The most common gauge in use in the U.S. is the 12 gauge, but there are also 28, 20, 16,
and 10 gauge.
 - 10- and 16-gauge shotshells are rare, though they’re still being manufactured.
- Shotguns using 11, 15-, 18-, 2-, and 3-gauge shells are the rarest of all the shotguns, and shotshells
for these are no longer manufactured. Owners of these firearms usually have a specialist hand load
the shells.
- The .410 round is not a gauge; instead, it is measured in caliber, though the weapon that fires it is
still a shotgun. But the .410 shotshell is still encased in a plastic shell, just like other shotshells.
https://gunnewsdaily.com/shotgun-shell-sizes-comparison-chart-terms/

Figure 1. Gauge Sizes

Anatomy of a Shotgun Ammo:

a. Primer - The primer head is seen in the middle of the brass head on the bottom of the shotgun
shell. It’s a small round circle that when punctured by your gun's firing pin it ignites the powder.
b. Powder Charge - The powder charge is gun powder that is begins to burn once the primer is
struck.
c. Wad - The wad, or "mono wad" is a carrier for the shot. The wad is made up of plastic.
d. Shot - a small circular pieces of lead or steel that flies and hopefully knocks down your target.
Shot varies in different sizes as well. Below is box description of the shells.
e. Hull - The hull is the plastic body that encases the entire shotgun shell.
http://theshotgunguide.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-anatomy-of-shotgun-ammo.html

Figure 2: Shot Wads

Shot
- Together, all the pellets in a shotgun shell
are called the shot. These projectiles are
usually made of lead, but can also be lead-
coated steel, tungsten, or bismuth.
- Shot sizes are measured with numbers
starting with the smallest, which is
‘birdshot’.
- Eventually the numbers change to letters
until you reach the largest, which is called
‘buckshot’, a popular large-game round.

Table 2. Shot Sizes

https://gunnewsdaily.com/shotgun-shell-sizes-comparison-
chart-terms/