Chapters IV, V, and VI Flashcards
It is also known as shell or casing. It refers to the tabular casing or shell of an ammunitions that holds the bullet and contains the gunpowder.
Cartridge Case
Functions of Shell
- It houses the bullet, gunpowder and primer.
- It serves as waterproof container of gunpowder.
- It prevents escape of gases despite of pressure.
Standard cartridges of center-fire ammunitions have a shell that is usually made of ______ – ___________ and ________.
brass; 70% copper; 30% zinc
Anatomy of a Cartridge Case
- Rim
- Primer Pocket
- Vent or Flash Hole
- Body
- Neck
- Cannelure
- Crimp
- Shoulder
- Base
- Head stamp
- Extracting Groove
It is the part of the cartridge case that serves to limit the forward travel of cartridge into the chamber and the clearance between the head are supporting.
Rim
It has three functions: to hold the primer in central position, to prevent gas from escaping to the rear of the cartridge, and to provide solid support of primer anvil.
Primer Pocket
It is also called flash hole. This part provides a passage of heat and flame from the primer pocket towards the gunpowder chamber.
Vent or Flash Hole
It is the ‘cork’ that plugs the breech to prevent gas from escaping at the rear of the gun barrel.
Body
For bottleneck shaped cartridges, the cork includes the ___________ and the _______.
shoulder; neck
It is the part that is occupied by the bullet, which is true for rifle and machinegun cartridges.
Neck
It is composed of serrated grooves found at the interior surface of the neck which has a dual function: to serve as lubricant groove and to prevent the bullet from being pushed or pulled.
Cannelure
It acts as the lip since it is found at the periphery of the mouth of the cartridge case. It has also two functions: to aid in holding the bullet in place and to resist the initial forward motion of the bullet while the gunpowder undergoes combustion.
Crimp
It supports the neck of the shell which is true to rifle and machinegun cartridges.
Shoulder
It is the bottom part of the case that contains the primer, rim (shell head), and headstamp.
Base
It is the bottom surface of the shell that contains engraved data such as the manufacturer’s ID, caliber and year of manufacture.
Head Stamp
It is the circular groove near the base of the shell designed for automatic withdrawal after each firing.
Extracting Groove
Types of Crimp
- Stab or Ring Crimp
- Taper Crimp
- Roll Crimp
It is used to secure the bullet in the shell to avoid being moved or loosened from its gripped.
Crimp
It is used only on jacketed ammo that consists of dimples or grooves pressed into the mouth.
Stab or Ring Crimp
It is used in the cartridge with headspace on the cartridge case mouth with lead bullets.
Taper Crimp
It is located at the neck that is rolled into the groove of the bullet.
Roll Crimp
This may refer to the powder charge or the case design.
Magnum
Types of Shells according to Shape
- Straight Case
- Bottleneck Case
- Tapered Case
This description of shell is true to pistol and revolver ammunition. This is the casing of all rimmed-cartridges for revolvers and all center-fire pistol ammo that are now manufactured.
Straight Case
This description is always true to rifle ammunition. This is the casing of most modern center-fire rifle ammos. This is the type of shell that provided the greatest power capacity commensurate with over all case length.
Bottleneck Case
It is an obsolete type of case. It is very rare but presently being used in magnum jet cartridge of caliber .22 firearms.
Tapered Case
Marks on Shell
- Firing Pin Marks
- Breechface Marks
- Extractor Marks
- Ejector Marks
- Ejector Port Marks
- Shearing Marks (Secondary firing pin marks)
- Magazine Lip Marks
- Chamber Marks
- Pivotal Marks
It is found on the primer (particularly on the primer cup).
Firing Pin Marks
Glock Pistols have ____________ firing pin marks.
rectangular
It is found on the base of shell caused by the breechface.
Breechface Marks
It is found on the extracting groove.
Extractor Marks
It is located at the rim at the base of the shell fired from automatic Firearms.
Ejector Marks
These are found on the side of the rim, caused by the contact between the shell and ejection port of the firearm.
Ejector Port Marks
It is found on the primer near the firing pin mark. It is just a rebound or duplication of firing pin marks.
Shearing Marks (Secondary firing pin marks)
It is found on the body of shell that is caused by the irregularities inside the chamber.
Magazine Lip Marks
It is found on the body of the shell that is caused by the irregularities inside the chamber.
Chamber Marks
It is found on the base of rimmed type shell that is caused by break type revolver during loading.
Pivotal Marks
It is a metallic or non-metallic cylindrical projectile propelled from a firearm by means of the expansive force of gasses coming from burning gunpowder.
Bullet
In police parlance, the bullet maybe called _____. In governmental parlance, a cartridge containing bullet is called ________________.
slug; ball cartridge
_______ were the original terminology of all bullets.
Balls
These are small spherical projectiles loaded in shotshells for smoothbore weapons.
Pellets
These are slugs that have pointed tip or cylindrical nose loaded in cartridges for rifled guns.
Bullets
Once it goes through the barrel of a firearm, the bullet is marked by the ________.
rifling
In small arms ammunition, this refers to projectile from a rifled firearm which is cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal in shape.
Bullet
Round projectile is called _____ or _____.
ball; shot
The first bullets were much like ______________ fired from ancient guns immediately after the introduction of gunpowder in Europe.
crossbow arrows
The word bullet originated from the French word __________ which means a ___________.
boulette; “small ball”
Parts of a Standard Bullet
- Base
- Heel
- Bearing Surface
- Cannelure
- Jacket
- Core
- Shoulder
- Ogive
- Tip or Nose
- Head-Height
- Meplat
It is the portion of the bullet that receives the thrust and heat from the burning gunpowder.
Base
It is the part where the base and bearing surface meet.
Heel
It is the cylindrical side of the bullet that comes in contact with the barrel rifling.
Bearing Surface
It is the groove around the body of a bullet to receive the case crimp. For lead bullets, this part is better known as lubricant groove.
Cannelure
It is a metal covering of the bullet’s lewd core which could be made of copper, brass, steel, aluminium, or an alloy of these metals. It may partially or completely cover the lead core.
Jacket
It is a bulk of mass in the bullet. It is the main component of the bullet that is usually made of lead but sometimes alloyed replace with other metals for special purposed such as deeper penetration and tracing.
Core
It is the part where the parallel sides end and the ogive begins.
Shoulder
It is the radius of curve between the bearing surface and the point usually stated with respect to the caliber.
Ogive
It is the most forward point of the ogive.
Tip or Nose
It is the length of the bullet from the shoulder to the tip.
Head-Height
It is the diameter of the flat or blunt end of the nose or ogive of a bullet.
Meplat
What are the two kinds of bullets according to mechanical construction?
- Lead Bullets
- Jacketed Bullets
These are those made of lead or alloy of metals, tin and antimony which is slightly harder than pure lead, in order to prevent the adherent of lead in the bore of the barrel, lubricant should be placed on the groove around the body of the bullets.
Lead Bullets
These are those made of lead core covered with jacket of harder material such as; gilding metal, copper alloy approximately 90% and zinc 10%.
Jacketed Bullets
This may be used instead of gilding metal for the jacket of calibre .45 bullets.
Copper-plated steel
Some European manufacturers have been known to use _______ as jacket the gun barrel.
steel
Principal Types of Bullet
- Ball Bullets
- Armor Piercing Bullets
- Tracer Bullets
- Incendiary Bullets
- Explosive or Fragmentary Bullets
It refers to bullet that has soft lead core inside a jacket and are used against person. This is the original terminology for bullet and probably used in the commission of the crime.
Ball Bullets
It refers to bullet that has hardened steel core and are fired at vehicles and other armoured targets. These types of bullet in small arms have a similarity to the standard bullet but in addition to the lead and antimony filler, a core of tungsten chrome steel which continuous to penetrate the armor target after the jacket and filler had been stripped away by the contact with the hard resistance object or surface.
Armor Piercing Bullets
It refers to bullet that contains a compound at the base, usually similar to barium nitrates which set on fire when the bullet is projected. The flash of light and smoke from burning permits flight of the tracer bullet to be seen especially at night time. The path of the tracer bullet apparently continuous its light enabling the shooter to fixed his target at a particular distance.
Tracer Bullets
It refers to bullet that contains a mixture, such as phosphorous or other materials that can be set on fire by impact. These are used on targets that will readily burn such as aircrafts or gasoline depot.
Incendiary Bullets
It refers to bullet that contains a high charge of explosive. Because of their small size, it is difficult to make a fuse that work reliably in small arms ammunition.
Explosive or Fragmentary Bullets
The use of high explosive bullets is usually limited to ________________.
20mm and above
Bullets Designed for Handgun
- Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP)
- Semi-Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP)
- Full Metal Jacket Truncated Cone (FMJ-TC)
- Lead Wadcutter (LWC)
- Lead Semi-Wadcutter
- Lead Round Nose (LRN)
It refers to bullet that has an exposed lead at the tip of the jacketed hollow point that rapidly initiates uniform controlled expansion that progresses to the depth of the hollow point cavity.
Jacketed Hollow Point (JHP)
It refers to bullet with more exposed lead at the tip that expands less than a jacketed hollow point bullet.
Semi-Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP)
It refers to bullet that has lead core that is enclosed in a light copper jacket which has a cone shape and a flat point. The result is less expansion than a JHP bullet but more than an FMJ and deeper penetration than Soft Point (SP) bullet.
Full Metal Jacket Truncated Cone (FMJ-TC)
It refers to bullet having a solid lead bullet that cuts clean in paper targets for precise scoring.
Lead Wadcutter (LWC)
It refers to solid lead bullet with pointed nose. It is formed by swaging (a tool use by workers for sharpening metals by hammering) process with sharp shoulder for clean hole punching in paper targets.
Lead Semi-Wadcutter
It refers to solid lead bullet with rounded ogive for down-range accuracy. It is a hard hitting, economical and generally designed bullet for all revolvers.
Lead Round Nose (LRN)
Bullets Designed for Rifle
- Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)
- Full Metal Jacket Boat Tail (FMJ-BT or FMJBT)
- Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT)
- Soft Point (SP)
It refers to bullet that has lead core covered with a jacket (except the base) which results in little expansion but with deep penetration. This is also called ball ammunition.
Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)
It refers to bullet that has lead core enclosed in a heavy copper jacket which results in little or no expansion but deep penetration. Boat tail heel further reduces drag to improve downrange velocity.
Full Metal Jacket Boat Tail (FMJ-BT or FMJBT)
It refers to extremely accurate hollow point bullet pointed with aerodynamic design. Boat tail heel further reduces drag to improve down-range velocity. Precision balance and exceptional concentricity (having common center and having a common axis) greatly increase bullet stability to assure superb accuracy.
Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT)
It refers to exposed lead on the tip of the bullet and broader point diameter that provides controlled expansion of the jacket on the bullet at the lower velocity. The large wound is the results from expansion of the jacket that would be more or less 200 percent or original bullet diameter.
Soft Point (SP)
It has a copper sheath and a jacket covering the lead core. The jacket that covered the lead core is called full metal jacket.
Hardball Bullet
It refers to bullet that is ideal for use in armor penetrators. These solid metal projectiles have the speed, mass and physical properties and have exceptional performance against armoured targets. This kind of bullet is designed to defeat an armoured target at a greater distance.
Depleted Uranium
It is a bullet with a flat nose in front of a sharp wadcutter-style shoulder. This type of bullet has a shoulder that is too sharp, this will cut a clear hole on the target.
Semi-Wadcutter
It is the trademark of Winchester. The rifle version has a lead core and a copper-alloy jacket. The handgun version has a lead core and an aluminium jacket. When the bullet penetrates the body, the jacket of the bullet will disintegrate into small pieces that will precisely cause internal hemorrhage.
Silver Tip
It refers to bullet having a stress lines manufactured into the slug. The results are that the bullet splits into fragments when hitting soft tissue creating a bigger wound but tends to retain its form when penetrating armor.
Fragmentation Bullet
This to a type of bullet having a sharply pointed nose. This is more effective than the round ball of the same weight because there is less surface presented to the air and the speed of the bullet encountered less air resistance thus, it moves with unhampered speed. This type of bullet when it hits a hard object like bones inside the body, it changes its bullet track hence having a tendency that the bullet travelled sideways. When the bullet travelled in this condition and exited from the wound, it will create a wider size exit wound.
Spitzer
It refers to all soft bullets, split nose bullets, hollow point bullets and jacketed bullets with exposed lead core. The expanding effects of these bullets have tremendous damage.
Dumdum Bullet
It refers to a bullet that will expand upon striking an object and therefore produce much more serious effects and have correspondingly greater stopping power. Soft point bullets or mushroom bullet when fired from a high velocity rifle, it will expand upon striking a flash or soft tissue until it looks like a mushroom. They are designed to provide deeper penetration before expansion. However, when it exited from the wound, the exited wound will have bigger size.
Mushroom Bullet or Soft Point Bullet
It refers to a bullet with an open ogive or nose, designed to increase the expansion when it hits the target. Sometimes this is called Express Bullet. These are also designed to provide expansion and when it exited from the wound, it will have a bigger exit wound that the entrance wound.
Hollow Point Bullet
It refers to a bullet having soft steal jacket often clad or plated with gilding metal to prevent rusting and reduce frictional resistance in the bore.
Steel Jacketed Bullet
It refers to a solid copper projectile that is heat treated for extra toughness with no separate jacket and no lead core. The bullet holds together for deep penetration. Deep forward cavity causes the nose to peel back into four razor-edge petals. The four petals if viewed head-on gives its name X-bullet. This kind of bullet was introduced in 1989 that is designed by Barnes but owned by Randy Brooks.
X-bullet
It refers to a bullet with a base tapering to smaller diameter.
Boat Tail
It refers to a small metal cup fitted to the base of a lead bullet to protect it from the hot gases created by the burning powder charge.
Gas Check
It refers to high performance ammunition that gives superior penetration in solid (inanimate) targets while delivering maximum stopping power with minimum danger from over penetration and ricochet. A conventional .357 magnum can ricochet up to ¾ mile.
Glaser Safety Slug
The _________ inside the cartridge case contains a highly sensitive mixture of chemical compound that is when struck by the firing pin would detonate or ignite. This reaction is called ___________.
primer cup; percussion
The primer of center-fire cartridges refers to a small metallic ignition cup at the center of the cartridge base. When the striker hits the base of the cartridge, a distinctive mark is placed by the gun on the primer. This mark is known as the _____________________ which is very useful to firearm examiners.
firing pin impression
Once the primer is hit by the firing pin, the priming mixture burns sending flame or spark though the flash-hole. This hole, also called ______, is the passage of heat and flame that ignites propellant loaded in the gunpowder chamber.
vent
