Ammunition in Littleton: Understanding the Language of Guns and What It All Means

Something that can be intimidating to the first time gun buyer is the lingo or jargon of the gun trade. There are calibers and gauges, clips and cartridges and on and on. Distinguishing between all of them can be overwhelming, but it’s easy to navigate with just a little know how.

Often there will be reference to “gauge” and “caliber.” For whatever reason, they can be used interchangeably although they are distinctly different. In gun terms, “caliber” is normally used to describe the diameter of rifle and handgun bullets. This is measured in either meters or inches, depending on where it was made. “Gauge” is the diameter of a shotgun barrel. The term is something that was developed a long time ago and is still used today.

Within this category of ammunition there also can be some confusion between “bullets” and “cartridges.” Those words “spent cartridges” can be used to talk about the number of bullets used or any number of things. Unfortunately, they are not the same things, specifically, although they are interconnected. The “bullet,” as everyone knows, is the actual individual projectile that comes out of the barrel of a gun, rifle or shotgun. It is housed within a “cartridge,” should the type of firearm use one.

“Cartridges,” on the other hand, are the actual case, primer, propellant and projectile that hold the bullets for certain types of weapons. During the purchase of ammunition littleton and around Colorado, a qualified gun dealer is always willing to share different bits of information regarding this confusion with a prospective buyer so they understand clearly what they are purchasing and how it works for their gun.

Just as “bullet” and “cartridge” are tied together, yet different, there also can be an interchangeable use of the terms “pistol” and “handgun.” It may seem since there are two unique terms that they are distinctly different. However, there are two schools of thought about their use.

The term “pistol” usually means it is a handheld, semi-automatic gun that is lighter and easier to carry. It can be reloaded from a magazine (another term) that pops a fresh bullet into a chamber to replace the one that has just been expended. To clarify further, a magazine is the container that holds the cartridges. Reloading this kind of pistol simply happens by the shooter dropping the used magazine and popping in another.

A “revolver” is fashioned just as it sounds. It is a handheld gun that chambers individual bullets in a revolving cylinder. The chamber usually holds 5-8 rounds and automatically moves once a bullet has been shot. In the old days, the gun hammer needed to be cocked in order to move or have the cylinder “revolve” to reload another round; however, current revolvers now automatically move the chamber. Both of these are handguns, simply different designs that use different calibers and ammunition.

Guns are complicated mechanisms that have a whole life of their own. They are nuanced and very detailed, so finding out the correct type of gun as well as the terms to use to describe what a gun owner or user is seeking is important. To own a firearm responsibly means to understand all that it entails to operate them and that also means clearly understanding how to correctly describe their use and meaning in a gun owner’s life.