Ammo question

[NPloysa]

Few questions for you.



Let's say a . 45 says ". 45 S&W" on it, or ". 45 ACP" etc, what do those mean?



Also, a round has a bullet and shell, duh, and all the calibers, in inches or millimeters, are measured at the bullets.



Like at the gun show yesterday I bought some WWII era 50 caliber dud bullets. The bullet is . 50 inches, the shell tapers to a larger size, about 20 mm. Obviously all one cares about is the caliber, but is there also an easy way to measure the largest part of the shell at the primer?



This 20 mm shell did not have a bullet. The entire . 50 caliber shell would fit inside the 20 mm where the bullet would be. SO, the . 50 cal shell is about 20 mm at the primer, the 20 mm round had a 20 mm bullet and the shell is about 30 mm then. Get it?



I am lost!



Thanks

 

[DKayser]

Good Question

It does seem to be a good question, doesn`t it? I think a lot of it is the Name Game. The 357 is one that actually uses bullet diameter to call it like it is. Ever hear of the 429 magnum? That is the bullet diameter of the 44 magnum. For the most part, the caliber is based on the diameter of the projectile at it`s largest point. Also you can get into the semantics of bullets, cartridges,shells,cases, etc. Get a reloading manual & study. Then call Dillon for everything you need. Good people,service, they support the NRA overwhelmingly. They will help pay for your first year of membership! Don.

 

[snowracer69]

The S&W or ACP is just who designed the cartridge. S&W = Smith and Wesson. ACP = Colt Automatic Pistol (not 100% on that one, but pretty sure). . 45GAP = Glock Automatic Pistol (new cartridge out from Glock).



I'm confused at the second portion of your post... have no clue what you're asking for. The actual diameter of the case has really no consequence as to the bullet being fired except the amount of powder you can put behind it... but then you have to have enough gun to handle the forces being produced when fired.



You can have any chamber made that you want. I know many guys who have their very own custom chamberings... You just have to make up the specs and pay for the dies to be made as well as the chamber to be cut in a barrel for it.



For example, take a . 22-250... change the shoulder angle just a touch (from 30* to 40* I believe) and now you have a . 22-250AI or Ackley Improved. Another example... take a . 223 case and neck it down to . 17... wah-la... . 17 Rem.



There are many other ways of doing the above... someday I'll have my own custom cartridge.

 

[CFAR]

. 69snowracer Improved?



Handgun or Rifle?

 

[snowracer69]

Rifle for sure... will probably be a . 20 based long range bench/varmint rifle. Either . 20 or 6mm... . not sure yet... . long ways from being done with my pickup to start thinking about other expensive toys.

 

[Rman]

6mm is much more accurate than . 22 at long ranges. Simply put you need that bullet weight to sustain trajectory.



NPloysa, I think you may be confusing chamber with bullet diameter. The . 50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) has specific demensions for it's casing. This can be changed to accomodate a different caliber, in your case a 20 mm. However, this does not mean it is now referred to as 20mm. The 20mm cartridge (a cartirdge is a loaded case, bullet and all powder, primer... etc. ) is different from a . 50 BMG.



A good example is a . 30-378... this takes a weatherby . 378 magnum CASE and necks it to a . 30 caliber bullet. Hence the blending of the names.



It's quite common with casings and allows people to custom make their own cartridges.



The 6mm PPC is a derivative of the . 220 Russian. There's tons like this, a few were named above.

 

[KBennett]

ABC's of reloading

Nick, a good book to get is the ABC's of Reloading. It covers all kinds of stuff including shotgun and wildcat loadings. I have a copy if you want to borrow it the next time we get together. The base of a cartridge extenally may look fairly straight but internally they are all a little different. Internally they have a shape that tapers and gets thicker near the base called the web. Magnum cases usually have a thicker web to hold the case together under high pressures.

For instance, . 357 magnum has a much thicker web than . 38 special but they both will fit and shoot out of a . 357 safely. Externally the dimensions are the same. The web may even vary between manufacturers. Brass made by R-P(Remington-Peters), WIN(Winchester), Federal, etc. may all have different internal dimensions. That is why target shooters try to use the same brand of brass when reloading. It makes their load more consistent.

DKayser you are right on about Dillon. Good people and great products.