.50"BMG (Browning Machine Gun), 300Win Mag (Winchester Magnum), .308 Winchester, 7.62x39mm Russian, .556x45mm NATO (.223"), .22"R/F.
These named cartridges with the one dollar note illustrate only six of the many different ways of naming rounds.
These named cartridges with the one dollar note illustrate only six of the many different ways of naming rounds.
- It's always nice to be able to clarify and explain things for new shooters so that they can go home and tell their mates all about it and clear-up any "misinformation" that non-shooters may have picked-up from the media or movies. !!
- You know - the sort of stuff that reporters breathlessly and sincerely blurt-out when on camera - with pretend rain-drops trickling down their make-up and a hand-held fan ruffling their hair - "The gunman was seen carrying a double-barrelled-pump-action- Assault-Rifle ..."
- So we've established that cartridge naming is a wee bit confused.
One of the early metallic cartridge firearms was the Spencer Repeating Rifle - its original cartridge was named after its chamber dimension - .56 inch and the cartridge was known as the No.56 cartridge. - the bores varied between .52" to .54". Then they started making derivatives in new sizes of bullets so the original loading became the ".56-56" (Why?) and others were called 56-52, 56-50, 56-46, and the most popular - the 56-52 logically? used a .50" diameter bullet !! - What did the 56-50 use?
- Maybe the best way to try to explain cartridge names is to say it's rather like peoples names - in that there are as many reasons for picking a name as there are people.
- how about 'knitting-needles'?
Some are derived from bore diameter, some from rifling groove diameter, (some from chamber dia.). - Some are called after the manufacturer who helped develop the rounds (Remington, Winchester, Ruger, Glock(45GAP) etc.). Modern designations may be measured in the metric system of bullet measurement x cartridge case length eg. 7.62x39mm. but that name sometimes has "Russian" added.
Researching this stuff also threw-up the detail that the replacement propellant for the original 'Black Powder' was known as 'White Powder' (poudre-blanche). - I don't recall seeing "smokeless powder" being called that before - so there you go - you can always learn something new eh..
That's a real prototype - a double-barrelled revolver for reporters to quote!
-The question that our visitor had asked me was "what's special about the 38 Special?" and I had to reply that I didn't know. - So I've had a look on line and there is an excellent Wikipedia page on the 38 Special that tells how it was introduced in 1898 as an improvement of the .38 Long Colt round - that had been found inadequate when used against Moro warriors in the Philippines War conducted by America . - I guess that was what made it "special" - that it was meant to work better. - But then it was later again further improved by being slightly lengthened and up-powered into the .357"Magnum. (That's not to mention the even longer .357"Maximum !).
Marty K
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