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cartridge

File:Cartridge_cross_section.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ37144· pop 66· linked from 3,972 articles

Also known as round, ammunition round, round of ammunition, bullet shell, shell, ammunition cartridge

type of ammunition packaging that includes a bullet or shot, a propellant substance, and a primer within a metallic, paper, or plastic case

AI overview

A cartridge is a single package of ammunition that contains a bullet or shot, gunpowder, and a primer all held together in a metal, paper, or plastic case. It matters because it's the standardized unit that makes firearms functional—without cartridges, guns couldn't fire.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
bullet
Image
Cartridges comparison.jpg
Show 9 more facts
Commons category
Ammunition cartridges
different from
Cartridge
discoverer or inventor
Jean Samuel Pauly
inception
1812-00-00
on focus list of Wikimedia project
Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

A modern round consists of the following: Bullet, as the projectile Cartridge case, which holds all parts together Propellant, for example, gunpowder or cordite Rim, which allows the firearm's extractor to grip the casing to remove it from the chamber Primer, which ignites the propellant

A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile (bullet, shot, or slug), a propellant substance (smokeless powder, black powder substitute, or black powder) and an ignition device (primer or percussion cap) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for convenient transportation and handling during shooting. Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often used to refer to a complete cartridge, the correct usage only refers to the projectile.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cartridge” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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