I've got a few questions about guns and stuff.

What exactly does a .45 caliber bullet mean? What is that a measurement of? Same as a 9mm. I always assumed that 9mm was the length of the bullet. Same for like a 30.06. What in the hell does that mean?

excuse my ignorance

 

Pistol calibers are measured by the outside diameter. So a .45 S&W would be .45" outside diameter. A 9mm would be 9mm outside diameter. Hope this helps.

 

cool, thanks.

so, how do they measure shotguns shells and stuff? What does a 20 gauge mean? And what's a 30.06?

 

Here is a link about how shot gun gauges are calculated:

http://w3.agsfoundation.com/safety/p...ns.html#gauges

Essentially, a 10 gauge means if you make ten equal sized ***** from a pound of lead, the diameter of that ball will be 10 gauge. 20 gauge = the diamter of the ball if you make 20 ***** from 1 pound of lead. An exception is .410 gauge, which is .410" in diameter.

The 30.06 is a 0.30" diameter (30 caliber) bullet on a rifle cartridge that was originally designed in 1906. With rifles and pistol cartridges, there is a lot more than just diameter that comes into play. There are many 30 caliber cartridges.

 

Shotgun size as measured in "gauge" refers to how many lead ***** of that size it would take to weigh a pound. Obviously, the smaller the number, the bigger the gauge. e.g. 12 gauge is a bigger bore than 16 gauge.
The exception is the .410, which is actually a caliber measurement. i.e. .410 inches in diameter.

The 30-06 is just a .30 caliber cartridge developed in 1906. There are lots of different rifle cartridges that are all .30 caliber. .303, .300 Savage, .308, 30-30, and 30-06 to name a few. They're all actually .30 caliber bullets, the difference is in the actual size of the cartridge as to which rifle they fit. NOTE: they definitely are not interchangeable. Please do not try to fire a .308 bullet using your dad's .303 or you may get an up close and personal demonstration as to just how much energy a high-powered rifle cartridge contains.

Develop good gun safety habits. Hope this helps!

 

So, in a 12 or 20 gauge shotshell, how many lead ***** would be in that individual shell? I know that there isn't a pound of lead in a single shell.

 

The lead ball deal is just to determine diameter. In actuality, the pellets in a shotgun shell are different sizes depending upon application. For example, 00 (double nought) buckshot is about the largest pellet size and is usually backed by the largest gunpowder charge. You'll definitely feel the kick firing one of these shells. I forget the pellet count... in the 20 to 30 range for a 2 3/4" shell if I recall.

At the other end of the spectrum, you find dove and target loads. These typically have a whole lot of very small pellets and a smaller gunpowder charge... you can shoot these all day without getting a sore shoulder.

 

The .45 is .45 inches in diameter, a 9mm is actually .38 inches in diameter. The 9mm is originally a European round and uses the metric measurement. For instance a .38 is a 9mm, a .40 is a 10mm, a .50 is a 12.7mm... etc etc

The 9mm Bullet is actually the same bullet used in the .38 cal, .357 magnum, 9mm Parabellum, 9mm Luger (same round as the parabellum just a different name), 9mm Kurz/Short/.380 ACP (sp?)

The main differences are the powder loads and casing size. The caliber is conventionally the diameter in inches.

30.06 is a long .30 caliber rifle round designed in the year 1906 or ought 6 (06). Similarly the 30-30 is a .30 caliber round designed in the year 1930...

Rifle rounds are similar in exception, exampli gratia would be our favorite .223 caliber (M-16/AR15) which translates into a 5.56mm NATO round. The AK series usually use a short casing .380 caliber round known as a 7.62mm X 39... Our (the U.S.) 7.62mm round (used in weapons like the M60) has a much longer casing and conversely more range...

 

It depends 00 Buck has 9 or 12 pellets while 01 Buck has 16 pellets. Where as Birdshot would have like 80-100 very small pellets and a smaller powder load. It really depends on what you buy.

If you want a real blast shoot a solid slug through a Remington 870 with an optional folding metal stock! Talk about shoulder bruises!!!

 

ok, I have a ruger 45-70, I know it is a 45 caliber, whats the 70 for, and whats the government issue.

 

PhillipSVT

The original designtion of the .45-70 was the .45-70-500. It stood for .45 caliber, 70 grains of Black powder, and a 500 grain bullet. It was the official U.S. military cartridge in the late 1800's and was used in the trap-door Springfield rifle and also the Gatling gun.

It was superceded by the .30-40 Krag(.30 caliber and 40 grains), then .30 Government(aka .30-06), then the 7.62 NATO (aka .308 Winchester), and finally the 5.56 NATO (aka .223 Remington)

 

I have got to say great info guys. I am a long time shooter and really like it when somebody has the guts to ask a question that they might feel is stupid, not that the question was stupid. I see so many other shooters just brush those people off as newbies or whatever and give them a hard time. The way I see it we should all be doing everything in our power to teach these people the right way to shoot and give them all the info they can digest.

Anyway I just wanted to thank everybody for the good info and thank the original poster for asking instead of going out and blowing himself up.

I don't think anybody has touched on that typically metric measurements of bullets are listed like 9x19 or 9x18 or 7.62x39 etc. The x19 or x18 or x39 indicates the size of the case and therefore the bigger the number the more powder and subsequent power etc. 9mm para or luger is 9x19 and pretty much the standard 9mm round. 9x18 is known as 9mm makarov and is slightly shorter than the standard 9x19 round. 7.62x39 is very different from 7.62 NATO. Not as good an explanation of some of the other posters but hope it helps.