{"id":3782,"date":"2019-05-16T17:24:30","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T17:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/?p=3782"},"modified":"2025-10-08T20:13:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T20:13:15","slug":"what-are-the-basic-parts-of-ammunition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammunitiontogo.com\/lodge\/what-are-the-basic-parts-of-ammunition\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are The Basic Parts of Ammunition?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, gun people can be a bit snooty. Don\u2019t believe me? Walk into a gun store and call a magazine a \u201cclip.\u201d While most gun people know what you mean, mislabeling a magazine is the fastest way to turn a generally happy gun enthusiast into someone crusty and ill-tempered.<\/p>\n

Speaking as a gun person, I understand how difficult it is to deal with the general misinformation floating around social media on a daily basis. Heck, even a big national media outlet like National Public Radio doesn’t know the difference between “bullets” and “ammo”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When our hunting rifles are regularly mislabeled \u201cweapons of war,\u201d even the most even-tempered shooter can get defensive.<\/p>\n

However, we aren\u2019t doing ourselves any favors by withholding basic information from new shooters. People don\u2019t enter the sport automatically knowing all the proper lingo and terminology. If seasoned shooters turn defensive when someone lacks basic understanding of firearms and ammunition, those new shooters will never learn. Instead of poking fun, maybe we should spend our energy educating the inexperienced and uninitiated.<\/p>\n

So in the interest of education, let\u2019s explore the basics of ammunition. In fact, we are going to break it down into the basic components and discuss exactly how a cartridge works.<\/p>\n

What is an Ammo Cartridge?<\/h2>\n
\"A
This grouping of .223 rifle casings has been tumbled clean and is now ready to be loaded with the components to make them into functional cartridges.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If we get nitpicky with our terms (and many gun people do), ammunition can be anything. Whether you pitch a rock or hurl insults in an argument, you\u2019re technically using ammunition. In the world of firearms, however, ammunition is what we use to load our weapons.<\/p>\n

Some people mistakenly refer to ammunition as \u201cbullets.\u201d That is actually an improper term and sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard to the serious gun person. The proper term for firearms ammunition is \u201ccartridge,\u201d although \u201cround\u201d or \u201cload\u201d are also acceptable terms.<\/p>\n

A cartridge is simply pre-assembled firearm ammunition. The \u201cbullet\u201d is only part of the package. (We\u2019ll get to that in a moment.) In other words, you don\u2019t load your hunting rifle or handgun with bullets, you load them with cartridges.<\/p>\n

Unless you want to turn that otherwise happy guy behind the counter at the gun store into a grumpy curmudgeon, don\u2019t wander in and ask for 9mm bullets. Instead, say you\u2019re in the market for 9mm cartridges<\/a>\u00a0or ammo.<\/p>\n

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\n \"product\"\n <\/div>\n
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\n $271.95 <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \"logo\"\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n 1000rds - 9mm Sellier & Bellot 115gr. FMJ Ammo <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n
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\n $15.45 <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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\n 50rds - 9mm Federal Champion 115gr. FMJ Ammo <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n