The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. It comes from the Italian calibro, itself from the Arabic quâlib, meaning mould. The term most often appears with respect to firearms, as a measure of the size of the barrel; however, it also has use in other fields. Caliber - Firearms. In firearms, the caliber is the diameter of the inside of the barrel. In a rifled barrel ...

Including:

• Caliber - Firearms
• Caliber - Caliber as measurement of length
• Caliber - Alternative measurements of bore
• Caliber - Other uses

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See also:

Caliber, Caliber - Firearms, Caliber - Caliber as measurement of length, Caliber - Alternative measurements of bore, Caliber - Other uses

Read more here: » Caliber: Encyclopedia II - Caliber - Firearms

In architecture, the caliber of a column is its diameter. In electricity, the caliber of an instrument of measure is the maximum value it can measure. In nautical parlance, the caliber of a chain is the diameter of the metal rod used to make each chain link. Agricultural produce is also often ranked by caliber (diameter), for instance olives, peas or eggs. In typography, the caliber of a font designates the size of the eye of a character, neglecting any risers or descenders. In horology, the term is used to distinguish the size and typ ...

See also:

Caliber, Caliber - Firearms, Caliber - Caliber as measurement of length, Caliber - Alternative measurements of bore, Caliber - Other uses

Read more here: » Caliber: Encyclopedia II - Caliber - Other uses

The 25 mm caliber is a standard size of heavy machine gun (specifically autocannon) ammunition for NATO forces. The round itself has a length of approximately 8.5 inches (216 mm) while the projectile is approximately 4.5 inches (114 mm). 25 mm caliber - Usage. The 25 mm round can be used in both an anti-material and anti-personnel fashion. When operating in an infantry mode, a 25 mm weapon armed with HE rounds can effectively kill large numbers of opposing troops either in the open or in light fortification ...

Including:

• 25 mm caliber - Usage
• 25 mm caliber - Types of 25 mm ammunition
• 25 mm caliber - 25 mm caliber weapons

Read more here: » 25 mm caliber: Encyclopedia - 25 mm caliber

The 30 mm caliber is a standard size of heavy machine gun (specifically autocannon) ammunition used by NATO forces. The round itself has a length in the range of 8 to 12 inches (200 to 305 mm) while the projectile is 4 to 6 inches (100 to 150 mm) in length. 30 mm caliber - Usage. Unlike its cousin the 25 mm round, the 30 mm is not typically an anti-personnel round. Instead, the 30 mm round is generally either an anti-material or anti-armor round. It is capable of taking out targets ranging from armored vehi ...

Including:

• 30 mm caliber - Usage
• 30 mm caliber - 30 mm caliber weapons
• 30 mm caliber - Types of 30 mm ammunition

Read more here: » 30 mm caliber: Encyclopedia - 30 mm caliber

There are many cartridges which use 7.62 mm caliber bullets. The measurement equals 0.3 inches or 3 decimal lines, written .3″ and read as Three-Line. The two most commonly referred to, due to their military use, are the Soviet 7.62 x 39 mm ("7.62 Soviet" or "7.62 short") and the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO, aka the .308 Winchester. The 7.62 x 54 mm R was first used in the Mosin-Nagant rifle in 1891. 7.62 mm refers to the diameter of the lands in the barrel (see article on rifling for description of lands). ...

Including:

• 7.62 mm caliber - Russian Tsarist
• 7.62 mm caliber - Soviet
• 7.62 mm caliber - NATO

Read more here: » 7.62 mm caliber: Encyclopedia - 7.62 mm caliber

The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as a ".22 LR" and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have been manufactured in this caliber. For many decades, it has been the most popular cartridge in the world. Virtually every manufacturer of cartridge firearms makes at least one model chambering it, and this has been true for more than a century. ...

Including:

• .22 Long Rifle - Performance
• .22 Long Rifle - Variants
• .22 Long Rifle - .22 LR High Velocity
• .22 Long Rifle - Usage
• .22 Long Rifle - Specifications
• .22 Long Rifle - Compatible ammunition

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Varmint rifle is an American English term for a relatively small-caliber firearm (or even a high-powered air gun) primarily used for hunting varmints—such as coyotes and smaller. The varmint gun fills a design gap between small game rifles and rimfire firearms. .22LR (the most popular rimfire caliber) is somewhat underpowered for small predators, but is perfectly adequate to dealing with typical vermin; the term "varmint" covers larger animals which usually harass farms from the outside (as opposed to infestation by vermin), ...

Including:

• Varmint rifle - Common design elements
• Varmint rifle - General characteristics
• Varmint rifle - Calibers
• Varmint rifle - Action types
• Varmint rifle - Examples

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The .45 Colt cartridge (known colloquially as the ".45 Long Colt ", or ".45 LC") was introduced by Colt in 1873 for the famous Colt Single Action Army, often known as the Peacemaker single action revolver. The US Army adopted the cartridge in 1875 and it remained in use until 1892, when it was replaced by the .38 Long Colt. Originally a blackpowder cartridge, modern loadings use smokeless powder. Standard loads develop around 400 ft·lbf (542 J) of muzzle energy, though in certain firearms the round can be loaded to the levels of the ...

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A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than a rifle or musket of a given period. There have been many carbines developed from rifles, being essentially shorter rifles firing the same ammunition, although usually at a lower velocity and there have also been many where the carbine and rifle adopted by a particular nation were not technically related, such as using completely different ammunition or internal operating systems (though the carbine still being weaker, or of smaller size). Which is ...

Including:

• Carbine - History
• Carbine - Early history of the carbine: 1800s and earlier
• Carbine - Shorter rifles shorter carbines: World War I and World War II
• Carbine - Post-World War II
• Carbine - Modern history
• Carbine - Carbine use in contemporary military forces
• Carbine - Special operations forces
• Carbine - Personal defense weapons
• Carbine - Future acceptance and use
• Carbine - Usage
• Carbine - Pistol caliber carbines
• Carbine - Ultra carbines
• Carbine - Air carbines
• Carbine - Other carbines

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Buck and ball was a common load for muzzle-loading muskets, and was very commonly used in the early days of the U.S. Civil War. The load consisted of a full caliber round lead ball combined with three buckshot pellets. Buck and ball was issued in paper cartridges that combined the projectiles with the black powder propellant charge to facilitate rapid loading of the weapon. The intent of the buck and ball load was to combine the devastating impact of the full-size (normally .69 caliber) ball with the spreading pattern of a shotgun, and served to greatly improve the hit probability of ...

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The .357 Magnum revolver cartridge was created by the firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson. Based upon their earlier .38 Special revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in 1934 and its use has since become widespread. The rationale for the term Magnum itself was taken from a common descriptive term used for a bottle of champagne containing 1.5 L of beverage, equivalent to 2 bottles of ordinary champagne. .357 Magnum - Design. The .357 Magnum was designed for police, self-defe ...

Including:

• .357 Magnum - Design
• .357 Magnum - Performance
• .357 Magnum - Synonyms

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5.56 mm NATO, designated STANAG 4172, is the standard rifle ammunition for NATO forces. It is derived from, but not entirely interchangable with, the .223 Remington cartridge. 5.56 x 45 mm NATO - History. The previous standard NATO round was the 7.62 mm (based on the .30 rifle cartridge). At the time of selection, there had been criticism that the 7.62 x 51 mm round was overpowered for modern assault rifles, and smaller alternatives had been tendered. These doubts would later be shown to be well-foun ...

Including:

• 5.56 x 45 mm NATO - History
• 5.56 x 45 mm NATO - Performance
• 5.56 x 45 mm NATO - 5.56 NATO vs .223 Remington
• 5.56 x 45 mm NATO - Comparison of 5.56 vs. 7.62 NATO
• 5.56 x 45 mm NATO - Use

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Armor piercing ammunition is used to penetrate hardened armored targets such as body armor, vehicle armor, concrete, tanks and other defenses, depending on the caliber of the fire arms. Armor piercing ammunition consists of a hardened steel, tungsten carbide, or depleted uranium penetrator enclosed within a softer material, such as copper or aluminum. Armor piercing ammunition can range from rif ...

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Bore may refer to: The action of carving out a hole The object creating this hole, especially in precision work The hole thus created; e.g. in reference to a well The inner diameter of a pipe or tube, The caliber of a gun; as a measurement it is generally used to refer to smoothbore guns such as shotguns and muskets and is generally equivalent to gauge. This use is generally archaic, though still used in British English. The exception is the .410 bore, which is .410 inches. A wave in a river caused by an incoming tide - see tidal ...

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The 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge (9 x 19 mm Parabellum, 9 x 19 mm NATO) was introduced by Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken for their Pistole Parabellum. It was a higher power version of the earlier 7.65 mm Luger Parabellum, itself developed from a earlier 7.65 cartridge Borchardt cartridge. It is commonly known by the DWM worker, firearms designer Georg Luger who was on ...

Including:

• 9 mm Luger Parabellum - Development
• 9 mm Luger Parabellum - Design
• 9 mm Luger Parabellum - Performance
• 9 mm Luger Parabellum - Muzzle velocity:
• 9 mm Luger Parabellum - Synonyms

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NATO's 7.62 × 51 mm rifle cartridge, otherwise known as .308 Winchester (though they do not have identical specifications), was introduced in the 1950s as a standard firearm cartridge among NATO countries — though it has also become popular among civilians. There are many types, such as tracers and blanks, as well as many makes of the round. It was introduced to service with a variety of firearms, primarily service rifles and machine guns. It is used in the M14 rifle and M60 machine gun in US service in the late 1950s. The c ...

Including:

• 7.62 × 51 mm NATO - Overview
• 7.62 × 51 mm NATO - Development
• 7.62 × 51 mm NATO - Firearms using the NATO round

Read more here: » 7.62 × 51 mm NATO: Encyclopedia - 7.62 × 51 mm NATO

An anti-materiel rifle is generally a large-caliber rifle used in peacetime for destroying equipment and unexploded ordnance, and during wartime for attacking unarmored or lightly armored vehicles, fuel dumps, parked airplanes, etc. Though most similar in form to sniper rifles there is not as much focus on accuracy and more concern for effectively damaging a target. The roots of the field go back to World War I and the first anti-tank rifle. Some examples of large calibre sniper rifles used for anti-materiel work: ...

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A centerfire cartridge is a cartridge in which the primer is located in the center of the cartridge case head. The centerfire cartridge has replaced the rimfire in all but the smallest cartridge sizes. A centerfire cartridge has the primer located in the center of the base. Unlike rimfire cartridges, the primer is a seperate and replacable component. Except for low-powered .22 and .17 caliber cartridges and a handful of antiqu ...

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The .500 S&W is a cartridge made by Smith & Wesson for use in revolvers and introduced in February 2003 at the SHOT trade show. Currently only a handful of models have been introduced that fire this massive caliber, including the X-Frame Model 500 revolver from Smith & Wesson, Magnum Research's "BFR" (Biggest, finest revolver), the Taurus Raging Bull and German Janz JTL-E 500. Each holds only five rounds to allow for thicker cylinder walls to accommodate the pressur ...

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