Terminology

[OVERKILL]

 Not to knock anybody, because I havn't seen anyone here really doing it, but I thought I'd make a list of proper firearm terminology and definitions to avoid confusion. I got the idea when I saw people on another site I was lurking on using several different incorrect terms and it made it harder to get answers to their questions because others did not understand what they were talking about.

Ammunition - General term referring to the entire variety of completely-formed propelled projectiles. Most commonly applied to the combination of a bullet/shot, case, powder, and primer.

Brass - The material cartridge cases are made of, sometimes used to refer to the case itself

Bullet - The cartridge component which, when in flight, becomes the projectile, usually made of lead and sometimes covered with a jacket of copper alloy or other metal. Sometimes mistakenly used to describe ammunition.

Cartridge - A complete round of ammunition with all components intact. Normally rifle or pistol ammunition. A cartridge consists of all four components which include the bullet, powder, primer, and case. Sometimes Erroneously referred to as a bullet

Case - Refers to the body of a round of ammunition; the metallic body of a centerfire/rimfire round, or the plastic/brass body of a shotgun shell. Also called a cartridge case

Clip - Technically, a clip is any type of cartridge-holding device used to load magazines (either fixed or detachable). Common usage, though, frequently and incorrectly interchanges the term 'clip' with 'magazine'. The first successful cartridge clip was invented by Austrian engineer Ferdinand von Mannlicher. Also known as a 'stripper clip' in military jargon, and as a 'charger' in England.   See also: magazine

F.P.S. - Abreviation for Feet Per Second, a measure of how fast a bullet travels.

Head - The portion of a cartridge case that contains the extractor groove, primer pocket, flash hole and rim.  I listed this one because I've heard it used frequently to refer to the bullet.

Head Stamp - Impressed writing on the bottom of a cartridge case around the primer pocket. Normally includes the manufacturer, caliber, or date of manufacture information.

Magazine - A storage, transportation and feeding container for ammunition. Magazines can be fixed within the firearm, detachable, curved, storing anywhere from two rounds to upwards of a hundred. Magazines are generally spring-powered; that is, a spring pushes from the baseplate against the follower, pushing the cartridges upward to the feed guides, where a cartridge is stripped off and chambered one at a time. Modern usage incorrectly interchanges 'magazine' with 'clip'.   See also: cartridge clip

Shell -  1. A complete cartridge, more often used to refer to a shotgun cartridge; 2. A colloquial term for an unloaded or spent cartridge case.   

Weapon - 1 : something (as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy
              2 : a means of contending against another 
              3 : a tool to deanimate the dead

 If there are any definitions you feel should be include, feel free to speak up.

[Tobias]

Hey man, thanks for the great info! I think I knew all that, but it probably reminded me of some stuff I might have forgotten!

[OVERKILL]

 You're very welcome Tobias, even old hands with guns can use a refresher sometimes, I think I learned a thing or two when I looked these up. There was a guy on another forum asked about bullets and half the people were saying "308" or "223" and the others saying "v-max" or "core lokt"

[†CrimsonKing†]

yeah, i don't know much about guns like ive said in another thread but i do know how to clean, load, aim accuratly, and fire. I think im covered against the undead 
Great info by the way, knew most of it but some was knew and now im glad, the more you know! lol

[OVERKILL]

yeah, i don't know much about guns like ive said in another thread but i do know how to clean, load, aim accuratly, and fire. I think im covered against the undead 
Great info by the way, knew most of it but some was knew and now im glad, the more you know! lol

....and knowing is half the battle [insert G.I. JOE themesong]

[†CrimsonKing†]

W00T!

[¥ Killer Juggalo ¥]

G.I. Joe was the s***... but now i think he sux...

[Thumper]

you going to get into the difference between recoil and felt recoil? Arguing the merits of a crimped bullet verses an uncrimped bullet?  Measuring head space? slugging a barrel? Trigger slop? Trigger take up? The Coriolanus effect? Ballistic trajectories? Pistol shooters diagnostics chart? I just wanted to raise the bar a little bit. I'll even explain the last one. this is it, if your round hits in one of the spaces. it explains your shooting problem.

[Thumper]

just a shooting tip, the gun should ALWAYS surprise you when it fires. that way you won't do any of the above mentioned bad habbits.

[OVERKILL]

you going to get into the difference between recoil and felt recoil? Arguing the merits of a crimped bullet verses an uncrimped bullet?  Measuring head space? slugging a barrel? Trigger slop? Trigger take up? The Coriolanus effect? Ballistic trajectories? Pistol shooters diagnostics chart? I just wanted to raise the bar a little bit. I'll even explain the last one. this is it, if your round hits in one of the spaces. it explains your shooting problem.

 Remember to reverse the image when you print the target for shooting left handed, or buy the LEE Shooter program which contains right and left handed targets.
 I mainly wanted to go over a few beginner terms for some of the people here that are not familiar with firearms or those who have only a cursory knowledge. And also to lessen the frequency that "bullets" is used to refer to cartridges and "clips" to refer to magazines.
 I don't see a lot of point in getting into actual and perceived recoil. ACTUAL recoil is determined by a simple formula of speed, ejecta weight  and weight of the gun. FELT recoil is exactly that, what is FELT by the shooter. Felt recoil is impossible to explain or quantify due to the fact that variables such as the shooters size, grip or hold, shape of the firearm and how well it fits them, experience and expectations or even "wuss factor". For example, I have fired 2 otherwise identical 44 Magnum Winchester 92 replicas with the same loads. Pap's rifle has a crescent buttplate where mine had a flat one. The curved steel was definitely not made for for for anyone my size and digs into my shoulder and was much more painful to fire than the slightly curved, almost flat steel on my '92.
 Crimped and uncrimped bullets would be more suited in a reloading thread, as that is the only way a shooter would have any control as to whether or not a crimp was applied or the amount. The only group that regularly does not crimp bullets is match rifle shooters. This is a moot point anyway, as in any hunting/battle/survival situation, crimped bullets would be preferred for prevention of bullet set back and reliable feeding. A bullet can be pushed back into the case by hitting the feed ramp or pressure from the follower in tubular magazines. This can cause jams and will raise pressure (due to less space inside the cartridge) which could damage you or the firearm. In revolvers, bullets without the case firmly crimped around them can be pulled out of the case and possible tie up the cylinder.
 Headspace is the amount of room between the bolt face and the cartridge head, hence the term headspace. A gun with too little headspace will be more likely to jam, a firearm with too much headspace can cause case ruptures or head separations. Headspace is best measured through the use of a set of gauges, a GO and a NO-GO,  Simply stated the GO gauge should fit but the NO-GO should not. Most gunsmiths will have these in most "common" calibers and probably a few "surplus" calibers. If your local gunsmith does not have them, there are places online where they can be rented or headspace can be measured in other ways if you have a dial caliper, but that's a subject for another time.
 Slugging the barrel is measuring the diameter of the bore and grooves by driving a lead bullet or "slug" down the barrel, hence the name.
 It's getting pretty late ( or actually early) and I have to work tonight( 3rd shift, makes me feel like a vampire, sleep all day, up all night). But I do wish to thank Thumper for making some excellent suggestions. I will update the definitions and explanations when I get time.

[Thumper]

I was actually hoping to kinda make a quiz out of it. so that people can look around and find stuff. Or at least make a discussion about it. but you certainly Nailed all of the terms.

[OVERKILL]

 Sorry, I didn't realize you wanted to make a game out of it sort of. There are still a few you listed that I didn't answer, we'll let them sit for a while. If no one chimes in with an answer I'll post it.

[Thumper]

well i didn't make it clear, but i thought it would take the discussion to the next level. like I said tho, ya nailed them !

[OVERKILL]

 10 extra points to whoever can define The Coriolanus effect and it's relevance to shooting.

[Thumper]

there ya go, thats a good one. do you think anyone besides us two are reading this thread?