embarrassing question

A

ALLS London

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I looked, and searched, and couldn't find an answer, so I'm now forced to ask what seems like a really stupid question myself-

what is the difference between standard, ACP and MAG ammunition? I understand that .3030WIN is a sized based on the original manufacturer, but I don't know what ACP or Magnum MEANS.

thanks

sheepishly,


AL
 
ALLS London said:
so ACP refers to the original manufacturer, just like Win or Rem, is Magnum the same thing?
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Sometimes it's the original manufacturer and sometimes no. It's just a name. Magnum comes from a type of champagne bottle that were bigger than other ones. You could call a cartridge the .243 buttlicker, it's a name and nothing more.
 
ALLS London said:
and my knowledge of ammunition has increased substantially. thanks!
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So has mine...now to find more info on this .243 buttlicker I hear so much about... :p :D

But yes, all of the cartridges are named. Sometimes the name is almost accurate and other times it's a crock(like the .308 winchester actually shoots a .308" bullet, a .303 british on the other hand shoots a .311" bullet...)
 
droid1963 said:
magnum cartridges typically have more powder capacity than non-magnums, and generate higher chamber pressure. Example, a .22 Winchester Magnum Rifle rimfire cartridge is .35 of an inch longer, OAL, than a .22 Long Rifle
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And if you shoot magnums, you know that only real men can handle them. Whereas, if you don't shoot magnums, you know that real men don't need them.

And if like me, you actually are a real man, you know that calibre choice, has nothing to do with whether or not you are a real man.
 
curtmg said:
And if you shoot magnums, you know that only real men can handle them. Whereas, if you don't shoot magnums, you know that real men don't need them.

And if like me, you actually are a real man, you know that calibre choice, has nothing to do with whether or not you are a real man.
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alg_old_spice.jpg
 
Freyr_255 said:
So has mine...now to find more info on this .243 buttlicker I hear so much about... :p :D

But yes, all of the cartridges are named. Sometimes the name is almost accurate and other times it's a crock(like the .308 winchester actually shoots a .308" bullet, a .303 british on the other hand shoots a .311" bullet...)
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and a .303 Savage shoots a 0.308" bullet...
 
Freyr_255 said:
So has mine...now to find more info on this .243 buttlicker I hear so much about... :p :D

But yes, all of the cartridges are named. Sometimes the name is almost accurate and other times it's a crock(like the .308 winchester actually shoots a .308" bullet, a .303 british on the other hand shoots a .311" bullet...)
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Yep. They had to go and cut grooves into the barrels and we've all been confused about calibres ever since. :p
 
"...the difference in data points between Brit and US..." The .303 Savage was their answer to the .30-30 Win. Name's a marketing thing.
"...cartridges are named..." Yep and trying to figure out why a cartridge is called what it is can give you brain damage. As in the aforementioned cartridges and the 7.5mm x 55mm Swiss. The latter uses a .308" bullet too. So does a 7.62NATO, but .308" doesn't convert mathematically to 7.62mm.
Buy a copy of Cartridges of the World. Your local gun shop or Amazon.
 
curtmg said:
And if you shoot magnums, you know that only real men can handle them. Whereas, if you don't shoot magnums, you know that real men don't need them.

And if like me, you actually are a real man, you know that calibre choice, has nothing to do with whether or not you are a real man.
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Awww, white man speak with fork tongue...........:p
 
curtmg said:
And if you shoot magnums, you know that only real men can handle them. Whereas, if you don't shoot magnums, you know that real men don't need them.

And if like me, you actually are a real man, you know that calibre choice, has nothing to do with whether or not you are a real man.
Click to expand...

And when even magnums won't do it for your manhood, there is always the nitro express........
 
ALLS London said:
I looked, and searched, and couldn't find an answer, so I'm now forced to ask what seems like a really stupid question myself-

what is the difference between standard, ACP and MAG ammunition? I understand that .3030WIN is a sized based on the original manufacturer, but I don't know what ACP or Magnum MEANS.

thanks

sheepishly,


AL
Click to expand...

Okay, to be a little more helpful than my smart-alec last answer, you've already been told what ACP and magnum mean.

There are two ways to measure the diameter of a rifled bore: you can measure the smaller diameter from before the rifling grooves are cut (the old way) or you can measure the larger diameter at the bottom of the grooves (the new way). Bullets are made to the larger diameter since they must reach the bottom of the grooves or the expanding gasses will blow by and power will be lost. The grooves are cut deeper as calibre increases but let's take .30 for an example. At this calibre the rifling is normally .004 inches deep -- that means the outer diameter is .308 inches which is why the civilian version of NATO rounds are designated .308 while identical bullets are shot from 30-06 rifles. Also why British .303 bullets are actually .311 inches in diameter. At .22 calibre, grooves are only .002 inches deep so we get .224 ammunition. .224? Well, there was already a .224 cartridge when the new NATO round was introduced so they called it .223 to avoid confusion.

The 30-06 cartridge got its name because it was introduced in 1906 to replace the round-nosed 30-03. The 30-30 cartridge, on the other hand, is a 30 calibre design with 30 grains of propellant. As others have pointed out, it's all a guessing game.

Modern European specs are normally done by the actual cartridge diameter, say 7.62 mm, followed by the case length, say 51 for a NATO round or 54 for an old Soviet round. Hence 7.62x51 and 7.62x54R. The R specifies a Rim around the base of the cartridge to aid in extraction; rims were common on old designs for bolt action rifles but can cause problems with semi- and full automatics so a groove is cut around the base instead.

Even metric designations aren't always reliable. For example, pistol ammunition has been designed as 9x17, 9x18, 9x19 and several other 9 mms, but the 9x18 is a larger diameter than the others. On the other hand, 7.62x25 is exactly the same shape as 7.63x25 but much more powerful.

Then there are shotguns but let's leave that for another day. :eek:
 
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