Cartridge
Definition
The complete round of ammunition: case plus primer plus propellant plus projectile, assembled as a single unit for breech loading.
- Components
- Case, primer, propellant, projectile
- Function
- Complete round assembled for breech loading
- Fired evidence
- Leaves case and bullet at or near the scene
- Related term
- Cartridge case markings identify the firearm
Common questions
What happens to the different cartridge components after a shot is fired?+
The propellant burns and drives the projectile down the barrel while the case usually stays behind, ejected at the scene in a semi-automatic or retained in the cylinder of a revolver, which is why case recovery patterns differ by firearm type.
Why do examiners examine both the case and the bullet from the same cartridge?+
The case carries breech face, firing pin and extractor marks specific to the firearm's action, while the bullet carries rifling marks from the barrel, so together they provide two independent lines of evidence linking a shot to a specific weapon.
Related terms
- Ammunition
- The cartridge assembly fired by a firearm. Comprises case, primer, propellant and projectile. Defined under Section 2(1)(b) of the Arms Act 1959...
- Bore / Caliber
- Bore is the internal diameter of the barrel. Caliber is that diameter expressed in inches (.32,.38) or millimetres (9 mm, 7.62 mm)....
- Firearm
- A barrelled weapon that launches a projectile by the rapid expansion of gas from a confined burning propellant. Includes handguns, rifles and...
- Primer
- The small explosive cup at the base of a cartridge that ignites the propellant. Conventional primers use lead styphnate, barium nitrate and...
- Projectile
- The object expelled from the barrel. Single bullet in rifled arms, multiple pellets or single slug in shotguns.
- Propellant
- The chemical charge that burns rapidly inside the case to generate the gas that drives the projectile down the barrel. Black powder...
- Rifling
- The helical groove pattern cut into a firearm barrel that imparts spin to the bullet, stabilising it in flight. Rifling lands and...