Archives: Glossary

A cover put on the muzzle end of a barrel to keep out foreign matter.

A projectile’s energy at the time it leaves the muzzle of a gun.

The illumination which is the result of the expanding gases from the burning propellant particles emerging from the barrel behind the projectile and uniting with oxygen in the air.

A device put on the end of a barrel with a hole concentric with the bore to admit a cleaning rod and keep the rod from wearing the rifling in this critical area. Not used on guns cleaned from the breech end.

Ammunition made specifically for match target shooting. Produced with special controls to assure maximum uniformity of cartridge performance.

A dull non-reflecting metallic surface.

An elongated, heavy weight bullet, usually incorporating annular exterior grooves to hold lubricant.. Designed to be loaded and fired without a patch, it’s major diameter being slightly larger than bore diameter causing engraving by the rifling upon loading.

The greatest charge weight, in grains, of a particular propellant that may be used with other specified ammunition components without exceeding the safe, maximum, allowable pressure limit for the specific cartridge or shell being loaded.

The greatest distance a projectile can travel when fired at the optimum angle of elevation of the gun barrel.

The arithmetic mean of the distances between the centers of each shot hole from the calculated group center.