Sunday GunDay: Cartridge Showcase — .17 to .50 Caliber and Up
For today’s Sunday Gunday Feature, we provide a selection of videos showcasing rifle and pistol cartridge types — from tiny .17 caliber cases to 30mm cases (and a few even bigger rounds). Two of the videos use advance computer animation to provide 3D views of dozens of cartridge types. Then there are some expert commentaries by Jerry Miculek and Ron Spomer discussing the characteristics and performance of various cartridge types. Finally, we provide two videos that discuss rimfire cartridges and show how .22 LR rounds are produced in a modern CCI factory.
90 Different Rifle Cartridge Types in Computer Animation
In this rifle ammunition comparison animation there are 90 different cartridge types, from very small (.22 Flobert) to very, very big (20mm Vulcan). This video employs sophisticated, 3D CAD animation to showcase 90 different rifle cartridges, one after the other, in sequence. It covers from .17 Caliber up to 20mm. Obviously a lot of time and effort went into this video, but it really is cool to see so many different cartridge types in one 3.5-minute video.
After the full line-up is complete at 1:41, the video then provides other smaller comparison, such as multiple large hunting cartridges (2:15) and .22 Caliber cartridges (2:45, see above). All the cartridge models are made using Autodesk Inventor software, and then the “line-up” animation was completed with Autodesk Showcase.
Cartridge Types Included (in Caliber Order, then Metric Order):
| 1) .17 HM2 2) .17 HMR 3) .204 Ruger 4) .218 Bee 5) .22 Flobert 6) .22 Hornet 7) .22 LR 8) .22 Magnum 9) .22 PPC 10) .22 Short 11) .220 Jaybird 12) .223 Rem/5.56x45mm 13) .223 WSSM 14) .224 Weatherby Magnum 15) .225 Winchester 16) .240 Weatherby Magnum 17) .243 Winchester 18) .25 Remington Auto 19) .250 Savage 20) .25-06 Remington 21) .256 Winchester Magnum 22) .257 Roberts 23) .260 Remington 24) .264 Winchester Magnum 25) .270 Weatherby Magnum 26) .270 Winchester 27) .280 British 28) .280 Remington 29) .284 Winchester 30) .30 Carbine |
31) .300 H&H Magnum 32) .300 Rem Ultra Magnum 33) .300 Savage 34) .300 Winchester Magnum 35) .300 Win Short Mag (WSM) 36) .30-06 Springfield 37) .303 British 38) .30-30 39) .308 Norma Magnum 40) .308 Winchester 41) .32 Winchester Special 42) .325 WSM 43) .338 Lapua Magnum 44) .35 Whelen 45) .350 Remington Magnum 46) .375 H&H Magnum 47) .376 Steyr 48) .408 Cheyenne 49) .416 Remington Magnum 50) .416 Weatherby Magnum 51) .444 Marlin 52) .450 Marlin 53) .450 Nitro Express 54) .458 Win Magnum 55) .45×70 56) .460 Weatherby Magnum 57) .465 H&H Magnum 58) .470 Nitro Express 59) .50 BMG / 12.7×99 NATO 60) .500 jeffery |
61) .505 Gibbs 62) .577 Nitro Express 63) .577 Tyrannosaur 64) .600 Nitro Express 65) .700 Nitro Express 66) .950 JDJ 67) 4.6×30 mm 68) 4.6x30mm 69) 5.6×50 Magnum 70) 5.7x28mm 71) 5mm/SMc 72) 6mm LEE 73) 6.5×55 Swedish 74) 6.5×6 mm Schuler 75) 6.8mm Remington SPC 76) 6mm PPC 77) 6×45 mm 78) 7mm Weatherby Magnum 79) 7mm Remington Magnum 80) 7mm Rem Ultra Magnum 81) 7.62×39 mm FMJ 82) 7.7×58 Arisaka 83) 7.95×57 Mauser 84) 8mm Remington Magnum 85) 9.3x62mm 86) 9.3×64 Brenneke 87) 14.5x114mm 88) 20mm Vulcan 89) 25mmx137mm 90) 30mmx173mm |
Ammunition Size Line-Up — from Tiny to Massive
This animation video shows the size comparison of ammunition from a 2.34mm rimfire caliber to the massive 800mm caliber shell of the Schwerer Gustav railway cannon used by German forces in World War II. This video includes many common rifle and pistol cartridges/calibers, but also includes large artillery ammunition. This video has very good CGI Graphics. Below is part of the line-up from the .17 Remington Fireball (far left) to the famed .50 BMG (far right):
Ammunition Types Showcased in this video:
| 2.34mm rimfire 2.7mm Kolibri 3mm Kolibri 4.25 mm Liliput .17 Hornady Mach 2 .17 Remington Fireball .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire .22 Long Rifle .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire HK 4.6×30mm 4.6×36 Loffelspitz 5.45mmx18 MPTs 5.7×28mm SS190 .280 British 7×43 |
.297/230 Morris Short .297/230 Morris Long .30 Pedersen 7.65×20mm 7.92×33mm Kurz .300 Winchester Short Magnum 8×50mmR Mannlicher .499 LWR .577/450 Martini–Henry .600 Nitro Express .470 Nitro Express .50 Beowulf .50 BMG 20×102 M55A3 25×137 M793 |
30×173 CPIC 30×211 vz.53 35×228 Oerlikon KD L43 40x311mmR L/70 40×365mmR L/70 57mm 84×618mmR QF 20-PDR 120mm DM53 100mm TK APFSDS Obusier de 400 modèle BL 18-inch railway howitzer Obusier de 520 modèle 600mm Karl-Gerät 800mm Schwerer Gustav |
Popular Cartridges/Calibers for Self-Defense and Hunting
This video focuses on popular calibers/cartridges used for self-defense and hunting. It provides a quick but informative overview of the capabilities (and intended uses) of many types of pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammunition. The video discusses the pros/cons of various cartridge types and explains how you would select ammo for a particular purposes (e.g. skeet loads vs. defense shotshells). If you are considering buying a carry pistol and are undecided about caliber choice, this is a good video to watch.
Flattest-Shooting Cartridges by Caliber (Ron Spomer)
In this 15-minute video, hunting expert Ron Spomer examines a variety of standard and wildcat cartridges from .17 caliber all the way to .338 caliber. For each caliber, Ron picks a flat-shooting “winner” and provides some ballistics comparison tables. This video is quite popular, with over 550,000 views on YouTube.
Ammo Types and Calibers — Jerry Miculek Explains the Basics
In this video, legendary shooter Jerry Miculek talks about popular types of pistol and rifle ammunition and the various bullet options used for plinking, competition, and self-defense. Jerry, one of the greatest pistol shooters on the planet, provides useful insights on cartridge selection and bullet choices. Jerry notes: “There are a TON of different types of ammunition” so he explains the basics. And Jerry answers common questions such as: “What is the difference between ball and hollow-point bullets?” and “What type of gun takes rimmed cartridge versus rimless?”.
.22 Caliber Rimfire Cartridges — Some Key Facts Revealed
We recommend all .22 rimfire shooters watch this video from Old English Outfitters. It explains some important facts and clarifies some common misconceptions about to .22 caliber ammunition. To learn more about modern .22 LR rimfire ammo, we also recommend the video below, which shows how CCI .22 LR ammunition is manufactured, start to finish.
BONUS Video — How .22 LR Ammunition Is Made
YouTube host 22Plinkster toured the CCI/Speer production facility in Lewiston, Idaho. While touring the plant, 22Plinkster was allowed to capture video showing the creation of .22 LR rounds from start to finish. This is a fascinating video, well worth watching.
This revealing video shows all phases of .22 LR ammo production including cupping, drawing, annealing, washing, drying, head-stamping, priming, powder charging, bullet seating, crimping, waxing, inspection, and final packaging. If you’ve got ten minutes to spare, we really recommend you watch the video from start to finish. You’ll definitely learn some new things about rimfire ammo.
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The better, up-to-date ballistics programs let you select either G1 or G7 Ballistic Coefficient (BC) values when calculating a trajectory. The ballistic coefficient (BC) of a body is a measure of its ability to overcome air resistance in flight. You’ve probably seen that G7 values are numerically lower than G1 values for the same bullet (typically). But that doesn’t mean you should select a G1 value simply because it is higher.
Drag Models — G7 is better than G1 for Long-Range Bullets
