Metallic cartridge

A self-contained firearm cartridge with a metal case that holds a primer, propellant, and projectile. Its case contains firing components and helps seal the chamber during firing.

Cartridge case: The container that holds a cartridge’s primer and propellant and positions its projectile. It houses the components and expands against the chamber wall to help seal escaping gas.
Firing pin: A firearm component that strikes a cartridge primer to initiate ignition. Its impact starts the cartridge’s firing sequence by setting off the primer.
Flintlock: A firearm ignition system that produces sparks by striking flint against steel. It predates self-contained metallic cartridges, requiring separate loading of powder and projectile.
Rimfire ammunition: Ammunition whose priming compound is distributed inside the rim of its cartridge case. It contrasts with centerfire cartridges, where the primer sits in the case head’s center.
.22 Long Rifle: A rimfire cartridge introduced in 1887 and widely used in small-caliber rifles and handguns. It is a common example of a compact metallic rimfire cartridge.
Primer (firearms): An impact-sensitive ignition component that starts the propellant burning in a firearm cartridge. The primer turns a firing pin’s strike into the flame that ignites the propellant.
Internal ballistics: The study of projectile motion and pressure changes inside a firearm before the projectile exits the muzzle. It describes how propellant gas accelerates the bullet while the case seals the chamber.
Percussion cap: A small metal cup containing a shock-sensitive explosive, used to ignite a firearm’s powder charge. It helped make percussion ignition practical before the primer was integrated into a cartridge.
Centerfire ammunition: Ammunition with a separate primer seated in the center of the cartridge case head. It is the principal primer arrangement used in modern metallic cartridges.
9×19mm Parabellum: A centerfire pistol cartridge developed by Georg Luger and introduced in 1902. Its straight-walled case is a widely used example of service-pistol ammunition.

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