Pellet (air gun)A pellet is a non-spherical projectile designed to be fired from an air gun, and an airgun that fires such pellets is commonly known as a pellet gun. Air gun pellets differ from bullets, shells and shot used in firearms and artillery in terms of the pressures encountered; airguns operate at pressures as low as 50 atmospheres, while firearms and artillery operate at thousands of atmospheres.
GunA gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be free-flying (as with bullets and artillery shells) or tethered (as with Tasers, spearguns and harpoon guns). A large-caliber gun is also called a cannon, while a hand-held gun may be called a firearm.
FirearmGun for an individualThe M16 rifle and the AK-47, two common firearms with significant influences on firearm designA firearm is any type of gun that shootsprojectiles using high explosive pressure generated from combustion (deflagration) of chemical propellant, most often black powder in antique firearms and smokeless powder in modern firearms. Small arms is a subset of light firearms that is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual.
.220 SwiftThe .220 Swift (5.56×56mmSR) is a semi-rimmed rifle cartridge developed by Winchester and introduced in 1935 for small game and varmint hunting. It was the first factory-loaded rifle cartridge with a muzzle velocity of over 1,200 m/s (4,000 ft/s).
Shell (projectile)A shell, in a modern military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer.
Gun barrelA gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as smallfirearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high-pressure gas(es) is used to propel a projectile out of the front end (muzzle) at a high velocity. The hollow interior of the barrel is called the bore, and the diameter of the bore is called its calibre, usually measured in inches or millimetres.Slug (projectile)A slug is a term used for a bulky solid ballistic projectile. It is "solid" in the sense of being composed of one piece; the shape can vary widely, including partially hollowed shapes. The term is occasionally applied to bullets (just the projectile, never the cartridge as a whole), but is most commonly applied to one-piece shotgun slugs, to differentiate them from shotshells containing numerous shots.
BulletA bullet is a type of projectile that is shot from the barrel of a firearm. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, including copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. They do not normally contain explosives, but are kinetic projectiles that strike or damage the target by transferring kinetic energy upon impact and penetration.
ProjectileA projectile is launched by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found in warfare and sports (for example, a thrown baseball, kicked football, fired bullet, shot arrow, a ball from a cannon, stone released from catapult, etc.).
MusketA musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that used black powder and appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually disappeared as the use of heavy armour declined, but musketeers continued as the generic term for smoothbore long guns until the mid-19th century.
Round shotA round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a large-caliber gun is also called a cannonball. The cast iron cannonball was introduced by French artillery engineers after 1450; it had the capacity to reduce traditional English castle wall fortifications to rubble.
Shot (pellet)Shot is a collective term for small spheres or pellets, often made of lead. These have been projected from slings since ancient times and were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and grenade launchers, while they are less commonly used in riot guns. Shot shells are also available in many handgun calibers in a configuration known as "birdshot", "rat shot", or "snake shot".*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.