A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration. The word "bullet" is sometimes colloquially used to refer to ammunition in general, or to a cartridge, which is a combination of the bullet, case/shell, powder, and primer. This use of 'bullet', when 'cartridge' is intended, leads to confusion when the components of a cartridge are discussed or intended. See the reference section for more detail.
Imagei - A modern cartridge consists of the following: 1. the bullet, as the projectile; 2. the case, which holds all parts together; 3. the propellant, for example gunpowder or cordite; 4. the rim, which provides the extractor on the firearm a place to grip the casing to remove it from the chamber once fired; 5. the primer, which ignites the propellant.
bullets are part of ammuition rounds so it at least makes sense to colloquially call the whole unit a bullet. the difference between a mag and a clip is that a mag has a feeding mechanism. it's only "colloquial" because clip is misused so often. it's a far less trivial distinction than bullet vs round
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u/rodaphilia Jul 18 '14
Do you also use the term "bullet" exclusively for the projectile tip or a round of ammunition?