The 17 Hornet is an interesting cartridge in that it has two different stories to tell. On one hand, the first 17 Hornet was developed by famed cartridge developer P.O. Ackley all the way back in the 1950s. Ackley took a 22 Hornet and necked it down to accept a 17 caliber projectile. The Ackley […]
6.5X55 Swedish Mauser Ballistics
6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser: The 6.5X55mm Swedish Mauser was developed in 1893 by a joint Swedish/Norwegian commission and officially adopted by those countries as the military cartridge. Soon thereafter it became a popular sporting cartridge and was used for target shooting, including Olympic free rifle competition. It was virtually unknown in the United States until the […]
357 SIG VS 357 Magnum
I see in gun groups and forums that there is confusion surrounding 357 Mag and 357 SIG. Some folks have bought one or the other, needing the one they DIDN’T buy, and were confused when they got it home. Other folks just want to know the differences between these two cartridges or find out which […]
32 ACP Ballistics
The 32 ACP is an old cartridge dating back to the late 1800s. It was developed by genius inventor John Browning in 1899 and put into wide use starting with the FN Model 1900 pistols. It is also sometimes referred to as the 7.65 Browning. The 32 ACP was a very popular cartridge with hundreds […]
257 Weatherby Magnum Ballistics
257 Weatherby Magnum: The 257 Weatherby Magnum was introduced to the public in the mid 1940’s by Roy Weatherby as one of his original cartridges and his personal favorite as well. The 257 Weatherby Magnum cartridge case itself is the 300 H&H magnum case that has been necked down to 25 caliber. It was blown […]
223 Remington Ballistics (Chart, History, Uses)
The 223 Remington is a centerfire rifle cartridge that is a .22″ caliber, rimless, bottleneck cartridge case design that can be reloaded. Rifles chambered in this round have a barrel bore land to land diameter of .219″ and a bore groove to groove diameter of .224″. The 223 Remington was introduced to the public as […]
450 Marlin Ballistics Chart, History
The 450 Marlin cartridge was developed as a “modern” replacement for the 45-70 Government cartridge. It is a relatively recent, and also short lived as Marlin has not made the 1895 Lever action in 450 for a couple years, big bore and big game hunting cartridge. 450 Marlin’s Purpose: Part of the problem, as Marlin […]
25 ACP Ballistics Charts
What is 25 ACP? The 25 Automatic Colt Pistol, or 25 ACP, is one of John Browning‘s lesser known creations. It is a 25 caliber centerfire pistol cartridge that usually shoots projectiles between 30 and 50 grains in weight. The 25 ACP was designed back in 1905 for Fabrique Nationale’s Pocket Pistol. The little pistol […]
40 S&W Ballistics Chart
The 40 S&W is a relatively recent pistol cartridge with a fairly rich history. In the 1980s the FBI looked for a replacement for the cartridges of the time. The available cartridges were not as strong, ballistically, as they wanted. Proving this, was a shootout that took place between the FBI and some bad guys […]