Tapering (firearms)

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In firearms,Tapering refers to components that narrow down, similar to that of a conical fashion hence the name taper. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Barrels

Tapered barrel of a cannon. En salutkanon.jpg
Tapered barrel of a cannon.

In barrels, this centralises mass to the operator. Not only to reduce weight from the muzzle but also to increase accuracy/acquisition and stabilise the balance handling of the weapon. Also the fact that chamber pressures are higher at the rear of the barrel.

Rifling

Tapered bore. Squeezebore Diagram Example.png
Tapered bore.

In rifling, a Tapered bore/Conical bore is where the caliber narrows off to increase velocity of the round.

Cartridges

Tapered rifle cartridge. Cartridge .303 British CC BY-SA 4.0 by Grasyl.jpg
Tapered rifle cartridge.

In cartridges, this usually helps in chambering/unloading the weapon. This differs than shouldering/bottlenecking [5] as this only refers to the case head of the cartridge that holds the projectile, whereas tapering usually refers to the angled sides of the cartridge.

See also

Related Research Articles

A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with both hands and braced firmly against the shooter's shoulder via a buttstock for stability during shooting. Rifles are used extensively in warfare, law enforcement, hunting, shooting sports, and crime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullet</span> Projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun

A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constructions, including specialized functions such as hunting, target shooting, training and combat. Bullets are often tapered, making them more aerodynamic. Bullet size is expressed by weight and diameter in both imperial and metric measurement systems. Bullets do not normally contain explosives but strike or damage the intended target by transferring kinetic energy upon impact and penetration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartridge (firearms)</span> Ammunition consisting of a casing, projectile, propellant, and primer

A cartridge or a round is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile, a propellant substance and an ignition device (primer) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for the practical purpose of convenient transportation and handling during shooting. Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often informally used to refer to a complete cartridge, it is correctly used only to refer to the projectile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rifling</span> Gunsmithing technique

In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the projectile longitudinally by conservation of angular momentum, improving its aerodynamic stability and accuracy over smoothbore designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air gun</span> Gun that uses compressed air to launch projectiles

An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles using energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized. This is in contrast to a firearm, which fires projectiles using energy created by burning combustible propellants, i.e. gunpowder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caliber</span> Internal diameter of the barrel of a gun

In guns, particularly firearms, caliber is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matches that specification. It is measured in inches or in millimeters. In the United States it is expressed in hundredths of an inch; in the United Kingdom in thousandths; and elsewhere in millimeters. For example, a "45 caliber" firearm has a barrel diameter of roughly 0.45 inches (11 mm). Barrel diameters can also be expressed using metric dimensions. For example, a "9 mm pistol" has a barrel diameter of about 9 millimeters. Since metric and US customary units do not convert evenly at this scale, metric conversions of caliber measured in decimal inches are typically approximations of the precise specifications in non-metric units, and vice versa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driving band</span>

A driving band or rotating band is a band of soft metal near the base of an artillery shell, often made of gilding metal, copper, or lead. When the shell is fired, the pressure of the propellant swages the metal into the rifling of the barrel and forms a seal; this seal prevents the gases from blowing past the shell, and engages the barrel's rifling to spin-stabilize the shell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breechloader</span> Class of gun

A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front (muzzle).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caseless ammunition</span> Type of weapon-cartridge

Caseless ammunition (CL), or rather caseless cartridge, is a configuration of weapon-cartridge that eliminates the cartridge case that typically holds the primer, propellant and projectile together as a unit. Instead, the propellant and primer are fitted to the projectile in another way so that a cartridge case is not needed, for example inside or outside the projectile depending on configuration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun barrel</span> Firearm component which guides the projectile during acceleration

A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small firearms, 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 caliber, usually measured in inches or millimetres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.22 Long Rifle</span> Common ammunition cartridge

The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smoothbore shotguns, and submachine guns.

Internal ballistics, a subfield of ballistics, is the study of the propulsion of a projectile.

Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accurizing</span> Process of improving the accuracy and precision of a gun

Accurizing is the process of improving the accuracy and precision of a gun.

In the field of firearms and airguns, obturation denotes necessary barrel blockage or fit by a deformed soft projectile. A bullet or pellet, made of soft material and often with a concave base, will flare under the heat and pressure of firing, filling the bore and engaging the barrel's rifling. The mechanism by which an undersized soft-metal projectile enlarges to fill the barrel is, for hollow-base bullets, expansion from gas pressure within the base cavity and, for solid-base bullets, "upsetting"—the combined shortening and thickening that occurs when a malleable metal object is struck forcibly at one end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Express (weaponry)</span> Term applicable to hunting rifles and ammunition

The term express was first applied to hunting rifles and ammunition beginning in the mid-19th century, to indicate a rifle or ammunition capable of higher than typical velocities. The early express cartridges used a heavy charge of black powder to propel a lightweight, often hollow point bullet, at high velocities to maximize point blank range. Later the express cartridges were loaded with nitrocellulose-based gunpowder, leading to the Nitro Express cartridges, the first of which was the .450 Nitro Express.

The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper cartridge</span> Various types of small arms ammunition

A paper cartridge is one of various types of small arms ammunition used before the advent of the metallic cartridge. These cartridges consisted of a paper cylinder or cone containing the bullet, gunpowder, and in some cases, a primer or a lubricating and anti-fouling agent. Combustible cartridges are paper cartridges that use paper treated with oxidizers to allow them to burn completely upon ignition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gun</span> Ranged weapon that shoots projectiles

A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid, gas or even charged particles. Solid projectiles may be free-flying or tethered. A large-caliber gun is also called a cannon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7.92×33mm Kurz</span>

The 7.92×33mm Kurz is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge developed in Nazi Germany prior to and during World War II, specifically intended for development of the Sturmgewehr 44. The ammunition is also referred to as 7.9mm Kurz, 7.9 Kurz, 7.9mmK, or 8×33 Polte. The round was developed as a compromise between the longer 7.92×57mm full-power rifle cartridge and the 9×19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge, and is the first mass-used intermediate cartridge in the world.

References

  1. "British Cannon Design 1600 - 1800".
  2. Tony DiGiulian. "Definitions and Information about Naval Guns". NavWeaps. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  3. "Naval Gun Barrel Construction".
  4. https://martellotowers.co.uk/cannon
  5. Cartridges and Firearm Identification By Robert E. Walker. CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-4665-0206-2 Ammunition Cartridges Page 47