caliber names

[More Juice]

I barely started getting into guns and ammo. No one could explain this to me either. Why do people use the name after the caliber? For example: .45 Colt, .357 Sig, 9mm Luger. I would think a 9mm is a 9mm, but why the Luger?

[freakshow10mm]

Normally the manufacturer or gun maker of the gun that the cartridge was designed for.

.45 Colt was a 45 caliber Colt revolver.

357 SIG was Sigarms idea in the SIG pistols.

9mm Luger was for the Luger pistol.

[More Juice]

Normally the manufacturer or gun maker of the gun that the cartridge was designed for.

.45 Colt was a 45 caliber Colt revolver.

357 SIG was Sigarms idea in the SIG pistols.

9mm Luger was for the Luger pistol.

Ok, if I have a 9mm does that mean I can use any 9mm? I noticed that 9mm theres Largo and Luger. So my 9mm Ruger, Glock, Sig, or HK can use both the Largo and Luger 9mm?

[freakshow10mm]

9mm Largo is different than 9mm Luger/Parabellum.

You want to buy 9mm Luger or 9mm Parabellum.

9mm Largo is for revolvers.

[ojisan]

Because this particular cartridge was first used in George Luger's pistol design. It is also known as the 9mm Parabellum and 9 x 19 NATO.
Lugers were brought home from WW1 by our troops and a not so common in the USA 9mm cartridge fit it, it was the "9mm for the Luger".

The naming of cartridges is very confusing.

Find a copy of " Cartridges of the World", it has a lot of fun historical info.

[jarhead995]

9mm luger was designed by georg luger and 357 sig was designed by Sig arms

[jdberger]

Ok, if I have a 9mm does that mean I can use any 9mm? I noticed that 9mm theres Largo and Luger. So my 9mm Ruger, Glock, Sig, or HK can use both the Largo and Luger 9mm?

Nope.

There's also 9mm Kurz (.380), 9mm Parabellum (9x19), 9x21, 9mm Makarov (9x18), etc.

Wait til you get into rifle calibers! 8mm Mauser ain't. .223 is really .224 inches.

So, to (not really) answer your question, .357 Sig differentiates the round from .357 Magnum.

9mm Luger is the same as 9mm Parabellum, but different from all the others. "Parabellum" translates to "for war". The Luger was one of the first commercially successful pistols chambered in that cartridge.

.45 Colt is different from .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) and .45 Short Colt, .45 Magnum, .454 Casull and a whole host of different .45 caliber rounds.

There's no short sweet formula for naming cartridges. A lot of it is simply marketing.

Welcome to the forum.

[jdberger]

9mm Largo is different than 9mm Luger/Parabellum.

You want to buy 9mm Luger or 9mm Parabellum.

9mm Largo is for revolvers.

Not necessarily correct.

This is chambered in 9mm Largo.



And if you go to the 9mm Largo site, not a single firearm on the front page is a revolver.

Finally, the round has a rebated rim which doesn't lend itself to use in revolvers without the use of moon clips.

[More Juice]

Nope.

There's also 9mm Kurz (.380), 9mm Parabellum (9x19), 9x21, 9mm Makarov (9x18), etc.

Wait til you get into rifle calibers! 8mm Mauser ain't. .223 is really .224 inches.

So, to (not really) answer your question, .357 Sig differentiates the round from .357 Magnum.

9mm Luger is the same as 9mm Parabellum, but different from all the others. "Parabellum" translates to "for war". The Luger was one of the first commercially successful pistols chambered in that cartridge.

.45 Colt is different from .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) and .45 Short Colt, .45 Magnum, .454 Casull and a whole host of different .45 caliber rounds.

There's no short sweet formula for naming cartridges. A lot of it is simply marketing.

Welcome to the forum.

You named a lot of different .45 ammo. Does that mean not all the 45's will fit in a .45 caliber gun? The interesting part is if you tell someone I have a 45, technically they wont know what type of 45 you have. So I cant go in the store n just ask for 45 cal ammo.

[Technical Ted]

Here's one for you: the bullets for the .357 Magnum and .38 Special cartridges are the same diameter.

[jdberger]

You named a lot of different .45 ammo. Does that mean not all the 45's will fit in a .45 caliber gun? The interesting part is if you tell someone I have a 45, technically they wont know what type of 45 you have. So I cant go in the store n just ask for 45 cal ammo.

you are correct.

If you have any doubt, bring the gun into the shop.

Make sure that you're transporting it legally and make sure that it's unloaded, too.

IIRC, .460 XVR is .45 caliber, too. And there area bunch of .45 rifle rounds....

[Technical Ted]

Think of it as caliber AND chamber design with an added spin to make the designers cartridge more marketable.

[More Juice]

thanks for the clarification guys. much appreciated.

i usually order ammo online, so hopefully I don't buy the wrong ones.

[Cokebottle]

You named a lot of different .45 ammo. Does that mean not all the 45's will fit in a .45 caliber gun? The interesting part is if you tell someone I have a 45, technically they wont know what type of 45 you have. So I cant go in the store n just ask for 45 cal ammo.

Correct.

The caliber refers only to the projectile's diameter (and as mentioned, even that may not be correct, IE, 38sp can be chambered and fired from a gun designed for a .357 Magnum).

So with the projectiles, you can have a conventional ball round, flat-nosed FMJ, or a "spiked" nose such as a common rifle round.
Some are compatible with the same casing for use in the same gun, others are not.

The casing itself may be only large enough to clamp the projectile, or it may be larger, but necked down to allow for more powder. Example, .357 Sig uses a projectile that is roughly .357" diameter, but it's powder casing is approximately the same diameter as a .40 S&W, with the casing necked down to .357. Some handguns can be converted between .357 Sig and .40 S&W by simply swapping out the barrel.

.357 Sig compared to a 10mm and a .40 S&W:


The .38sp round is approximately the same diameter as the .357 Magnum (IIRC, both are closer to .355"), but the Magnum's casing is longer than the 38sp casing.
BTW: The .38sp and .357 Mag are both 9.1mm... very close to the 9mm NATO round.
Not including the 9mm variants, there are at least 7 different .38 caliber rounds.

There's an additional .45 round that wasn't mentioned above... .45 GAP, which was designed specifically for the Glock .45.... it's a .45 caliber round, but the overall length is about the same as the 9mm Luger.

There's 3 or 4 different .22 casings as well... one used to be used in shooting galleries.

Now when you get into rifles... whoa boy.
30 caliber is 30 caliber?
There's at least 5 different 30 caliber rounds that I'm familiar with.... 30-06, 30-30, .308 Winchester/7.62x51, 7.62x39, etc.....

[Cokebottle]

thanks for the clarification guys. much appreciated.

i usually order ammo online, so hopefully I don't buy the wrong ones.

Post up what gun you have, someone on the forum will be more than happy to help you with what ammo it can use.