What is the difference between a Boxer capsule and a Berdan capsule? Boxer and Berdan capsules and cartridges. Concept and classification of ammunition for small firearms Is a bullet an ammunition
Through expert examination of ammunition, bullets and cartridges, it is possible to establish not only their homogeneity or differences, but also a single source of origin. In this regard, the examination of homemade cartridges is of particular interest, due to both the methods of their manufacture and the specifics of the materials used. Such materials include individual parts of ammunition intended for various types of weapons, homemade bullets and cartridges. Moreover, the powder charge in them often consists of those types of gunpowder that are the most affordable in terms of their acquisition (for example, smoky or smokeless hunting powder, intended for small-caliber cartridges, etc.).
On spent bullets of homemade cartridges, traces of the rifling fields of the bore are most clearly displayed if the bullet is sufficiently smooth (without large defects) and its diameter corresponds to the caliber of the firearm or slightly exceeds it.
When making bullets for homemade cartridges, low-melting metals and their alloys are often used. At the same time, practice knows many cases when balls from bearings, as well as steel blanks turned on a lathe, etc., were used as the starting material for these purposes.
For the manufacture of homemade cartridges, both homemade and factory-made cartridge cases are used. In the latter case, based on the material, dimensions, as well as the design and marking of the cartridge case, it is possible to determine the type, caliber and sample of not only the cartridge, but also the weapon for which this cartridge is intended. Moreover, by the markings of the cartridge case, one can determine the manufacturer (state, company, factory) of the cartridge to which this cartridge case belongs.
Establishing the fact of homemade cartridge case production, as a rule, occurs based on the following signs: irregular shape of the bottoms and capsule sockets, traces of rough surface treatment, non-standard sizes of individual parts, significant deviations from the standards in weight and unusual material, lack of markings.
Quite often in practice there are cases of expert examination of reloaded cartridges for rifled firearms. They usually replace the primer, after which gunpowder is poured in and a bullet (homemade or part of the same cartridge) is inserted. Moreover, the fastening of the bullet in the cartridge case when reloading cartridges in a homemade manner is usually done roughly and is therefore easily distinguishable from the factory version even upon visual inspection. The capsules inserted into the sockets of the bottoms of the cartridge cases, in most cases, do not correspond to them in size, so criminals often resort to boring the socket in diameter and depth, sawing off the surfaces of the capsules, and also using various devices to place the capsules in the sockets, leaving marks in the form of scratches , dents, metal shifts, etc. In this regard, experts are often asked the question of the uniformity of the manufacture and equipment of homemade cartridges. To answer this question, a thorough study of the design of the cartridges submitted for research is carried out, the type and qualitative composition of the material from which they are made is determined. In some cases, based on traces of processing on parts of cartridges, with the help of trace studies, the tool that left these traces is identified. The expert research process in this case includes the following stages:
1) external inspection of cartridges;
2) radiographic examination of them;
3) unloading cartridges and studying their contents;
4) the use of chemical and physical-technical methods for studying individual parts of cartridges (bullets, cartridges, wads, primers and powder charge);
5) formulating conclusions and drawing up an expert opinion.
The solution of identification problems is largely due to the so-called experimental shootings carried out during expert studies. It is important to note that shooting with homemade cartridges is somewhat different from shooting with other substitute cartridges, especially in the preparatory part. The fact is that in order to obtain preliminary information about the combat qualities of a firearm, as well as samples to identify it by marks on bullets and cartridges, it is necessary to fire at least 3-5 shots. However, in practice, cases when a sufficient amount of ammunition can be confiscated from a criminal along with a weapon are quite rare. In this regard, experts often resort to either home-made cartridges similar to those featured in the case, or adapt the most suitable factory cartridges for experimental shooting, the quality of which allows them to obtain fairly reliable information during expert research.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the examination of homemade cartridges has a number of features due to:
a) the multiplicity of marks formed on the surface of bullets, cartridges and primers as a result of the use of various tools during the manufacture, reloading and adjustment of these cartridges;
6) the specificity of the mechanism of mark formation, caused by the non-standard parts of cartridges and various kinds of deviations in their structural and ballistic properties;
c) display on the leading part of the bullet when it is reused for firing from a rifled weapon of two groups of traces of the rifling fields, from which it is necessary to select the more “fresh” ones;
d) the impossibility in some cases of obtaining samples for comparative research.
Moreover, when ordering a ballistic forensic examination, the investigator must remember that in some cases, identifying firearms based on marks on homemade bullets made of soft alloys is practically impossible, since when they hit a hard obstacle, they are greatly deformed.
When ordering an examination of ammunition, bullets and cartridges, the investigator can formulate the following questions.
Regarding cartridges:
1. Is the object submitted for research a cartridge?
2. What type of firearm is it intended for?
3. What model of weapon is this cartridge intended for?
4. What is the caliber of the weapon that this cartridge can be fired from?
5. In what weapons can it be used as a substitute cartridge?
6. How is the cartridge under study made?
7. Does it show signs of re-equipment?
8. Is the specified cartridge suitable for firing shots?
9. Where and when (country, company, manufacturer, year of manufacture) was this cartridge manufactured?
10. Is the specified cartridge ammunition?
11. Do the components of the presented cartridges (cases, shot, wads, etc.) have a common source of origin?
In relation to bullets and fragments of rifled firearms:
1. What cartridge is the bullet submitted for examination a part of?
2. Does this bullet have ricochet marks?
3. Are there any marks on the bullet indicating its contact with a solid barrier?
4. Does the bullet show any marks from the bore of the weapon?
5. Are these traces suitable for identifying a specific weapon?
6. What model of weapon was the bullet fired from?
7. Was the bullet fired from the weapon submitted for examination?
8. Were the bullets recovered from different crime scenes fired from the same weapon?
9. Is the presented fragment part of the bullet, and if so, which one (jacket, shell, core)?
10. What model cartridge bullet is part of the fragment presented for research?
11. What is the caliber of the weapon from which the bullet is intended, a fragment of which is being submitted for examination?
12. Are there any traces of the bore on the fragment of the bullet casing, and if so, what model of weapon was this bullet fired from?
13. Are these traces suitable for identifying weapons?
14. Was the bullet, the shell fragment of which was submitted for examination, fired from a specific weapon?
In relation to cartridge cases for smooth-bore or rifled firearms:
1. What model cartridge is the cartridge case submitted for examination a part of?
2. In what way (industrial, homemade) is it made?
3. What kind of primer is the cartridge case equipped with?
4. How is the primer placed in the cartridge case (for cartridges for smooth-bore weapons)?
5. Was the primer loaded into the case using a specific tool?
6. Does the cartridge case bear traces of parts of the weapon in which it was shot?
7. What model of weapon was the cartridge fired in?
8. Is the cartridge case submitted for examination unfired in a specific weapon?
9. Were the shell casings found at different locations fired from the same weapon?
10. Are there any traces of misfire on the primer of the cartridge case?
11. Do the bullet and cartridge case submitted for examination belong to the same cartridge?
12. What type of projectile was the cartridge loaded with, the cartridge case of which is being submitted for examination (for disposable cartridge cases for smooth-bore weapons)?
13. What kind of gunpowder was loaded into the cartridge, the case of which is presented to the expert? Regarding the components of cartridges for smoothbore hunting rifles:
1. What is the bullet model?
2. What caliber weapon is this bullet intended for chambering?
3. Does the bullet show any marks from the bore of the weapon?
4. What caliber weapon was this bullet fired from?
5. What is the number of the shot (buckshot) submitted for research?
6. Are there any traces of a weapon bore on it?
7. What caliber weapon was this shot (buckshot) fired from?
8. Is the bullet (shot, buckshot) submitted for examination suitable for identifying a weapon and, if so, was it fired from a specific specimen?
9. What is the method of making a bullet (shot, buckshot)?
10. Is the chemical composition of the shot (buckshot) found at different locations the same?
11. For loading cartridges for firearms of what caliber are the wads (gaskets) submitted for expert examination intended?
12. From what material and in what way are they made?
13. Are the components of the cartridges presented at the expert’s disposal (bullets, shot, buckshot, wads, gaskets) made using specific tools?
14. Are there any marks on the wads (spacers) indicating the type of projectile?
More on the topic §8. Examination of ammunition, bullets and cartridges:
- § 7. Crimes against public safety involving violation of the rules for handling weapons, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices
- Expertise in a case of an administrative offense
- 4.2 Capabilities of forensic units for conducting forensic examinations
- Examination of the constituent documents of the audited entity
- 5. Interrogation of an expert and specialist and forensic examination
- Examination of business contracts for compliance with legislation
- Codes of the Russian Federation - Legal encyclopedias - Copyright - Advocacy - Administrative law - Administrative law (abstracts) - Arbitration process - Banking law - Budget law - Currency law - Civil procedure - Civil law - Contract law - Housing law - Housing issues - Land right -
Currently, in the legal literature, methodological manuals and recommendations there is no single approach to the definition of the concept of “ammunition”. Until the mid-80s of the XX century. the term “ammunition” was understood unambiguously. In methodological recommendations, manuals, educational and reference literature, it was applied to cartridges used in combat, sporting and hunting weapons.
The concept of “ammunition supply” was revealed from the point of view of public danger, taking into account the semantic content of the concept, especially since the legislator previously provided and now provides for liability for the illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of firearms, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices (Part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Forensic scientists have identified the signs by which objects belong to the category of ammunition. These characteristics included: intended to hit a target by shooting or exploding with gunpowder or another explosive, causing damage with a projectile (when fired from a firearm), fragments, or using high-explosive, thermal or other effects; the presence of the design of the object and the power of the explosive charge, providing a real possibility of hitting the target (inflicting bodily harm, destroying barriers, etc.); presence of an ignition device; disposable nature of use.
Based on the foregoing, it was determined that “from a forensic point of view, ammunition includes disposable means (items) intended to directly hit a target with a projectile, fragments or using high-explosive, thermal and other effects as a result of the explosion of gunpowder or other explosives, having an igniting device and in their design and charge power, providing a real possibility of hitting a target.”
Currently, judicial practice classifies artillery shells and mines, military-engineering demolition charges and mines, hand and rocket-propelled anti-tank grenades, military missiles, aerial bombs, etc. as ammunition. regardless of the presence or absence of means of initiating an explosion, intended to destroy targets, as well as all types of ammunition for firearms, regardless of caliber, manufactured industrially or homemade.
Considering the concepts of “ammunition” and “cartridge”, it should be noted that in Art. 1 of the current Federal Law “On Weapons” provides separate definitions of the concepts of “ammunition” and “cartridge”:
Ammunition - weapons and projectile equipment intended to hit a target and containing explosive, propelling, pyrotechnic or expelling charges or a combination thereof.
A cartridge is a device designed to be fired from a weapon, combining into one unit, using a cartridge case, the means of initiation, the propellant charge and the projectile equipment.
Unfortunately, it is not specified what targets the ammunition is intended to hit and whether the cartridges belong to them. Moreover, this law is characterized by the limitations of the provisions set out in it and the exclusion from the law of criminal legal problems of weapons trafficking.
Analysis of the above definitions shows the need to decipher the terms and definitions of “weapons” and “throwable equipment” introduced by the legislator. Their different interpretations in numerous subsequent comments on the law, as well as the ambiguity of the understanding of ammunition in various regulatory documents, prompted criminologists to develop this concept from the point of view of tasks solved by forensic ballistics and forensic explosives. Therefore, we believe that the concepts of ammunition and cartridge can be formulated as follows.
Ammunition is a single-use item intended for mechanical destruction of a target with a projectile, fragments or using high-explosive, thermal, chemical or other effects and containing explosive, propelling, pyrotechnic or expelling charges or a combination thereof.
A cartridge is an ammunition for small firearms, which is an assembly unit generally consisting of a propellant element, a propellant charge, a means of initiation and a cartridge case.
From the above definitions it follows that all types of industrial and home-made cartridges for various small firearms, regardless of caliber, with the exception of cartridges that do not have a striking element and are not intended to hit a target, belong to the category of ammunition.
Based on their design features and intended purpose, ammunition can be divided into two groups:
- ammunition for small arms and artillery systems (cartridges and artillery shells);
- mines, hand grenades, rockets, aerial bombs, various explosive devices, etc.
Forensic examination of artillery shells, mines, grenades, and so on is carried out within the framework of explosives examination, and cartridges for small firearms are among the objects of forensic ballistic examination.
In the general case, a unitary cartridge as a multicomponent assembly unit consists of a thrown element (bullet, shot, buckshot), a propellant (powder) charge, an initiation means (igniter capsule) and a cartridge case that structurally combines all of the above elements.
Since small arms cartridges are ammunition, they must meet a combination of the following defining characteristics:
- constructive purpose to hit a target by shooting;
- use for shot energy of a powder or other charge;
- inflicting damage from a projectile (shot, buckshot);
- disposable nature use.
The above does not allow classify as ammunition:
- their individual elements, presented in isolation (case, capsule, bullet, wad, etc.);
- cartridges not intended to hit a target (gas, lighting, blank, training, noise, signal, construction and installation cartridges).
In particular, the industry produces cartridges intended for killing livestock in slaughterhouses, which are similar in appearance and design to some pistol and revolver cartridges. However, these cartridges are not ammunition, as they are intended for firing from special tools and devices that are not firearms.
Classification of cartridges for small firearms can be made on various grounds.
For civilian weapons
For service weapons
Auxiliary
Combat cartridges are used in military weapons and are intended to destroy manpower and equipment; for civilian weapons- used in sports and hunting weapons for sports and hunting; for service weapons- intended for use in service weapons. Auxiliary cartridges include single, training, exemplary, high pressure, with enhanced charge. They will be described in more detail below.
Homemade
Industrial
p> Homemade- cartridges loaded independently from elements manufactured entirely in a home-made manner or using both individual and all industrially produced elements, as well as converted industrially produced cartridges.Industrial- cartridges manufactured at specialized cartridge factories.
Unitary
Non-unitary
Caseless
Unitary- all elements of the cartridges are connected by means of a sleeve.
Non-unitary- the projectile is not attached to the cartridge case, but is placed in the barrel or chamber separately from the other elements.
Caseless- a combustible primer and a bullet are placed inside a compressed charge that performs the functions of a cartridge case (for example, a 4.7 mm cartridge for the experimental Heckler automatic rifle in the Koch G11), which will be discussed below.
Hairpin
Rimfire
Central fire
In hairpin cartridges, the primer composition is placed inside the powder charge in the case body and is ignited when the trigger strikes a pin protruding from the side wall of the case body (obsolete Lefoshe hairpin cartridges). In cartridges rimfire the primer composition is pressed from the inside into the edges of the bottom of the sleeve around the perimeter of the circumference (for example, 5.6 mm sporting and hunting cartridges). In centerfire cartridges, the primer composition is placed inside a special housing - the primer, in the center of the bottom of the cartridge case.
Types of cartridges (from left to right): Lefoshe hairpin cartridge; 5.6 mm rimfire cartridges; centerfire cartridges
Regular cartridges are structurally designed for use in a specific model of small firearms. In its turn, supernumerary those cartridges are considered to be those that are used in weapons for which they are not intended, that do not correspond to the dimensional characteristics, that do not ensure the correct operation of the automation and the durability of the service parts of the weapon. You need to know that in some cases a weapon can be fired even when using a non-standard cartridge with a caliber larger than the caliber of the weapon barrel (for example, a cartridge for a 9 mm PM pistol can be fired from a 7.62 mm TT pistol).
Non-standard
Replacement cartridges
It is also customary to select substitute cartridges that correspond in their dimensional characteristics to the parameters of the barrel, but do not ensure the correct operation of the weapon’s automation, which leads to delays, failures, and accelerated wear of parts.
For rifled firearms
For smoothbore firearms
For combination firearms
Pistol
Revolving
Intermediate
Rifle
Rifle
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5 -.38 Special; 6 -.357 Magnum; 7 -.41 Magnum; 8 -.38-44 WCF; 9 -.44 Special; 10 -.44 Magnum; 11 -.455 Webley Mk.ll; 12 -.45 Shofield; 13 -.45 Colt (.45 LC); 14 -.454 Casull; 15 -.500 SW Magnum Intermediate cartridges: 1 - caseless 4.9 DM 11; 2 - 4.6x36 NK experimental; 3 - 4.85x49 Enfield; 4 - 5.45x39 7N6; 5 -.222 Remington Special; 6 -.224 Winchester E2 experimental; 7 - 5.56x45 NATO; 8 - 5.56x45 /.223 Rem composite; 9 - 5.8x42 DAB 87; 10 - 6x45 US SAW experimental; 11 - 6x49 Universal experimental; 12-25 Winchester FA-T110 experimental; 13-6.5 Grendel; 14-6.8 Remington SPC; 15 - 7x43 FN /.230/30 British; 16 - 7.62x39 M43; 17 - 7.62x45 Vz.52; 18 - 7.92x33 PP Kurz; 19 - 9x39 SP5; 20 - 9x39 SP6
Rifle cartridges: 1 - 7.65x53 Argentinean Mauser; 2 -.30-06 US; 3 -.300 Winchester Magnum; 4 -.303 British; 5 - 7.7x58 Japanese Arisaka; 6 - 7.92x57 Mauser; 7 - 8x50R Austrian Mannlicher; 8 - 8x50R Lebel; 9 - 8x56R Hungarian Mannlicher; 10 - 8x59 Breda; 11 - 8x63 Swedish; 12 -.338 Lapua Magnum; 15 - 9.3x64 (9CH)
At first glance, a hunting cartridge for a smooth-bore weapon, like its main elements - a primer, a cartridge case, a wad and others, seems to be a simple product from a layman's point of view compared to, say, a TV or a computer. However, experts are unlikely to agree with this, since each of the components included in the throwing and throwing parts of the cartridge has its own technical features. And if in the thrown part the projectile (shot, bullet) and wad determine the external ballistic characteristics, then the elements of the throwing part - the cartridge case, the powder charge and the igniter capsule are responsible for both the internal and external ballistics of the shot.
And yet, without diminishing the importance of all elements, it should be recognized that the heart of the cartridge is the igniter primer (HF). It is he who carries out the initiating, initially driving force, its influence affects all components of the cartridge, and at the same time, the HF is responsible for external communication, that is, interaction with the trigger mechanism of the gun.
In one of the American patents for HF, in the descriptive part, the authors claim that in terms of the complexity of the design and principle of operation, the HF is comparable to a camera. Whether to argue with this statement or not - we invite our reader to decide.
In this chapter we will consider the design characteristics of domestic and foreign igniter primers and make a comparative assessment of them.
In practice, two types of HF design are known: anvil-free (Berdan type) and with a built-in anvil (Boxer type).
The first type includes the traditional primer, which has changed little since its inception (1828) and is widely used in cartridges for domestic small arms and weapons in most countries of the world. This capsule goes well with a metal sleeve made integral with a rigid anvil.
The same type should include the hunting KV TsBO, intended for reusable brass cartridges or ordinary cartridges, but with a special anvil insert 05.67
The most widespread is the Gevelot HF, the progenitor and typical representative of the anvil type, born by the French company Gevelot. For many years - until the early 70s - this HF almost single-handedly monopolized the market.
If we talk about today, then none of the European countries that produce hunting ammunition and their elements, as well as companies on the American continent, produce or use a capsule of this configuration. In our country, KV "Zhevelo" occupied a dominant position just a few years ago. However, at the end of the 80s, a serious alternative to it appeared. In the course of further discussion, the attentive reader will obviously be able to understand the reasons for the decline in the prestige of this ancient capsule.
In the early 70s, a new anvil-type HF began to appear on the hunting ammunition market, which bore very little resemblance to its counterpart. This capsule was named “Winchester” after the American company that created it.
With minor differences of an unprincipled nature, the same HF was produced by another US company - Remington. The “Winchester” capsule is made according to a fundamentally different constructive “Winchester” design than the HF “Zhevelo”: the anvil has a flat shape and is sent into the shell under tension (in the HF “Zhevelo” the anvil is cylindrical, rolled from a brand, and is inserted into loose fit shell); a cap filled with an impact-igniting composition (the so-called “small capsule”) is rigidly fixed in the shell due to a press fit (in the Zhevelo HF the small capsule moves freely); the sinking of the small CV relative to the plane of the shell flange is strictly regulated (0...0.10 mm); the design of the shell eliminates the rolling of the barrel, which in Zhevelo holds all the elements of the primer.
The use of such a design scheme made it possible to provide the Winchester KV with serious advantages over its predecessor, which boil down to the following: increased inertial resistance against unauthorized operation in self-loading guns and under accidental mechanical impact; eliminating the anvil from flying out during the operation of the primer due to the impossibility of flaring the barrel and thereby eliminating the breaking (crushing) of the front grains of the charge; “calibration” of the initiating pulse to the powder charge when a heat flow passes through a shell hole of constant cross-section.
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These advantages ultimately led to a qualitative improvement in the stability of the primer in terms of both reliability of failure-free operation and safety, and the impact on the ballistic characteristics of the cartridge (pressure stability and firing speed). In turn, these circumstances allowed the Winchester KV to oust the Zhevelo KV from the world market and almost completely take its place in the mounting sockets of hunting cartridge casings in the vast majority of countries that produce such products. An igniter capsule with a flat anvil (with a seat diameter of 6.12...6.17 mm) is currently manufactured, and in some cases exported, by many well-known European and American companies: “Fiocchi”, “Mirage”, “ Clever" - Italy; "Cheditte" - France; “Leu” - England, E5P - Spain; "Winchester", "Remington" - USA; "Star" - Yugoslavia and others.
In the USSR, a primer igniter of a similar design with a flat anvil was developed in 1978, but for the overall dimensions of the Zhevelo KV (landing diameter 5.62...5.67 mm), with a different formulation of the impact ignition composition (IMC) for domestic Sokol gunpowder and domestic operating conditions at a temperature of ±50 °C. It should be immediately clarified that foreign HFs, due to their UVS formulation, are not intended for Russian winter hunting. The domestic capsule of a new design was named KV-21. Later, a capsule of a similar design was developed for the seat of a European cartridge case, which was called the KV-22.
Serial production of the KV-21 began only in 1989, that is, 11 years after its development, in Leningrad. Such a long-term oblivion can only be explained by the paradoxes of the Soviet economy, for which consumer qualities, competitiveness and market conditions were purely secondary concepts when it came to preserving established technology and it was possible not to invest additional resources.
So, a capsule with a flat anvil of the “Winchester” type or KV-21 (KV-22) made by numerous companies in different countries is a favorite of the market for sporting and hunting ammunition for smooth-bore shotguns. But not undeniable. The Belgian company Lachous-see, which has gained wide popularity for its new technologies, has developed and proposed for production an original capsule design consisting of two components: a shell made integral with the anvil, and a small HF - Lachoussee HF.
The advantage of such a design over the design of a three-component HF (with an autonomous anvil) is undoubtedly, but is not fundamental. Most likely, the effect is associated with an advance in the technology of manufacturing the anvil shell, but this remains the company’s secret, which it carefully guards. In any case, in addition to the Belgians, a similar design, apparently under license, is produced by the Polish company Olympic.
Now that our reader can consider himself an expert on hunting primers, at least in comparison with those who have not read everything that is written here, we can safely move on to an in-depth disclosure of the main technical characteristics of the means of igniting hunting cartridges.
It should be emphasized that we will only talk about the three most important and useful characteristics of capsules for a hunter. So, three characteristics of the HF: the energy of trouble-free operation, necessary for firing a gun without misfires. This parameter is influenced by many design factors: the sensitivity of the explosive to impact, the configuration of the anvil and the method of its fastening, the method of fastening the small primer in the shell, the material and thickness of the bottom of the cap, as well as the height of the press-in of the igniter composition in the cap and the inertial output of the firing pin of the gun trigger. We will no longer abuse the reader’s attention and say that a good capsule should have 100% operation at an impact energy of 0.25 J and not react in any way, that is, be safe, at an impact energy of 0.03 J. These are the parameters that HF leading cartridges have European companies and our domestic KV-21 and KV-22. For information, it is necessary to inform that the minimum trigger energy of a new domestic smoothbore gun, regardless of the brand, should not be less than 0.35 J. It was not possible to obtain such data for guns from foreign manufacturers; initiating a thermal impulse from the primer to the powder charge. This is a very important and very difficult parameter to study. It determines whether the capsule, under different temperature conditions, is capable of igniting a powder charge from powders with a wide range of properties (“blunt”, “sharp”, sphere, plate, channel, with a thick and thin arch, etc.). The resulting characteristic of the thermal impulse of the primer in “commonwealth” with the powder charge is the ignition delay time of the latter, estimated in most cases as the time from the moment the trigger striker impacts the HF until the pressure in the loading chamber (chamber) increases to a level of 5 MPa (50 kgf/cm2) . The ignition delay time (t3), which links into a single unit the thermodynamics of the combustion products of the primer's carbon dioxide and the thermophysical parameters of the gunpowder, has a decisive influence on all the ballistic characteristics of the cartridge: maximum pressure, the front of its increase, the total time of the shot, the speed of the projectile (shot, bullet) and muzzle pressure. Theoretically, t3 can only be calculated by implementing the mathematical model on an electronic computer. Number lovers should know that for a good cartridge t3 is in the range of 300...400 µs. Concepts such as “dull” gunpowder, delay in transmitting impulse to gunpowder – “spitting”, a dull shot, strong recoil and others, which are common among hunters and stand-up athletes, found engineering content and a physical explanation in parameter t3; At first glance, the rusting effect of trigger products on the bore of a gun seems to be a separate characteristic. However, behind this requirement is the UVS formulation, and therefore the associated calorific value and sensitivity of the primer. Analysis of UVS formulations is a topic for a separate study; here we will only touch upon the problem of rust-proofness.
In the practice of producing impact ignition agents, two initiating explosives (IEVs) have found the most widespread use: a salt of styphnic acid - lead styphnate or lead trinitroresorcinate (TNRS) and a salt of explosive acid - mercury fulminate (Gy). But neither TNRS, nor Gr, nor any other explosive is capable of single-handedly solving the problem of ignition from a shock pulse with subsequent ignition of a powder charge. To do this, it is necessary to bring into the IVV “company” at least two or more components as a fuel, an oxidizer, a sensitizer (increasing excitability), as well as various additives that increase or decrease the gas and condensed phases in the heat flow from the primer to the gunpowder. We will not list all these components; their set is quite large (several dozen). Let us name only the most commonly used components in stoicheometric mixtures of impact-ignition compositions:
antimony trisulfide (antimonium) Sb2S3; T
potassium chlorate (Berthollet salt) KS1O3;
barium nitrate Ba2NO3.
This is enough to reveal the essence of the described characteristics of the capsule.
The great-grandfather and favorite of all UVS compositions, which dominated the world for more than a century (until the middle of the 20th century), was a capsule composition of three chemical compounds: fulminate of mercury, berthollet salt, and antimonium. We deliberately omit the percentage ratio in the mechanical mixture of these components, due to the fact that since its birth, thanks to the French chemist of the 19th century, Bertoleo, it has undergone several modifications.
Having lulled the reader's vigilance with this, most likely tedious, information, we will finally reveal the essence of the non-rustability of HF combustion products. The fact is that it was the explosive compound that turned out to be the number one enemy of the most expensive part of the weapon - the barrel, on the inner surface of which a hard-to-clean mercury amalgam settled. And the corrosion that then appeared (potassium chloride knows its stuff) in a short time turned men’s favorite toy into rusty iron. Therefore, it is extremely undesirable, if not to say unacceptable, to use capsules filled with explosive mercury composition in sporting and hunting cartridges, despite its significant advantages, primarily due to the high temperature of explosive transformation - 2000 K. An alternative to explosive mercury composition has long been found, it consists in the use of barium nitrate and other additives in the TNRS UVS, which make the composition hotter and create the ability to regulate the thermodynamic characteristics of the capsule and its sensitivity to the shock pulse. And this is very important, because the means of ignition have to, like individuals of the most ancient profession, satisfy both the diversity in the percussion mechanisms of guns and the variations between “dull” and “sharp” gunpowder, ensuring their ignition both in Africa (+50 ° C) and in the Yakut tundra (-50 °C), etc.
Hunting caps from all well-known foreign companies are equipped with non-rusting compounds, but their incendiary ability in Russian winter hunting conditions is extremely problematic. Domestic KV-21 and KV-22 also do not contain rusting compounds in the reaction products. The “Zhevelo” capsule has two modifications: “Zhevelo N” - non-rusting and “Zhevelo M” - filled with the same explosive composition.
Now the reader knows almost everything about primers and can make the right choice of igniter for his cartridge.
February 17, 2018It is clear that you cannot design the same rifle without having a cartridge for it. It is also clear that for the method of loading a weapon from the muzzle, pouring gunpowder into it, and then inserting a bullet, we are unlikely to find an author known to mankind. His name, like the name of the inventor of the wheel, has long since sunk into oblivion. The inventor of a capsule with a composition of mercury fulminate in a metal cap was more fortunate. It is known that it was invented by the American D. Shaw in 1814.
Unitary cartridges have opened up amazing opportunities for weapon creators. Well, how else could this pistol designed by a certain Needle have appeared? Just look: the bolt cocking handle is... the firing mechanism itself, together with the trigger guard bracket. You turn it to the right, pull it back, insert the cartridge into the chamber from below, then put the bracket in place and... you can shoot!
Soon after this, capsule guns and pistols appeared, which, however, were still loaded from the muzzle. And almost at the same time, namely in 1812, Samuel Johann Poli created the first unitary cartridge for his breech-loading gun. And after him, the Dreyze, Lefoshe cartridges appeared, and, finally, in 1855, the Potte cartridge, in which the igniting charge of gunpowder in the cartridge case was located in the center of its bottom. That is, finally, both the primer and the cartridge case for gunpowder and bullets were combined in one design, and in the most rational way.
But what kind of cartridges did people come up with before they settled on the samples that are well known to all of us?
All this caused a real revolution in the field of small arms, which resulted in the massive rearmament of all armies of the world with new rifles and pistols. And they required a lot of reliable, cheap and effective cartridges. In addition, they needed equally cheap, reliable and effective capsules and... someone developed all this, right?
Here, for example, is Maynard's 52-caliber cartridge. It seems like the most common welt cartridge. But where is the capsule? But there is no capsule! There is a “hole” filled with wax and a capsule that is separately put on the fire tube, through this hole in the bottom and ignites the gunpowder in the cartridge.
Well, their names are also known and are directly related to the development of many types of small arms in the mid-second half of the 19th century. And the first among the developers of capsules and cartridges should be called the American inventor Hiram Berdan from New York, who patented his first version of the capsule on March 20, 1866 (US Patent No. 53388).
Berdan capsule design
The Berdan capsule was a small copper cylinder that was inserted into a hole in the bottom of the cartridge directly opposite the bullet. In this recess of the cartridge, two small holes were made under the primer, as well as a small nipple-like protrusion (later known as the anvil). When fired, the firing pin hit the Berdan primer in such a way that the initiating composition contained in it came into contact with the anvil, ignited itself and ignited the powder charge inside the cartridge case. This system worked well, allowing the cartridge to be reloaded for reuse. Difficulties arose when using copper sleeves, which oxidized, making it difficult to insert primers into their sockets. Berdan decided it was time to switch to brass cases and further improved the process of installing the primer into the case, which was noted in his second patent dated September 29, 1869 (US Patent 82587). These solutions turned out to be so successful that they remain almost the same functional to this day.
True, the Berdan primer is difficult to remove from its socket at the bottom of the case without damaging the anvil. However, its primer is used by almost all military forces, and most civilian manufacturers (except those in the United States).
Boxer capsule design.
Almost simultaneously with Hiram Berdan, the Englishman Edward M. Boxer of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich was also working on a similar design for a capsule, the design of which he patented in England on October 13, 1866, and then received a US patent on June 29, 1869 No. 91818.
The difference between the sockets for Boxer and Berdan capsules.
Boxing capsules are similar to Berdan capsules (and how could it be otherwise with devices of such a utilitarian purpose?), however, with one very significant addition regarding the location of the anvil. In a boxing capsule, the anvil is a separate part that is located inside the capsule itself. The primer pocket at the bottom of the Boxer cartridge case has one large, centrally located ignition hole. The benefit of this is that used cartridges are easier to reload. It is enough to knock out the used capsule using a thin metal rod. Then a new primer is inserted into the socket, and gunpowder is poured into the cartridge case, followed by a bullet. This technology is very popular in the USA and contributes to the fact that there are a large number of shooters there who reload their own ammunition.
Primers for cartridges for smooth-bore hunting weapons: “centrifuge” (left) and “Zhevelo” (right).
Boxer capsules are somewhat more difficult to manufacture because they contain not only the charge, but also the anvil. But automatic equipment producing primers by the hundreds of millions has eliminated this problem. On the other hand, although the Boxer primer is more complex, the cartridge cases themselves for such primers are simpler! With the Berdanov capsule it’s the other way around: the capsule itself is simpler, but the cartridge cases are more complicated! For those users who reload their own ammo, the small increase in initial cost is more than offset by the reduced cost of reloading, which can save up to 85-90% compared to purchasing new factory ammo.
In fact, the Boxer capsule is the “Zhevelo” capsule, well known to hunters, except for the absence of positioning them in the welt socket. And so the primers of both Berdan and Boxer are indistinguishable in shape and do not differ on assembled cartridges of the same caliber and size.
U.S. Patent No. 52818 for the 1866 Boxer metal cartridge.
U.S. Patent No. 82587 for the 1866 Berdan metal cartridge.
Having developed successful capsules, Berdan and Boxer took up the cartridges. Although it would be more correct to say that both capsules and cartridges were developed by them at the same time. Thus, Edward Boxer developed a .577 caliber cartridge (14.66 mm) for the Jacob Snyder rifle, which was adopted in England in September 1866 under the designation “Snyder-Enfield Mk I”.
US Patent #91818 for the Boxer metal cartridge 1869
The cartridge, in our opinion today, had a rather complex design and consisted of a sleeve folded from a sheet of brass in two turns and then wrapped with paper on the outside. The rear end of the sleeve was bent inward and was inserted into a brass “cup,” which in turn was inserted into another, even more durable, brass “cup.” Inside the cartridge case there was a folder tray with a through central channel into which a brass cap for the primer was inserted, and it passed through the disc-bottom of the cartridge case itself, over the edge of which the extractor removed all “this” when it was removed from the chamber. It’s interesting that this disk might not have been brass, but could have been…iron! That is, this cap is the basis for assembling four parts at once: the bottom of the sleeve, two brass cups and a folder tray, and it connected them all together. Now, having collected all these parts together, they poured gunpowder into the cartridge case and inserted a wax seal; a lead, stamped bullet with a groove near the bottom into which the walls of the cartridge case were pressed; then the front of the cartridge case was slightly compressed around the bullet.
The design of the Boxer cartridge for the .577 caliber Snyder rifle.
English description of the Snyder .577 rifle and cartridges for it.
Obviously, such a design was unnecessarily complex and required high precision manufacturing with minimal tolerances, since the cartridge was assembled “under tension.” Therefore, already in 1871, the .577 “Snyder” cartridge, together with the “Snyder-Enfield” rifle, was removed from service. In their place came another, again “boxer” cartridge. 577/.450 “Martini-Henry” for the Martini-Henry M 1871 rifle of 11.43 mm caliber. At the same time, the .577/.450 cartridge differed from the old .577 only in that it was obtained by compressing the upper part of the cartridge case to a .450 caliber, and even lost its previous paper “wrapper”.
Cartridge.577 "Snyder".
In the 80s of the 19th century, the .577 Snyder cartridge underwent a major modernization - it received a bottle-shaped, seamless sleeve. This cartridge became known as the .577 Snider Solid Case.
However, the production of .577 cartridges for Snyder rifles was carried out until the 20s of the twentieth century. The fact is that England actively sold these rifles to Turkey, China and other “eastern countries” and even to the island kings of the Pacific Islands! They were used by the Royal Irish Police until the 1890s, in India until the 1920s, and in some places in North-East Africa and the Middle East these weapons were used even in the mid-twentieth century.
Drawing from page 67 of the book “Firearms” M.: Avanta+, Astrel, 2007. The characteristic features of the above-mentioned Edward Boxer cartridge are shown very well and clearly.
Appearance of the Berdan cartridge.
The device of the Berdan cartridge.
As for the Hiram Berdan cartridge, it was described more than once in our domestic literature, including the color of pink and white pieces of paper depending on its purpose for a rifle or carbine, so it is almost impossible to really add something new to this.
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