Caliber Explanation?

Question

Can anyone explain to me the calibers form smallest to largest or largest to smallest I dont get it
I was told a .300 was bigger than a .308 i dont see how that works

Answer 1

Bound's hubby here:

A cartridge name can provide four pieces of information, but that information does not necessarily indicate the cartridge's power.

The first part of the name is a number, either decimal or metric. This number indicates the diameter of the bullet which is referred to as the "caliber".

Right after the number might be a hyphenated number. This hyphenated number can identify one of four pieces of information:
1. the amount of black powder that could be in the cartridge (.30-30 = 30 grains of black powder)
2. the year the cartridge was created (.30-06 = 1906)
3. the parent cartridge (.22-250 = 250-3000 Savage)
4. the cartridge velocity (.250-3000 Savage = 3000 fps).

After the numbers will be a name. That name will identify the person or company that first created the cartridge (.30-06 Springfield= Springfield Armory).

After the name could be an adjective. Typically, the adjective is either "improved", or "magnum". This is intended to either indicate this is not the more common cartridge or a more powerful cartridge.

For example:
.22-250=a .250 Savage necked down to .22 caliber
.30-06 Ackley improved= a .30-06 with a modified shoulder angle.

The cartridge name will not always indicate power. This is when you have to compare cartridge information in either a reloading manual or a cartridge manufacturer's catalog.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Caliber is bullet diameter, and a .300 Winchester Magnum uses the same bullets as a .308, .30-06, and even a .30-30. The difference is the case the bullet is loaded in. I reload all the 30 calibers I listed above and can use the same bullets in them all, but different powder charges.
The .300 bullet is not bigger than a .308, but it is more powerful because of the bigger powder charge.

Answer 3

Caliber is the diameter of the bullet in inches or milimeters. The .300 win magnum and the .308 win both shoot the same diameter bullet (.308"). What makes the .300 win magnum bigger is it's case. It has a larger case and holds more powder than the .308 win. The .300 win magnum is a bigger and more powerful CARTRIDGE, not a bigger caliber.

Answer 4

.300 is not a larger caliber than .308 but the cartridge is larger in order to hold more powder. The "caliber" is the size is of the actual projectile but the name of the cartridge usually will give you a hint of the power or velocity it has. For instance the .300 is called .300 Win. mag or .300 Weatherby mag, this is a magnum cartridge which normally means extra powder. If you look at a .22 caliber, the .22 long rifle and the .22 mag launch the same size projectile but at different velocities. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

.300 and .308 actually use the same diameter slug despite the lack of an "008". Marketing can also make for some variations on designation.
Caliber is determined by bullet diameter (unless it is .38 or .44 caliber-casing width was used for those calibers back in the nineteenth century and this carried on over into the 20th and remains to this day.) Here is a VERY PARTIAL list of low caliber to high caliber using rifle shells:

.17Rem
.204Ruger
.223Rem
.243Win
.280Rem
.308Win (7.62NATO)/30-06Springfield
7.62Russian (.311)/7.62x54R
8mm Mauser (7.92mm)
.375H&H
.458Win/.460Weatherby/.458Lott
.505 Gibbs
.600 Nitro Express
.700 Nitro Express

I doubled/tripled up on some sheels because of caliber indentity, not shell size or power ratio.

Answer 6

well technically caliber is simply the diameter of the bullet in inches. in many cases a certain bullet reieves a market caliber, such as the .300 winchester magnum, the .300 winmag and the .308 winchester bot use a .308" diameter bullet. but the .300 winmag is a larger round due to the larger casing the holds the bullet. this is the same as the .270 and the .270 winmag, both use the same size bullet in a different size casing.

sometimes bullets are refered to by their size in millimeters, such as the 7mm, which is a .284" bullet but is also called the 7mm and all 7mm rifles use the same size bullet with many varying case sizes.

so basicly the name of a certain bullet does not neccasarily reflect the caliber of bullet used. but in most cases it will.

Answer 7

I'll give the simple answer. A .308 is a larger diameter projectile (bullet) than a .300, but some will use the term "bigger" in reference to ft/lbs of energy or "power." A .300 is typically a magnum load, meaning the casing of the cartridge is designed so it will accept a larger amount of powder. This results in a faster speed (feet/second) of the projectile. Even if it is the same or less weight as a larger diameter projectile, the magnum load has increased the velocity so the energy produced may surpass the energy of a larger diameter projectile due to speed. Weight of the projectile can also increase the energy but that depends on speed as well. In short, the bigger the number the bigger the projectile, but not necessarily the more power. Visit http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/
to compare ballistics (speed,energy, etc) for different calibers of ammunition. Take time to pass on what you learn when you finish your research and stay safe.

Answer 8

Caliber of a bullet refers to the measurement around the biggest part of the actual lead bullet. The .300 caliber is not bigger than the .308, it is the powder in the shell that is greater. The .300 has more powder in the casing this makes this round more powerful than a .308. But the caliber of the bullet of a .308 is actually bigger than a .300. If I were going to buy a rifle and had these to choices I would choose the .308, this is the round that all the snipers use in the military.

Answer 9

380

Answer 10

Look at this link and it is made easy to understand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rifle_cartridges