They are mentioning about the caliber of certain weapon, but how do we measure and know it?
2007-04-10 07:24:00 · 7 answers · asked by brainymixer 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
You mean .50 calibre weapons fires a bullet with 5 inches of diameter??That bullet is surely big..
2007-04-10 07:44:29 · update #1
The second number in 7.62 x 39mm is not bullet length, it's case length. Bullet length is not reported.
So, in this case, the bullet diameter is nominally 0.762cm and the length of the brass case (or steel case in some cases) is 3.9cm long. The more powerful 7.62 x 54mm rifle round would have a bullet the same diameter, but a case 5.4cm long.
Additionally, you may see some weapons listed with an "L" number. For example: 75mm L24. This listing has the bore diameter (nominally 7.5cm here) and the length of the BARREL in calibers (multiples of the bore diameter) following the L. In this case, the barrel length would be 24 x 7.5 = 180cm long. This is generally only reported in large caliber weapons.
2007-04-10 08:43:13 · answer #1 · answered by Deathbunny 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They measure the length of the bullet and the diameter of the bullet sometimes, or sometimes they just measure the diameter.
A .50 Caliber bullet has a diameter of 1/2 an inch.
A 5.56mm bullet has a diameter of 5.56mm.
However sometimes in Russian bullets they measure the length as well.
Like the AK-47 round which is 7.26x39 which means the diameter is 7.62mm however the length of the bullet is 39mm. This is used to distiguish the 7.36mmx39 from the normal 7.26mm round used by NATO.
Whenever you see a number and then a x and another number typically thats a russian designed weapon, or at the very least a non-NATO round.
2007-04-10 14:53:12 · answer #2 · answered by h h 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the two answers above are both correct. A 9mm round is measured in millimeters (9 millimeters in diameter), while .50 cal is actually measured in inches (.50 inches in diameter or a half an inch). If it has a decimal in front of the number you can rest assured its measured in inches.
But then you can also get tricky with nato measurments as well. While they are measured in millimeters, they normally have 2 measurments. Like the rounds for the AK-47 are 7.62x39. The M-16 has a standard round of 5.56x45, which is most commonly reffered to as the .223 caliber, by most Americans.
But reguardless, the caliber is always measured by the diameter of the bore, for weapons(rifles, handguns, etc.), or the diameter of the projectile, for rounds.
2007-04-10 14:39:21 · answer #3 · answered by phnxfrhwk 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are two different meanings of the term 'caliber.' In small arms it refers to ammunition measured using English units. So in this case a 'fifty caliber' weapon would have a bore of 0.50 inches in diameter.
However when you discuss cannon and large guns the term 'caliber' means something completely different. In this example it refers to the ratio between bore diameter and barrel length (barrel length divided by bore diameter). So if you have a gun with a 5 inch bore diameter and a barrel length of 100 inches you would have a "five inch, twenty caliber gun."
2007-04-10 15:40:30 · answer #4 · answered by MikeGolf 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's the diameter of the bullet, although it doesn't always quite match up. A .50 cal fires a bullet that is .5 inches in diameter.
2007-04-10 14:35:02 · answer #5 · answered by thegubmint 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The caliber of a weapon is the diameter of the bore measure in millimeters.
2007-04-10 14:35:04 · answer #6 · answered by Team Chief 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
in terms of an unknown barrel, a gunsmith can plug the barrel with a special wax, then measure the bore. example: AKs are notorious for having different bore diameters. they range from 0.308" up to 0.312".
2007-04-11 17:12:17 · answer #7 · answered by gnsnfnrs1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋