As you progress into the wonderful world of handloading, you might notice that bullets are sold as being of a particular diameter. But different diameters are available even for the same cartridge. Which diameter to choose?

Up until the mid-19th Century, the propellant used in firearms was black powder, so-called because of its color. Originally black powder was a mixture of charcoal (from which we got carbon), saltpeter (from which we got potassium nitrate), and sulfur. When combined in the proper proportions, an explosive compound was created. Black powder was invented…

A primer is basically a little metal cup filled with priming compound, which is pressure-sensitive and ignitable; you hit it and it burns. The primer is the spark plug of the cartridge, it provides fire to ignite a flammable material, in this case gunpowder. There are two primer types in common use today to transfer…

The term “slam-fire” is commonly associated with bolt action and military-pattern semiauto rifles (it could also apply to select-fire military rifles, but since most of us will never own such weapons, we’re talking semiauto for the vast majority of people).