What other types of rounds are there for small arms?

[TXAZ]

I was looking at the different types of rounds available and came up with the list below, based on .50 BMG rounds, but the question is for any caliber.

What am I missing type wise?


Blank
Match
Ball
Tracer
Armor Piercing
Armor Piercing Incendiary
Armor Piercing Incendiary Tracer
Incendiary
SLAP (Sabot Light Armor Piercing)
Spotter
Frangible
Multi-Purpose (Mk-211 Raufoss)

[JohnKSa]

There are crimped blanks and wooden blanks that require blank shredder muzzle attachments.

There are also gallery/training rounds used for short-range training.

Both wooden blanks and gallery/training rounds seem to be quite uncommon these days.

[Aguila Blanca]

If you include shotguns in the small arms category, there are less lethal rounds such as beanbags and rubber balls.

[lamarw]

I could be missing your intended definition of type of rounds but will add the following:

hollow point
wad cutters
semi-wad cutters
lead
plated
full metal jacket
coated

I am sure the list could go on and on.

[Aguila Blanca]

Round nose (yes, that's "ball")
Round nose, flat point
Truncated cone (flat point)

[44 AMP]

there are less lethal rounds such as beanbags and rubber balls.

I do detest the term "less lethal", because it simply is not true. I realize it is short for "less LIKELY to be lethal" but it gives the impression those crowd control rounds are "less lethal" /"less than lethal", etc., and that simply isn't the case. If one of those beanbag or rubber balls hits you in the right spot, it WILL kill you dead as a stone. The reason they are less likely to be lethal is because they aren't supposed to be shot directly AT people.

Round nose (yes, that's "ball")

round nose doesn't make it "ball" ammo. Ball can be round nose, or it can be spitzer, or almost any design in between. In the days of flintlocks, ball was just that, a single round (lead) ball (of roughly bore diameter). called "Ball" because that's what it was, and to distinguish it from shot (several smaller balls). Since it was the standard military ammo the term ball was just carried through as technology changed the projectiles from balls to bullets. Minnie Ball, was hollow base lead bullet. Single projectiles stayed "ball ammo" even when they became full metal jacketed bullets of different shapes. Today, its still "ball" ammo, meaning its JUST a standard bullet, and not anything else (such as tracer, etc.)


what other kinds of rounds are there? You hit all the major ones I can think of, except for Dummy rounds. and Line Throwing rounds (which are not exactly the same as blanks).


There have been commercial sabot rounds that were never meant to be SLAP rounds. Remington Accelerators are/were sabot rounds but armor piercing was never their purpose.


oh, almost forgot, there are Training Rounds, which are NOT blanks. Not sure about other countries, but the West Germans used them in their 7,62MM NATO H&K rifles. The cases are plastic, with a brass base, and molded in bullet. When fired the bullet tears off and does go downrange at considerable speed (something like 5000+fps) However, being plastic and weighing something like 17gr (if I remember right) it loses velocity VERY rapidly. Possibly lethal point blank, but at 50+ yds, it's supposed to just sting...a lot!

There's probably other rare or specialty types, but I can't think of them right now..

[ballardw]

Not in service but early 7.62x51 had a duplex projectile round

Whether to call it round or not: Proofing cartridges

Some training rounds are lower pressure and lower weight projectile: some plastic cased for example but the Swedes used brass for the 6.5x55.

Is this supposed to be military issue ammo or do shot capsules for pistol cartridges and "buck and ball" where shot is mixed in a cartridge with a bullet count?

And teargas in 7.62x51 as well. You can find a Youtube video with Israeli rounds.

[Sharkbite]

The reason they are less likely to be lethal is because they aren't supposed to be shot directly AT people.

Bean bag rounds (for Shotguns) are most definitely designed to be shot AT people. Hell, we shoot 40mm foam rounds AT people.

[T. O'Heir]

"...aren't supposed to be shot directly AT people..." Those are the ones that fire an India Rubber projectile that's supposed to be bounced off curbs and such to quell riots. A direct hit by one will kill you stone dead. So will the old CIL 12 gauge blank(big black letters on the shell too.) round that had a 2" wood fibre wad. Said wad would go right through a 2 x 4 at 10 yards.
"...Line Throwing rounds (which are not exactly the same as blanks)..." More like a grenade 'blank'. Grenade blanks are more correctly called grenade cartridges.
Dummy rounds are Drill Purpose rounds. Made for small arms training. Usually all one piece out of AL or the like. There are also DP rounds that are regular cartridges loaded with a bullet, but no primer or powder and have a hole drilled in the case.

[jonnyc]

I-T
Dummy
Proof

[FrankenMauser]

There are also "lipstick" and paint marking cartridges.
Shot shells.
Telescopic.
Multiple-projectile. (Stacked - not a shot shell.)
And probably more that I'm forgetting...

[kozak6]

Caseless.

Gyrojet.

[bamaranger]

Simunitions are a training round that launches a paint marking projectile that is used for force on force training. I believe that is the lipstick projectile F-mauser is referring.

Simunitions may be a brand name

[bamaranger]

Aren't there special "breaching" shotgun rounds as well, or does that include frangible?

There is specialized "Match" target ammo in appropriate calibers.

What about the Glaser Safety Slug?

[Jim Watson]

Our friends in Mitteleuropa who used to be our enemies developed bullets with poison cores. If organ damage or blood loss didn't get you, the cyanide would. .

There was an AP bullet - Polish, maybe- that contained a capsule of tear gas, apparently meant to chase you out of your perforated vehicle.

[10-96]

I'm still not sure what TXAZ is looking for, but I didn't see Polymer Tipped in the mixup.

Never looked at one real hard, but was (Winchester?) Bronze Tip really any alloy remotely close to being bronze?

[FrankenMauser]

(Remington) Bronze Points were a standard cup-and-core bullet with a bronze tip - basically a plastic-free version of modern tipped bullets.
Modern production, when available, uses brass instead of bronze.

[TXAZ]

Great list! Keep going. (I haven’t heard or a small arms “camera round” or “microphone round, but who knows? Well you guys would! Keep on posting!
Thanks.

[briandg]

What do I want to see?

Tazer rounds ( I have been told that they exist.)
Capsaicin rounds. If I shoot someone I want it to REALLY hurt!

[Sharkbite]

Tazer rounds ( I have been told that they exist.)

TASER made a 12ga round (nott sure if they still do). Think of a slug with a tail wire that was barbed. The “slug” made contact and stuck. The “tail” fell and stuck lower. This caused the 2 contact points to have some separation and caused the NMI the TASER is known for.

I never shot any, but saw a display one in my TASER inst course.

[Aguila Blanca]

For another variation on a theme, we already have "hollow point" as a type. For handgun, at least, "hollow point" usually means a hollow point projectile that has scores around the mouth of the cavity to facilitate expansion of the bullet upon contact.

Hornady has a jacketed hollow point that doesn't have scores and isn't intended to expand. It's their HAP round, and that's an acronym for Hornady Action Pistol. It's intended for use in practical shooting competition. Wilson Combat uses the HAP projectile in their match ammo, for example.

https://www.hornady.com/bullets/hap#!/

[dakota.potts]

Bolo rounds (2 round balls attached by a lead wire)
Similar concept - a bullet where the base detaches from 3 petals immediately upon leaving the barrel and all 3 are held by a wire. Forget the name.
Gas-seal cartridges. Nagant revolver and some other specialty Russian designs.
Fin stabilized sabot "darts" tested by Steyr in their 12.7mm semi auto anti materiel rifle.
Various flechette and dart rounds tested during the Salvo/ACR project (and of course flechette shot shells and tank shells)
Parachute/Flare (visible or IR) - mostly 26.5mm and up
Square bullets designed by the inventor of the Puckle Gun - supposedly for religious reasons
Self-contained "rocket ball" cartridges
Spoon tip ammo - tested in PDW cartridges like 4.6x30mm and 6.5x25 CBJ
"Explosive" rifle rounds with a secondary charge in the bullet that detonates on impact