5.2 Ammunition

Sometimes you will hear people on a rifle range say, "I'm out of bullets. Please get me some more bullets." Usually, these people don't know that they are asking for the wrong thing. Cartridges go into the chamber of a firearm, while bullets go out the muzzle. A bullet is only one part of a cartridge.

The ammunition used in a rifle or handgun is called a cartridge (or a metallic cartridge). The ammunition used for shotguns is called a shell (or a shotshell).