All these terms and numbers
“I’m getting a little bit fruuu-strated,” Gail claims.
Joe and I are at the gun show at the Fairgrounds in Tallahassee. Gail asked us to come with her, as she is looking to purchase a handgun.
“What’s the problem?” I wonder.
“Well to begin with, one of the vendors asked if I want a rimfire or a centerfire gun. What’s the difference? What do I want? I don’t know!”
“Since you told him you’re new, he probably wants to know if you want a .22 or a larger caliber gun.”
“What does that have to do with rimfire and centerfire?”
“A .22 is a rimfire gun. The firing pin or striker hits the rim of the back of the round’s casing where the primer is located. This causes a spark providing ignition of the gun powder which then propels the bullet out of the casing and then out of the barrel.”
“OK,” she says. “So doesn’t the firing pin have to hit the casing on all ammunition? What’s centerfire?”
“A .380 or a 9mm handgun are centerfire guns. The firing pin or striker hits in the center of the casing to set off the primer. In rimfire, the pin hits the rim of the casing, but in centerfire, it hits the center of the casing.”
“Got it. OK, well Sam thinks I should get a .380 or a 9mm. That’s centerfire. My next question is about numbers.”
“Numbers?”
“Yes. One vendor suggested a Sig Sauer P365. But I told him I wanted a .380 or a 9mm gun. Why was he trying to show me a 365? What caliber is that? I’ve never heard of it!”
“The Sig P365 is a great gun,” assures Joe. “In fact, it’s one of my favorites. 365 is the model name of the gun.”
“They give a number as a name of a gun?” Gail asks. “That’s pretty weird. Then he asks me if I want to see the P365 .380 or the P365. Isn’t a 365 a 365?”
“Only if it’s a 9mm gun,” returns Joe. “Since the 9mm version of the P365 was so popular, Sig Sauer also makes the P365 in a .380.”
“How confusing is that?” moans Gail.
After a while, Gail goes back to the vendor with the Sig Sauer P365.
“This one fits my big hands really well. But the tag says P365XL. Is that different from the P365?” she wonders.
“Yes,” says Joe. “There are several versions of the 365. There’s one with XL after it. That’s a 365 with a longer grip. I’ve got the 365 X Comp Macro, which is another version altogether. Marj had a 365 SAS. That one had all its buttons and levers recessed to avoid snagging on clothing or in a pack.”
“Does she still have it?”
“No. She didn’t like breaking it down to clean. Since the takedown button was recessed, it was difficult to break it down without scratching the gun. Otherwise, she liked it.”
“Oh. So should I get the .380 version or the 9?” she asks.
“We think you really should try it before you buy it,” advises Joe. “What fits in your hand may not be enough information for you. What if you think the recoil is too strong? What if you find you don’t like the sights? If you wait, you can always shoot my gun to see if you like it.”
But Gail is adamant.
“No. I want to buy one today before I chicken out.”
She looks at the vendor and nods.
“Do you have a concealed carry license?” he asks.
“Yes,” she replies. “But what does that matter?”
“If you have your license, you’ll be able to take it home today. If you don’t have one, you have to wait three days to pick it up.”
Gail shows her license, and sits down to begin the paperwork. Joe and I wander around. I’m hoping he doesn’t see anything he really wants.
A while later, Gail comes up to us with a rectangular box under her arm.
She seems half delighted and half scared.
“What kind of ammunition do I get? There are a bunch of 9mm kinds of ammo. There’s a 9mm Luger, but there’s also a 9mm Parabellum. If that’s not enough, I also saw a 9mm NATO box. And there’s a 9mm Makarov.”
“Go for the 9mm Luger,” suggests Joe. “The NATO rounds might have a bit more recoil. The Makarov won’t work in your gun.”
“Why not? It’s also for a 9mm handgun.”
“True,” admits Joe. “However, the Makarov fits the Makarov handgun. It was made by the Soviets. They wanted a 9mm gun whose ammunition would fit only their own gun, so no one else could use them.”
“If the Makarov is also a 9mm, what makes the ammunition different?”
“The Makarov is a 9×18 round. Your Sig 365 is also a 9mm gun, but it’s a 9×19. The diameter is still 9mm, but the casing is just a bit longer than that of the Makarov.”
“The price was right,” says Gail. “Good thing I didn’t buy those Makarov rounds. But I still don’t have any ammo. There’s other stuff on the boxes, and I didn’t know which one to get.”
“What is it?”
“Well, they have different ‘grains.’ What’s grains? Here’s another bunch of numbers I don’t understand. I saw 115, 124 and 147. Does it make a difference? Those 115 grains were the least expensive.”
“Grains refers to the weight of the bullet,” I explain to her.
“Oh. You mean the thing I put in the magazine.”
“Not exactly,” I reply. “The ‘round’ is what you drop into the magazine. It consists of the casing, which has a primer in the center back, and then it has the bullet which is the projectile at the other end of the casing. The bullet flies toward the target and the casing is flipped out of the ejection port.”
“So the bullet has different weights?” she asks.
“Yes. When you shoot your gun, you may find it is more accurate with a certain weight of projectile. I prefer 124 grain rounds. But, since it’s cheaper, 115 is fine for target shooting.”
“I’ll probably start out with those,” she says. “But what about Hollow Points? Sam says they are good for defense.”
“Yes,” I agree. “They have hollowed-out centers which expand upon contact. They cost a lot more, so you might want to save some aside for when you think you might need self-defense. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother.”
“And what about those +P kinds?” she wonders.
“Ammunition that says +P is made to have higher pressure than standard rounds. The pressure allows for a faster speed and better stopping power in times of danger. A downside is that it has more recoil and higher cost.”
“Something you must always consider with any ammunition is what works in your gun. Some guns cannot accept higher pressure ammunition. Your manual will tell you what to use in your gun.”
“I’m glad I didn’t have to hunt for a gun and ammunition by myself,” she said. “Now I’ll go and join the Wakulla County Sheriff Office range to get in some practice time!”
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.
