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What is "ball" ammo???

Discussion in 'Tilted Weaponry' started by Lindy, Oct 13, 2015.

  1. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    I was cleaning out a bunch of old stuff and ran across some old paperboard boxes of ammo for my M1 Carbine, which I haven't fired in years, labeled:
    50 CARTRIDGES
    BALL CARBINE
    CALIBER .30 M1
    I know that musket "balls" were once commonly used, even still used by hobbyists, but these are about and inch and a half long, brass case, bullet is copper jacket regular bullet shaped, though not as pointy as some, more round nosed, like pistol rounds, but not "balls."

    So, why is some ammo called "BALL" even though it obviously is not? M1.30caliberball.jpg
     
  2. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    The term "ball ammunition" is a military term that refers to solid, inert projectile (lead or lead/steel). "Full metal jacket" describes the thin copper jacket covering of the projectile.

    This term is used to differentiate standard pew-pew ammunition from armor piercing, tracer, match or, in the case of larger weapons, incendiary or explosive-tipped rounds.

    Military ammo is identified with colored tips or banding as well as markings on the container to tell you what lies underneath the otherwise identical copper jacket.

    Example:
    7.62mm Ammunition used by US/NATO Armed Forces
    [​IMG]

    From Left to Right: Ball, Tracer, ???, Armor Piercing, Dim Tracer, Special Ball - Long Range (Match), Blank

    ...

    I'm jealous you've got an old M1 [carbine]. They're great guns.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2015
  3. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    Thanks, @Plan9, that makes sense, now that I know that ball means something different when used in a military ammo context. I still wonder how this term came to be.
    In another context, when a soldier and a soldierette ball, ball means the same, more or less, as boink, hump, screw, or make whoopee.

    ...

    I have an M1 Carbine, not an M1 Garand. Back in high school when I worked at the gun club I did fire an M1 Garand a few times, and remember that it kicked like a horse, and weighed almost as much.

    The Carbine only weighed five or six pounds (even less than my shotgun) and was short and nicely balanced with light recoil. A great gun for a skinny little tomboy.;)
     
  4. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    Yes, I was referring to the M1 carbine. It's super handy, had a before-its-time cartridge and capacity and was WW2 predecessor to the M4 carbine I carried in the military and the AR-15 variants I use today.

    And, really, you answered your own question: the name "ball ammo" comes from musket balls and specifically minie balls, which were inert lead projectiles for rifles despite being conical and not ball-shaped.
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2015
    • Like Like x 1
  5. ChrisJericho

    ChrisJericho Careless whisper

    Location:
    Fraggle Rock
    M1 Carbine? Sexy sexy ! Would love to see pics.
     
  6. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    Her: "Wow, you have a very impressive gun!"
    Him: "Thanks!!"
    Her: "I'm talking about the firearm that you showed me."
    Him: "Thanks."
     
    • Like Like x 2
  7. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    My woman has her own guns.

    They're nicer than mine.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX

    My wife doesn't have her own gun per se, but

    she's a better shot than me.
     
  9. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    Oooh...

    Does she wrap her guns around your hot, throbbing, long barreled, pump action, center-fire magnum?;)

    Stroking until it releases a spastic stream of incendiary tracers?:p

    Emptying completely your high-capacity tubular magazine?:D
     
    • Like Like x 1