By using retail surveys, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF®) estimates records were surpassed when nearly 14 million Americans purchased a firearm for the first time in the two years of 2020 and 2021, when a total of about 40 million firearms were sold. Gallup research suggests 44% of US adults—114 million people—report living in a gun household.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 4 Basic Rules of Gun Safety ]
With so many first-time gun owners needing to learn the basics of responsible firearm ownership, Winchester®—the largest small caliber ammunition enterprise in the world—has created “Introduction to Ammunition-Ammo 101” easy-to-understand infographics illustrating the ammunition categories of
- rimfire,
- pistol,
- centerfire, and
- shotshell,
and showcasing
- ammunition construction,
- components,
- calibers, and
- common usage
for each.
Click each image below to enlarge it on your screen. Also, click here to download the pdf document of the following images.

Handgun calibers are determined by the inside diameter of the barrel they’re shot from. These sizes range from as small as .22 to as large as .50 caliber. Popular cartridges are .22 LR, .380 Auto, 9 MM, .38 Special, 40 S&W, and 45 Auto.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Checklist: Matters to Consider When Deciding on a Handgun which includes links to web articles that are glossaries of gun terms ]
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