Ammunition comparison

Left to right are: .22, .25, .32, .380, 9mm, .357 SIG, .38, .357, .40, .45, & .223 caliber rounds.

Copied from:
http://www.ballistics-experts.com/Law%20Enforcement/Ammunition/Caliber%20Selection.htm

Ammunition comparison 2

Copied from http://www.glock.com 

Ammunition comparison 3

Left to right: .22 lr, .380 auto, .38 special, 9mm, .357 magnum, .40 S&W, .45 acp, .44 magnum, 7.62x39mm, 8mm

Ammunition comparison 4

Source: Magtech 2007 product catalog.

Anatomy of a centerfire rifle cartridge

Case - usually made of brass and contains the powder charge, the primer and the bullet.   Before development of the metallic cartridge, the term was used to mean a roll or case of paper containing powder and shot.   Centerfire metallics include all pistol and rifle cartridges that have primers in the center of the base.

Bullet - a single projectile fired from a firearm.   Some mistakenly consider the entire round of ammunition to be the bullet, in actuallity it is only the tip of the round.

Crimp - the portion of a cartridge case that is bent inward to hold the bullet in place.

Powder - the general term for any chemical compound or mixture used in firearms that burns upon ignition.   The gases produced by this rapid combustion propel the bullet down the bore.   One major type is black powder, which is a mixture of charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter.   It's used in older cartridges. Another major type is smokeless powder, which is principally used in modern ammunition.   It's a granular nitrated chemical compound.

Primer - the collective term for the chemical primer compound, cup and anvil.   When the primer is struck, it ignites the powder charge.

Rim - the edge on the base of a cartridge case.   It's the part of the case gripped by the extractor to remove it from the chamber.   In some cartridges it also prevents the case from entering the chamber.

Copied from http://cheaperthandirt.com

Anatomy of a pistol cartridge

Bullet - a single projectile fired from a firearm.   Some mistakenly consider the entire round of ammunition to be the bullet, in actuallity it is only the tip of the round.

Casing - usually made of brass and contains the powder charge, the primer and the bullet.   Before development of the metallic cartridge, the term was used to mean a roll or case of paper containing powder and shot.   Centerfire metallics include all pistol and rifle cartridges that have primers in the center of the base.

Gun powder - the general term for any chemical compound or mixture used in firearms that burns upon ignition.   The gases produced by this rapid combustion propel the bullet down the bore.   One major type is black powder, which is a mixture of charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter.   It's used in older cartridges. Another major type is smokeless powder, which is principally used in modern ammunition.   It's a granular nitrated chemical compound.

Primer - the collective term for the chemical primer compound, cup and anvil.   When the primer is struck, it ignites the powder charge.

Anatomy of a shot shell

Case - a tube, usually made of plastic or paper, with a steel or brass head.   It contains the powder charge, the primer and shot.

Crimp - the portion of a cartridge case that is bent inward to hold the shot in place.

Powder - the general term for any chemical compound or mixture used in firearms that burns upon ignition.   The gases produced by this rapid combustion propel the shot down the bore.   One major type is black powder, which is a mixture of charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter.   It's used in older cartridges. Another major type is smokeless powder, which is principally used in modern ammunition.   It's a granular nitrated chemical compound.

Primer - the collective term for the chemical primer compound, cup and anvil.   When the primer is struck, it ignites the powder charge.

Shot - Small, round pellets of lead, steel or bismuth.   These are the projectiles in a shotshell.

Wad - A disc used to separate powder from shot, to seal propellant gases behind the shot or to hold shot together in the barrel.

Copied from http://cheaperthandirt.com

Caliber comparison

Handgun cartridge power chart (condensed)

By Chuck Hawks

Please Note: The above data is drawn from various sources including the book "Handgun Stopping Power" by Marshall and Sanow, and various articles in magazines such as "Handguns". To order the latest books by Marshall and Sanow, follow my link to Evan Marshal's Stopping Power web page. 

For experienced shooters the headings of most of the columns above are self-explanatory. For everyone else: "Caliber" is the common name of the cartridge tested; "Load" is the brand of ammunition tested; "Bullet" is the weight (in grains) and configuration (JHP, for instance, means jacketed hollow point) of the bullet; "MV" is the standard abbreviation for muzzle velocity; "ME" is the abbreviation for muzzle energy; "Penetration (10% gel)" is the measured penetration of the bullet when fired into a block of standard ordinance gelatin, which is used to simulate soft tissue; "Test brl." means the length of the test pistol's barrel.

Copied from: http://www.chuckhawks.com/handgun_power_chart.htm

Typical kinetic energy produced by various calibers

Copied from:
http://www.ballistics-experts.com/Law%20Enforcement/Ammunition/Caliber%20Selection.htm