Learn the Basics of Ammunition with Winchester® Educational Infographics

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.

Image of the inner working of pistol ammunition
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 ]

Image of the inner working of rimfire ammunition
Rimfire calibers are determined by the inside diameter of the barrel they’re shot from. Popular calibers include .17 and .22, common cartridges include 22 LR, 17 HMR, 22 Win Mag, and the world’s fastest rimfire cartridge: the 17 WSM.

Image of the inner working of centerfire ammunition
Centerfire rifle calibers are determined by the inside diameter of the barrel they’re shot from. These sizes range from as small as .222 to as large as .50 caliber. Popular cartridges are .223 Rem, .243 Win, .270 Win, 6.8 Western, 300 Win Mag, and 350 Legend.

Image of the inner working of shotshell ammunition
Shotgun gauges are determined by the inside diameter of the barrel they’re shot from. These sizes range from as small as .410 Bore to 10 Gauge.

Winchester also has a section for new shooters on its website that provides more ammunition tips and advice for first-time gun owners.

The more than 150-year-old Winchester brand is committed to safe, legal, and responsible firearm use. Winchester works with key groups like the NSSF on programs such as Gun Owners Care and Project ChildSafe. Any use of firearms by youth participants should be done under the direct supervision of a parent, guardian or other responsible adult.

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