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spotlight<br />
In rimfire the firing pin<br />
strikes and crushes the rim<br />
of the round to ignite the<br />
primer inside. The rim will<br />
display a tell-tale mark where<br />
it has been struck. Essentially<br />
the whole inside edge of the<br />
cartridge is one big, flattened<br />
primer. The advantage to this<br />
design is that it is relatively<br />
cheap to manufacture.<br />
However, the nature of the<br />
casing means the design is<br />
generally limited to smaller<br />
calibres, since the brass casing<br />
has to be less robust and it<br />
would be destroyed by an<br />
explosion of a large amount<br />
of propellant needed for a<br />
bigger projectile. This is why<br />
you will typically only see<br />
rimfire ammunition in .17<br />
and .22 calibres. Compared to<br />
centrefire ammunition, another<br />
disadvantage is that the nature<br />
of the rimfire cartridge design<br />
means the case is permanently<br />
deformed and, therefore,<br />
is unsuitable for reloading.<br />
Despite its construction<br />
limitations, rimfire<br />
ammunition does remain the<br />
most used ammo type across<br />
the globe. In the last twelve<br />
months, sales of rimfire ammo<br />
appeared to remain stable.<br />
SHOTGUN SHELLS<br />
Modern shotgun shells<br />
typically consist of a plastic<br />
case, with the base covered in<br />
a thin metal covering. In the<br />
past shells with a paper case<br />
used to be common. While<br />
these are still made today,<br />
shooters tend to prefer plastic<br />
cases as these are far more<br />
resistant to the elements. The<br />
base of the shell is fairly thick<br />
to hold the large shotgun<br />
primer. The powder itself takes<br />
relatively little space in the<br />
shell. After the powder comes<br />
the wad. The primary role of<br />
a shotgun wad is to prevent<br />
the mixing of propellants<br />
and pellets in a shotshell.<br />
The wad forms a critical gas<br />
seal at firing to keep the<br />
expanding gasses behind the<br />
shot charge. Wads also act as<br />
spacers, setting the correct<br />
volume for the propellant and<br />
shot charges and cushioning<br />
the pellets to reduce<br />
deformation. Conventional<br />
fibre wads continued to<br />
be used after plastic shot<br />
wrappers appeared. Eventually<br />
hard-to-load plastic sheet<br />
material was replaced with<br />
an easily installed shot cup<br />
that was closed at the bottom.<br />
Moulded wads soon became<br />
commonplace. The evolution<br />
of wad design integrated<br />
the skirted base, pellet<br />
cushioning, and the pellet<br />
wrapper into one moulded<br />
unit. Throughout the years,<br />
as society is rethinking ways<br />
to decrease plastic pollution,<br />
many companies have come<br />
up with viable alternatives for<br />
non-degradable plastic wads.<br />
These biodegradable wads tend<br />
to be either water soluble or<br />
photodegradable. The shot cup<br />
is the last part of the shell,<br />
and it serves to hold the shot<br />
together as it moves down the<br />
barrel. Shot cups have slits<br />
on the sides so that they peel<br />
open after leaving the barrel,<br />
allowing the shot to continue<br />
in flight undisturbed. The shot<br />
fills the shot cup (which must<br />
be of the correct length to<br />
hold the desired quantity of<br />
shot), and the shotgun shell is<br />
then crimped, or rolled closed.<br />
The shot in a shotgun shell<br />
is traditionally made of lead,<br />
but other metals such as steel,<br />
copper, tungsten, and bismuth<br />
are also used due to restrictions<br />
on the use of lead in some<br />
areas. Next to shot, a shotshell<br />
can also contain a single,<br />
large solid projectile, known<br />
as a slug. Shotgun ammo is<br />
the only category where sales<br />
slowed down in the last twelve<br />
months, at least according to<br />
the respondents participating<br />
in our survey.<br />
PERFORMANCE<br />
When asked about the main<br />
factors in a buyer’s choice of<br />
ammunition, performance<br />
rules supreme. No less than 56<br />
percent of the retailers in our<br />
survey state performance as<br />
being a decisive factor. Price<br />
comes in second, followed by<br />
availability and brand/make.<br />
This result clearly has a lot to<br />
do with the question being<br />
posed about the ammunition<br />
market in general. In recent<br />
years our surveys showed<br />
performance is the prime<br />
reason to buy in the centrefire<br />
ammunition market as opposed<br />
to price, definitely price, in the<br />
rimfire ammunition market.<br />
Another category on the rise<br />
appears to be eco-friendly<br />
ammunition which can be<br />
lead-free and/or biodegradable.<br />
VITAL<br />
Looking back to the last<br />
twelve months, nearly 60<br />
percent of the retailers in our<br />
survey claim ammunition sales<br />
to have risen. A third mentions<br />
sales are stable. When asked<br />
about the importance of<br />
ammunition sales for the<br />
overall business of the retailers<br />
in our survey, every single<br />
one claims ammunition sales<br />
to be ‘very important’. For<br />
33 percent of retailers, up to<br />
60 percent of their business<br />
consists of ammunition sales.<br />
A further 12 percent quote<br />
an even higher percentage<br />
of their overall sales come<br />
from ammunition. All this<br />
to underline the overall<br />
importance of the ammunition<br />
market for the gun trade. The<br />
need for ongoing supplies<br />
of ammunition provides<br />
an important link between<br />
retailers and consumers by<br />
ensuring regular contact and,<br />
in the end, creating a real bond<br />
with customers. GTW<br />
34 www.guntradeworld.com
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