alt Hacker News>> .22 bullet is 0.22" across (duh)
Um... No. An american 22 can be very slightly smaller. American-invented calibers are measured to the depth of the grooves in a rifled barrel. The rest of the world measures to the flat parts between the grooves. So no, it is not obvious how wide a bullet is.
And beware the plural. If someone (usually a salty navy person) says that a gun is "50 calibers" he means something completely different than a "50 caliber".
Replies
gweinberg • today at 12:25 AM
Yeah, given the nominal precision it's surprising how far off some of the numbers are. A .38 is the same diameter as a .357.
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aidenn0 • today at 4:25 AM
Won't a fired .22 bullet be sized to the depth of the grooves due to obturation?
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Wow, I had no idea. The ones we had at the range were 0.22LR and the boxes are marked 5.7 mm which is also not precisely 0.22".