{"id":4045,"date":"2020-02-06T10:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T10:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wideners.com\/blog\/?p=4045"},"modified":"2020-02-06T15:17:02","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T15:17:02","slug":"what-is-ball-ammo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wideners.com\/blog\/what-is-ball-ammo\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Ball Ammo?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Guy J. Sagi<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Shooters often use the term \u201cball ammo\u201d to describe cartridges with a<\/span> full metal jacket bullet<\/span><\/a> (FMJ). Although the jargon hints that the projectile is spherically shaped or contains some sort of hidden \u201cball\u201d within, neither is true.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the least-expensive ammunition\u2014on average\u2014available to civilian gun owners and accounts for the bulk of U.S. military small arms munitions. It\u2019s clean, reliable, accurate and the favored fodder for practice<\/a>, competition and informal range sessions.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Modern bullet design has slightly blurred ball ammo\u2019s precise definition, however, which can make the term confusing to new gun owners. Here\u2019s a look at likely origins of the name, what it means and what it does not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does “Ball” Mean Round?<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"a

Is ball ammo actually round? Not really. The name historically refers to the often round-nose FMJ projectile.<\/p><\/div>\n

Not everyone agrees on how the term “ball” grew to accepted status. Most concur it probably began when firearms finally found their way into widespread military use. During this time most smoothbore muzzleloaders used rounded balls of lead for projectiles.<\/span><\/p>\n

French Connection<\/h4>\n

The 1849 introduction of a new bullet seems to endorse the theory. Despite the fact the cylindrically shaped breakthrough from Claude-Etienne Mini\u00e9 had a conical point, its name\u2014the Mini\u00e9 ball\u2014indicates all military-issue bullets for small arms, regardless of their profile or composition, wore the suffix.<\/span><\/p>\n

The French Army officer\u2019s innovation was slightly smaller than the diameter of the barrel\u2019s bore. This was to decrease the time required to load it from the firearm\u2019s muzzle end. Its most important feature, however, was a hollow base with iron insert that expanded to engage rifling when the gunpowder ignited behind. The design improved accuracy and effective range.<\/span><\/p>\n

American Made<\/h4>\n

James Burton, who was working at the United States Arsenal and Armory at Harpers Ferry at the time, improved the projectile in the early 1850s. His bullet was just as effective, but less expensive and easier to produce. Many historical documents refer to this iteration of the Americanized bullet as the \u201cminnie ball.\u201d When the Civil War began in 1861 both sides were using it widely. A fact that likely contributed to ball ammo\u2019s indelible entry into the firearm lexicon.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s tradition, according to this theory, for frontline U.S. troops to refer to their standard-issue ammunition as ball. It accurately reflected bullet profile when we earned our independence. Because the term hasn\u2019t lost traction in nearly 250 years, there\u2019s likely more to its longevity than just habit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Powder Playing Hardball?<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"a

.30-06 ball ammo loaded with ball powder was a common ammo option for the US Military issued M1 Garand.<\/p><\/div>\n

One camp of opinion claims the term became permanently embedded after the introduction of ball powder during World War II. The propellant, which is safer and faster to produce than extruded powder, only became widely available to civilian reloaders in the 1960s, however.<\/span><\/p>\n

Others contend the FMJ bullet\u2019s propensity for passing through barriers, enemy combatants and continuing downrange in search of secondary and tertiary targets earned it the nickname \u201chardball.\u201d Shortened to ball it rolls off lips faster and sounds less offensive to sensitive eavesdroppers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each theory has merits, and all likely contributed to ball ammo becoming an accepted firearm term. Regardless of the origin, qualification for membership on the ball ammo roster comes down to bullet construction and performance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Metal Jackets Required<\/span><\/h3>\n

Firearms with rifling improved accuracy, period. Historically, lands and grooves had a habit of collecting some of the soft lead from those standard-issue minie balls used during the Civil War<\/a>. That fouling compromised accuracy and slowed reloads.<\/span><\/p>\n

Swiss Col. Eduard Rubin solved the problem in 1882. He added a thin skin of copper to the surface of a lead bullet\u2014creating the first full metal jacket. We know historically the guns ran cleaner with this new projectile. The higher melting point allowed designers to increase powder charges in their unending search for increased velocity, flatter trajectories and more power.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike its entirely lead predecessor, which flattened or lost integrity on impact, FMJs remain largely intact and unaltered after striking soft-tissue targets\u2014at least when delivered at velocities possible from rifles and handguns. The cleaner running, reliably feeding and more accurate bullet design quickly assumed the new standard military ammo crown. Its characteristics are key ingredients in today\u2019s definition of ball ammo.<\/span><\/p>\n

Modern Ball Ammo<\/span><\/h2>\n
\"a

Cheap, reliable and easy to find in-stock on store shelves. There’s a lot to like about ball ammo.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ball ammo, by today\u2019s standards, are cartridges with jacketed bullets. On average, they do not change significantly in shape or surrender an undue portion of their mass when striking a game animal or other soft tissue. In handgun ammunition most \u201cball\u201d bullets are round on the business end, often semi-spherical. Versions for rifles usually come to a conical point to improve aerodynamic stability.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bullet profile can vary, and pure lead interiors aren\u2019t necessarily requisite. The U.S. military, for example, has used a 5.56 NATO round<\/a> often termed ball ammo, yet the bullet has a steel core.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the cartridges that fail to qualify include those with hollow-point bullets. Tracer rounds, polymer-tipped bullet loads, those with frangible projectiles and virtually every flavor that does not have an FMJ bullet are not ball.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ball Ammo <\/strong>Disadvantages<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\"a

FMJ bullets tend to go through a lot more than just cardboard targets, you’ll want to know what’s behind your target before firing.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bullets delivered from ball ammo don\u2019t slow much when striking soft tissue, like a big-game animal. That reduces the chances of an ethical, one-shot stop. The fact also makes it nominal for self- and home-defense use for the same reason. Bullets exiting a target may strike something unintended downrange.<\/span><\/p>\n

The FMJ bullets also pass through barriers like metal, wood and glass with relative ease\u2014depending on impact velocity and material breached. That\u2019s a slight advantage for members of our Armed Forces. Terrorists like to hide behind cover<\/a>, after all. For law-abiding citizens defending themselves against criminal attack, or even hunters, it\u2019s far from ideal for a bullet to travel to destinations unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ball Ammo Advantages<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Cost is the most-often-cited advantage of using ball ammo. It\u2019s inexpensive, particularly when bulk, non-corrosive military surplus cartridges are available.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reliability is key. The softer lead core is covered by a metal that is less prone to dents and dings. Bullet wear is common as a bullet glides out of the magazine and onto the feed ramp. Stoppages and malfunctions most often occur during the cycling of the round. This bullet design has been around for more than 100 years and these loads are among the most reliable available today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ball ammo runs extremely clean and is exceptionally accurate. For lengthy range sessions, competition and informal plinking, it\u2019s hard to beat. Add the price and it\u2019s obvious why these loads, despite the geometrically inaccurate label, are so beloved by knowledgeable firearm enthusiasts everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Guy J. Sagi Shooters often use the term \u201cball ammo\u201d to describe cartridges with a full metal jacket bullet (FMJ). Although the jargon hints that the projectile is spherically shaped or contains some sort of hidden \u201cball\u201d within, neither is true. It\u2019s the least-expensive ammunition\u2014on average\u2014available to civilian gun owners and accounts for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[515,444,209,519,517,516,518],"class_list":["post-4045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ammo","tag-ball-ammo","tag-fmj-ammo","tag-full-metal-jacket","tag-handgun-ammo","tag-jacketed-ammo","tag-minie-ball","tag-range-ammo"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is Ball Ammo? - Wideners Shooting, Hunting & Gun Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn all about ball ammo in this article as we explain these full metal jacket cartridges and look at the design and history of this popular bullet type.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wideners.com\/blog\/what-is-ball-ammo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Ball Ammo? 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