Gauge (firearms)

Gauge
Gauge
	From left to right; a .45 ACP cartridge, a .410 bore shotshell, a 20-gauge shotshell, and a 12-gauge shotshell
Type	Shotgun
Place of origin	Various

The gauge (in American English or more commonly referred to as bore in British English) of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the inner diameter (bore diameter) of the barrel.

Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound, e.g., a one-twelfth pound lead ball fits a 12-gauge bore. Therefore with a 12-gauge, it would take 12 balls of lead of the same size as the 12 gauge shotgun's inner bore diameter to weigh 1 pound (454 grams).^[1] The term is related to the measurement of cannons, which were also measured by the weight of their iron round shot; an eight-pounder would fire an 8 lb (3.6 kg) ball.

Gauge is commonly used today in reference to shotguns, though historically it was also used in large double rifles, which were made in sizes up to 2 bore during their heyday in the 1880s, being originally loaded with black powder cartridges. These very large rifles, called "elephant guns", were intended for use primarily in Africa and Asia for hunting large dangerous game.

Gauge is commonly abbreviated as "ga.", "ga", or "G".

^ Barnes, Frank C.; Woodard, W. Todd (2016). Cartridges of the world : a complete and illustrated reference for more than 1500 cartridges (15th ed.). Krause Publications. p. 629. ISBN 978-1440246425. OCLC 934886116.

[1] Barnes, Frank C.; Woodard, W. Todd (2016). Cartridges of the world : a complete and illustrated reference for more than 1500 cartridges (15th ed.). Krause Publications. p. 629. ISBN 978-1440246425. OCLC 934886116.

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