 The ammunition field is immense and absolutely fascinating. Some ammunition items have a rich history of development from the very earliest days of the bow and arrow and the crossbow bolt, which by the way are still in use today. Some items appeared briefly and were soon forgotten. Some items became embedded in the language, such as the Bazooka, the AK47, the torpedo and the A-bomb. The development of explosives wrought immense changes in warfare and engineering.
Unknown and unidentified items often turn up. This is surprising considering the resources and effort that have been put into the production of ammunition over the years. Identifying such items presents quite a challenge. It would appear that much ammunition was produced under the hard spur of war and as such, quite often not always documented. Much ammunition today is looked at with wondering eyes trying to understand who, why and when it was made.
Generally the subject is fascinating, encompassing as it does the whole range of engineering, Chemical, Mechanical, Civil and social. It shows man at his best and at the same time his worst. Some of the devices used in warfare demonstrate a breathtaking level of ingenuity and at other time a level of crudity as to be almost laughable.
As with all facets of endeavour there are doomsayers aplenty in the ammunition world. As each new development comes along they set up the chant of “This will mean the end of mankind” or “War will become too horrible to get involved in it” etc.
Mankind develops new weapons and learns to live with each one as it comes along. An early example of this is the .303 magazine fed rifle. When it first appeared the magazine had a cut-off device to prevent the troops from expending too much ammunition. Now, just about every soldier carries a weapon capable of at least semi-automatic fire and is encouraged to use the facility if it will save his or his comrades lives. Bullets are cheaper than lives.
Welcome to the wonderful world of ammunition we hope you get as much pleasure from learning about it as we get from presenting it.
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Please note: We do not sell weapons or ammunition. |
