Bullets are small metal objects fired from guns. Many kinds of bullets are made from lead covered with copper. They are put into a package called a cartridge, which is put into a gun. The bullet is at the front of the cartridge (number 1 in the picture). The bullet is pushed out of the gun by hot gases at a high pressure. A powder called gunpowder (number 3 in the picture) is put inside the case (number 2). A small explosion from the primer (number 5 in the picture) lights the gunpowder. The gunpowder burns very fast. It makes hot gases. The hot gases are at a high pressure. The high pressure pushes the bullet out of the gun barrel at a high speed.
Bullets are weapons. Soldiers and police use them. They are used for self-defense. They are used for hunting animals for food or as a sport, but are also used for shooting targets. There are many kinds of bullets. Each gun takes a certain size, or caliber, of bullet. Rifles and handguns use different kinds and sometimes a gun uses more than one kind of bullet.
Although the word "bullet" is often used for a cartridge round, a bullet is not a cartridge but rather a part of one.[1] A round of ammunition cartridge includes the bullet (which is the projectile),[2] the case (which holds everything together), the propellant (which provides most of the energy to shoot it) and the primer (which ignites the propellant).