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Show J GULLET BUSINESS Billions of .22 caliber rifle bullets are turned out each year, most of them used by "gun bugs" who shoot at tin cans, bottles, fence posts or whatever else offers a good target. Every farm has its .22 rifle, and nothing noth-ing is more sport than plugging a gopher at 50 yards! Ammunition making is now a precision business. Bullets are examined microscopi- cally to make sure they are shaped to fly straight at the target. Later sample bullets are photographed in flight (left) to prove they are performing the way they should. The camera which took this picture was controlled con-trolled by the gun that fired the rifle. This bullet is going 1J200 feet a second! At right, thousands of empty shells destined des-tined for .22 caliber rifles are dumped on tables like this to start the process of priming and loading the cartridge. i t E ? viHs , Here is that explosive blend, primer, which is the heart of a shell. Above it is being prepared for insertion. in-sertion. The mixture is so "alive" that it must be kept wet by sprinkling water over it frequently during the operation to "dampen" its fiery spirit and prevent it from going "boom!" Primed, filled -and capped with the lead projectile, bullets are shown here ready for packing and shipping. In a few weeks one of these bullets may whizz its way against an elusive fencepost, while its neighbor stops a jackrabbit in his tracks. If you think it's easy, try it! |