Gas check

This article is about firearms. For artillery, see Gas-checks in British RML heavy guns.

A gas check is a device used in some types of firearms ammunition. Gas checks are used when non-jacketed bullets are used in high pressure cartridges, to prevent the buildup of lead in the barrel and aid in accuracy.

Cast bullets as cast (left), with gas check (center) and lubricated (right).

Construction

Gas checks are most commonly found in the form of a thin cup or disc made of copper, zinc, aluminum, or a suitable alloy such as brass. The bullet that is to be gas checked must be designed for a gas check. If the bullet is designed for a gas check, there will be a rebated area to allow the cup to fit onto the base, or a small projection to allow attachment of the check. The check is swaged onto the bullet covering most or all of the base; the perimeter is the most important area, so some designs (such as Corbin's Base Guard™) use a short cylindrical projection of the bullet base as a rivet to lock the check in place. Once assembled, the bullets are loaded normally.

Purpose

High pressures, such as those commonly encountered in maximum loadings of magnum revolver cartridges or rifle cartridges, often result in significant problems when coupled with cast or swaged lead bullets. It was long thought that the high temperatures melted the base of the bullet, but this is no longer thought to be the case. Instead, the high pressures allow propellant gas to escape past the bullet, causing gas cutting, which increases lead deposits in the barrel and unbalances the bullet. A gas check provides a thin layer of harder but still malleable metal on the base of the bullet that obturates to provide a seal and prevents the propellant gas leakage that causes gas cutting, and help the bullet grip the rifling.

While most cartridges operating at such high pressure use jacketed bullets, gas checked bullets are often less expensive, especially to a hand loader who can recycle lead to make cast bullets, and then must only pay for the gas check. Custom lead bullets, such as those for obsolete calibers, wildcat cartridges, or for special purposes, are easily made with inexpensive casting or swaging equipment. In contrast, manufacturing jacketed bullets requires far more expensive equipment to draw the jackets and swage in the core, so is generally limited to commercial ammunition producers. As a result, although it is possible for hobbyists to manufacture jacketed bullets, many of them take the easier option and use gas checked bullets instead.

Cartridges commonly using gas checks

The most common use of gas checks is in the .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, and 10mm Auto which were developed from non-magnum cartridges by shooters such as Elmer Keith. By loading the large capacity cases designed for black powder with large charges of smokeless powder, velocities well in excess of 1000 ft/s (300 m/s) were produced from handguns for the first time. At these velocities and pressures traditional soft lead bullets would quickly foul the barrel with lead deposits, so gas checked bullets were used in these experimental cartridges.

The other common use of gas checked bullets is in obsolete military rifles. Many of these rifles used calibers that were unique to the rifle; low levels of commercial production and dwindling supplies of surplus ammunition quickly result in high ammunition prices. Many of these rifles use unusual bore diameters; for example, the .303 British and Soviet 7.62×54mmR use bore diameters larger than US .30/7.62 mm standard bullets, resulting in a much smaller supply of suitable bullets—often just a single full metal jacket bullet design in the weight used by the military loading. Custom made bullets also allow the bullet to be carefully sized to match the bore, which can vary considerably in surplus rifles, and provide both more accuracy and more flexibility. Gas checks allow these bullets to be pushed to higher velocities without undue fouling of the barrel and attendant problems.

See also

• Driving band
• Sabot