Chamber (firearms)

The chamber is that part of a firearm into which the cartridge is loaded.^[1] The chamber is also the place the cartridge is fired from.^[2] In a breech-loading weapon the chamber is directly behind and in line with the barrel.^[1] Most rifles and pistols have a single chamber.^[3] To chamber a round means to load a cartridge into the chamber.^[4]

A revolver has multiple chambers contained in a revolving cylinder.^[1] The typical number is six, which is the reason for the nickname Six Shooter and indicates the cylinder has six chambers each holding one cartridge.^[5]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Russ Chastain (10 May 2016). "Definition of Gun or Firearms Chamber". About Sports. About.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
2. ↑ "Firearms Definitions" (PDF). Tennessee State Courts. Tennessee Courts System. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
3. ↑ "What Is a Gun? A Primer". New York City LENS. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
4. ↑ Brian R. Johnson, Crucial Elements of Police Firearms Training (Flushing, NY: Looseleaf Law Publications, 2008), pp. 62–63
5. ↑ "six-shooter". Memidex. Retrieved 19 August 2016.^{[permanent dead link]}