Cartridge Size Comparison Chart — eleven cartridges at 1:1
Eleven cartridges drawn at actual size, from .22 LR to .300 Winchester Magnum, every case head on the same line so the lengths can be read off against each other. Print it at 100% and lay the real round on the outline.
How to use it
- Print at 100%, not "fit to page", and measure the 100 mm bar. If the bar is short, every outline on the sheet is short with it and the chart stops being 1:1.
- Case heads sit on one line, so height above that line is overall length. The dashed rules are at 25, 50 and 75 mm.
- The grey line across each cartridge is the case mouth: below it is case, above it is bullet. That is the part a magazine and a chamber actually have to swallow.
- Overall length is the standard maximum, not a fixed number — it moves with the bullet seated. Your handload will sit somewhere else.
Dimensions on this sheet
| # | Cartridge | Overall | Case | Bullet | Widest | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .380 ACP | 25.0 mm | 17.33 mm | 9.04 mm | 9.53 mm | straight |
| 2 | .22 LR | 25.4 mm | 15.57 mm | 5.72 mm | 7.06 mm | rimmed |
| 3 | .40 S&W | 28.8 mm | 21.59 mm | 10.17 mm | 10.77 mm | straight |
| 4 | 9x19mm Para | 29.7 mm | 19.15 mm | 9.03 mm | 9.96 mm | straight |
| 5 | .45 ACP | 32.4 mm | 22.81 mm | 11.48 mm | 12.19 mm | straight |
| 6 | 5.7x28mm | 40.5 mm | 28.90 mm | 5.70 mm | 7.95 mm | rebated |
| 7 | 7.62x39mm | 56.0 mm | 38.70 mm | 7.92 mm | 11.35 mm | bottleneck |
| 8 | 5.56x45 NATO | 57.4 mm | 44.70 mm | 5.70 mm | 9.60 mm | bottleneck |
| 9 | 12 Gauge 2¾" | 63.5 mm | 69.80 mm | 18.53 mm | 22.50 mm | shotshell |
| 10 | .308 Win | 71.1 mm | 51.18 mm | 7.85 mm | 12.01 mm | bottleneck |
| 11 | .300 Win Mag | 84.8 mm | 66.55 mm | 7.85 mm | 13.51 mm | belted |
Other reference sheets
Numbers for your own load. This sheet is a standard, the same for everyone. What your barrel, altitude and temperature do to a bullet is not — the calculator works that out for any load in the database.