Line #33 Main/CartridgesInFlight


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12	->''"We fire the whole bullet! That's 65% more bullet per bullet!"''
13	-->-- '''Cave Johnson''', ''VideoGame/Portal2'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i-nMWgBUp0 Trailer #3: "Turrets"]]
14
15	In RealLife, there are four components to an ammunition round: a casing, an explosive primer, the propellant, and the projectile bullet. Only the last of these is expected to leave the barrel through the muzzle. The other components either burn up (as with the propellant, which provides the force to hurl the bullet down the barrel) or are removed from the chamber to make room for the next round (as with the casing itself and the primer at the bottom of it). Some guns retain the spent casing in a [[RevolversAreJustBetter rotating cylinder]], others rely on a manually operated mechanism to eject it, and semi- and fully-automatic firearms use the recoil or pressure from firing to [[SpentShellsShower eject the casing themselves]]. There are also guns with "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caseless_ammunition caseless ammunition]]", which use a solid propellant that doesn't need a metal casing to hold it.
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17	Some works of fiction, particularly illustrations, will show the entire cartridge in flight during BulletTime - casing, primer, and all. This could be a simple error, but it could also be a case of TheCoconutEffect; fiction shows whole rounds in flight because that's what audiences ''expect'' to see and because a realistic bullet would be less recognizable.
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19	SubTrope of GunsDoNotWorkThatWay.
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21	----
22	!!Examples
23
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25
26	[[folder:Anime]]
27	* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', the ArrowCam on Beelzemon's gun always show full cartridges.
28	%% * Done in the title sequence to ''Anime/SandsOfDestruction'' when Rhia fires her revolvers at Morte.
29	* Early on in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Raditz catches an entire rifle bullet (casing and all), fired from a farmer's shotgun.
30	* A very confusing example in ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'': After Haruko uses a shaving razor to [[ParryingBullets deflect a barrage of Amarao's pistol fire]], we see several cartridges on the ground [[DiagonalCut splitting in half after a delay]]. It's not clear if they were ''meant'' to be bullets (which Haruko cut) or [[InvertedTrope shell casings (which would be laying on the floor together)]]. In the same scene, when Haruko is weaving between gunfire in BulletTime, the projectiles are accurately drawn as just bullets.
31	* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistBrotherhood'' has a tank shell fired at Sloth land on and get stuck in his face, casing and all.
32	* The opening for ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'' shows the police firing upon Dio. The camera pans around the bullets and show the primer and casing despite being fired just seconds before.
33	* The [[https://dosbg3xlm0x1t.cloudfront.net/images/items/9784088826578/1200/9784088826578.jpg first volume cover]] for ''Manga/SakamotoDays'' shows an entire cartridge coming out of Shin's pistol. The pistol also doesn't have any kind of muzzle flash coming out the barrel, making it look as if an unspent cartridge was simply ''thrown'' in front of the gun.
34	* Averted in ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' during the Phantom Bullet arc. It specifically goes to show several bullets in flight sans casing, and even shows the comparative calibers correctly (Sinon's .50 BMG versus the .338 Lapua Magnum round from Death Gun in the scope snipe).[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37
38	* ''ComicBook/SupermanBirthright'' features a scene where Superman watches bullets fly towards him. The artist was sure to include dimpled primers and manufacturer's stamps on the bottom of the projectiles. Those go on the bottom of the cartridge, not the bullet itself.
39	* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl\| 2000}}: Deathwish'' depicts a character shooting a complete cartridge (bullet and casing combined) out the barrel of a rifle. The casing had a neck and rim, which make this even more daft.
40	* ''ComicBook/TheLoneRanger'' inverts the trope in his Dynamite comics incarnation, where he is often seen handling or loading his trademark silver bullets--but just the bullets. Without a casing, primer, or propellant, how a piece of inert metal leaves the gun is not explained.[[note]]If the Lone Ranger was never shown actually loading cartidgeless bullets into the back of the revolver cylinder, then muzzle-loading revolvers would be a logical justification, albeit not one likely to occur to readers unfamiliar with the history of firearms. Unlike modern breech-loading firearms, muzzle-loader munitions did not combine bullet, propellant and primer into a single unit; each had to be loaded separately. Muzzle-loading revolvers remained in common use until the late 1860s, which is roughly the period when most Lone Ranger adventures are set.[[/note]]
41	* A cover of Wizard Magazine featured ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} covered in bullet wounds... except the bullets were sticking out of him, and were obviously the entire munition, complete with indentation from firing pin.
42	* While it's hard to say given there may be weird things about Cybertronian technology going on, ''ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2'' had a cover where Optimus Prime appears to have caught a few rounds with his face and head. As in, the entire cartridge, rim, primer, and all, [[http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/e/ee/MarvelUSG2-01A.jpg sticking out of his face]].
43	* It might be chalked up to the technology of a galaxy a long time ago and far, far away, but Franchise/StarWars comic “Anakin and Obi-Wan” shows Obi-Wan attempting to block several bullets from slugthrowers with his lightsaber with one panel showing the bullets as still having their casing on.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Film]]
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48	* In ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' this is {{justified}} due to the bullets being sentient, sapient and self-propelling. Cartoon logic at its finest.
49	* The posters for the first two ''Film/TheNakedGun'' films show Frank Drebin standing atop a round in flight (two in the sequel). The third film's poster has him shooting a bullet through both feet at once (it's ricocheting), again with the cartridge on. It's clearly intentional, being a parody series.
50	* In an ImagineSpot of ''Film/{{UHF}}'' parodying ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'', George Newman [[BulletCatch catches a bullet in his teeth]], chews it up, and [[CatchAndReturn spits it out]] as some sort of machine gun fire. The scene runs 100% on the RuleOfFunny, so factual accuracy wasn't really an issue to start with. Lampshaded in the DVD commentary.
51	* ''Film/TheMask'': Tyrell [[BulletSeed spits bullets]] that his body absorbed after being shot, to kill his BadBoss Niko. Given that the eponymous mask's explicit power is to grant ToonPhysics to its wearer, it's an extremely rare instance of this being a JustifiedTrope.
52	* Averted in ''Film/BiteTheBullet''. In a bit of frontier dentistry, Gene Hackman removes the projectile and ignites the gun powder so they can use the casing as a makeshift cap. The film's title is slightly inaccurate, but Bite The Casing isn't as cool.
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54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
57
58	%%%%%%* The opening credit roll for ''Series/{{Chuck}}''.
59	* At least one episode of the 1970s ''Series/WonderWoman'' series had Lynda Carter intercept a howitzer round in mid-flight -- casing and all.
60	%%%%%* A bullet fired by Deadshot in ''Series/{{Smallville}}''.
61	* Shown in ''Series/ElChapulinColorado''. One episode revolved around our clumsy hero wearing a wig made of Samson's actual hair. This not only gave him nigh invulnerability, but when one of the bad guys fired a bullet he caught it with his teeth. As in caught the entire bullet, casing, prime and all. The thing looked pristine.
62	* An unusual example on an episode of ''Series/{{Gotham}}'': When searching for [[AnIcePerson Victor Fries]], Jim Gordon encounters several frozen police officers, one of whom fired on Victor, only to have the bullet frozen inches from the barrel. Gordon proceeds to pluck the fired round from the ice surrounding it, revealing that it is a full cartridge rather than a fired bullet.
63	* In an episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' hosted by Creator/ChristopherReeve, Creator/RichardDonner (played by Jim Belushi) puts finalists to play Franchise/{{Superman}} through a ludicrous audition that involves, among other things, perform an actual BulletCatch with their teeth. The candidate who successfully does it spits out a bullet that's still in its casing.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Music]]
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68	* Seen in [[http://www.ironmaidenwallpaper.com/files/single_iron_maiden_aces_high.jpg this]] album cover for Music/IronMaiden's 'Aces High', the bottom of a cartridge is stuck in the frame of the plane's cockpit on the left side, with manufacturer stamp and undimpled primer.
69	%%%%%* The music video for Japanese-American singer nano's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPshMKAXZro "Bull's Eye"]] makes this mistake.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Recorded and Stand-Up Comedy]]
73	* One of Gabe Kaplan's jokes about his high school was his assertion that his school was so tough, they didn't use guns: they inserted the bullets ''manually''.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Video Games]]
77	* {{Justified\|Trope}} and PlayedForLaughs in the ''VideoGame/Portal2'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i-nMWgBUp0 turret trailer,]] quoted above, where it is shown that the turrets are specifically '''designed''' to launch whole cartridges as a result of [[IncompetenceInc Aperture's management being totally insane]] (see, for instance, their insistence that their turrets are good because they fire "65% more bullet per bullet"). The munitions are launched using a powerful spring mechanism rather than by actually firing the propellant. Consequently, [[WeakTurretGun they're much weaker than than they would be if fired normally]], to the point where Chell, who doesn't wear much more than a cloth jumpsuit, can take several rounds to the body in a relatively short period and survive long enough to get to cover and [[RegeneratingHealth heal up]]. One wonders where the muzzle flash comes from, though. That they fired actual bullets at all came as a surprise to veteran players, since ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' turrets were based (down to the firing sounds and projectile graphic assets) on ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' turrets, which [[RayGun fire "pulse rifle" ammo]].
78	* Averted in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', where guns will eject casings as they're fired (and in the latter, you can even retain some of them to craft new bullets whenever you have spare gunpowder, primers and lead). However, ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' plays it straight in one peculiar instance. If you take Marcus to the doctor in Vault City, he'll remove a massive amount of munitions that have ended up lodged in Marcus' thick hide over the years, and give it to you. It is all received as intact and usable. Apparently, Marcus walked around with several pounds of bullets and a few ''unexploded grenades'' stuck in his back.
79	* The icons for the "Deep Impact" and "Double Tap" perks in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' show the entire cartridge in flight, rather than just the bullet as in their icons in [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare the previous game]]. This continues for the "Hardened" perk's icon in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps''.
80	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': Bullet Bills (based off artillery shells in design) fly with their casings intact. Later games show some sort of booster on their back end when visible, suggesting they're more like rockets or gyrojets than regular bullets.
81	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'':
82	** Each round for the Demoman's grenade launcher uses some kind of chemical propellant, given that it's got a muzzle flash, but the projectile that flies out is exactly the same as the projectile that's loaded--in fact, the back of each one displays a dimpled primer even before they're loaded, nor are any casings ever ejected.
83	** Although this is averted in the icon for the "Artful Dodger" Scout achievement, which only shows bullets mid-flight, it flubs it with the later "Hipshot" Sniper achievement image that clearly shows intact rimmed cartridges being fired.
84	* Implied with the description for the Minigun in ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004'', where its SecondaryFire (slower fire rate, but with explosive rounds that deal doubled damage) is noted as because the weapon is capable of firing both caseless and cased rounds; apparently Epic misunderstood the difference between the two in reality (e.g. the M16's 5.56x45mm round is more powerful than the G11's caseless 4.7x33mm in reality, but that's not because 5.56mm somehow [[MadeOfExplodium blows up when it hits something]]).
85	* Averted in ''VideoGame/EnterTheGungeon'', in the construction of the Bullet That Can Kill The Past (which the player needs to use in conjunction with the Gun That Can Kill The Past in order to get the best ending of the character they're using). As detailed in the description of this trope, four components are required to form this bullet: Prime Primer, Arcane Gunpowder (i.e., the propellant), Planar Lead, and Obsidian Shell Casing.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
89	* The opening title sequence of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' kicks off with a whole cartridge--the case of which bears a reflection Monokuma's face-- flying past the camera and slamming into a silhouette lineup of the Ultimate students. This might be excused by RuleOfSymbolism, since having the whole cartridge attached makes it look more like the Truth Bullets used in gameplay, and the case provides a more convenient canvas for the image than the bullet by itself.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	%%[[folder:Webcomics]]
93	%%%%%* Seen [[http://www.project-apollo.net/mos/mos022.html here]] as well as in several following pages of ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience''.
94	%%[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Web Original]]
97	* Ricky Berwick's video [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRmw6J8Wp6k I'M A GUN]] has him spitting whole rounds.
98	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRzpfMxksA4 This]] parody of the intro to ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' features ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s Sniper shooting an entire bullet out of his rifle.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Western Animation]]
102	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
103	** In the WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror episode segment "Homer³", Chief Wiggum fires his pistol into the third dimension. The bullets appear in 3d, casing and all, before being sucked into the black hole.
104	** In "Who Shot Mr Burns", the bullet they remove from Mr Burns is an unfired cartridge.
105	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' had this with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ykVSQuXuH0 an anthropomorphized round being shot up into the air.]] The tip is grey, implying the lead bullet, but the body is brass with a circle for the primer at the bottom.
106	* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "Room for Growth", T'Ana and Shaxs are playing a gangster sim on the holodeck. When Shaxs freezes the program, all the bullets have their casings.
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108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Real Life]]
111	* Apparently, AFP and Yahoo! News [[https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/shiny_new_bullets_fired_into_iraqi_home/ also do not understand this.]] Several news sites printed a story about an Iraqi woman claiming US troops were shooting indiscriminately in Sadr City, holding as "proof" several unfired rounds that she claimed had hit her house. It also didn't help her case that the cartridges appear to be 7.62x39mm, which no weapon in the US inventory fires, but the [=AKs=] used by insurgents (and Iraqi police) ''do''. Some observant bloggers noted that the same woman appeared in several stories making similar accusations against the Americans, always with unfired cartridges as "evidence".
112	* This would make sense actually with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrojet Gyrojet]], considering Website/TheOtherWiki defines a cartridge as a single metallic case housing a bullet, primer, and propellant (the bullet is the case... in this case). Depending on how strictly this definition is applied, the earlier [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Ball Rocket Ball]] type ammunition used by the lever-action Volcanic weapons (predecessors to the more famous Winchester and Henry rifles) qualifies as well.
113	* Some grenade launchers implement this, with the propellant being contained in a compartment inside the projectile, as opposed to a casing containing the projectile and propellant separately. There was a Japanese aircraft cannon that worked like this too, and some experimental personal weapons like the Gerasimenko pistol.
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116	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CartridgesInFlight