More interesting would be to know why people get out of their prams to defend their right to call a bullet a "head".
The etymological derivation, and usage of "bullet" by all the actual bullet manufacturers (yes, even Sako with their hammerhead bullets) is never countered by an equally logical explanation of any advantage of renaming them heads. Let alone "bullet heads".
The nearest to an explanation/justification is the anthropomorphising of the cartridge parts that @ejg always proposes in these discussions...body, shoulder, neck, head. But then he always ignores the fact that the cartridge case neck ends with the case mouth...his "head" is now being seated in the "mouth"...if the bullet just perched on the end of the case neck, maybe there would be a justification...but it doesn't.
He also ignores pistol and 22LR straight wall cartridges which have no shoulders or necks in this anthropomorphic justification.
But as an engineer I am surprised that he doesn't appear to acknowledge or accept that the manufacturers of cartridge cases, named the case's parts after the processes of manufacture.
So the stamping press produces the basic cup or slug.The drawing press produces the tube. The primer end is then headed up. Formed in the same way that a rivet or a bolt is headed up by pressure on the end whether rimmed or rimless. The primer pocket and head markings are then stamped in.
This gives rise to the gunsmith's term "headspace". It is important everybody knows what is meant by that...there have been a number of occasions on here when newby reloaders have confused headspace with the jump to the lands dimension.
The case tube is necked down in a swage or necking die and the step down/transition thus produced is referred to as a shoulder in just the same way of the shoulder surrounding a tenon in joinery.
There is a good reason why bullet should continue to describe the projectile.
If for any reason you really couldn't bring yourself to use "bullet" then it would be less confusing if a word other than "head" be used. For instance, given the fact that @ejg wants to ignore the engineering terms and anthropomorphise the cartridge then something that sticks out of a mouth like "tongue" or goes into a mouth like "bite" or "bolus" would be more logical...bolus would actually be quite elegant with its bullet, boullette, boulle similarity.
What I find strange is the arguing for the perceived advantage of temporarily changing the bullet manufacturer's own description of bullet to "head" by the retailer and purchaser...but then reverting to bullet to describe the holes made in the target.
Alan
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