ALL ABOUT GUNS DICTIONARY-E
Ejector -- The part of a firearm’s mechanism that expels a cartridge or empty case from the firearm. -- Nov. 1, 2012
Eprouvette -- A device that often resembles a muzzleloading pistol with a graduated wheel attached to it that used a mechanical means of testing the strength of blackpowder by igniting it. Eprouvettes used by artillerymen, unlike those used by sportsmen, usually consisted of a finely made mortar that fired a special ball (a copper globe in the case of the French army) either at an angle or straight up in the air. The distance the ball flew indicated the strength of the powder. Eprouvettes, An Illustrated History, pg. 261, Gun Digest 1973 by Lee Kennett mentions that a slightly different eprouvette used a small mortar to fire vertically a weight attached to a ratchet and was described in Halinitro Pyrobolia by Joseph Furtenbach in 1627. Eprouvettes, An Illustrated History, pg. 261, Gun Digest 1973 by Lee Kennett also notes that the one of the earliest descriptions of eprouvettes dates to the 1570s and is attributed to English ordnance expert William Bourne. The use of eprouvettes was gradually discontinued after the advent of crusher gauges and chronographs in the middle 1800s. -- August 31, 2014
Extractor -- The part of a firearm’s mechanism that withdraws a cartridge or empty case from the chamber. -- Nov. 1, 2012
Copyright August 2014 John Swikart
