___ is a term that describes the size of a rifle or handgun bore. This term also describes the size of cartridges used with different bores.

• A. Gauge
• B. Caliber
• C. Power
• D. Chambering

Answer: (B)

Caliber describes the size of the bore and the bullets/cartridges designed to fit that bore. When we say a rifle is a certain caliber, like .30 caliber or 7.62 mm, we’re saying the bore’s inside diameter is about that size and the corresponding cartridges use bullets of roughly that diameter. Examples include rifles chambered for .30-06 Springfield or .308 Winchester, which means the bullets are around .30 inches in diameter. This same idea in metric terms would be a 7.62 mm caliber.

Gauge is a different system tied to shotguns and relates to how many lead balls of a given size would equal one inch of bore, so it doesn’t describe rifle bores. Power refers to velocity or energy, not bore size. Chambering refers to the specific cartridge the firearm’s chamber is built to accept, which is related but distinct from the bore’s diameter.