Primer (firearms)

A primer is like a little spark that helps make a gun go boom! When you put bullets into a gun, they don't just go off by themselves. You need something to help start the explosion that will shoot the bullet out of the gun. That's where the primer comes in.

A primer is a tiny little metal cap that you put at the bottom of a bullet. When you pull the trigger, a firing pin hits the primer and makes a small spark. That spark ignites the gunpowder inside the bullet, which makes a big explosion. The explosion pushes the bullet out of the gun and toward its target.

Think of it like lighting a campfire. When you want to start a campfire, you don't just throw a big log on the ground and expect it to catch fire by itself. You need something to help start the fire, like a lighter or matches. The primer is kind of like the lighter or matches for a gun. It helps start the explosion that makes the gun work.