Questions about UK antique gun laws

[Rogue202]

1.) What is .23 caliber ammo?
2.) What are the metric equivalents of it as well as for a .22 caliber cartridge?
3.) Is caliber and inch the same thing?
4.) What is base fire ignition?
5.) What are bores greater than 10?
6.) Is bore just another way of saying gauge?
7.) If I had a 10 gauge shotgun, would it matter what size of shell it is that I'm using (like if I had ⅝" or 2⅞" shells)?
8.) What is 7.62mm centerfire ammo?
9.) What other cartridges are there other than 1 and 1½ inch or 26.5/27mm for Very Signalling Pistols (flare guns)?

 

[gyvel]

1. Maybe 297/230 Morris? Used in British sub caliber conversions.

2. .22 is generally accepted as 5.56mm. The .230 Morris round would be nominally 5.482mm.

3. Caliber is technically used to mean 1/100th of an inch, although in colloquial use it also refers to metric cartridges.

4. Don't know in relation to firearms.

5. Punt guns; 8. 6, 4, 2.

6. Bore, in English usage is interchangeable with gauge. In other uses, bore can also be applied to rifled arms.

7. Assuming a modern 10 gauge with a 3 1/2" chamber, you can use any shell 3 1/2" or less.

8. 7.62 nowadays most commonly refers to 7.62x51 NATO, aka .308 Winchester. It can also refer to other .30 caliber rounds (+ or - .010") such as 7.62x63 (.30-06), 7.62x39 (Soviet bloc AK47 round), 7.62x25 (former Russian Tokarev pistol round), etc.

9. The only others I am aware of are 12 gauge and 37mm for the Kilgore flare pistol.

 

[wogpotter]

3.) Is caliber and inch the same thing?

Perhaps, sometimes.
"30 caliber" would translate to a bullet of approximately .30" in diameter, but commonly referred to as .308 (7.62mm) or .311 (7.7mm) as in .303 British & .308 Winchester. Both are .30 caliber even though the diameter is slightly different because the U.S. measures land diameter, but the U.K. measures groove diameter.
It can also be used to refer to bore diameter divided by bore length, but usually with crew served artillery. In that case the diameter would be 1/30th of the bore length.

5.) What are bores greater than 10?
6.) Is bore just another way of saying gauge?

Pretty much. Bore & gauge refer to the number of spherical pure lead balls that will fit tightly in the barrel & weigh a pound. A 12 gauge has 12 balls to the pound, a 10 gauge 10 & so on. Gauges up to 2 existed earlier

8.) What is 7.62mm centerfire ammo?

Any cartridge (round) firing a 7.62mm projectile that has a primer in its center, such as 30-06, .308, 30-40 & so on.