What is the BEST gun & ballistics book?

[Beethoven]

I I want a book all about guns.

Pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles....I want to know all the different makes and models, how they work, how they are different from each other, what calibers they come in, and if possible in the same book, I'd like to learn about ballistics.

For example; I'd like to know the different types of Mp5's produced. I know there are 9 and 10mm versions, but AFAIK, the 10mm is only available suppressed; the HKMp5SD. Is that correct? I'd like to know stuff like that.

If I must get a separate book for ballistics, fine.

So what is the "bible" of the gun world?

Obviously Boston T. Party's Gun Bible springs to mind.

Is it worth the money and does it contain the info I want?

What are the best books about guns and ballistics?


Thanks!

 

[DeadCalm]

Wow, that's a tall order. Here's a quick take. Get a reloading manual from one of the major providers of reloading components. Speer, Nosler, etc. They have very accessable data about ballistics in general and virtually all of the best known cartridge stats, including some esoteric ones. For the kind of breadth and depth you want on firearms, no help here. Jayne's (Janes ?) publishes a very wide selection of volumes on military weapons such as you mentioned in your example. There are some seminal works on rifles, pistols, and shotguns, but they tend to not be all-inclusive. I'd pull a few titles from my library for some favorites but my stuff is in boxes pending a move. GENERALLY, I liked Jim Carmichaels' books on these subjects. But again, the more detail you want the more books it'll take to get it. If others know of a comprehensive single volume, sign me up now!

 

[Kurush]

What kind of ballistics; internal, external, or terminal?

What kind of guns; commercial, military small arms, or heavy guns? And what era?

There is no book that covers all these subjects. If you want specific information like production rate you usually need to get a book about that specific weapon.

 

[jlh26oo]

I hate when people do this- tell you that you don't want what you are asking for, or ask WHY you just don't want something different, so first I'll officially say I don't know what book would offer all of that info.

If it's just for the type of information you specified- your best bet is online resources. Aside from armorers manuals, if you want detailed information about mechanics, all the information such as different models offered is kind of fluid- lots of things change from year to year, and books of this sort become obsolete quickly.

Online, there are forums specific to every manufacturer out there, faqs documenting historical timelines of models put out, what is and has ever been offered. And they stay on the cutting edge of what's new of course.

Lots of ballistics testing has been done, measurements of all types, lots of experts analysis of it all. People are linking sources for this type of info around these forums constantly in making argumetns.

I just don't think there is ONE book out there with the breadth and depth you are looking for. With the range of firearms you want it to cover, while offering the detail you want in each type. I just think it would be impossible to do that. But I am sure there is something out there that takes a stab at it, but probably more in a general sense. I'll keep an eye out though.

Good luck.

 

[only1asterisk]

Jack O'Conner's Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns, With a Seven-Lesson Rifle Shooting Course should be a good start.

It's been out of print for many years, but it covers the rifles and shotguns very well. This place lists used books, but I've never used them.


David

 

[DeadCalm]

It doesn't seem that these posts are telling Beethoven that he shouldn't want what he does, but that we flat out admit that we don't know of such a single volume. All we're trying to do here is say that within our scope of knowledge, these are the best suggestions that we can come up with. Sheesh.

 

[DeadCalm]

OK, let me back-peddle with an apology for the last post. I have no idea whether jih26oo was speaking in the first person or generally to all the responses. Forgive my presumption.

 

[jlh26oo]

LOL no problem. Speaking for myself.

 

[bogie]

The _best_ ballistics book, bar none...

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=BOVSOB&item=15-825&type=store

This one _will_ hurt your brain.

This book by Harold R. Vaughn is the successor to the classic work "The Bullets Flight", by Dr. Mann; and is the result of many years of research and experimentation. The book covers internal ballistics, barrel vibration, chamber and throat design, muzzle blast effects, bullet core problems, external ballistics and many other chapters. Harold vaughn built a 100 yard tunnel for his testing and used a rail gun, shadow graphs, and other sophisticated equipment to research this project. Harold vaughn is not a backyard researcher. His background includes a MS in Aerodynamics and 35 years of work at the Sandia National Laboratories with 30 years as the Supervisor in the Aeroballistic division. This division provided the flight dynamics and aerodynamics research for the development and design of nuclear missile weapons. Imagine a distinguished scientist who can make advanced rifle accuracy facts understandable to the intelligent layman. Almost 300 pages in length, this is not a book you will rush through in one evening. soft cover.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=BOVSRB&item=BK559806&type=store

And this one's almost as fun...

This revised edition of the much acclaimed Understanding Ballistics , written by Robert Rinker, is expanded from 270 to 430 pages. The text has been improved and broadened with up-to-date information. Included are explanations of terminal ballistics, wind deflection, trajectory, ballistic co-efficients, velocity and drag and much more. The revised edition contains more formulas, more detailed examples, more charts and sketches and more technical details. The text is written in a clear understandable fashion by a shooter who knows shooters. The mathematical equations are provided, but the text is written so the reader can get the information without doing the math if he wishes. Soft cover.

 

[Beethoven]

Thanks for the help so far.

Any word on the Gun Bible I mentioned?

 

[HankB]

I'm not personally familiar with the work by "Boston T. Party" but I tend to look askance at reference works published under a "cute" pseudonym . . .

The subject of guns, ammunition, and ballistics is far too vast for any one book to cover it in detail . . . in many cases, a book, or even several books, are needed to cover a single firearm in any kind of depth.

For a good general reference, there's Hatcher's Notebook, which contains a wealth of information on U.S. Military firearms and their development from the early 20th century into, IIRC, the 1960s. It was written by an Army Ordnance officer.

For hunting rifles, there's African Rifles and Cartridges by John Taylor, who spent long years in Africa, and the more recent Safari Rifles by Craig Boddington. These cover both guns and ammo.

A good general ammo reference is Barnes' Cartridges of the World.

Read through these, and then YOU will know what you need to expand your own horizons.

 

[Essex County]

There is no one good source. It doesn't exist, I have a pretty good library going back over forty-five years and I still find gaps..........Essex

 

[bogie]

Odds are that if you can buy it at a gun show or at Wally World, it ain't really about ballistics.

 

[Rosstradamus]

Start here:

Hatcher's Notebook, Julian S. Hatcher

"A Standard Reference Book for Shooters, Gunsmiths, Ballisticians, Historians, Hunters and Collectors." It covers a lot of ground but not everything you're looking for. Probably no book does.

Understanding Firearms Ballistics, Robert A. Rinker

"Basic to advanced ballistics, simplified, illustrated and explained." Tons of info but riddled with typos, misspellings, grammatical errors, etc. Didn't anyone proof this thing?

Boston's Gun Bible, Boston T. Party

Lots of facts but even more opinions, and Boston is kind of a nut in my view so his opinions call for a really massive grain of salt. For instance, he says you should walk around fully armed in your own home at all times just on the million-to-one chance of a sudden home invasion. Get real.