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Cartridges of the World 10th Edition, Revised and Expanded |
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| Reviewed by R. Ted Jeo | ||||||||||||
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Cartridges of the World Here are some basic statements about this book. If you own mil surp weapons and shoot them, this book is a nice reference item for your library. If you own mil surp weapons and reload for them, this book is a necessary reference item for your library. This 10th edition of Cartridges of the World has over 1500 listings for rifle, pistol and shotgun cartridges. In most cases, the listing includes an image of the cartridge (either photo or drawing) and gives historical background and general comments that may cover usage for hunting, comparisons to other cartridges or about the rifle that uses the cartridge. For the handloader, in nearly all cases, information about powders, bullets and charges are listed in a table format. The authors mention that the reloading information is to be used as a guide, to give you some idea as to what bullet/powder/velocity combinations exist. It is not a listing in detail like what you would normally find in a standard reloading book, like Lee’s or Hornady. Factory load information is given where possible and military rounds have info on standard military loads. There are 10 main chapters for cartridge references:
At the end of each chapter is a table that lists dimensional data, such as case type, neck, bullet, shoulder, base and rim diameters, and case length. In a lot of cases, barrel twist and primer being used are also shown. The book lists cartridge by caliber size order within each chapter. The military cartridges chapter starts out with the 4.85mm British experimental round and goes on up to the .577 caliber Snider cartridge. Over 60 military rifle cartridges are listed. Some cartridges (such as the .308 Win/7.62 NATO) are listed under both the commercial and military chapters. Both English and metric nomenclature is used where appropriate. In addition to the individual cartridge listings, there are chapters on cartridge nomenclature and identification. Of particular interest to U.S. mil surp owners are the reference tables at the end of the book that lists information on all the U.S. cartridges used, from the 5.56 mm on up to the 20mm cannon rounds. Information presented includes military ID numbers (i.e., M2 Ball), bullet and cartridge weights including tolerances allowed, powder and primer compound types as well as pressures and velocities produced. Also listed are “blue pill” cartridges used to pressure test guns. The final chapter is a very useful guide to identification of cartridges by measurement and not head stamps. Basically, it offers a step by step process to narrow down the identity of an unknown cartridge using the diameters of neck, base, rim and length of the case. If it is an unfired cartridge, bullet diameter can also be used. For rimmed cartridges, rim thickness and diameters are also given. Krause publications has a reputation of offering reference books for the average mil surp collector and shooter and this book should be one of their top reference books. There are many books about rifles and pistols, but very few books that cover such a wide array of specific cartridges, something easily overlooked. |
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