Review by | Larry S. Sterett | Contributing Editor
AMMO & BALLISTICS 6, For Hunters, Shooters, and Collectors, by Bob Forker. ©2017. Published by Safari Press, Dept. TGM, PO Box 3095, Long Beach, CA 90803. Price: $26.95, plus shipping. It may be available at many bookstores, including Amazon, or through Safaripress.com.
This 544-page softbound volume is the 6th edition of what has become the Ballistics Bible for shooters. It contains data for more than 2,000 loads for over 190 calibers produced by some two dozen different manufacturers, foreign and US. (The manufacturers range from A-Square to Winchester and the cartridges include both rimfire, from the .17 Mach 2, and centerfire to the .700 Nitro Express.)
This volume contains so much data the reader had better digest the first two-dozen pages, especially the How to Use This Book portion, prior to delving into the actual ballistics section. The Table of Contents pages list all the cartridges and the page on which specific coverage begins. (The cartridges are grouped as small and medium rifle, dangerous game, pistol and revolver, and rimfire.) There are also some short articles, plus the Foreword by John Barsness and one by Craig Boddington.
The data for each cartridge featured includes a dimensioned drawing (courtesy of Nosler), a brief history, a relative recoil factor, specifications, and the data for known factory loads currently available. As an example, there are 17 pages of data on the .30-06 Springfield cartridge, ranging from the Remington 55-grain Accelerator to the Federal 220-grain soft point. For each cartridge the bullet ballistic coefficient is provided, in addition to the velocity, energy, Taylor KO index, path (trajectory), and wind drift from the muzzle out to 1,000 yards. (The wind drift and path are listed in inches, the velocity in feet/second, and the energy in foot-pounds.)
Not every caliber cartridge produced is included, possibly due to not being currently loaded. The 5.45x39mm Russian is covered, as is the 7.62x39mm Russian. The .50 Action Express is featured, but the .41 Action Express could not be located, nor the .475 Wildey, although the .475 Linebaugh is present. Covering every cartridge is an impossibility, but Forker has done an excellent job covering the important ones.
There are a good number of black and white photographs scattered at random throughout the book. Most feature successful hunters, game species, or firearms. There is one two-page color illustration of the FK BRNO pistol and the 7.5 FK cartridge. However, no data is provided on the cartridge, other than it features a 100-grain hollowpoint copper bullet at 2,000 feet/second from the muzzle of a six-inch barrel. Interesting!
This is a volume every shooter needs to have available for reference. For an arms or cartridge collector, wildcatter, handloader, or a general arms enthusiast, this volume provides a wealth of useful information. Even firearms dealers and arms museum curators can benefit from the abundance of information between the covers of this 6th edition. It is worthy of space on any reference bookshelf.
