Few worthwhile books come from one mind. This book builds on many. It also owes much to individuals not published. Some of the shooters and hunters who mentored me are no longer here. Some worked for companies like Speer and Sierra, Remington and Winchester, H-S Precision and McMillan—as have many friends and colleagues still able to critique this book. J.B. Hodgdon always answered my questions. So did Hornady’s ballistics wizard Dave Emary, and Larry Werner, with his rich knowledge of DuPont and its products. Lee Reed, who started Swift Bullets, with Randy Brooks at Barnes and a host of knowledgeable riflemen at other bullet and ammunition firms contributed. Art Alphin, a standout in an industry of colorful men, added information on interior ballistics. Star competitive shooters Lones Wigger and Gary Anderson told me how to better direct bullets. Darrell Holland has reminded me. So, still, does friend Rich McClure, a soft–spoken rifle enthusiast whose long shooting career has garnered a wall of medals. Dr. Ken Oehler taught me a great deal about ballistics and tutored me on his superb chronographs. John Burns showed me how precise shooting with dead–center holds is possible to distances of over a mile. I’ve learned much from rifle- and barrel-makers too. Talented craftsmen like D’Arcy Echols and Gary Goudy have shown me how rifles are built from scratch. John Krieger has helped me understand how a bullet gets its best start. The list of contributors is really too long for this page. I’ll truncate it here with a salute to Earl Wickman, who years ago in his basement range in central Michigan, coached an awkward young shooter with a DCM .22.
—Wayne van Zwoll