This book is for hunters and shooters keen to know more about the behavior of bullets in flight. Until you know what affects a bullet, after all, you can’t control its path. A bullet is moving so fast that air can’t easily get out of its way. Air imposes tremendous pressure against the bullet’s nose and shank, and a vacuum behind the heel. Pressure results in drag, which can amount to many times the force of gravity. As drag overcomes inertia, the bullet slows down. Meanwhile, gravity pushes it to earth. The slower the bullet goes, the more time gravity has to work on it, and the steeper its arc. That’s why a bullet scribes a parabolic course, not one shaped like a rainbow. Wind puts on bends that curve right or left.
Here you’ll learn not only why bullets behave like they do but how to aim so they go where you want them to. You’ll shoot better at long range, in wind, up and down hills and at moving targets. You’ll find out what makes some rifles kick harder than others and some loads shoot more accurately than others. You’ll get a short course on mirage—what causes it, how to read it, and why bullets riding three o’clock mirage may also rise, while mirage from the left commonly depresses the shot. You’ll get straight talk on bullet deflection in brush, and the ballistic effects of temperature and elevation.
Terminal bullet performance matters to hunters, often even more so than accuracy and flat flight. This book sifts out the best loads for big game and examines the trend toward lead–free bullets. It tells how bullets are made and compares the most popular. There’s also a concise treatise on powder manufacture. If you’re a handloader, you’ll appreciate knowing how the most popular propellants came to be, and how to choose among them. The chapter on handloading technique is your step-by-step guide to more effective ammunition.
After four decades studying ballistics then testing what I learned on the range and in the field, I’m still a student. Fortunately, you don’t need a graduate degree in physics to understand exterior ballistics or to accurately direct a bullet. I’d like to say all you need is this book. In truth, you need trigger time, too.
—Wayne van Zwoll