Cartridges of the World (11th Edition)

This book is the latest in the line of Cartridges books. I'm not sure I'd put the information together the way they do but all the information you need is there.

If you shoot, you will eventually need to know a bit about ammunition. That's what prompted me to buy Barnes' classic CARTRIDGES OF THE WORLD.

I collect firearms and enjoy shooting them. I do some reloading and should exaplain right now that Barnes' book is NOT a reloading manual. Instead, it's a survey of ammunition.

I use it quite a bit and have always found it to be helpful. It doesn't go into the detail a good reloading manual will, but it does give you a pretty good idea of what the basic commercial/military loads are.

The best way to use this book is to treat it as a starting point. I recently got a Colt chambered for .32-20 Winchester and was delighted to find an entry for it including basic commercial loads and some historical notes. I hadn't realized that this cartridge was used as widely by police during the first half of the 20th century as it was.

I gave the book five stars and recommend it to anybody interested in learning more about the ammunition they're shooting.

This book does a really good job at being a GENERAL reference guide. A buyer will likely be a bit disappointed if the purchase of this book is being considered for a specific information. For example: You could not help buying a surplus nagant revolver or mauser 71/84. Now you're wanting to get Info on cooking up some Ammo. You'll not find any helpful data or deminsional drawings (except for very common cartridges) You'll get a bit of (not entirely unbiased) history that you already knew, a little load/ballistic data that you'd be better going to a loading manual for.

The organization is in such a manner that is difficult to find a certain cartridge. In fact, I would say that it's been over organized to the point that complication smites simplicity.. On the plus; I've never not found a round that I was looking for after some searching.

If you'll be doing a lot of work around ammunition This is a good buy, as general and random as it is, that you'll be cracking open again and again.

I purchased this book in conjunction with another book, not knowing wich would better suit my needs. If I had to choose I'd keep the other, "The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions" Check the reviews to help in making a selection if you havn't already.

Great book full of information on calibers unknown to many of those who love to shoot.Good price. Shipped and received quickly.

This is the best book on cartridges I have ever read and I have read 100s of books on cartridges.