Cartridges of the World (11th Edition)

This review of commercially-manufactured cartridges will teach you about the history of firearms and introduce you to some unusual types.

This book is a generally decent review of most of the commercially manufactured cartridges of the world, plus good sections on obsolete, military and wildcat cartridges. It's a good first resource for finding basic information about specific cartridges and serves as a starting point for further research.

The wildcat section is interesting and has tidbits about some of the most unusual cartridges but there was a total lack of discussion of the plethora of 20 caliber wildcats available. No mention was made of the 20 Tactical or 20 Vartarg, or several other fairly popular 20 caliber wildcats. Yet four major bullet manufacturers make a range of bullet sizes in this dimension and several quasi-custom rifle makers chamber rifles in these calibers. I found this annoying that while considerable space was "wasted" on 10 to 14 caliber cartridges, which virtually no one except a few individuals make bullets or arms for, no space was allocated to the 20 calibers which are rapidly gaining popularity. It's a pretty large oversight.

This book did not live up to expectations. The discussions of the rounds did not tell the reader enough useful information. There were a lot of fun to know facts - amaze your friends and all of that - but not enough information on how to use the round, good ranges to sight in the various rounds versus potential uses, reloading insights (best loads, best rifle twists for what bullet weight) and more of that kind of technical information. That is why I only gave the book two stars.

Every reloading manual has tidbits of info on each cartridge included in it, and that is the sum total of what this book is. Half page of tidbits on a cartridge (creator, date, type of firearms that use it) any some very basic reloading info, but not enough to call it a reloading manual.

It does have every cartridge that I can think of. The author has focused on including nearly every cartridge, but there is very little info on any one.

I rate it as 3 stars as it is a useful reference for an enthusiast to have on the book shelf, but its appeal is limited only to that group.

If you don't already have an earlier edition, this book is a must for any shooter, collector, or student of the history of firearms. Since 1965, Cartidges of the World has been the most comprehensive readily available source of information on the history, uses, and performance of rifle, handgun, and shotgun cartridges. This new edition includes dimensions, illustrations, a short history, and sample loading data for each of over 1500 different cartridges, including virtually every significant cartridge introduced since the early 1870s, with separate chapters on rimfires, shotgun shells, sporting rifle cartridges from the United States and Canada (with separate chapters for modern and obsolete), Britain, and Europe, plus handgun cartridges (both modern and obsolete), military cartridges, and limited production "wildcat" and "proprietary" cartridges. Covers calibers from 0.1 inch to 0.95 inch, and cartridges as up to date as the 460 S&W Magnum, the 204 Ruger, and the 338 Federal (but not the 475 Ruger). If the book has a weakness (except for a few dimensional typos in tables and a totally incorrect photograph of an obscure British cartridge), it is in its omission of many 17 and 20 caliber wildcat and proprietary calibers; it covers interesting but uncommon cartridges in 10, 14, and 19 caliber, whose future is problematical at best, and almost all the new 50 caliber long-range target cartridges, but ignores roughly half of the much more common 17 calibers, and all but one of the dozen or so increasingly popular 20 calibers. (For these, see Todd A. Kindler's The Sensational Seventeens and The Terrific Twenties.)