Sunday, August 21, 2011

Cartridge Conversion Guide Book review









Cartridge Comparison Guide

There is a lot of information out there regarding cartridges and their dimensions and features. Unfortunately a lot of it is either outdated or inaccurate. Some of the other info out there might be hard to understand by a layman. This well researched book is written by Andrew Chamberlain

I ran across this guy at the POMA convention recently and he has written a book on cartridges and the information pertaining to them. I have seen quite a few books on this subject but he approaches it from a different angle. It starts with an explanation of how to select a cartridge for a specific purpose. It details who should use what cartridge based on such factors as purpose of use and recoil. The details are very comprehensive and clear. Anyone should be able to understand the text. It also contains a glossary to help anyone who isn’t clear on some of the terms used. Pictures are sprinkled through out which gives a face to the info provided. Then it goes to what to consider when selecting a round such as conditions, range, accuracy requirements and other factors a shooter may look at.

If you like tables and graphs then this book is for you. There are over 100 pages of tables in small print that covers grouping of calibers by caliber, energy, velocity and recoil. They also cover energy efficiency, sectional density, bullet momentum and recoil energy.
All of the modern cartridges are covered and if you want to know anything about your hunting load this is the read that will help you out. I am in total awe of how much time and effort was expanded to compile these tables. Bullet brands are also covered. I can’t imagine anyone reading this book and not knowing the pertinent info on his favorite cartridge.

After you get through with the tables they have a chapter on identifying an animal’s physical characteristics and describe which bullets and calibers work best for a particular application. They go into bullet behavior with a clear explanation of what to expect with certain bullets. Components and parts of a bullet are described in good detail which would be a great help to a beginner. Special purpose bullets and wound channel information is also described. Penetration and expansion of various bullets are written about extensively. In flight bullet behavior as well as effect of various calibers is gone over in detail. The book goes into cartridge names and recoil energy among many other things. There is so much info in this guide that it is hard to cover in a review. It is not a reloading manual for various reasons.

There are charts showing bullet drop at various ranges and other useful info that a shooter may need. With this book you can figure out the energy of your bullet at various ranges. By the time you finish this book you should have a good understanding on ammo nomenclature and behavior.

It is evident that a lot of research and work went into producing this book and I would give it an A+ for anyone who wants a lot of good info on their favorite cartridge. For more info you can go to http://store.cartridgecomparisonguide.com/index.php to buy a copy. At $24.99 it is a bargain
at

1 comment:

  1. AnonymousAugust 21, 2011 at 12:29 PM

    you mis-titled it Cartridge *CONVERSION* Guidebook :P

    ReplyDelete

To the Board of Directors,

Gentlemen I`am writing to present you with an idea that i think you may possibly find advantageous to your company. As i`am sure you are aware there is a great interest in whats called "Cowboy Action" shooting in this country and more and more guns of yesteryear are being resurected by the companies that make reproduction firearms.
The sport is growing constantly and the gun makers are constantly looking for ways to take even more advantage of this ever growing market. Guns like the Henry rifle,Spencer carbine, Colt and Remington conversion revolvers and the Colt 1872 Open Top and others are on the market and doudtless other guns of history will be made in the future.
The arms makers try to be as authenic as possible in their copies but one thing keeps them from being "true" copies.The majority of these guns are being made in calibers that the original guns were never made in.The Henry, Spencer,the majority of early Colts were made in rimfire calibers. Ammunition that has`nt been made by American companies since the 1920`s and early 30`s.But with the resurgence in interest in the old guns of our history and boost in ammo sales that go along with it i think it is time to resurect the original ammo these guns used as well. I ask you to think about it and concider this.
The new guns are generally offered in 2 and sometimes 3 caliber options, none of which were ever used in the originals to begin with. If the original rimfire calibers were offered as an addtional caliber option and the ammo for those calibers were available i believe both the guns and ammo sales would skyrocket.
Authenticity is what it is all about with the cowboy action crowd and the collectors and other shooters of these guns.What could be more "authenic" that having a repro in it`s original
chambering rather than a caliber that never was used in the original? Not to mention the fact that if ammo were available once again people that own originals like myself would love to be able to shoot them as well.
i believe that if arrangements could be reached between the gun makers and your company in that they would make the guns with their original calibers as options and you in turn make the ammo available i think it would be a boost in sales for both. I ask both of you to do this.
The gun makers offer the guns in their original calibers as a limited trial. You in turn make a limited run of the ammo. you both market the availablity of guns and ammo and see how it works. I believe you will find a gold mine has been discovered.
About 20 yrs ago i wrote a letter to your company asking that you concider making various rimfire ammo available again for people like myself who own antiques and would love to shoot them if ammo were available.My letter made it into the hands of someone { can`t recall who}
but he was a higher up in the company at the time.
He wrote me back saying he personally thought i had a good idea and he had presented my idea before the board and they turned it down saying they did`nt believe there was enouht of a market out there
Well things have changed quite a lot since then and i think that my idea might be worth concideration once again. I hope you agree as well.

Sincerely,
Robert Heins