BALLISTICS

Ballistics is the science or study of projectiles in flight. This might seem arcane and boring, but it's at the heart of how we hit or miss game. Internal ballistics refers to what goes on within the gun. External ballistics covers the projectile's flight, and terminal ballistics is all about what happens when that projectile lands. If you truly wish to become a better shot, study ballistics. Yeah, it's physics and a bit of rocket science, but we'll make it as plain, simple and useful as we can. Hey, if an old country bumpkin like Spomer can grasp this stuff, you can. Shooters who routinely put bullets on target at 300 yards and beyond know their ballistics.

Ballistics | Firearms | Cartridges

Spomer's History With Firearms

By Ron Spomer (editorial)

Hunters are interested in guns to varying degrees. For some they are basic tools. So long as they shoot straight and every time, good enough. But many hunters dote on rifles and shotguns and want to know all the details -- where, when, what and how, if usually why. I started my hunting career with the notion that firearms were mere vehicles to adventure. I knew a few basics about actions and sights and cartridges, but I didn't much care if a bolt-action was a push feed or a controlled round feed, whether it used an in-line magazine or staggered. Only later in life did I begin to appreciate guns in and of themselves, to care how they were designed and built as well as how they performed. I still do not consider myself a firearms know-it-all or a true rifles nutcase, but I've learned enough to apply my knowledge effectively to the important aspects of shooting and hunting well. And, thanks to my job, I've had many chances to use dozens and dozens of firearms in pursuit of accuracy and game around the world, so I can comment on firearms with a certain combination of experience and research. In addition, I resist the urge to pontificate on things I know only second-hand. So when you hear that rifles weighing less than eight pounds are too light to be accurate and I say "bull," that's because I've hunted sheep, goats, moose, elk, eland and even grizzlies with roughly a dozen rifles weighing less than 7 pounds – some less than 4.5 pounds. I may not know the last word in super lightweight rifles, but I know the many I've used have worked quite well -- and I have the antlers and horns to prove it. When you hear that walnut stocked rifles are inaccurate because they warp and I say "bull," it's because I own and have hunted with many walnut stocked rifles that maintain zero year after year and shoot sub-MOA. In short, I've had considerable experience and I tell it like it is. In this section I will be posting reviews, or overviews, of various rifles from time to time. I'll tell the good and the bad from my experiences and perhaps some experiences of others. I might report on rumors or historical performance. But I won't pretend to know things I don't. And if readers have burning questions, I'll try to answer them or refer you to sources that can.