Customer Reviews

Understanding Firearm Ballistics

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought the 4th edition (13th printing - 2003), and I thought it was awful. I forced myself to read the entire book, and it was a very painful experience. A lot of the equations are repeated, but no effort is made to make the notation and symbols used consistent from one use of a given equation to another (for example, "w" is used for a variable in an equation, but "a" is used for the same variable in the same equation later in the text). I could find no obvious flaws in the equations, but the text explanations of the equations were either very, very confusing or downright wrong. Some of Mr. Rinker's discussions of physical principles, such as gyroscopic stability for example, gave me the impression he doesn't have a good understanding of the subjects because I believe I can give much simpler and clearer non-mathematical explanations than he does for just about every single physical principal he "explains" in the book. That may sound arrogant, but I used to be a physics professor and I've taught several physics courses for non-science majors that covered just about all of the physics topics discussed in the book. I base my "arrogant" statement on this teaching experience, student-faculty reviews, and the performance of my former students on exams and quizzes.

So, my low opinion of the book probably is because I am a physicist and the book is not written for physicists, and I'm one of those weird people who like the math. In several places in the book, the author points out that the equations have been checked by experts from NASA, etc. so they are right. (At one point Mr. Rinker actually asserts that there are no errors, so if the reader is getting wrong results it's because the reader doesn't know what he's doing.) I suspect the book gets glowing reviews from several sources (not just Amazon.com customers) because to my knowledge it's the only book out there on firearm ballistics that targets the non-technically-trained shooters. That is very unfortunate because I can't help thinking that the book promotes misunderstandings by people who can't tell that a lot of the physics explanations are garbage. In addition to the technical flaws, the way the text was organized seems very disjointed - like he took excerpts of notes he's written over the years and just added them all together without editing to make sure they flowed together to provide a cohesive description.

As I mentioned, I have the 4th edition of the book, and I know it is now in its 6th edition. Perhaps some of my complaints have been addressed in later printings, but I would be surprised if they have been.

If you are not already conversant in the facts and math of ballistics this is a fairly good primer, and it does have some useful information for those that already know a lot. It does not, however, fill that middle range between the basics and PhD engineering texts. Although the formulas for various ballistic factors are included, he does not go into the math in detail. That means that unless you are an ace at multi variable calculus already, and have taken a bunch of physics, then this is not a lot of help. The book is largely aimed ad debunking as many uninformed old wives tales as possible and getting people to think scientifically. Thus if you are looking to learn more about firearms physics than you are going to find in a gun magazine, it is a good reference. If you are looking to learn about the physics of shooting at ranges over 1,000 yards, you are going to find only limited help.

It's not a page-turner. If you don't have serious interest in ballistics, read something else. It's not a how-to manual on marksmanship and it doesn't tell you interesting CSI stuff.

If you've read this far, this book is highly informative. It goes through a lot of detail on exactly what happens when you pull the trigger of a loaded firearm. It covers history, dispels urban legends and explains things in normal language.

Explanations aren't math laden. On the contrary, the author seems to be extremely afraid of math and attempts to project that upon the reader. The explanations are highly qualitative and almost not at all quantitative. The humor is corny, but it's not meant to be fun and games.

The layout, grammar, organization, printing quality, etc. make the text seem jumbled and unclear. Many topics are covered in a "hand-waving" manner, and use terms without explaining them adequately beforehand. I feel that they dumbed it down a bit too much to be very useful. I wish they had gone a good bit more in-depth with the math/physics instead of constantly throwing in space-wasting comments like "Oh don't be scared of the math it's really simple" and "The math looks scary, but don't worry about what it means ... here's all you need to know ... " etc. Ballistics is a physical science and you can't learn it without knowing mathematics and basic physics. It's foolish to try to write a book on ballistics that attempts to avoid or oversimplify the mathematical/physical aspects ...

The book was good enough for me to get a mediocre overview of the field, and pointed me to areas where I can do further research, but nothing more. This is a decent book, but most definitely not great.

Well - not really what I was lookign for.
I would say that this gives a good practical view and it's easy to understand.
I was looking an information of some sertain topics and this was not it but not wasted money whatsoever.

I have a background in science, engineering and mathematics. I was (and still am) eager to learn all I can about guns--how they operate and how they're made. I purchased this book with the assumption it would be a resource for me while at the same time readable, organized and mostly error free. I was wrong! I nearly wore out my red pencil marking all the spelling errors, technical inconsistencies and bad grammar I found in this book. This book wants to cater to an average audience. In the "About the Author" section on page 427 Steve Brandon writes "...he writes for the average reader in a style they can easily follow on even the most advanced subjects, and most readers appreciate that quality." OK, a down-home style is what the author is striving for; I get that! But spelling errors, careless use of the written word, badly organized subject material and an awkward writing style (not to mention laziness on the part of the publisher for not catching all this, and after 6 editions no less) does not a book for the average reader make! Mistakes are mistakes. Grammatical mistakes are still mistakes! They aren't OK in a book because it is aimed at an average reader. Shame on Mulberry House Publishing for letting this book go this far without being seriously revised! If the book were to be revised, then the average reader would surely appreciate that quality too.

I bought this book to learn from it, but it is nearly impossible to do so. First, it is exceptionally difficult to read. Between being confusingly written, and full of odd little sentences or phrases which seem to be mean-spirited jabs at someone or something (despite the author's claim to omit opinion), my brain keeps getting assaulted by the oddness and can't get into the groove of absorbing the information. This is ultimately probably for the best due to the most egregious omission ever for a book like this; in the entire book there IS NOT ONE SINGLE REFERENCE. There isn't even a general bibliography. A book of science or engineering, especially if it is not written and edited by a large panel of experts, absolutely requires references. Time after time after time I looked for a footnote to some formula or statement because it was either confusing, smacked of opinion, or just seemed wrong. I never found one.

This book is extremely superficial in it's treatment of the subject, quite disorganized, and full of miss-information. It appears that the author has surveyed a lot of popular literature on the subject and assembled it in a hodgepodge without much understanding or ability to organize it in a coherrent fashion. It does not appear the author has worked in this area of expertise nor understood it well. I felt like I had been cheated out of my hard earned money. I cannot even say that I found a few helpfull charts or techniques to apply to my hobby nor any perls of wisdom.

I've owned this book for a number of years and have recommended it to numerous friends. It delivers fantastic information in a way easily understood by the average lay person.
Well worth the money and time.

This book has everything you ever wanted to know on the subject and more! If you work with firearms or have an interest in shooting, at some point you will want to know something from this book! It is a great reference and learning tool. It is pretty in-depth and is not a quick read but can be used as a reference. Highly recommended.