hes@ccvr1.cc.ncsu.edu (Henry E. Schaffer) (07/01/91)
A book which can speak to a wide variety of needs and interests
may go on to sell very well, and I think that this one might.
While it appears to be mostly about benchrest shooting, it
has a lot in it which would be useful to any shooter interested
in rifle accuracy. [Comments in square brackets are mine.]
The Ultimate in Rifle Accuracy by Glenn Newick
Getting the Most Out of Your Equipment and Yourself
[This is the subtitle on the cover.]
A handbook for those who seek the ultimate in rifle accuracy;
whether it be for competition, testing or hunting.
[This is the subtitle on the title page.]
Stoeger Publishing Co., South Hackensack, NJ, 1989
ISBN: 0-88317-159-7 6" x 9" paperbound 210 pages
Table of Contents
Forward [by Bob White, three term president of the International
Benchrest Shooters Association]
Preface [giving a little of the author's motivation and philosophy]
1. Safety [a bit of a sermon plus some practical tips and principles]
2. History [starting with the invention of gunpowder, but quickly
getting into the history and development of modern high accuracy
rifles - note that rifles at the turn of the century could already
shoot sub-MOA groups. A blackpowder 10-shot group of .725" at
200 yards was shot from a bench with a 32/40 in 1901.]
3. The Rifle
a. Stocks b. Actions C. Barrels d. Scopes [mostly descriptions
and information]
4. The 6PPC [this is *the* modern benchrest caliber - the development
by Dr. Louis Palmisano and Ferris Pindell is discussed - hence
the name from Palmisano Pindell Cartrige - and some discussion
of its use]
5. Benchrest Bullets [description of the configuration and
manufacture of these little jacketed jewels - one very
informative sentence was "... benchrest bullets have a hollow
point, the hollow point design was chose for target bullets to
keep as much weight as possible at the maximum bullet diameter."
I've been wondering why a hollow point was chosen for target use,
with the effect of moving the center of gravity somewhat backwards]
6. The Bench and Bench Technique [this gets into some equipment and
techniques which are central to this sport - the differences
between such positions as hard hold and free recoil are discussed -
my shoulder aches just at the thought of shooting my .308 Win.
as a free recoil rifle :-)]
7. What is a Match [details of how it is arranged, plus some practical
aspects as traveling economically]
8. Wind Shooting [while understanding the wind is essential to doing
well in benchrest shooting, it also is important in other shooting
sports and hunting - here is some information which may have wide
applicability]
9. Advanced Wind Shooting [shooting strategy when conditions change]
10. Wind flags [discussion of several design]
11. Mirage [a short chapter, with sugestion that the mirage chapter in
"The Accurage Rifle" be read]
12. Practics and Competition [strategy and mental preparation]
13. Light Varmint [a discussion of this class, its use and records]
14. Heavy Varmint [ditto for this class]
15. Unlimited/Heavy Bench [a discussion of this class which includes
a lot of experimentation and things which barely look like
rifles]
16. Hunter Rifles [a class in which the rifles have to be at least
something close to a hunting-type of rifle. Max weight is 10 lbs,
the cartridge must have at least the powder capacity of the .30-30,
caliber is at least 6mm, a working safety is required as is a
magazine which holds at least two rounds. Scopes are limited to
6X. Scoring is via the traditional X, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 rings.]
17. Case Preparation [sections of safety, segregation, expansion, neck
turning, and neck dimensions]
18. Loading Technique and Load Selection [lots of detailed information,
including how to test shot, and how to trouble-shoot]
19. Cleaning Technique [discussion of why benchrest shooters spend more
time cleaning than shooting, how well a modern benchrest barrel
responds to being clean, and suggestions of brands of cleaning
equipment and chemicals, and the importance of using a bore guide]
20. Benchrest Techniques for Hunting Rifles [discussion of using these
to improve accuracy]
21. Troubleshooting [general discussion of categories of problems]
22. Current Record Lists
Glossary [a *long* (13 page) list of terms along with definitions -
this will be of help generally in the shooting sports because
so many terms are really general gun-related terms]
Appendix A: Addresses - Organizations, Suppliers, Gunsmiths,
Benchrest Clubs [12 pages - probably pretty useful
for a while]
Appendix B: Books on Accuracy [4 pages - one of the books for which
a very high recommendation is given is The Accurate Rifle by
Warren Page (1973, paperback ed. by Stoeger). While its equipment
discussions are dated, it still has a very good reputation.
Index
This is a well written and informative book. It should be equally
interesting to bench rest shooters and others who want to get the
maximum accuracy for other types of rifles. This book should be a
good complement to Sinclair's "Precision Shooting Handbook" which
covers much of the same ground but from much more of an equipment
and accessory oriented point of view - which is understandable since
Sinclair sells equipment and accessories.
--henry schaffer n c state univ