Cartridges of the World - 10th edition. by Frank C. Barnes, edited by Stan Skinner. 528 Pages, Softcover, 600 b&w photos, 8-1/2 x 11, Price: $27.99 plus $4.00 P&H Order this book online from Krause Publications, Dept. BNP, P.O. Box 5009, Iola, WI 54945-5009. (800) 258-0929 ISBN 0-87349-605-1
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One of the all-time standard books of the firearms industry "Cartridges of the World" by Frank C. Barnes, effectively catalogs over 1,500 current, obsolete, military, and wildcat cartridges from all over the world. This updated, new 10th edition also covers new cartridges as well as ballistics and load data for European and American blackpowder and smokeless cartridges and shotshells. The author, the late Frank C. Barnes, started accumulating data on cartridges 1930 when he was 12 years old. Barnes himself designed several wildcat cartridges, taught law enforcement and wrote about guns and ammunition for many years. Frank passed away in 1992, but his work is continued in the able hands of Stan Skinner.
The book starts off with an explanation of cartridge nomenclature. The massive cartridge catalog itself is comprised of eleven chapters that list shotshells, American rifle and rimfire, world handgun, military rifle, British and European sporting rifle and proprietary and wildcat rifle and handgun cartridges. In addition to the cartridge catalogs, other chapters deal with Australian wildcat cartridges, the U.S. Army's tests of tungsten versus lead, Holland & Holland's new magnum cartridges, front ignition, U.S. military ammunition and how to identify cartridges by measurement.
Many of the cartridge listings have photos, historical notes, author's general comments, load data and ballistics. Current American rifle cartridges also include illustrated sizes. All cartridges and shotshells appear in the index for quick reference.
Cartridges of the World is simply the best all-around reference book on ammunition that you can buy. If you are serious about guns, shooting and ammunition, this reviewer highly recommends a copy for your library. Police deprtament armorers and especially, law enforcement forensic and crime labs will find this work absolutely indespensible.