My buddy Mike Bussard has been rattling around this industry far longer than I have and I’ve been at it quite a while. In the process of working at various jobs, Mike has amassed virtually encyclopedic knowledge of ammunition, which makes him very well-suited to write books on the subject.
Blue Book Publications has published three prior editions of the book at hand, but this new 4th Edition Ammo Encyclopedia is a quantum step forward with 972 pages, selling for $34.95. Everything good about the earlier editions remains, but much more has been added.
For one thing, the earlier, sometimes confusing, layout has been improved. Beyond that, there is simply much more information that arrives in more charts, graphs and tables. Bussard is a student of the cartridge and the history of this gunpowder stuff. Mike is a steady, solid scholar, but his impish sense of humor creeps into the text now and then. For a host of reasons, this is a commendable book and a necessity on the shelf above my computer.
