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August 16th, 2023

Shooter’s Bible Guide to Rifle Ballistics — Great for LR Hunters

Wayne Van Zwoll Shooters bible rifle ballistics book 2d edition

With fall approaching soon, hunting season is right around the corner. Long-range hunters may want to add Shooter’s Bible Guide to Rifle Ballistics (2nd Edition, 2022) to their reference library. Written by Dr. Wayne van Zwoll, this 264-page resource focuses on the basic principles of ballistics. While the book concentrates on the many factors that affect bullet trajectories, the book also includes chapters on everything from rifle design to bullet construction and handloading. And there are many helpful tips for long-range hunters.

Gunsmith and long-range shooting school instructor Darrell Holland recommends the book highly. This updated Second Addition was released in July 2022, so it is still quite current. Darrell tells us: “Friend and noted author Wayne van Zwoll has authored another fine book on long range shooting. Wayne is a great shot (probably one of the best sling shooters I’ve been around) and superb hunter in his own right. We applaud his efforts to provide sound and accurate knowledge on long range hunting.”

Wayne Van ZwollVan Zwoll is the “real deal” — an experienced outdoorsman, with serious shooting and writing “creds”. Over his career, Van Zwoll worked for the BLM, then Washington’s Department of Game. He worked as a photographer for the U.S. Forest Service, then became one of the Elk Foundation’s first field directors. He has guided hunters in Utah and Wyoming, and has hunted on five continents. Wayne has shot competitively since his days on the Michigan State University rifle team. He qualified for the final Olympic smallbore tryouts in 1972 and later won two state prone titles. For many years he conducted shooting seminars for Safari Club International (SCI). Wayne van Zwoll has authored 14 books, and written more than 2,000 articles for numerous magazines, including Field & Stream, and Outdoor Life. In 2006 he received the Jack Slack Outdoor Writer of the Year award. Wayne now serves as Special Projects Editor for Intermedia Outdoors.


A high ballistic coefficient helped a Creedmoor bullet slice stiff wind 250 yards to this Vaal Rhebok.

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Hunting/Varminting, Shooting Skills No Comments »
August 16th, 2023

Clean up Fired Brass Faster and Easier with Caldwell Tool

Caldwell pistol rifle cartridge brass rake retriever handle

Caldwell Brass Retriever
Tired of bending over or kneeling down to retrieve your fired cartridge brass? For older shooters (including this Editor) getting down on the ground to pick up brass is tough on the lower back and knees. Here’s a product that makes brass retrieval quick, easy, and pain-free. The Caldwell Brass Retriever works quite well with a little practice, once you apply the correct pressure. While it won’t always grab every fired case, it will capture nearly all, and that can really make the job go much faster.

One owner praises this as a “very good tool” that is “a lot easier on my back.” While it can work on grass, gravel, and hard-packed earth, the unit works best on smooth, hard surfaces. Currently priced at $47.52 on Amazon, it is an affordable tool.

Caldwell states: “Spend less time bending over and picking up brass at the range and more time shooting. The Caldwell® Brass Retriever picks up brass, saving your back and time. The Brass Retriever can pick up rifle and pistol brass quickly and efficiently. The retriever comes complete with a roll cage separator that allows you to dump the collected brass into a bucket quickly. It is collapsible as well, making it convenient to transport. The retriever’s handle expands from 28″ up to 57″ tall.”

Caldwell pistol rifle cartridge brass rake retriever handle

Brass Retriever Owner Reviews

Here are Amazon reviews from actual purchasers. It’s clear the device is not perfect and can miss a case or two. However, the Brass Retriever does grab the vast majority of brass on the ground, sized .223 Rem or larger diameter. This will save time and reduces stress on your back and joints:

“This thing … does a terrific job of collecting the brass from a standing posture quickly and efficiently. It helps to have the cases on a smooth surface like concrete or dirt without a lot of vegetation. But we used it on open desert yesterday and it collected nearly every case with a single pass. It’s now a permanent piece of gear in the stuff we take when target or ground squirrel shooting.” — Hans H.

“This WILL save your back. The only drawback is you can’t overload it with brass. After couple dozen pieces (or less) it will start dropping brass while you’re attempting to collect others. That’s the limitation (one of them). There is a short learning curve (15 min.) in which you’ll learn how much brass is too much And how you need to orientate the wires to pick up the brass. It doesn’t do as well on gravel or high grass as it does on a smooth, firm surface. Even with its limitations, it’s a keeper. Just empty every dozen or so pieces and it works very well.” — Jeff M.

Caldwell pistol rifle cartridge brass rake retriever handleSpecialized Tool for .22 LR Brass
NOTE: The Caldwell Brass Retriever is designed primarily to recover reloadable rifle and pistol brass, with case diameters as fat as .223 Rem or larger. Some people state it can be used for smaller .22 LR cartridges too, but there is a much better product for that.

The UniqueTek Rimfire Brass Wizard is optimized for picking up .22 LR rimfire cases. It has a smaller basket with wires spaced closer together. It can also pick up pistol and rifle cartridge brass but will hold fewer cases than the original Brass Wizard or the Caldwell Brass Retriever. The Brass Wizard “Rimfire” The Brass Wizard “Rimfire” comes standard with the telescoping handle and includes a”Dumper” accessory.

This product is currently priced at $71.45 at the Action Target store.

Permalink Bullets, Brass, Ammo, Gear Review No Comments »