Whether you're into reloading or just want to learn more about the cartridges you're shooting, the answers can be found in both of these perennial classics. Most shooters never toss out their older editions.

6. Hatcher's Notebook by Julian S. Hatcher, Stackpole Books (800-732-3669).
Among many other accolades, the late Julian S. Hatcher was a retired U.S. Army officer, a director of the National Rifle Association from 1922 until 1946, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee and captain of the U.S. International Rifle Team. So it can be said he knew a thing or two about shooting. His book, Hatcher's Notebook, was first published in 1947, revised in 1957, and updated for a third and final time in 1962, which brought it into the era of the AR-15 and modern military and sporting cartridges.

The subtitle, "A Standard Reference for Shooters, Gunsmiths, Ballisticians, Historians, Hunters and Collectors" is an accurate (an apt term for a firearms book) description for one author's quest for answers to questions every rifleman asks. In addition to historical background of military rifles starting with the Springfield and Enfield, additional chapters focus on rifle recoil, headspace, set triggers, wind deflection, ammunition and the distance a bullet will travel.

Much of Hatcher's observations were simple but ground-breaking experiments, such as trying--without success--to fire a cleaning rod out of a rifle barrel, using a cartridge without a bullet. Some things, such as metallurgy and firearms designs, have changed dramatically since this last edition, but not the basics. And these are things that Hatcher's Notebook has preserved.

7. The Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns by Jack O'Connor.
Originally published by Outdoor Life Books, Harper & Row, and then Stackpole, this book, to the best of my knowledge, is out of print. But copies can still be found rather inexpensively on Amazon.com. Originally written in 1961 by the late Jack O'Connor and updated in 1965, this book will acquaint you with the writings of one of the more irascible, opinionated, yet knowledgeable gun writers of a past but still viable generation.

Although firearms history, cartridges, marksmanship, and O'Connor's "Seven-Lesson Rifle Shooting Course" are just some of the many well-written chapters, O'Connor also takes us along with him on many of his hunting adventures, which range from Mexico to the Yukon, as well as India and Africa, letting us glean from his vast experiences.

His knowledge is sound, and he gives practical advice, such as telling the reader that a running shot presents the same size target as a stationary one, and once we realize that, hitting it is not a big problem. That's the kind of campfire wisdom you don't always find anymore.

8. The Rifle In America by Philip B. Sharpe, William Morrow & Company, 1938, 1947.
Here's another great classic, long out of print but still available through used book sources on the internet. My signed, first edition copy was found at a gun show.

Like many books from this era, the late author, a well-respected firearms authority and editor, compiled much original research at a time when none existed. But then, he was able to go directly to the sources, personally interviewing such luminaries of their day as Maj. Ned Roberts, author of The Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle; Edwin Pugsley, vice president of Winchester Repeating Arms; and Iver and Harold Mossberg of O.F/Mossberg & Sons. Moreover, the introduction to Sharpe's book was written by Julian S. Hatcher, who would go on to write his own immortal book nine years later.