I've read it several times,and each time I read it I've gotten more out of it. As a result of his research, I have also designed an action and rifle of my own, with an eye to eliminating each of the problems he has identified.

I do not yet know if my design is successful, though, because BATF will not allow me to employ the services of a machinist to help me make developmental tool-room models. They claim that any such machinist, as he would be doing the work for me, would have to get a "Firearms Manufacturer" license, as he would not be making it for himself.

They won't even settle for ME getting a man'f. license unless I was to put the machinist on MY payroll, pay his social security taxes, medicare taxes, withhold his income taxes, etc. Without my doing those things, they contend he is not my employee and require the machinist(s) have his own manf. lic.

Anyone out there can claim that is illegal, not valid, whatever they want. Me, I'm not gonna spend my retirement income fighting BATFE.


Why do you ask?

I received an email from someone who highly recommended it.

I too highly recommend it. It is organized around trying to identify design issues which cause inaccuracy in rifles, then testing to see if and how those causes can be eliminated.

A few of the items he covered end up carrying me in directions I did not necessarily agree whole-heartedly with, but then he made every effort to accurately & scientifically test what he recommends in the book. And as a former lead scientist & supervisor at Los Alamos National Labs, he was certainly familiar with sound scientific testing.

I think studying it will more than repay any advanced rifleman's cost of time and money.

I'm an engineer and from a scientific stand point i have a hard time with some of his conclusions. Read it with your thinkin' cap on end and do the sanity check verification at the end of the day.

quote:

Originally posted by Nate D:
I'm an engineer and from a scientific stand point i have a hard time with some of his conclusions. Read it with your thinkin' cap on end and do the sanity check verification at the end of the day.

Part of my education was reviewing literature and finding flaws.

Doc if you need to read it I have a copy.

[ It is the best "gun book" I have ever read.
I called him and thanked him. He sounded weak at that time and soon died. It is hard to fault
either him or his conclusions.
He gives the first logicalreason why bullet drift in the wind is a function of velocity lost. No the wind does not blow against the bullet.
Good luck!

quote:

Originally posted by 308Sako:
Doc if you need to read it I have a copy.

Sako, if you want to mail it to me and allow me to read it, I'll take you up on it. If any damage occurs or you don't believe the returned condition isn't exactly how you sent it, I'll buy you a new one or send you a check.

I'll send PM for mailing info now. Let me know shipping cost and I'll send you a check.

Here is a review ---

Book Review
by Duncan MacPherson

Rifle Accuracy Facts
Vaughn, Harold R.
Precision Shooting, Inc.
222 McKee St., Manchester, CT 06040 soft cover $34.95, hard cover, $39.95
+$3.50 S&H 290 pages, many photos, figures, and graphs



Harold R. Vaughn is an engineer whose distinguished technical career was
spent at Sandia National Laboratories in flight dynamics and aerodynamics.
He retired in 1986, and devoted his considerable technical skills to an
orderly analysis and test program to understand and demonstrate what factors
contribute to making rifles shoot more accurately. I called Mr. Vaughn to
discuss some technical details not relevant here, and we had an interesting
discussion about small arms and technology. We both deplore the fact that
modern engineering capabilities and techniques are so little used by those
interested in small arms. There is little hope that this situation will be
rectified anytime soon by the firearms and ammunition manufacturers, who are
forced to be very bottom line oriented in this very competitive market. The
amount of money required to run a laboratory that could revolutionize
understanding of a variety of small arms features is relatively modest, but
there is little hope for anything like this anytime soon. The few government
facilities that might fund this work do not have staff with the required
technical skills, and there is no obvious other source for the money. As a
result, the primary source of advances in understanding is talented
individuals who are willing to devote their own resources and efforts to
this end for the satisfaction of accomplishment. That is what Mr. Vaughn has
done in the area of rifle accuracy, and fortunately, he has not only done
this well, but has written it up well in Rifle Accuracy Facts.

Readers should be under no illusions; Rifle Accuracy Facts is not light
reading, and not for anyone who thinks Guns and Ammo is a technical
publication. Rifle Accuracy Facts is a superb book; most attentive readers
will understand all or almost all the material in the main text. On the
other hand, almost all readers will find that they have little or no
interest in most of the appendix material (about 20% of the total) even
though this will be invaluable to readers who wish to do sophisticated
experimentation on their own or who are interested in detailed equations.
The bulk of Rifle Accuracy Facts is a detailed description of Mr. Vaughn’s
experimentation in making rifles shoot more accurately. This work is a true
technical advance in understanding this issue, and the description of this
work is interesting in its own right. Anyone seriously interested in rifle
accuracy should own this book.

Anyone who wants a solid understanding of either interior or exterior
ballistics should get this book even if they are not interested in rifle
accuracy. The descriptions of interior and exterior ballistics (one chapter
each) are both precise and understandable without forcing the reader to
follow the details in a lot of equations. The important equations are there
for readers who want them, but can be skipped without losing comprehension
for readers not technically oriented. Each of these chapters could be
“puffed up†to longer length and some readers might prefer this, but the
information is efficiently imparted in the chapters as written and I
personally prefer this approach.

Perhaps the best summary of the contents of Rifle Accuracy Facts is the
chapter description given on the contents page of the book:

Introduction: Contains data on the accuracy to be expected from different
types of rifles and background information on why and how this work was
done.


Internal Ballistics: Methods of measuring chamber pressure are discussed and
the complete internal ballistics of a representative cartridge (.270
Winchester) are measured experimentally for use in later chapters. Such
things as bullet engraving force, different powders, and cartridge case
failure are discussed.


Chamber and Throat Design: Methods of machining chambers and throats and
their effects on accuracy are discussed. Various types of rifling and barrel
problems are analyzed.


Barrel Vibration: Detailed measurements and theoretical calculations of
barrel vibration are presented along with methods of reducing barrel
vibration. The effect of barrel vibration is measured on sporters, bench
rest, and rail guns.


Scope Sight Problems: Scope sight and scope mount problems are investigated
and some solutions to these problems are found.


Barrel-Receiver Threaded Joint Motion: It was experimentally determined that
the barrel-receiver threaded joint moves as a result of the shock from
firing. A simple solution to the problem is described.


Muzzle blast: The effect of bullet in-bore cant and muzzle blast on
dispersion were determined experimentally and theoretically. Methods of
reducing dispersion from this source are presented.


Bullet Core Problems: Bullet core slippage due to the spin up torque is
measured and found to be a problem. Other bullet problems are analyzed.


Bullet Imbalance: The static and dynamic imbalance of bullets is measured
and the effect of imbalance on dispersion is evaluated theoretically and
experimentally. The causes of bullet imbalance are discussed.


External Ballistics: The detailed motion of the bullet after leaving the
muzzle is shown and the effect of this motion for a given initial
disturbance is evaluated. The effect of wind, gyroscopic stability factor,
and ballistic coefficient on the bullet’s trajectory are shown in detail.
Chronograph development and use are discussed. Wind gauges and their use is
covered.


Other Problems: Miscellaneous Problems, such as bore cleaning, bullet
coating, drift free bullet design, case neck tension, and shooting
techniques are discussed.

Appendices: Accelerometer design, barrel vibration computer equations,
bullet balance device design, six degree of freedom computer equations,
tunnel range construction, rail guns, shadowgraph testing.

As the chapter descriptions indicate, most of the material in Rifle Accuracy
Facts is related to rifles, not handguns. However, those interested in
handgun interior and exterior ballistics should not despair. The material in
chapters 2 and 10 uses rifle bullets as examples, but the principles also
apply to handgun bullets.

Reviews are supposed to describe the book’s shortcomings, but I found only
two small faults, neither important to most readers for different reasons.
There is a typographical error in the equations for F1 and F2 on page 187
(exponent ½ on wrong bracket), but this will be recognized by most people
attempting to use this equation and is of no importance to anyone else. The
second topic is in the Chapter 11 discussion of “moly coated†bullets (the
relatively recent technique of coating bullets with molybdenum disulfide and
carnauba wax). Vaughn has done testing of some claims relative to the
effects of moly coating bullets and has very interesting comments on several
issues, but is essentially neutral on the effects of extended barrel life
because he hasn’t proved this. This is a good example of how careful Vaughn
is in making claims, a stance that many others in ballistics would do well
to emulate. The careful distinction Vaughn makes throughout the book between
what he has demonstrated and his speculations is laudable and very evident
here. However, in this instance the advantages of properly moly coated
bullets in extending barrel life have been established beyond reasonable
dispute by many others, and Vaughn’s “could be true†is unnecessarily weak
even though he hasn’t personally verified this. Again, readers who care will
know this, and it doesn’t matter for the others.

Rifle Accuracy Facts is going to be recognized as a classic in years to
come, you will be glad you got it.

Duncan Mc Pherson

How old is this post" Harold is not gone from this World. He frequents the 24HR Campfire forum.