{"id":18160,"date":"2025-09-13T16:24:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T16:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/?page_id=18160"},"modified":"2026-01-14T22:02:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:02:51","slug":"rifle-cartridges-for-the-hunter-a-hunting-journal-spanning-a-half-century","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/rifle-cartridges-for-the-hunter-a-hunting-journal-spanning-a-half-century\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to Rifle Cartridges for Hunters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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RIFLE CARTRIDGES FOR THE HUNTER, A HUNTING JOURNAL SPANNING A HALF-CENTURY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been a lot of hunting books and a lot of books about rifle cartridges, but there has never been one like this. In 408 pages, author, hunter, and gun writer Richard Mann details 50 different cartridges he has used to hunt all over the world. It contains 120 color photos, a forward by outdoor\/rifle writer John Barsness, and an introduction by Gun Digest Editor-in-Chief, Luke Hartle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mann grew up hunting the hills of West Virginia and has spent a lifetime in the outdoors. His adventures have taken him to exotic locales, but he has always come home to write about them in his own honest, straight-forward, hillbilly style. In this book, he does the same, helping you understand not only the capabilities of 50 rifle cartridges, but the magic that can occur between hunters and some of the cartridges they choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mann edited the 13th Edition of Cartridges of the World, but this book is different. It\u2019s not a technical manual, rather a collection of stories about hunting for Appalachian tree squirrels to buffalo in the Mozambique swamps. The book also contains commentary from noted gun writers and subject matter experts, like Field & Stream rifle editor Dave Petzal, outdoor writer Ron Spomer, Buffalo Bore ammunition founder Tim Sundles, African professional hunter Geoffrey Wayland, and many others. This book is essential reading for hunters; perfect to take to deer camp and just as good as a Christmas present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s been a lot of books about rifles and cartridges, and there’s been a lot of books about hunting. But there has never been a book quite like this.” <\/em> Richard Mann<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR COPY ON AMAZON<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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PRE PUBLICATION REVIEWS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cRichard is one of the few people I trust when it comes shooting because, unlike most people who talk about guns, he\u2019s actually been there and done that. Consider this book a last word when it comes to selecting a rifle cartridge for hunting.” <\/strong><\/em>Matthew Every<\/a><\/strong>, Writer at Large, <\/strong>Field & Strea<\/strong>m<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen most authors put words on a page, they either become an entertainer or<\/em><\/strong> educator. Richard has the unique ability of being both simultaneously, and this book is a shining example of that gift.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Luke Hartle, Editor-in-Chief<\/a>, Gun Digest <\/a><\/strong>Magazin<\/i><\/a><\/b>e<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“As a result, he\u2019s learned a LOT about many hunting cartridges, and his experience and insights are well worth reading, partly because he\u2019s such an entertaining writer. Welcome to his hunting world!”<\/strong><\/em> John Barsness<\/strong>, www.riflesandrecipes.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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“From the title,\u00a0Rifle Cartridges for the Hunter<\/em>, you might think, \u201cReally?\u201d The subtitle, though \u2014\u00a0A Hunting Journal Spanning a Half-Century<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 hints at something more. And, boy, is it ever.” Rob Reaser, www.shoot-on.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

REVIEWS ON AMAZON BY READERS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ginger Quinn December 27, 2025:<\/strong> “Richard Mann is one of the best gun writers to come along since Jim Carmichel, David Petzal, and John Barsness. Absolutely essential reading for the serious rifleman and hunter.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MikeB December10, 2025:<\/strong> “I\u2019m a shooter. I\u2019m not a good hunter or even a real hunter. In fact, to the Hopi tribe, I\u2019d be kwevadza: he who returns with only excuses, and cactus in his butt. But I still enjoy good hunting stories, and Richard Mann is *really* good at telling them. I previously enjoyed his \u201cUnder Orion\u201d series of books, so I pre-ordered a signed copy of his latest effort, RIFLE CARTRIDGES FOR THE HUNTER The premise of this new book is to talk technical details and history of 50 rifle cartridges, and tell a hunting story about each of them. Richard succeeded wildly. I was immensely entertained with each chapter, and learned a tremendous amount \u2013 sometimes about cartridges I didn\u2019t know existed. I mean, 7.62×40 WT or 500 Cyrus, anyone? One of the things I truly enjoy about Richard\u2019s writing is how he injects humor \u2013 often self-effacing humor \u2013 into his stories. Other times he\u2019s wickedly sarcastic in a hilarious way. This book is no different. As I read, I found myself chuckling, and sometimes outright laughing, at his commentary and comparisons. But it\u2019s not all jokes. The chapter about his son, Bat, taking his first deer at six years old \u2013 with a 25-35 Winchester \u2013 was deeply moving. Richard also has an ability to infuse profound emotion into his hunting stories, the opposite side of his humor. I\u2019ll leave judgments on the technical details of these rifle cartridges to those with serious hunting experience, and without cactus in their butt. Knowing Richard, though, I can confidently say he always backs up his opinions with real-world experience, and that\u2019s what this book is all about. Reading hunting stories is mostly vicarious entertainment for me. I\u2019ll likely never apply the lessons Richard teaches in his hunting books. But that doesn\u2019t stop me from really enjoying his stories, and learning things along the way. I loved RIFLE CARTRIDGES FOR THE HUNTER. If you like reading about guns and shooting and hunting, I think you will, too.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Higherview December 3, 2025:<\/strong> “I enjoyed reading it enormously – and after I get it back from family members who have it now will read it again. It\u2019s that gratifying and insightful.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shon Butler November 22, 2025: <\/strong>“This book is a well written book about hunting, cleverly presented as a gun book. As I read each chapter, I realized I was reading the work of a West Virginia woodsman that has had the honor of traveling the world and hunting. Richard\u2019s straight forward writing about each caliber and the hunting stories about each is well worth the read! From hunting prairie dogs to African game, Richard presents each chapter eloquently and with knowledge! This is a must have addition to your hunting and shooting library!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Wilson November 5, 2025:<\/strong> “I just finished reading Richard’s new book RIFLE CARTRIDGES FOR THE HUNTER and found it both entertaining and very informative. It relays several stories of Richard’s hunting experiences with various cartridges, some that went well and some that didn’t. While I didn’t fully agree with some of Richard’s likes and dislikes in regards to cartridges, I did learn a few things and appreciate his reasoning. If you’re a hunter and purchase this book you will enjoy it and feel that you got what you paid for.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ron Colby November 2, 2025:<\/strong> “Received my copy the other day. What a wonderful read on a frosty morning waiting for deer season to open! I follow Richard on sub-stack and enjoy his writings there and Field & Stream also. We share a great appreciation for a fine rifle nomatter the calibur. I have a collection of almost every calibur he writes about and he surprised me with a few I have never heard of but nomatter what he says, he saved the best for last! Thank you RAM!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allison Severt October 28, 2025:<\/strong> “My fianc\u00e9 follows the author on substack and in the magazine he writes for; I ordered a signed copy from the website and he loved it! We both hunt avidly and he mentioned it so much I\u2019m engrossed in it as well! Thoroughly enjoying it and cannot wait to give as a gift to several other family members!!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trapped in AK October 20, 2025:<\/strong> “Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Not your usual static by the numbers listing of cartridges. Each entry has its own mini story and praise or criticism of the cartridge\u2019s real life performance . Richard makes it enjoyable while at the same time expanding your knowledge of real life performance on a host of rounds . Some old time favorites and some you\u2019ve likely never heard of. One of the first to read it directly from the author. Just in time for Christmas and the perfect gift for the hunter, shooter, or collector of arms.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ken Lee October 18, 2025:<\/strong> “I found the book enjoyable to read. Initially I intended to read a chapter each night, but found I could not stop, and I finished it in just three evenings. I liked the author\u2019s insight on all the cartridges and I especially enjoyed how he also provided commentary from other experts, even though it did not always agree with his opinion.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia and has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. He is a veteran as well as a former patrol officer and special agent. He was the winner of the West Virginia National Guard 1999 State Pistol Match, is a multi-course Gunsite Academy graduate, and he has worked most of his professional career as a small arms instructor in the military, with law enforcement, and for civilians. Richard’s books include, Handgun Training for Personal Protection, Shooter\u2019s Guide to the AR, Under Orion Volumes 1 & 2, and The Scout Rifle Study. He was also the compiling author of Rifle Bullets for the Hunter and served as the editor for Gun Digests 13th Edition of Cartridges of the World. Currently, he is the Shooting Editor for Field & Stream<\/a> and frequently contributes to many other gun and hunting publications. In 2019 Richard was awarded the Bill McRae Lifetime Achievement Award by Bushnell for his writing. In 2023 Richard launched the EmptyCases Substack<\/a> where you can follow his writing by subscription on the Internet. A hillbilly at heart, Richard lives with his wife of 31 years on Shadowland \u2013 their shooting range hidden in the West Virginia hills \u2013 with a very protective Rhodesian Ridgeback and a pack of her offspring.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR COPY ON AMAZON<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RIFLE CARTRIDGES FOR THE HUNTER, A HUNTING JOURNAL SPANNING A HALF-CENTURY There have been a lot of hunting books and a lot of books about rifle cartridges, but there has never been one like this. In 408 pages, author, hunter, and gun writer Richard Mann details 50 different cartridges he has used to hunt all over the world. It contains 120 color …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18190,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18160","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P5hujZ-4IU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17405,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/books-by-richard-mann-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":18160,"position":0},"title":"BOOKS by Richard Mann","author":"gunwriter","date":"May 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"All Richard Mann books are also available on Amazon. Click the book to order Rifle Cartridges for the Hunter, A Hunting Journal Spanning a Half-Century, There have been a lot of hunting books and a lot of books about rifle cartridges, but there has never been one like this. In\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/3d-book.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/3d-book.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/3d-book.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/3d-book.png?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18148,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/18148-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":18160,"position":1},"title":"ORDER Richard’s new book, Rifle Cartridges for the Hunter","author":"gunwriter","date":"September 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16844,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/field-stream\/","url_meta":{"origin":18160,"position":2},"title":"Field & Stream","author":"gunwriter","date":"May 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Read articles by Richard Mann in Field & Stream 9mm Vs. 10mm: Which Handgun Should You Pack? Dear Remington: Make the Model 700 Rifle Great Again 6 Dying Rifle Cartridges that Deserve a Second Chance Learn How to Shoot More Coyotes by Practicing the Slow and Fast Drill Why The\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/9v10-5-scaled-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/9v10-5-scaled-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/9v10-5-scaled-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/9v10-5-scaled-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/9v10-5-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/9v10-5-scaled-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15013,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/welcome\/","url_meta":{"origin":18160,"position":3},"title":"WELCOME","author":"gunwriter","date":"October 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"VIDEOS [tubepress] \u00a0 ON-LINE ARTICLES OUTDOOR LIFE - The 10 Best Rimfire Rifles Unquestionably the most import rifle a boy or man will ever own, here is a selection of 22 rimfire rifles that should suit just about any need. If more kids were raised with a 22 rifle, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Screen-Shot-2018-10-01-at-9.52.45-AM.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":328,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/consulting\/","url_meta":{"origin":18160,"position":4},"title":"About the Gunwriter","author":"rmann","date":"January 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"RICHARD MANN Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia, and\u00a0has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. Richard has a military, law enforcement, firearms instructing, and competitive shooting background. He's is the author of Rifle Bullets for the Hunter, Handgun Training for Personal Protection,\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/consulting\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"With Dog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/With-Dog.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16946,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/about-richard-mann\/","url_meta":{"origin":18160,"position":5},"title":"About","author":"gunwriter","date":"September 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"ABOUT Richard Mann Richard Mann was born and raised in West Virginia, and\u00a0has hunted from the Montana mountains to the green hills of Africa. Richard is a veteran and former patrol officer and special agent. Richard was the winner of the West Virginia National Guard 1999 State Pistol Match and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-7-cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-7-cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-7-cropped.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/NEW-7-cropped.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18160"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18262,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18160\/revisions\/18262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}