The Bullet’s Flight; the Ballistics of Small Arms
Franklin W. Mann, MD
Copyright 1909; Copyright 1942 STANDARD PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO.
This book has been an enigma of American shooters for over 100 years. It is not text book; it is not manual; it is not entertaining to read. What it is is a “lab book” of explanations of experiments tried and what results were achieved. It follows chronologically what Dr. Mann’s interests were at any given moment.
The book deals with cast lead alloy bullets as that was what was available in the 1890’s and early 1900’s. Hundreds of shooters have spent many years of experimenting and shooting that could have been saved with a study of Dr. Mann’s work. The problem is that you will have to become a college student of the 1960’s to spend the effort and gain the insight the text can deliver.
If at all possible, try to buy a copy of the 1942 Standard Publishing Co.’s book. The internet freebies have the pictures so washed out, they are a joke. The Wolfe and NRA reprints are somewhat better, but not much. You will not see what the pictures are detailing as you will from the original glass negatives of the 1942 edition. Also, this was a vanity publication by Dr. Mann’s daughter and has the only personal information every published about the author.
Ric Bowman