Sunday, June 8, 2014

Nathan Foster's Books, Well Worth The Price




I recently ordered and received three books written by Nathan Foster. I have finished one, started the second and like the first, just can't seem to put it down.  The first two are well written and I'm sure the third will be without exception. The subject matter on his web site, videos and books is clearly directed at precision shooting from near to extreme ranges, proper gear selection, caliber overview and shooting positions for the field. He covers the use of bipods or packs as rest, rifle bedding and bedding material, procedures for bedding, equipment maintenance, proper cleaning, barrel lapping, optical and scope mount selection, barrel profiles, barrel weights, action comparisons and a broad overview of related topics for the serious hunting rifleman. While he does not claim to be a gunsmith his approach to all the material he covers puts him in some rarified air as an amateur. Mr. Foster is no doubt one of those rare individuals that has honed his skill by taking over 7000 animals, not 70, not 700, 7000 plus in his native New Zealand. Clearly his experience is based on empirical field data and not conjecture. It is most gratifying to find an individual who's experience is well grounded and is able to convey his thoughts so clearly.

I first became aware of Mr. Foster's background while doing a web search for 6.5x55 loading data. I stumbled on his treatise pertaining to and hunting with the Swede. That led me to other calibers he has written about as well as viewing video clips he has made on many related subjects. This guy must never sleep.

In short this site is packed with very credible, interesting information. The environment in which he hunts is unique to say the least and a better extended range ballistic laboratory would be hard to duplicate due to the nature of the terrain and the seemingly endless supply of feral animals. I cannot do justice to the amount of experience and insight he has amassed in a single blog post as it just isn't possible.

I would suggest going to www.ballisticstudies.com. If I had to suggest the first book it would be Bolt Action Rifle Accuracy and Maintenance. Do yourself a favor, pull up his web site and browse. I have found nothing to date that I flatly disagree with or would take to task. There is no way to leave his site without some compelling thoughts and a desire to read more.

Well done Mr. Foster