Section 1. Ballistics in history -- Hurling things that hurt -- Gunpowder! -- Rifles for a frontier -- Breechloaders at last! -- Rifles from a door-latch -- What the numbers mean -- section 2. The muscle behind the shot -- Primers : sparkplugs with bang! -- Fuel for the cartridge -- Propellants from cotton -- Dupont : powder pioneer -- The Hodgdon story -- Not quite black powder -- section 3. Bullets, the inside story -- Bullets and rifling -- Opening the throttle -- Controlled upset, then and now -- The all/copper option -- Speer, Nosler, Hornady -- Inside an ammo factory -- section 4. Speed, energy, and arc -- Headspace first -- Chaos in the rifle -- Figuring bullet flight -- More on speed -- Knockdown is a myth -- Of drop and drift -- section 5. Putting ballistics to work -- How to zero -- Never a miss! -- Wind wisdom -- When the target moves -- Minding the angles -- Recoil! -- section 6. Turning up the heat -- Faster and shorter -- Notes on handloading -- Long shots at school -- A day in the desert -- Dial up the distance -- The wrong shot -- section 7. Glossary.