About Wayne

A full-time journalist for the outdoors press, Wayne van Zwoll has published nearly 3,000 articles and twice that many photos for more than two dozen magazine titles, including Sports Afield, Outdoor Life and Field & Stream. Once the editor of Kansas Wildlife, he has also edited Mule Deer for the Mule Deer Foundation, and Stoeger's Shooter's Bible. His Rifles and Cartridges column in Bugle has run for 24 years - longer than any other in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's flagship magazine. Wayne has authored 16 books on hunting, shooting and history. In 1996 he was named Shooting Sports Writer of the Year by the Outdoor Writers Association of America. In 2006 he received the Jack Slack Outdoor Writer of the Year award from Leupold. In 2009 Wayne earned the prestigious John T. Amber award for excellence in gun writing. He is a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club, a board member for the Jack O'Connor Education Center, and has served on the board of OWAA.

An academic background in natural resource management led Wayne to work with the BLM, then Washington's Department of Game. He served as a contract photographer for the U.S. Forest Service, then became one of the Elk Foundation's first field directors. He has guided big game hunters in Utah and Wyoming, and has hunted on five continents. Wayne has shot competitively since his days on the Michigan State University rifle team. He qualified for the final Olympic smallbore tryouts in 1972 and later won two state prone titles. Volunteering as a hunter education instructor, he taught in five states. For 14 years he conducted shooting seminars for Safari Club International at its summer facility. 

Wayne has taught English and Forestry classes at Utah State University, where in 2000 he earned a doctorate studying the effects of post-war hunting motive on wildlife policy. He keeps an active public speaking schedule within the outdoors industry and conservation community. When not at the desk or on the range, he reads history and jogs to keep in shape. A late starter, he ran his first marathon at age 49. He's completed 17 since, including four at Boston. Wayne lives in north-central Washington State with Alice, his wife of 40 years.

Books by Dr. Wayne van Zwoll

Mastering Mule Deer, North American Hunting Club, 1988, hardback, 282 pp. $24.95
... for hunters, naturalists; popular style but for literate readers; profusely illustrated in black and white; includes natural history, biology, behavior of mule and blacktail deer, hunting methods and equipment, management history, trends in hunting and management. (out of print)

America's Great Gunmakers, Stoeger Publishing, 1992, soft-cover, large format, 280 pp. $16.95
... for anyone interested in the history of U.S. gunmaking; illustrated in black and white, with the individual histories of companies like Winchester, Remington, Ruger, plus smaller but influential firms like Dakota, Jarrett; also chronicles small arms development from invention of gunpowder.

Elk Rifles, Cartridges and Hunting Tactics, self-published, 1992, hardback, 416 pp. $24.95
... a hunter's book with detailed information on elk natural history, biology and behavior, plus tips from successful hunters; strong emphasis on rifles, sights and cartridges for elk hunting, including ballistics tables and shooting how-to; profusely illustrated in black and white.

Modern Sporting Rifle Cartridges, Stoeger Publishing, 1998, soft-cover, large format, 310 pp. $21.95
... a listing of the most popular hunting and target cartridges used and produced in North America today; a reference book with dimensional drawings plus black and white photos; includes chapters on nomenclature, cartridge history, handloading, shooting, bullets, barrels, wildcat rounds.

The Hunter's Guide To Ballistics, The Lyons Press, 2001, soft-cover, large format, 280 pp. $29.95
... a comprehensive, easy-to-read guide for anyone interested in bullet flight and how to shoot a rifle; includes notes on headspace, zeroing, bullet-making, powder production, recoil, wind and mirage and the history of ammunition; extensive tables; profusely illustrated in black and white.

Elk and Elk Hunting, Safari Press, 2001, hardback, large format, 384 pp. $44.95
... perhaps the most complete book on elk and elk hunting ever published; anecdotes complement easy-to-read text on elk sub-species, natural history, behavior, biology; includes hunting tactics, recommendations on rifles, sights, cartridges; well illustrated in black and white.

The Hunter's Guide To Accurate Shooting, The Lyons Press, 2002, hardback, 340 pp. $29.95
... for anyone seeking skill with a rifle; easy to read but comprehensive, with detailed instructions from exhibition shooters, Olympic champs and accomplished hunters; emphasis onpractical field shooting using match-proven techniques; profusely illustrated in black and white.

The Gun Digest Book of Sporting Optics, Krause Pub., 2002, soft-cover, large format, 304 pp. $24.95
... as complete a guide to the selection and use of field optics as is available, with explanations of nomenclature and the mechanics of light transmission in plain English; also, the history of optics, a catalog section of rifle scopes, binoculars, spotting scopes; black and white and color photos.

Bolt Action Rifles, Krause Pub., 2003, soft-cover, large format, 696 pp. $29.99
... the classic book by Frank DeHaas, doubled in original size and edited by Wayne van Zwoll,
with new illustrations and information on the latest rifles, including application; also, shooting tips
and historical vignettes of companies and designers, hundreds of black and white photos.

The Complete Book of the .22, The Lyons Press, 2004, hardback, 332 pp. $26.95 (also SC, $17.95)
... everything you'd ask about the .22 rimfire and its .17 offspring: cartridge history and original
loads, firearms development, profiles of companies and famous rimfire shooters, descriptions of
renowned .22 rifles and pistols, ballistics, hunting, competitive shooting; black and white photos.

Deer Rifles & Cartridges, Woods ‘n' Water, 2005, hardback, 232 pp. $26.95
... a history of the development of the North American deer rifle, including profiles of the men
and the companies who pioneered the cartridges and rifles, with chapters on current loads, bullets,
sights, rifles for long range and heavy cover; also, notes on field shooting; black and white photos.

Hunter's Guide to Long-Range Shooting, Stackpole, 2006, soft-cover, 488 pp. $21.95
... an authoritative text on shooting far, including in-depth looks at rifles and ammunition that hit hard and accurately, ballistics charts and loads for big game cartridges, notes on actions, barrels, scopes; also: techniques for shooting long, profiles of long-range masters; black and white photos.

Leupold & Stevens ... First Century, L&S (Primedia), 2007, hardback, large format, 230 PP. $69.99
... the only authorized history of Leupold & Stevens, the dominant maker of hunting optics in the
U.S., with profiles of family members, details of products and progress from 1907; also: how L&S
scopes are made, a guide to optics terminology; profusely illustrated in color and black and white.

Shooter's Bible Guide to Rifle Ballistics, Skyhorse Publishing, 2011, soft-cover, large-format, 216 pages, $19.95... a lively, plain-English exploration of ballistics, from Galileo dropping cannonballs to the pendulum chronograph, development of conical bullets and smokeless powder to the age of magnums. Also: effects of wind and gravity at extreme range, how to calculate ballistic coefficient, what tapered heels and sharp tips really contribute. Hunting anecdotes show how you can apply ballistics. Included: a glossary and ballistics charts for popular hunting loads, hot .17s to the .700 Nitro!

Gun Digest Shooter's Guide to Rifles, F&W Media, 2012, soft-cover, 254 pages, $19.99
... a fast-paced walk through rifle history, with behind-the-headlines stories on the brilliant, often eccentric people who developed our most storied firearms: John Browning, Oliver Winchester, Arthur Savage, Charles Newton, Roy Weatherby, Bill Ruger, Dan Cooper. Chapters highlight Remington's poplar 700, powerful "stopping" rifles, long-range shooting, European rifles, all-time best marksmen, barrels and rifling, rimfires, zeroing, inside rifle-scopes -- and "The AR Tsunami."

Mastering The Art of Long-Range Shooting, F&W Media, 2013, soft-cover, large-format, 238 pages, $29.99
... a comprehensive book on hitting at distance, from archers at Agincourt to buffalo hunters to the Creedmoor match to snipers deadly at over a mile. The rich history of long shooting here includes the stories of incredible marksmanship -- and how you can equip yourself to hit far. Included: technical info on rifles, optics and loads that extend reach; notes on uphill-downhill shots, wind drift, bullet profile; mils in plain talk; the long zero; practical -- and ethical -- limits for hunters.

All books are available from the author, at 2610 Highland Drive, Bridgeport WA 98813. Autographed on request. Include $3 per book shipping.