perhaps you were thinking of having WW5 live up to certain warner brothers cartoons. swallow bullets. shoot one of the antlers. make the wolf queen shut up at him for once

This was a very common reloading/cartridge manual. I probably have one around here somewhere; I seem them at gun shows frequently. As low as 1.00 on eBay.

I wonder how much is still up-to-date, and how much has been bypassed by technology.

It's not as bad as cameras or computers (some of my other hobbies), but yes, ammunition does change over time. I have cartridges that are over 100 years old that I expect would fire fine, but they may be loaded with black powder instead of smokeless powder -- which is messy to clean up. A 55-year-old book would be a curiosity, but a lot of the data will be obsolete or nonexistent for modern products. Chamber pressures were measured differently before the 1980s, and if the book lists reloading data, the current powders would certainly be different. It's an interesting relic, but it has certainly been superseded by now.

I ought to unload the whacking great stash of camera equipment belonging to my late father, upon your broad shoulders.

I'd add it to my own whacking great stash -- little of which sees the light of day. I did photograph my Dad's old Wartime Kodak Rangefinder 35 with my pre-war (machined plated winding knobs) and post-war (plastic knobs). Yes, I have too damned many cameras. And today they aren't worth a tinker's dam.

Hunh! A rare (proper) usage of tinker's dam (sic). You usually see it spelled "damn."

It irks me no end that even a number of supposedly reputable sources use the 'damn' definition referring to profanity, which does not hold water. It's a bit of clay or material similar to green sand (used in casting) to stop the flow of solder or other molten metal. An insignificant thing.

Don't get me started on one idjit who insisted the 'dam' referred to the subject's mother -- as opposed to his 'sire'.

From working in a bookstore, and having a little bit of publishing info: In 1964, the minimum in 1 'printing' of a mass market paperback book would be 100,000 copies. At that size of printing, the cost to print that many copies would be about 10% of the cover price.

The main point though, is look at that branding on the cover: Winchester / Western ... guns & ammo corporations. Having those low-cost books on drugstore book displays all through the USA would be worth a company to pay for. They might subsidize the writers and publisher/printers, and might even buy copies (at cost?) to have them to give away at public events or public locations. A subsidy (or sponsorship) might have been considered ethical in USA culture in 1964.

In any case 100,000 copies distributed within the USA would have been very good public relations and help build a customer base.

An interesting (and highly probable) point.

in 1941, an obscure author and illustrator named Alexander Sturm published a children's book entitled The Problem Fox. It ran to four printings of which I am aware, but only about a thousand books per print run. The following year he published From Ambush to Zig-Zag; Verses and Drawings, a sort of adult A-B-C. The first run went to 1,000 books, but the War caused the second printing to be cancelled and rumor has it the whole second run was pulped.

What was that? Oh, of course I have a copy of Ambush, purchased when I had more money than I knew what to do with. Currently running from about $120 to over $250. The Fox? Two copies, including one tattered reader I will scan some day.

In 1941, 4 printings with about 4,000 copies total was very respectable. For standard hardcovers in 1941, an average novel by an established writer might have only 2000 copies printed.... The number of libraries in the USA was around 2000, and the publishers considered it a very successful book if they could sell one copy to each of the libraries. (And that may have included commercial libraries. Many larger cities would have Department stores with a book department that would rent a new book, library style.) So that 1000 copy printing of "Ambush" would not be unusual, and the intention to print 1000 more is a sign that it got a good response. The supply of printing paper became a war material, and there were restrictions on how many non war-related books could be published.

Of course there were 'Best Sellers' that sold many more than 2000 copies. The publishers would do additional 'printings' in response to the demand and positive publicity.

I've got a friend who might be able to tell you about anything that's in that book. (Yes, he used to be a bigger gun nut than I am.) I can tell that's an old book simply by the fact that it has Winchester-Western on it. I don't think Winchester has gone by that name in over 30 years.