Gun books

[max popenker]

Hello

Being unable to collect guns (darn stupid Russian gun laws :banghead: ) i started to collect books on guns. I prefer historical research and many technical details, so i really enjoyed titles like Hatcher's notebook, or Ezell's "handguns of the world". I think that many other THR'ers here also enjoy reading gun books, so maybe it is worth to start a thread in which we will share experience on books, and either recommend or NOt recommend to buy and read particular books.

I will give an example in the next message.

 

[max popenker]

Military Small Arms of the 20th Century
by Ian V. Hogg, John S. Weeks

In short, this is a great "all around" book for anyone interested in military firearms, from pistols to machine guns. It discuss a variety of guns, and while details on every gun are limited, it is nevertheless a very useful source for basic info. Downsides are b/w illustrations which sometimes are not representative, and certain (understanable) inacuracies when describing Eastern Bloc weaponry.

Overall rating is 4+ of 5.

 

[max popenker]

Tactical Small Arms of the 21St Century
by Charles Q. Cutshaw

In its idea this book is an updated version of the previously described book of Ian Hogg.
But in reality it is certainly worse - texts are inaccurate, many illustrations are misplaced or wrong, and, furthermore, many illustrations seem to be ripped off the Internet and stretched to fit entire page (so you can see every Jpeg compression artefact, even in b/w)

I will not discuss mistakes of this book in detail here, but can do it later if anyone interested.

Overall rating is 3 of 5.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Craig Boddington's "Safari Rifles" was one of the most enjoyable, and actually readable gun books I've come across in ages. Lots of useful info and plenty of pics.

It's not terribly expensive either.

http://www.amazon.com/Safari-Rifles..._bbs_sr_1/002-9652372-9284843?ie=UTF8&s=books

 

[BigG]

The books I list below my sig line are all ones I've read and endorse. If I had to have only one book, I might keep African Rifles and Cartridges, as it is so fascinating to read.

Textbook of Automatic Pistols by RW Wilson is a classic on the early auto pistols up to WWII. There really has been no developments since, other than new materials, imho.

 

[bakert]

A few of the ones I have; Hatcher's Notebook, Guns Of The Elite by George Markham, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Handguns by A.B. Zhuk, Sixguns by Elmer Keith, Keith's Notebooks, Single Action Sixguns by John Taffin and a few of the older Outdoor Life Books featuring Jack O'Conner, Roy Dunlap, Alex Kerr and Jeff Cooper.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/home/home.html/102-9008180-2308147
Has a pretty fair selection and other places have many more.

 

[Low-Sci]

Its not as much fun, but I'd recommend Understanding Firearm Ballistics, by Robert A. Rinker. I know its kind of a staple, but its still got hordes of great info in it.

 

[Deanimator]

Encyclopedia of Handguns by A.B. Zhuk

Beautifully illustrated by a Russian! Get the first edition with the red cover. The later edition omits some of the best drawings, especially of pre-centerfire revolvers.

Let me recommend WHB Smith's "Smallarms of the World". I don't know if it's still in print or not. I got my first copy between 7th and 8th grades after a visit to the smallarms collection at the Patton Museum at Ft. Knox.

 

[Nightcrawler]

Being unable to collect guns (darn stupid Russian gun laws )

C'mon over, bro! Utah has plenty of room!

Definately Sixguns by Keith. It's a great persepective into classic American handgunning.

And maybe The FAL Rifle, by R. Blake Stevens.