gunsmithing books recommendations

[jray666]

hey guys. i was wondering if anybody could recommend me a good all around book on gunsmithing? not even just gunsmithing but how guns work in general. i recently got into guns and am trying to be as knowledgeable as i can be on the inner workings and functions of firearms. obviously there is a ton of information on the internet and i have learned a great amount in the past 4 months or so on this forum and others, there is nothing like a good ol book though.

i found a few on amazon, but most of them seem to be pretty dated. if anybody could push me in the right direction thatd be great. thanks a lot!

 

[dirtyjim]

i'll recommend modern gunsmithing by clyde baker.
my copy is a second edition from 1933 so you could say its pretty dated but the information in it is still relevant today.

 

[mbopp]

Roy Dunlap, it's either "Gunsmithing" or "Modern Gunsmithing." I'm at work so I can't check now.

 

[navyretired 1]

There are a lot of gunsmithing books out there right now but most are just fluff. Those old dated books you mention are the real gold and getting very hard to find. The ones already mentioned are real good. There is also a semi-monthly magazine called "American Gunsmith" which is pretty good and a magazine by village press called "Home Shop Machinist" that has a couple of real pro gunsmiths which submit gread articles that actually goes into actual gunsmithing and repair instead of disassembley and reassembly. You can purchase or order at most good book stores a series of books that is just assembly and disassembly of guns which is updated and reissued every few years.
Don'tforget the library and if you find a good book and wish to own one, look online but don't be impatent, some of the sellers thank anybook about gunsmith is gold.
Also should be mentioned American Gunsmith DVDs and tapes, very expensive but available to rent from a websight i can't remember.
I literally have more money in gun books than in gunsmithing toolsand I've got alot.
Hope this helps

 

[Plain Old Bill]

Brownell's "Gunsmith Kinks" are pretty great reference books.

 

[Alpacca 45]

Migratory book nerd joining circuit for 27

I probably spend about €1k / year on books, and I reached the conclusion many years ago that most good gunsmiths were too busy feeding their families to write books. I haven't seen much since then to alter that conclusion.

Most books with "Gunsmithing" in the title are written by garage walter mitties, and show you how to turn perfectly good, even valuable guns into worthless trash with the help of household DIY tools.

There are a handful of exceptions.

These links discuss books in much greater detail than I have time to do tonight.

Just be very careful to read the whole threads before you go following any links, as there is a site linked to with at least one dodgy racist / supremacist book on it, which is a shame as there are good smithing books there too. Probably best take your memory stick to an internet cafe to visit that site.

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/gunsmithing/good-book-recommendations-practical-gunsmithing-practical-machinist-165879/

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/gunsmithing/book-recommendations-159189/