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Book Review of Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns

Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns
reviewed Complete Book of Rifles and Shotguns on + 111 more book reviews


Book published 1963
"This is the definitive book on rifles and shotguns. It is clear, concise, organized for easy reference, encyclopedic in its coverage and fully illustrated with photographs and drawings.
The author traces the history of shoulder arms from the unwieldy midget cannon through the Kentucky rifle and the plains rifle, the breech loading systems that replaced them, up to today's precision pieces.
The book discusses in full detail American and foreign sporting rifles. It cover the cartridge, its evolution, primer system, parts and chambering, and how cartridges are named and numbered in the U.S. and abroad. It explains types and actions of big game rifles, barrels, stocks, iron and telescope sights.
Also is valuable information on windage, sighting and trajectory. There is advice on the best rifles and cartridges for hunting in mountains, woods and plains, for shooting all kinds of game, including soft skinned and hard skinned big game.
On shotguns, the book completely covers actions, stocks, barrels, choke devices and shells. The author names the proper guns for upland game, waterfowl, skeet and trapshooting. He tells how to choose shot size, hot to fit the new gun and covers techniques for aiming and scatter gunning on clay targets.
The unique Pioch drawings were created especially for this book. The drawings, explained by easy to follow captions, show the complete cycles of operation of typical gun actions of all periods. Many of the actions have never before been illustrated.
The illustrated Seven Lesson Course on rifle shooting is another unique aspect of the book. Step by step, the course covers all the fundamentals of good shooting, including shooting positions, trigger squeeze, use of the gun sling, practice on moving targets and sighting in.
As a reference book or manual, this book will be an indispensable companion and guide for everyone who likes and uses guns."