Firearm Books

Hi all,

I made this thread to help people learn what books are good for collecting and are not (as we have limited money to spend and we don't want to be wasting it on poor quality books). The rules are simple just list the book title (if there is multiple editions listing what edition also helps), author, what type of firearms it specifically talks about, and how you felt the book is (for example, is it lacking information in a certain area or is it a extremely well written book). If you are looking for a book on a specific topic ask here, and hopefully someone will be able to give a good recommendation. So to start I will list some of mine.

Title: M91/30 Rifles and M38/44 Carbines in 1941-1945. Author: Alexander Yuschenko. Type of Firearms: Soviet Mosin Nagants specifically in the 1941-1945 time frame.
Quality of book: Excellent quality book on Soviet Mosin Nagants from the 1941-1945 time frame. Tons of good quality photos, and excellent amount of information that the West has not previously received. Highly recommended. Only downside is they just sold out, and he might not produce more of them (he intends to expand the time frame and make a larger book).

Title: The Mosin Nagant Rifle, 6th edition. Author: Terrence Lapin
Type of Firearms: Mosin Nagant rifles of all types.
Quality of book: Decent book for a beginner or for general information. It has paid off several times for me. Lots of photos and good information, however it could still be more detailed. I would recommend it, just know that it isn't the be all to end all book.

Title: Military Rifles of Japan, 5th edition. Author: Fred L. Honeycutt, F. Patt Anthony
Type of firearms: Murata and Arisaka Rifles
Quality of book: Great book for learning about the individual series of Japanese rifles (i.e. 1st series, second series, 49th series etc.). Tons of photos though a bit light on the general information on the firearms (usually only a page or two describing the specific models). Recommended book if you intend to buy Japanese rifles, or just want to learn about the series.

Title: Mannlicher Military Rifles. Author: Paul S. Scarlata
Type of firearms: Mannlicher designed firearms
Quality of book: It is the only book I have found on Mannlicher firearms. Issues I have with the book is there is some just plain wrong information inside it, and the format is a bit odd. It also doesn't really talk much about other countries Mannlichers besides Austria-Hungary, and talks very little about captured rifles and features like that. Overall I would have to recommend it if you are interested in Mannlicher rifles (as there is literally no other option), however it is a book that could be greatly improved on, just no one has done it yet.

Title: German Gew.88 "Commission" Rifle. Author: Paul S. Scarlata
Type of firearms: Commission Gewehr 1888
Quality of book: It is one of the few books out there on the Commission 88 rifle. Overall it isn't a bad book, just lacking a bit in information. Same odd format as the other book Mannlicher Military Rifles. It also share a bit of content with that same book. Overall I would recommend it, just take the contents with a grain of salt.

Title: Mauser Military Rifles of the World, 5th edition. Author: Robert W.D. Ball
Type of firearms: Mausers of all sorts
Quality of book: Great reference book. Has information on a large variety of Mausers and has them listed by country with photos of the models. It is missing some models (realistically I don't think you could ever catalog all Mauser variants as there is just so many) but it is a great book if you are trying to identify specific types or are looking for more obscure Mausers people aren't going to write a book about (say Colombian Mausers). There could always be more information, but you would likely have to read a book on German Mausers to get more information (and it will likely be lacking for more obscure Mausers). Highly recommended.

Title: The Lee Enfield Rifle. Author: Martin Pegler
Type of firearms: Lee Enfields
Quality of book: Overall extremely disappointed. For a title like the Lee Enfield Rifle I expected it to talk about all the countries variants, production and usage. Instead it only really talks about service with the UK when many countries who used it or produced it were left out of the picture completely or only given a tiny mention. Whole major variants are left out (for example Ishapore 2As and 2A1s), and there are plenty of other books I would buy before this one. Not recommended, there are many books I would take my chances on before this one.

Title: Standard Catalog of Military Firearms, 7th edition. Author: Philip Peterson
Type of firearms: Military surplus of all sorts
Quality of book: Good book for general price point if you know nothing about military firearms or specific military firearms. Prices are mainly accurate in the states (the intended market) but the prices aren't always correct mainly intended to be a rough guide. Missing many models and types (can't get them all), however it is a decent starting point if you have no clue as to price. Overall recommended if your buying outside your comfort area, or just want a rough idea as to what is out there.

Knowlage is power. Refrences are priceless when you are in the deep end of the pool (approching your comfort limit). I purchased a French occupation Mauser recently that i would have passed on had I not had access to a refrence (Mauser Military Rifles of the World). Ended up with a bit of a bargin on an unusual rifle.
Books are your friends. Especially if you do not use a smart phone.

Very true, I have made several bad deals in the past as I didn't know what I was looking at or I knew what it was but not what to look for. One of the problems with being a 'generalist' collector (I only really want one of each model, I don't need all the factory types or focus in on only one type of firearm) like myself is that every time you go to get something, it is generally something I have no experience with (so I usually gain that experience after I have bought it). The people who do benefit from my experience isn't me, rather my friends as I can help them as I know what to look for after the fact. For example if I was only buying Lee Enfields I would likely have a very good idea of the price of the different models and how rare they are and what to look for (what should be numbered, who manufactured what parts, do the parts fit etc.). As it stands I understand most the basic details but there is much I am missing because I don't focus on that specific firearm type.

For the above reasons as I'm also a generalist collector I would add "Standard Catalog of Military Firearms : The Collector's Price and Reference Guide" by Philip Peterson It is not perfect by any means but when you really don't have a clue what something is worth it gives you a good range. Mine has been indispensable and I just mentioned to my wife that my copy is starting to look like some peoples Bibles. Dog eared, bent, folded, dirty etc. I rarely leave the house with it on weekends as I don't know what I might run into at yard sales, flea markets and antique shops. And the really amazing thing is, it's 6 years old and I still don't buy something if it doesn't fit in the price range. I seriously need to upgrade to a newer edition but it works. Prices have gone up, I'm just stubborn.

Admittedly, when I know said rifle is going for due to watching for one for a long while, I've paid more, sometimes substantially more than my 6 year old guide advises.

I don't have a tremendous amount of gun books but I do like the "For Collectors Only" series of books. These are small paperbacks and generally are $8-$12 each. Mine include the No1 MKIII Enfield, No 4 and 5 Enfield, 1917-P-14, M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, Krag Rifles, Mosin Nagant, Swedish Rifles, The SKS, 1903 Springfield and Swiss Rifles. I don't think that's quite all that are made but it's pretty close. Each is generally pretty thorough on markings, the various types, serial number/year of production, accessories, etc. They are also very easy to use and find things in due to the small size and ease of flip page scanning.

I have managed to find three different Carcano books, the most recent arrived two days ago, I talked about these on the Carcano forum. I have Balls Mauser book and the two Scarlotta books mentioned above. I like them but admittedly wouldn't be able to pick out errors like some can.

Another must have book is "A collector's Guide to Military Rifle Disassembly and Reassembly". Paperback oversized, glossy paper and almost nothing but photos. Has most of the rifles all but the most serious are going to encounter and tells you/shows you how to take them apart and perhaps more important, put them back together. So no more stripping that screw that comes out by turning to the right, not the left, etc. Most reassemblies are just the reverse but if there is an important step, they make note of it. My only complaint and it's not really a problem with the book is that I like to keep things clean and turning the pages can be problematic when working with a filthy rifle.

Bruce Canfield's Complete Guide to the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine kills two birds with one stone. Has a lot of period photos and good data. Not as easy to use as I like but it probably has most of the information a casual collector would need.

I have two books on Japanese Rifles, the one mentioned above and Japanese Rifles of WWII. I actually like the second the best, large paperback format, has photos or line drawings of most of the variations and markings you will encounter and very easy to use.

I have nothing on French Rifles and would very much like to find something on them.

When I get a moment I will go through mine and post what I have they are on the Owen gun, the Lee Enfields, Garand, Ballistics, etc.

LATER ON
I went through a few and picked what I thought would be of interest the Skennerton books are a great source on the Lee the Mauve one is 1 of only 300 done by Ian (Signed).
The Whelen books are good as is the Hunting rifle by Whelen, Manns book deals pretty much with Exterior Balistics.
Peters book is there on the T, Strattons is another go to for the 303, the British doubles is interesting (I like N E rifles), The Owen gun deals with its design and controversy attached to it. Hatchers book on the Garand is a bible for it I am led to believe as is Hatchers Note book.
The Roger Wadham books not to shabby for accurizing the Lee but I consider from a technical view point E B Reynolds book on the Lee enfield is a great source if not one of the best on the Lee Enfield line.
I have others squirreled away on Arty balistics and other stuff and I chucked a couple in just to show there are smaller bits and bobs around if one wishes to buy them online.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aragorn243

I have nothing on French Rifles and would very much like to find something on them.

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I second this, if anyone knows of a good book on French rifles in English, please let me know.

Well I see a couple I need to get.
Often mentioned are the Scott A. Duff books on the M1 Garand. Joe Poyer's "The Model 1903 Springfield Rifle".
My last two were ".380 Enfield No.2 Revolver" by Stamps & Skennerton, and "The Handgun" by Geoffrey Boothroyd, which is out of print , but available at Abe Books.

I did see a nice book on French handguns at a gun show last week but it wasn't for sale and I forgot the name. It is a new printing.

Found it: French Service Handguns 1858-2004 Available on Amazon but $70. I did leaf through it and if it was $30 less I'd buy it.

And I did find a few other dealers selling it for $40-$45, shop around a bit if interested.

Definitely neat, however my collecting of handguns is fairly limited (in particular even if I wanted to many French service pistols are illegal for me to own here), mostly I would be interested on a book about the French rifles from roughly 1886 to 1956 (basically the Lebel or even Gras up until the M49/56s).

The problem with general gun books is that - and I'm going to try hard to be the diplomatic devils advocate now......... - sooooo many of them become just simply picture books or what someone unkindly called them, '....the big boys bumper bedtime book of firearms/guns/pistols/rifles' etc etc. When you think that just reading the thread(s) on No5 bayonets (or even No7 bayonets for a better example.....) you could write a complete book about just those two examples. The Sten is another...... As Harold Turpins daughter said in a letter to me '...we had no idea that here was so much to write about regarding the Sten, but we........'. And while it's not a lot, some new info is STILL coming out!

I have to say that even in the huge supposedly technical library at Warminster, there were some '...big boys bumper.....' type books, best described kindly as 'wanting in detail' that I look at past the first few pages purely out of sheer curiosity! Indeed, two of them from English authors are separately described here.

Please feel free to slate me off of course.

Ooooooops.... sorry. Just had to amend first line. Delete GIN and insert GUN. But it could easily be Gin!!!!!

That is part of the intent of this thread, to help guide people to the better books. Not all mostly picture books are bad, for example Ball's Mausers Military Rifles of the World is a great book to have because it has so many pictures which can help someone figure out exactly what type of Mauser they are dealing with (as there is literally thousands of variations), and with that information you can find a more knowledgeable source after the fact.

It is all about acknowledging the limitations of a specific book and helping guide others to what they are looking for. For example Balls Mausers Military Rifles of the World I would recommend if someone was looking for some general information on Mausers and wanted to know about a fair bit of variants (but not know a fair bit about those variants). I wouldn't recommend it to someone who just wanted to know about K98k Rifles as there are much more specific books on that topic. Sometimes the fact that a book is extremely detailed about a specific topic is the limitation if that isn't the information you are seeking.

But I like the big picture books.............................

To be completely honest, I don't often read gun books. Only those that I really generate a serious interest in will I read. I get them so I can find out what I have, what I want, when it was made, who made it and so on. Does it tell me how to fix problems?

I have pretty much read the Scarlotta books cover to cover. My Swiss book I've probably read three times by now. I've read most of the Enfield and 1917/P14 books. And my first Carcano book probably traveled in the car with me more than any other beside Petersons. Other than those, I've only used the others for quick reference.

There's another thing while we're on about the P'14's....... At Warminster we had the whole tranche of trials and experimental models and others that were one-offs etc etc. But guess what? Nobody who wrote a book about them ever came to see us. If they did, they never took any notice, were asleep or never went into the 'bunker' or store! And it was me that eventually got them out and on display at the Enfield rifles end of the collection. My o' my.............

In defence of authors, there's always the question of '.....how much do I include'. The naive will always answer '.....EVERYTHING!'. But you have to temper that notion because you can end up with a mish-mash of utterly boring mission creep material. Worse still is the amount of sheer unadulterated plagerism encountered. Who wants to pay good money for a book that contains the full photo-copied contents of the Military Training Pamphlet or handbook.

There is always a balance to strike with military authouring, a storybook or technical precis. For me I typically seek the technical side and am frequently disappointed with an authour's decision to focus too heavily on the storybook side of a firearm.

The history and development is very interesting to read, the how's and why's of a weapon's existence and evolution are of great interest to me, but it can be challenging to trim the fat from the info.

For example I have Ian Skinnerton's Lee Enfield book on hand as a frequent reference volume, but other books on similar topic tell a story that has value, but once told, are never opened again because the information has little critical impact on present operation or collection of the firearm.

Knowledge Library ...

Electronic Books and Articles

Regards,
Doug

My books fall into two catagories fixed & mobile. The general refrences are mobile & the "coffee table" books are fixed as they are not parctical to take to fun shows.
I wish I had them handy for the name & publisher two spiral bound small refrences on the M1 Garand & Carbine. Very handy when looking at Garands & carbines in the wild.
Kind of like hanguns for CC the .38 you have at hand is far superior to the .45 you left at home due to size & weight.

Well got some new books in I am going to wait until I have reviewed the information of the one before adding it to the list.

Title: The Model 1891 Carcano, A Detailed Developmental & Production History. Author: Giovanni Chegia & Alberto Simonelli with Ralph Riccio. Type of Firearms: Carcano rifles of all sorts. Quality of book: Excellent quality book, I don't think you could find a better one for the Carcano rifle (320 pages with many detailed pictures and production figures). Highly recommended if you want to know anything about the Carcano, and it is only 40$ at the moment (2016).

Well got far enough in one of the books to do a accurate review.

Title: Swiss Magazine Loading Rifles 1869 to 1958. Author: Joe Poyer. Type of Firearms: Swiss Vetterlis, Schmidt Rubins, Mannlichers and K31s. Quality of book: Not recommended. The author clearly doesn't have much experience actually using Swiss Rifles or understanding much about them. Some of the information is good, however it isn't recommended due to some major and minor errors which go to show this was more a book made to make money than actually educate (something I suspect would be true for most of his books considering the shear quantity he has written). For example in the book he states that you can only remove the magazine on the 1889 Schmidt Rubin by taking apart the trigger guard and magazine cut-off assembly, something that is simply not true (if he had more experience with one he would know you push down the magazine cut-off lever as far as it will go to remove the magazine). It also fails to talk in detail or provide much information about the rarer Schmidt Rubin rifles like the 1889/96 Gewehr, 1900 Kurtz-Gewehr, and Karabiner 1905 (which makes sense as that would require a significant amount of research).

Just bit the bullet and dropped $70 for "Rock in a Hard Place" by James Ballou, an illustrated history of JM Browning's model 1918 BAR. It's a rather large (10" x 14" or so) coffee table book that's been a great read so far...

Russ

Well adding another book to the list:
'FN Mauser Rifles: Arming Belgium and the World' by Anthony Vanderlinden

It is truly a excellent book in regards to FN Mausers. Many high quality photos as well as tons of detail on the arms. Highly recommended book.