The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery

Rating:
Summary: Excellent one-book reference on tactical pistol use.
Review: Taylor covers every aspect from pistol choice, ammo selection, holster selection, gun presentation, tacticas, etc. Legal and psychological aspects glossed over.

Rating:
Summary: Satisfied Texas Reader
Review: Taylor has devoted his professional life to the study of tactical firearms employment, and his no nonsense approach comes through clearly in this excellent primer. This author has been a special forces soldier, SWAT police officer, and professional firearms trainer for over 3 decades, and he does a fine job of distilling down what works. His description of calibers, weapon options, and general tactics is probably the best in print. He gives exceptional detail backing up his recommendation of semiautomics in .40 and .45 caliber as the best overall choices. The only thing that kept me from giving him the full five stars was the limited detail on dealing with stress, the "shoot" or "don't shoot" decision, and the legal aftermath. As a person who unfortunately did have to repel a home invasion and murder attempt, I found that the advice I gleaned from Massad Ayoob's book "In the Gravest Extreme" on the justication for deadly force was extremely valuable. Add in the valuable "combat mindset" information in Jeff Cooper's "Principles of Personal Defense", and you will have a basic library that pretty much covers the key issues.

Rating:
Summary: The Book is GREAT!!!!!!!
Review: The book is packed with info on all kinds of handgun topics. I learned a great deal about handguns. Like clearing jams, holsters, gun presentation, home defence, ammo and different Cals., specific handguns, choosing a hand gun, and much much more.

Rating:
Summary: Truly expert advice on handgunnery.
Review: This book is chockful of truly useful information written by a man with impeccable credentials in the world of firearms and combat. Taylor utitilizes a combination of valid scientific techniques and practical experiences to evaluate established concepts, ideas, and dogma in this field; he cleanly separates the wheat from the chaff. If you want to survive a handgun fight, who better to listen to than someone who has lived through five of them? All aspects of combat handgunnery are covered along with their relative real-world importance. Taylor even succintly summarizes the sociolegal aspects of carrying and using firearms for self-defense by quoting an unknown 19 century American gunfighter: "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6."

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This was an excellent book. It fullfilled its name by covering almost all the aspects to combat handgunnery. I especially liked Ayoob's humerous writing style and how he examined both sides of controversial issues. Word of advice: try and buy it used, as the price is a little steep.