Gunsmithing: Guns Of The Old West (Gunsmithing)

Rating:
Summary: Chicoines expertise documented for all
Review: Dave Chicoine's book places the years of this Mastercraftsmens experience and knowledge right in your hands.Long known amongst the collector's & shooters of the old firearms as THEE person to have do your repair or restoration's on these old classics, Chicoines book makes a most welcome addition to this booming field and is written in a down to earth,understandable manner,
clear and concise, and reader friendly.The information found in this new book contains a tremendous amount of hard to find facts and details surrounding working on these "old timers" and new information about the modern reproductions of many of these classics and the "ins & Outs" of them also by the man who has the most experience to date in working,repairing and "sprucing up" these new firearms. Let us hope he produces more such works for those of us in this field down the road a piece.

Rating:
Summary: Chicoines expertise documented for all
Review: Dave Chicoine's book places the years of this Mastercraftsmens experience and knowledge right in your hands.Long known amongst the collector's & shooters of the old firearms as THEE person to have do your repair or restoration's on these old classics, Chicoines book makes a most welcome addition to this booming field and is written in a down to earth,understandable manner,
clear and concise, and reader friendly.The information found in this new book contains a tremendous amount of hard to find facts and details surrounding working on these "old timers" and new information about the modern reproductions of many of these classics and the "ins & Outs" of them also by the man who has the most experience to date in working,repairing and "sprucing up" these new firearms. Let us hope he produces more such works for those of us in this field down the road a piece.

Rating:
Summary: Gunsmithing: Guns of the Old West
Review: I purchased this book because I own two Ruger Vaqueros. There is even a Vaquero on the cover of this book. But, the Vaquero is not mentioned in the book. The Ruger Blackhawk is demostrated, but the numbers mentioned in the written description do not match the numbers of the parts in the blowup.

Rating:
Summary: A Nice Addition to Your Gun Book Library
Review: I would like to preface my review by saying that I am not a gunsmith and do not plan to become one. Like the author, I grew up watching TV westerns and developed an early fascination for these guns. I enjoy reading about them, looking at them, studying how they operate, and learning what to look for when evaluating a potential purchase.

In a nutshell, I would say that this book is definitely worth the money I paid for it. It should give me hours of educational reading pleasure and will be a valuable addition to my collection of gun books.

The author devotes about the first hundred pages of the book to topics including gunsmithing tools, types of metal finishes, headspacing, sear engagement angles, repairing and making screws and pins, the issue of restoration of antique guns, and general gunsmithing repairs. I plan to thoroughly read these informative sections.

If you are interested in gunsmithing 19th century handguns and their replicas, this is the book for you. The author devotes 176 pages to the operation, takedown, and repair of handguns. In my opinion, a better title for the book would be, "Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West, Volume 1: Pistols."

Readers interested in the gunsmithing of rifles and shotguns aren't as fortunate. The author devotes 46 pages to rifles and 11 pages to shotguns. However, except for 9 pages discussing the operation and repair of the toggle link mechanism of the '73 Winchester (which by itself could be worth the purchase price of the book), and a paragraph for the '92, there are only takedown instructions for a variety of antique rifles and 3 shotguns, along with parts diagrams borrowed from other publications. The author doesn't include sequences of clear photographs like in Gun Digest's series of takedown books.

When I think of guns of the old west, the first thing that comes to mind is a lever action Winchester rifle. So I expected information on troubleshooting and repairing common problems on the popular Winchester lever actions such as the '86 and '94, the Marlin lever actions, and the Colt Lightning slide action rifles. It would be nice to read about typical problems encountered with these guns, what the novice should attempt to fix, and what problems should be referred to a professional gunsmith.

With the popularity of the Winchester Model 1897 shotgun in cowboy action shooting, I expected to see a section devoted to this fine old gun. Again, nothing except for takedown instructions is included. Readers interested in the '97 would be better off purchasing a copy of "Gunsmithing Shotguns" by Patrick Sweeney.

In conclusion, I like the book and am glad I purchased it. I would look forward to purchasing a sequel to it that focuses more on gunsmithing rifles and shotguns of the old west.

Rating:
Summary: A Nice Addition to Your Gun Book Library
Review: I would like to preface my review by saying that I am not a gunsmith and do not plan to become one. Like the author, I grew up watching TV westerns and developed an early fascination for these guns. I enjoy reading about them, looking at them, studying how they operate, and learning what to look for when evaluating a potential purchase.

In a nutshell, I would say that this book is definitely worth the money I paid for it. It should give me hours of educational reading pleasure and will be a valuable addition to my collection of gun books.

The author devotes about the first hundred pages of the book to topics including gunsmithing tools, types of metal finishes, headspacing, sear engagement angles, repairing and making screws and pins, the issue of restoration of antique guns, and general gunsmithing repairs. I plan to thoroughly read these informative sections.

If you are interested in gunsmithing 19th century handguns and their replicas, this is the book for you. The author devotes 176 pages to the operation, takedown, and repair of handguns. In my opinion, a better title for the book would be, "Gunsmithing Guns of the Old West, Volume 1: Pistols."

Readers interested in the gunsmithing of rifles and shotguns aren't as fortunate. The author devotes 46 pages to rifles and 11 pages to shotguns. However, except for 9 pages discussing the operation and repair of the toggle link mechanism of the '73 Winchester (which by itself could be worth the purchase price of the book), and a paragraph for the '92, there are only takedown instructions for a variety of antique rifles and 3 shotguns, along with parts diagrams borrowed from other publications. The author doesn't include sequences of clear photographs like in Gun Digest's series of takedown books.

When I think of guns of the old west, the first thing that comes to mind is a lever action Winchester rifle. So I expected information on troubleshooting and repairing common problems on the popular Winchester lever actions such as the '86 and '94, the Marlin lever actions, and the Colt Lightning slide action rifles. It would be nice to read about typical problems encountered with these guns, what the novice should attempt to fix, and what problems should be referred to a professional gunsmith.

With the popularity of the Winchester Model 1897 shotgun in cowboy action shooting, I expected to see a section devoted to this fine old gun. Again, nothing except for takedown instructions is included. Readers interested in the '97 would be better off purchasing a copy of "Gunsmithing Shotguns" by Patrick Sweeney.

In conclusion, I like the book and am glad I purchased it. I would look forward to purchasing a sequel to it that focuses more on gunsmithing rifles and shotguns of the old west.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book on gunsmithing for CAS shooters
Review: This is a book that belongs in the library of everyone who is involved in Cowboy Action Shooting®, whether they intend to work on their own guns or not. The author, a veteran gunsmith, covers basic and advanced gunsmithing, up to and including full restoration of antique firearms.

It is a formidable book, in some ways. Certainly, the average cowboy shooter isn't going to have the tools or the skills to perform every operation in the book. Nevertheless, the author gives the reader plenty of insight into what is entailed in taking care of these weapons. If anything, the book will help the amateur gunsmith realize when he is in over his head!

He starts with history of the firearms, and the importance of proper safety, especially concerning the danger of using smokeless powder in antique weapons that are not designed to handle it.

He discusses the metals used and their finishes. He covers taking care of damaged screws -- a real bugaboo on antique weapons. He shows how to avoid damaging them, also. His coverage of stock repairs is noteworthy.

The book covers all types of firearms that are commonly used in Cowboy Action Shooting®, from cap and ball revolvers to modern Ruger wheelguns, the Henry rifle to the modern Rossi leverguns, and the double barrelled shotgun to the Winchester model 97. It even covers most of the reproduction firearms commonly in use in the sport.

Many of the guns in the book are not permitted in competition, such as the double action Colts and Smith and Wessons. However, it is good to have information on servicing them available.

The explanations are clear and logical. The drawings will give you much of the information needed to perform repairs properly.

The only major glitch, and I am sure that it will be taken care of in the next printing, is that the drawing on page 127 is numbered incorrectly. It won't take you long to figure out what is what, but if you wish, Krause publications will send you a copy of the corrected page at your request.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book on gunsmithing for CAS shooters
Review: This is a book that belongs in the library of everyone who is involved in Cowboy Action Shooting®, whether they intend to work on their own guns or not. The author, a veteran gunsmith, covers basic and advanced gunsmithing, up to and including full restoration of antique firearms.

It is a formidable book, in some ways. Certainly, the average cowboy shooter isn't going to have the tools or the skills to perform every operation in the book. Nevertheless, the author gives the reader plenty of insight into what is entailed in taking care of these weapons. If anything, the book will help the amateur gunsmith realize when he is in over his head!

He starts with history of the firearms, and the importance of proper safety, especially concerning the danger of using smokeless powder in antique weapons that are not designed to handle it.

He discusses the metals used and their finishes. He covers taking care of damaged screws -- a real bugaboo on antique weapons. He shows how to avoid damaging them, also. His coverage of stock repairs is noteworthy.

The book covers all types of firearms that are commonly used in Cowboy Action Shooting®, from cap and ball revolvers to modern Ruger wheelguns, the Henry rifle to the modern Rossi leverguns, and the double barrelled shotgun to the Winchester model 97. It even covers most of the reproduction firearms commonly in use in the sport.

Many of the guns in the book are not permitted in competition, such as the double action Colts and Smith and Wessons. However, it is good to have information on servicing them available.

The explanations are clear and logical. The drawings will give you much of the information needed to perform repairs properly.

The only major glitch, and I am sure that it will be taken care of in the next printing, is that the drawing on page 127 is numbered incorrectly. It won't take you long to figure out what is what, but if you wish, Krause publications will send you a copy of the corrected page at your request.