Book Reviews

The Colt .45 Automatic - A Shop Manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen

This really is just what it claims to be - a shop manual.  I bought this book, and I think most people buy this book, thinking there will be some general "how to's" included.  It's a good reference guide if you need to know the depth of say, the locking lugs on your barrel, but the gunsmithing forum at www.1911forum.com is a lot more helpful for people wanting to work on their own 1911's.

Thinking Practical Shooting by Saul Kirsch


I really like this book.  There are some technique-oriented nuggets on recoil control and shot calling in the beginning, and then it launches into all the other things that make up the sport of Practical Shooting; things like: Mental aspects, physical preparation, goal setting, match performance, etc.  Just as the title suggests, this book will give you a lot to think about, but it won't spoon feed you things to do.  The steps to building a training program are all here for example, but it's up to you to digest the bulletpoints and actually create a program for yourself.  This book is well worth purchasing and reading, but it's more of a long-term investment in the sense that you won't get a bunch of new insights and drills that will immediately improve your shooting, but you will be able to reference the content for years to come as needed.

Practical Shooting - Beyond Fundamentals by Brian Enos

The title is "Beyond Fundamentals," and that's just what this is.  Anyone setting out to write a book on the techniques of successful Practical Shooting has an incredible challenge ahead of them, as the techniques are constantly changing.  Most shooters would probably change their grip three times before their book on grip technique was even in first draft form!  But what Enos has done here, and why this book is still considered the most important in Practical Shooting even after 21 years, is boil everything down to the bare bones of what makes a technique successful.  For example, he has some wonderful description of a proper grip, but most of his description boils down to is the importance of neutrality.  If you want a book to tell you your exact perfect grip, this isn't that book.  However, if you want to be set on the path of finding your perfect grip, this is all you need.  This is a big part of why most people agree this book is more of a Zen treatise than anything.  After all, according to Enos, "Techniques do not make the shooter.  The shooter is the technique."

The Book of Two Guns - The Martial Art of the 1911 Pistol and AR Carbine by Tiger McKee 


I really can't recommend this book.  It's not really readable, and pretty much all the info contained in it is available in 5 minute Clint Smith youtube videos.  I was hoping for some insightful information on 1911 pistols and AR15 Carbines, but there is none of that (in fact, there is nothing specific to either of these two weapons at all, which makes me wonder why they're mentioned in the title in the first place).

Refinement and Repetition: Dry Fire Drills for Dramatic Improvement by Steve Anderson


Anderson has broken down USPSA classifiers (and by extension, USPSA stages) into the basic technical components.  He features a few technique descriptions in the beginning, such as draws and reloads, and the rest of the book is an excellent dry fire training manual.  If you want to buy a book that will help you start improving the minute it arrives, this is the one.  Of course, all of the dryfire drills can be replicated on a live range as well.  There is a reason this book is as popular as it is.  If your goal is to improve your USPSA/IDPA classifier and stage times, this is probably the one book to have.

Principles of Performance: Refinement and Repetition 2 by Steve Anderson 


There are more great dry and live fire drills in this one, with more emphasis on movement.  However, what makes this book very interesting is the other content, like the mental management program, Steve's experiences shooting on super squads with some of the world's best shooters, and common mistakes everyone encounters in the sport of Practical Shooting.  When you're stuck in your class and can't seem to break through to the next plateau, this is the book to turn to.

Your Competition Handgun Training Program by Michael Ross Seeklander 


This is like a combination of "Thinking Practical Shooting" and "Refinement and Repetition."  I actually just got it, but I like it a lot so far.  If you're like me, you would prefer to spend the $20 to get a ready-to-use training program so you don't have to spend the time digesting Kirsch's bulletpoints, combining them with Anderson's dry fire and live fire routines, and incorporating those with Bassham's mental management techniques.  This is that book.  There is also a section on "visual training," as in, how to train your eyes to see faster.  I'm not aware of any other resources that cover this in a prescriptive format, but it's one of the most important aspects of shooting.

Surgical Speed Shooting - How to Achieve High-Speed Marksmanship in a Gunfight by Andy Stanford


Don't buy this book.  It's a pure "technique" book, and a lot of it either won't apply to how you as an individual should shoot, or is largely outdated.  Instead, peruse the handgun techniques subforum at www.brianenos.com.  And take a class from an active, successful competitor.

With Winning in Mind by Lanny Bassham 


Pretty much all of the mental management techniques from Saul Kirsch, Mike Seeklander, Steve Anderson, et al all come from this book.  It's really the bible of mental performance in sports.  And it's only 150 pages and $9 or so on amazon.com.  It's well worth the investment.