Here is a book that delves into the important things about firearms and their use as seen by an unabashedly opinionated fellow. As a professional gun writer—and one of our best—and student of firearms these twenty years or so, Ken Warner is certainly entitled to be opinionated. And whether or not you agree with what he says, he is always low- keyed, interesting, and worth listening to.
So, whether you’re heading out to buy your first firearm or whether you have a battery of them in the basement, here is a book to prod you, inform you, amuse you, and give you to think. You can be talking about rifles, shotguns, or handguns and Ken Warner has something to contribute on the subject. If you’re in the market for a gun— new or used—Warner tells you what you should be looking for. If you have a specific reason for acquiring a gun, Warner gives suggestions as to what sort of gun it should be, from a utility gun to defend your henhouse against predators to a London Best shotgun for grouse or perhaps collecting. He talks about sights and scopes and cartridges, about muzzleloaders—and even has a chapter on staying out of trouble with guns that everyone, no matter how experienced, would do well to read.
By and large, when a knowledgeable fellow waxes eloquent on a subject he is especially knowledgeable about, the wise stick around to soak up some of that eloquence. If you are at all concerned with guns, you’d be wise to soak up what Warner has to say.