Guns 101: A Beginner's Guide to Buying and Owning Firearms

Some perspective first: who is writing this review?I am an male adult, new to guns in general but I now very much enjoy “plinking”. I didn't grow up in a family that hunted or that had guns around. As such I had a ton of questions and was seeking general background on the subject. I wish to avoid costly and dangerous mistakes in my new hobby, and I don't want to appear ignorant when I interact with more experienced users, gunsmiths, and sales staff.Guns101 by DavId Steier is exactly what he promises, a base level education on the general subject of guns. It is not a complete guide to all things gun or even an in-depth guide to guns. Instead it is a general introduction to the categories of guns out there, how they work, and the advantages or disadvantages of each type in different situations.This book was is near perfect for my purposes. The author's writing style is informal but extremely informative. It's an easy read with lots of full color pictures and diagrams. And because of the large number of pictures and diagrams you may be surprised how fast the book reads. I was able to finish it in one afternoon. On this point kids should have no problems reading the text, both in length and writing level.This book would probably be of little help to a gun expert or even someone who grew up around guns. But if guns and the terms used around them are somewhat a mystery to you this book will be of a great help. Think of it like this, it's a starting point, not the finish line. If you have any doubts if this book is for you I encourage you to read the first five pages that are available in the preview. Once you do you will likely know your answer.Before I go further I want to mention the quality of the physical book itself. While it is a paperback the pages are heavy gloss paper and the color printing is excellent. It feels like a reference or school text book and I have no doubts it will last through many, many reads. I only mention this because I didn't expect a book this nice at less then fifteen dollars.On the downside, there were quite a few typos in this book. None affected how it read for me but it would definitely benefit from another trip through the spell checker and editor.The table of contents is available in the preview but I feel the author sells the book short by not giving enough information there. I think sub-headers should have been provided. So instead of the table of contents I encourage you to skim the index (also in the preview) as this will give you a far better idea of what exactly is covered in the book.And what is covered?The common types of guns: revolvers, pistols, rifles, shotguns, etc. And their sub-categories: single shot, single action, double action, semi-automatic, lever, pump, etc are described in detail.The general way each type of gun works internally is also covered. Not a specific hundred piece parts breakdown, but a general idea with the major parts and what role they play when the gun is loaded and fired. Think general overview here, it's not a service manual.He also covers ammunition, holsters, gun locks, gun safes, types of competitive shooting, lots common gun jargon, and more.For the most part I was very satisfied with the depth of coverage on the above subjects. Now with the broad strokes I know enough to ask intelligent questions at the range and can seek more information on the more specific subjects that interest me.What is not covered?First, the biggest over-site: “Assault Rifles” are only given a passing mention and not covered in depth like the other types of guns. I understand they are just specialized semi-automatic rifles but I would have liked to see more coverage on their specific features such as adjustable stocks and tactical rails.…So be warned, if you are looking for any information on “Assault Rifles” this book is a poor choice.Scopes and laser sites are not covered. Sure there is a passing mention of them here and there but no significant information on them is present. In fact the words scope and laser are not even found in the index. This isn't really a big deal but a few paragraphs on their basic features would have been nice.This book does not cover standing positions, grips, sites, or how to shoot. Not even in general. For this information you will have to look elsewhere. Common malfunctions are given a brief description but what to do when you gun malfunctions is not covered. Again, you will have to look elsewhere.I believe more emphasis and information should be given on how unload a gun and how to make sure it is unloaded. This is very important to everyone but especially important to beginners.While I would have liked to see the how to shoot basics covered but I suspect to cover them properly would double the length of this book. Also, this would probably create liability for the author so I understand why he chose to forgo coverage.And other things...The facts were well presented and appeared to be accurate to me. Since I'm a novice I'll leave the fact checking to the experts as I am not qualified.Not really a plus or a minus here but the author repeatedly mentions western shooting throughout the book, in fact he say he shoots in western competitions. So if this is up your ally you and the author may be like minded possibly making this a good book for you. For me it neither added or detracted from my experience but I thought it was worth mentioning.So In the end am satisfied with this book given its 101 title and low price. I took off one star for the missing information and multiple typos.One last thought....If you are going to buy, use, or carry a handgun after you read Guns 101 I highly recommend you read The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery, 6th Edition by Massad Ayoob (ISBN-10: 0896895254). This book covers a vast array of handgun related subjects in depth. I found once I read both books I had more knowledge about handguns in general then the average person I meet at the range and I could intelligently discuss involved topics with sales staff or other shooters with confidence and ease.***Update: It's been about a year since I read this book and I have a lot more experience with guns now. I reread my review and still stand by it. This book is a great place to start. I have loaned my copy to several people and all have given me positive feedback once they read it.

I'm relatively new to firearms as of this summer. Although my friend (who is a cop) was the one who taught me how to shoot, I figured I should take a step back and relearn some of the basics without going to a class especially if I was going to purchase my own firearm in the near future. I have been using my friend's guns at the range and just wasn't understanding a lot of the differences between them, so I was mainly looking for a read that would break down the different types and their mechanics, their trigger actions, their anatomy and anatomy of bullets, safety tips and even maybe dive into some history. In the end, I think this definitely had it all in there and to my knowledge, this is one of very few books out there that have the "101"-type feel to it, and I did a lot of digging on amazon, and this really seemed to be the only choice. So I thought I'd try it out.After getting through this, I did take away a lot: I found the sections on bullet anatomy, gun safety, purchasing your first firearm and firearm etiquette to be very interesting and those were topics that I wasn't too knowledgable about previously. It also started off with the 10 rules of owning a firearm, which I had read before somewhere, but it was helpful to get a refresher. It also raised a lot of good questions that readers might be thinking, like why should I own a firearm in the first place; why should I own more than one firearm; how to I explain to my spouse and family why I should own a firearm; all things I'm sure people think about alot. Then it went into gun types, starting out with revolvers, then to pistols and moving on to rifles and shotguns. So overall, it really did touch on just about everything.Now, onto why I think this just didn't hit home for me...I was really looking forward to the sections that broke down gun types, ammo types, trigger actions (which comprised of 85% of the book), but I honestly found them to be very dull and hard to get through. I just couldn't get past the retro outdated photography and supporting diagrams, which unfortunately were non-existant to begin with, and the overall grammar and sentence structure were beyond poor. I did see some other reviewers say that it had some grammar issues, but I thought I'd be able to get through that... But the typos, run-on sentences and the wordy writing style prevented me from really grasping the wealth of knowledge this book was trying to offer. This book would go 30 pages and zero pictures or graphics to support the text and it just made it very uninteresting for me. It felt as if the author was just typing away like he was talking out loud, and that's not always the best way for readers to understand what you're trying to say. And way too often would I read a paragraph... pause.... reread it.... still not get it.... and finally wonder what the hell this author was talking about because the grammar was that poor. To be fair, it wasn't all like this, but for a "101"-style book, it just felt outdated and sloppy. I am personally a very visual person and enjoy diagrams that go along with wordy paragraphs, but the few diagrams that were provided were hard to make out and were small and didn't really help me get the full understanding of what was being explained. The visuals were also very disorganized on my kindle. For example, it would explain something on bullet anatomy, and the sentence would say "see graphic below", and the graphic for this would show up 2 pages later. So not sure what's going on there, but again, very confusing. Now, to be fair once again, I understand that if something is explained really really well through words, one should be able to understand it visually; that's how many people become successful authors. But this really just fell short of doing such a thing.Another example: The type of firearm I'm most likely going to purchase is a semi-automatic pistol, and although my friend had briefly explained trigger action types months ago, I did not remember any of them, so I was really looking forward to a solid explanation of this to refresh my memory. But also, after reading this section, I was confused and there were also no visuals to help support it. So I instead youtube'd trigger actions one night last week and understood it after the first video. My point really is simple... I just think that if I took a live class, I can't imagine an instructor getting through a 3-hour course by just talking and not actually having any visuals, diagrams and live firearms to support his/her training.In conclusion, I gave it a 4 because I really did take away a lot of information and I appreciate the idea behind this read, but if it was proofread, updated (copyright says 2011 but does not feel this way), had more graphics/better visuals, and just flat out simplified things just a tad more, this would of been a great read. I'm pretty shocked that there aren't other 101-type books out there these days, but this one only hit a double for me; definitely no homerun. It just wasn't worth the money.

This was a great book which explains everything you need to know about guns, accessories, and other things you need to know. I became interested in firearms but had no knowledge of where to get started. This books explains everything in great detail and peeked my interest even more. I recommend this book to anyone who want to get started.

I can't say enough good things about this book. I wanted something that would give me a high level overview of guns, ammunition, firearm accessories and help me understand the basics because the world of firearms is very complicated and overwhelming for the newby. And, except for this book - I haven't found anything that fit the bill - they were all too specialized on a particular type of weapon - or only focused on concealed carry. This book does gives that overview of all things guns very well. Its full of definitions, a little bit of historical context, some basic recommendations, examples, personal anecdotes, and useful illustrations. Its a quick read and should be one of the first books someone who wants to get into guns picks up before they head to the gun counter or the gun show.

I enjoyed the book, learned a few things, but if you did like me and spent some time searching around the internet and reading, this book might be a little too basic. Not a bad book at all, just wish it went a little deeper. For someone who's never heard anything about firearms, it's a great starting point.

Fairly clear and concise. Presents an idea and follows it through to the end. Enough detail to comprehend but not confuse. Good for trying to understand a new subject. Excellent

Decent intro book into firearms