This book is almost 23 years old and in sore need of updating. It does not even cover the new S&W auto pistols, Glock series of Handguns, or the Heckler & Koch (HK) MP 5 submachine gun. All of these are in wide use by law enforcement. Further the Mossberg 500/590 isn't cover either. Duh! It is the only shotgun to pass the mil spec test and is in wide use by cops.

Unless you just have to have it for work wait for an updated version that covers firearms developed and in use by law enforcement in the last 23 years


If you can't field strip it, you shouldn't own it.   November 8, 2002
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

If you cannot field strip a weapon you really have no business owning it. I bought the volume on automatic pistols and I was not disappointed. For most of my life I was a revolver man and I stayed away from automatics because I didn't understand them- and I was convinved that they were unreliable. When I bought my first Model 1911 (which has NEVER jammed on me) it didn't have a field manual, so I bought this book. It didn't take long before I was field stripping and reassembling blind-folded. I feel confident that I could do the same with any automatic even loosely based on John Browning's designs. I might have trouble with German designs like the Luger or Broom handle Mauser, but after studying this book I feel sure that I could eventually master them too.


Should be obscure firearms assembly/disassembly   October 4, 2001
 11 out of 15 found this review helpful

I bought the book with the hope that it would tell me how to re-assemble a Remington Model 12 pump action rifle. Unfortunately, the book didn't have the Model 12 (although it's got a Kintrek KBP-1, Mauser DSM, and other exotica). There IS a disassembly/assembly procedure for the Remington Model 121, but it is so obscure that it did absolutely no good, even though the models are very similar. One crucial picture shows the cartridge guide, but the picture is composed such that the reader has NO idea how the cartridge guide should be oriented.
All-in-all, a waste of money and time.


Helpful, useful reference guide   October 31, 2000
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

I bought this book shortly after acquiring my first firearm, and found it to be extremely helpful in disassembly. The book covers many of the more popular American-made rifles, and includes a number of popular military-type rifles, both domestic and foreign. Each rifle has a section devoted to the proper sequence of its disassembly, and includes a paragraph or two on the rifle's developmental history.

Of course, the title should suggest that the manual only covers centerfire rifles, and therefore does not include pistols or rimfire rifles...


Almost all you'll need   November 30, 1999
 13 out of 19 found this review helpful

I found this book very useful.It tells you how to strip down most popular small bore rifles ,including the Ruger 10/22.Unfortunately there is no information on modifications.An excellent buy.