Customer Reviews

Art Of The Rifle (Firearms)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In his usual erudite style, Col. Cooper lays forth the basic use of the general purpose rifle. This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to improve his skill with a rifle and therefore his self-esteem as an individual citizen. His opening line says it all, "Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons." Do expect the straightforward dope on how to handle, hold, sight, and fire a rifle. Don't expect lengthy anecdotes, although personal examples, experiences, and observations are thrown in. Don't expect specialized material regarding target shooting or any specific (non-hunting) sporting applications. This is an easy-to-read book of just under 100 pages that will help the beginner build a solid foundation and help the expert hone their skill. You (as I did) will read it over and over. In a time where the skill of rifle use is rapidly disappearing from our increasingly urban society, this book is both timely and useful. I highly recommend it to all shooters and those who would like to be.

While I admit that I am an unabashed fan of Colonel Cooper, I without reservation regard this book to be one of the essential elements to the aspiring rifleman. This book however is useful to one person, the rifleman. If your into Benchrest, 1000 yard competion, and nameless other disciplines of specialized rifle usage, spend your money elsewhere. This book deals purely with the employment of the "queen of personal weapons", the rifle. The only thing that I did not like about the book was it's size. The information is so useful that I found myself in want for a compact "field edition" that could acompany myself and my rifle into the field. In short this book encompasses the most usable 97 pages of rifle related instruction that I have ever read.

The Art of the Rifle is the Kernighan-Richie of rifle shooting -the students and users of C language will understand me... This short volume, in its 97 pages of text, covers all the essentials of rifle shooting. It can be enjoyed word by word, and needs to be read several times before all substance has been extracted. Each area of discussion is fully covered in its critical aspects, and one often encounters penetrating observations from the author's long practical experience or analytical depth.

This book is one of these small gems of which you only wish that they could be made longer! In this case, it needs a companion volume which can discuss at great length the very many aspects of less than critical importance, yet still useful to discuss and understand, which can make you a better shot. My only regret is that the author does not provide this aspect as well. As it is, I fully recommend this book to novice and experienced shooters alike. You will read it quickly, enjoy it thoroughly, and get back to it often.

Jeff Cooper is undoubtedly a giant within the field of gunwriting and this book is a clear reflection of that fact. It contains a wealth of information valuable to every wannabe rifleman, and it is therefore a must on every shooters bookshelf.

There are however some minor - but very irritating -flaws.
First of all: It seems that no other qualified gunexpert - or a professional writer for that matter - read the manuscript before the book was released, since there is a lot of undocumentet claims and some unclear passages in the text. For instance: It is stated, that in order to be "friendly", a rifle must not be longer than 39 inches in lenght. This might be true, but it would be nice to know, why the colonel feels this way. Another example: Throughout the book the colonel refers a lot to the condition a rifle is carried in, but he fails to clearly define these conditions (condition 1, 2 and 3), so the reader has to do some guesswork on what the author actually means - and thats a shame!
And the worst: In the chapter on trajectory, the colonel concludes in a sligthly arrogant manner, that elementary physics is "a course that a good many rifle shooters never seem to have encontered". This may be true, but the colonel could have paid better attention in that class as well, since he demonstrates in that very chapter, that he haven't understood the physical principles concerning ballistic coefficients, the trajectory of angled shots and the recoil of rifles versus smoothbore guns. Three factual errors are to much in one page!

Another real disapointment is the quality of the illustrations - they are really, really bad in black and white, not very clear and not very professionally made.

This books deserves a second edition, for the contents are very authorative, and as I stated in the beginning of this review - it belongs in any riflemans bookcase!

The Art of the Rifle is an outstanding collection of the various facets of riflery, presented by one of the most accomplished and articulate authors in the shooting business. Jeff Cooper presents a number of tips and techniques, not the least of which is the proper use of the shooting sling, for the readers benefit. If the book has a drawback it is this: some of the photographs did not print well and are a little difficult to decipher, particularly if the reader is unfamiliar with the concepts being illustrated. Just the same, this is the only manual I know of that contains this important information. Good Shooting...

I have read Colonel Jeff Cooper's book "Art of the Rifle" and just completed his General Rifle course. Anyone who desires to master the "queen of personal weapons" will be well on the way by studying this book. The entire spectrum of practical use of the rifle is covered in Colonel Cooper's usual style. After reading the book, you'll want to take the class. Buy one for your library, and extras for friends, children, and family. Future generations will thank you for it.

Col. Jeff Cooper is an accomplished master of shooting, and a recognized authority on the subject.
That said, I do not think this book will appeal to just anyone who happens to pick it up and start reading. Cooper is not shy about voicing his opinions on the subject of riflecraft. Within some of his more vociferious editoriallizing, though, pearls of information can be found--case in point, his comparison of various rifle cartridges. Even if one does not necessarily agree with all his perspectives on anything in this book, said perspectives may still provide valuable food for thought. Given the time-span of his experience, Cooper is bound to have something of an "elder-statesman" perspective on the subjects he writes about. Keep in mind that his perspectives and opinions may be a bit dated. That aside, he still knows his stuff and offers very good advice.
I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about traditional riflecraft and who can at least tolerate Cooper's editorializing on the subject.

If you are new to the rifle, here is an excellent introduction. If you are not, you will find nothing you can not find in other books on riflery. There is of course an important exception. NO one can top Mr. Cooper on showing WHY we love rifles, and how rifles have helped humanity "out of the mud." This is what makes it required reading.

Here's why:

Basically, it's just a skimpy pamphlet for beginners that was blown up to book size by using huge text and giant margins on each page. To make matters worse, the subjects covered in the book are addressed in a very simpleminded manner, similar to a very short magazine article. There is very little of substance in the book.

The book has 20 chapters. Each chapter covers a separate topic such as "Trajectory" or "Breathing". There are 97 pages, so that makes about 5 pages per chapter. But there are only about half as many words on each page as a normal book. So basically, you are looking at around 2.5 pages per chapter. Needless to say, you can't put across too much information in 2.5 pages, especially when there are also photographs taking up space.

For example, the chapter called "Wind" is only 4 short paragraphs. You can read it in less than 1 minute. One paragraph is about how windy it is at the Bisley shooting range. Then the author says that heavy bullets are better than light bullets. Then you're pretty much done. (I hope the publisher doesn't mind me revealing all the fascinating information in the "Wind" chapter.)

Another chapter is "Moving Targets". Again, the chapter is four paragraphs long. It basically says you have to lead a moving target. Then the author tells about how his granddaughter made a nice shot on a pig. Then you're done. That's it.

Some of the longer chapters are a little better. The chapter titled "The Shooting Sling" has fifteen paragraphs. So it takes maybe four minutes to read. Again, the text is basically for beginners and has no real useful information. You would do a lot better to look around on the internet at the many websites devoted to rifle shooting.

There are no diagrams or illustrations at all. Just a number of black-and-white snapshots.

As a final gripe, I must say that the author uses a lot of space to gripe about stuff. The chapter on "Trajectory" has no diagram of a bullet trajectory. There is however, a two-paragraph complaint from the author that physics is no longer taught in high schools. (Why do people constantly harp about "the good old days"? I know a lot of people who went to school in "the good old days" and not one of them knows anything about physics.) This sort of commentary is not enjoyable to read and doesn't serve any useful purpose in the book.

This book should be required reading for anyone with a rifle. Reguardless of your experiance level there is much to be learned here. Give a copy for christmas and you will have a real freind. This book is packed with information.