Customer Reviews

The Art of the Rifle: Special Color Edition

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

" Pick up a rifle- a really good rifle- and if you know how to use it well, you change instantly from a mouse to a man.." writes the good Colonel.

Its disappointing how few books there are on the most basic principles of marksmanship, and how to use a rifle efficently. There is lots of pelf written for people who fancy themselves as Green Beret Snipers, but very little indeed on the most basic principles of marksmenship. And there is this book.

Anyone who uses a rifle will benefit from this book. A begineer could not get a better teacher. A person familier with rifles will get enough information to progress to expert. And an expert will still learn enough to make the book worthwhile, or at the very least be able to enjoy Col. Coopers unique writing style. A Parent wishing to teach their daughter or son how to shoot would be well served with this as a gift for them.

There are 20 chapters covering safety (nice to see), firing positions, breathing, rests and so on. The Colonel does not usually go into much depth in the WHY of things- keep your barrel off the rest as it affects trajectery , without launching into a long discourse on barrel harmonics. Despite being reasonably brief there is a lot to comprehend and practice, so you will be dealving into it for some time.

The only gripes I have is some- but not all- of the ample illustrations are a tad over and under exposed so they are not as clear as one would like. This is common, alas, with Paladin books. Generally the photos are good and the dust cover is handsome.

Most highly recommended.

If you've read all of "Jeff Coopers Commentaries" (formerly Gunsight Gossip), you've read everything in this book already. Col. Cooper distills his years of writings about rifles and shooting and places it into 21 easy, distinct chapters that encapsulate the ideas. This includes the ever popular question of "Why?"

Col. Cooper leaves politics out of it, which is refreshing. Rifles are amoral, inanimate objects entirely dependent on the purposes of the shooter.

The prohibitionist will rave against such a book, for "teaching snipers" or some such. Ignore them. Mastering shooting requires mastering ones self, and self control is beyond the awareness of prohibitionists.

I own both the "Special Colour Edition" as well as the previous release of the book. My mistake was probably to expect the content itself to be refreshed, which in itself is pretty timeless. The fresh colour photographs and hard-cover makes the book a much better gift to rifle enthusiasts than the previous low-cost version.

Still a good buy and must have for any serious fire-arms collector or enthusiast. Don't expect expert advise on any of the specific disciplines such as bench-resting, clay-pigeon shooting or silhouet shooting though. This is a general overview of the rifle and how to use it.

This book is the perfect- even mandatory- companion gift to anyone's first rifle, even a bb gun.

Cooper was the lead instructor for Gunsite, and one of the world's most knowledgeable riflemen. He is also a fine writer with a stripped down style, and this book is a powerfully simple introduction to effectively using a long arm, for hunting , targets, battle, whatever.

This book is the perfect gift for any serious shooter. I have bought a dozen copies over the years as gifts for new gun owners and young relatives coming into the world of hunting and shooting. Nobody has ever done it better, and the book is a kind of heirloom, a touchstone for real real shooters of every generation. I cannot recommend it highly enough, obviously.

Hal Herring
author of:
Famous Firearms of the Old West: From Wild Bill Hickok's Colt Revolvers to Geronimo's Winchester, Twelve Guns That Shaped Our History]]

Jeff Cooper shows his love of and expertise with rifles in this nicely illustrated book. Covers every possible position and condition of rifle shooting, equipment details, everything you could possibly need to know as a novice or 'expert' (you'll still learn something)in the 'art' of the rifle.

The Art of the Rifle by Jeff Cooper is a very good reference on practical rifle handling and marksmanship. I highly recommend this book. The chapter on the use of the sling made this book worth the (high) purchase price for me.

A great guide from the father of rifle craft - this needs to be in every rifleman's library.

Very Uniformative.
I'm new to rifle ownership but I didn't feel that there was much useful information in this book. I felt, and I think a number of other reviews confirm this for me, that this book is no more than a way for this old guy to make a couple of bucks for his retirement. I'm not trying to be mean but I just don't feel that I got my money's worth. I felt that the book was just a platform for an old guy to talk about how great the good old days were and what a sad place it is now. It was extremely short on subject matter and long on opinion. I was very disappointed especially given the high cost of this small book. I will not be buying anything else from this author!
Reggie

I grew up shooting, took a 20 year hiatus, and then came back to it. Looking to improve my rifle shooting skills, I figured this "authoritative" work would be full of useful tips. It is not. Most of what is in this book is common sense. And if you spend anytime at all shooting, you'll figure it out on your own. It's a fine read but don't expect to get much out of it but "steady your rifle". Frankly, I feel like I wasted my money.

I found this book to be inspiring, instructive, and accessible. I'm new to firearms and really appreciated specific advice and reinforcing anecdotes from a respected marksman.