Customer Reviews

Black Magic: The Ultra Accurate AR-15

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

 

 

Aside from being a very entertaining read (excellent for those endless waits at the benchrest range), "Black Magic" is a comprehensive review and analysis of the use of the AR-15 in high precision (mostly competitive) shooting.

I found Feamster's "history of the mousegun" to be informative not only from a curiousity standpoint, but also as a nice primer on the modifications and changes that made the AR-15 competitive.

The advice offered for accurizing the AR-15 is indispensable, and well organized by function. Not only are the functional characteristics of the rifle addressed, but advice is offered on targets, powder & ammunition, and application-specific tips on varmint hunting & law enforcement uses.

There is no question that this book is highly partisan, but Feamster is fair enough to cover some of the advantages of the M1 & M14 in comparison with the AR-15.

I am in the process of putting together my own rifle, and have enjoyed this book quite a bit. It has a lot of technical information, though it is presented in a manner that is easy to read. I think this is a must have book, though, I do wish that the author would come back, and update it, since it is getting a bit dated.

John Feamster's book illustrates how Eugene Stoner's ugly little black gun has really matured.

The chapters on barrel-twist, chamber tolerances and bedding (yes, an AR has places that can be bedded) were very interesting, and I might try some of the recommendations with my present rifle, along with other upper receivers that I might build in the future.

The "war stories" were funny as hell, too.

Summary: An unfocused, sloppy, and dated work. It contains nuggets of wisdom and useful information, but they're buried deep within long stretches of meandering text.

Some Amazon user reviews indicate that this is a definitive detailed, comprehensive overview of all aspects of competition shooting with the AR-15. I am interested to learn the finer points of tweaking, configuring, and shooting the AR, but after reading the book cover to cover, I do not consider myself any better prepared for competition. This very mixed bag is broken up approximately as follows:

20%: History of the AR15 in competition shooting - sometimes interesting, but quite repetitive (author is clearly trying to sell the AR as a competition platform, which reminds the reader that this is a 10 year old book).
20%: Discussion of various components and configurations for building a suitable competition AR. May be useful to some, but mostly unnecessary for someone who may have already decided on a configuration (and the AR market as of 2007 has far more options for buying or building a match-ready AR than were available when this was written in 1998)
20%: Detailed handloading info: bullet selection, neck sizing, test methodology, etc. This is really the "meat" of the book, and should be useful to handloaders.
15%: Photos and reminiscences about various AR designers, shooters, and their contributions to the sport
15%: Reminders of why the AR15 is the best competition platform
10%: Unnecessary and annoying over-punctuation. I blame the editor more than the author. I don't expect every gun expert to be a great writer, but this book seems to have been published without the benefit of an editor.

The last point is more than just a gripe: it seriously strains the patience of even the most interested reader. No professional would leave in so many "!!!!"s and "?!?"s, not to mention entire sentences in italic or bold text, and even entire paragraphs in parenthesis. This text would not have make it through a 6th grade English class.

Note that while there ARE good tips to be found, they are scattered among the chapters without benefit of an index, often falling outside of the expected section as listed in the table of contents. When you find a worthwhile tidbit, be prepared to mark the page.

Great book, has a lot of useful info on getting started and familiarizing yourself with the intricacies of the AR15 in competition.

Some of the information was very useful (especially with regard to ammo and some equipment), but not real current. Also, author's writing style was a bit distracting. Too many !!!!!!s and capitalized words (for example "WHEW!!!!!", "EGADS!!!!", "GRIN!!!!!, "AH HA!!!!!". A little bit of this goes a long way.