Bolt Action Rifles, 3rd Expanded Edition [Paperback]

Frank De Haas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Work out all the details of every major design since the Mauser of 1871 with this essential volume. Author Frank de Haas analyzes 121 turnbolt actions -- how they function, takedown/assembly, strengths and weaknesses, and dimensional specs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As a full-time journalist for the outdoors press, Wayne Van Zwoll has published five books and several hundred articles, primarily on firearms, optics, and big game hunting, over the past 20 years. He edits the specifications section of Shooter's Bible, and his work has appeared in more than two dozen magazines, including Sports Afield, Outdoor Life, and Field & Stream. As a competitive shooter, Wayne has won two state small-bore titles, and in 1996 was named "Shooting Sports Writer of the Year" by the Outdoor Writers Association of America. He also runs a Wyoming outdoor skills camp for women, and gives seminars at sports shows and teaches marksmanship. Wayne currently resides in central Washington State with his wife Alice. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: DBI Books; 3rd edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873491688
• ISBN-13: 978-0873491686
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #464,151 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful, December 3, 2000

By 

Fuzzbean (Nangoku, Japan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bolt Action Rifles, 3rd Expanded Edition (Paperback)

I have the older 2nd edition of this book, and it is one of the most dog-eared volumes in my library.

Sometimes the author is not quite as technical as I might like. For example, he frequently asserts that this or that old military action "must have been" made out of high-grade steel without having done any actual analysis or even hardness testing of the material in question. But, his descriptions do convey at least as much information about the many designs covered as I would have gotten if I had the chance to disassemble and study them all myself. I don't have a hardness tester either.

The book is generally well written and fun to read.

If you're thinking about buying a modern sporting rifle, you might want to read this and compare the various designs before you lay down your money. If you enjoy sporterizing old military junkers, collecting old military classics, or just lurking around gun shows, you need this book.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic work on rifle actions, July 4, 2000

By 

Alexander Eichener - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bolt Action Rifles, 3rd Expanded Edition (Paperback)

This is one of the frequently-quoted "classics" in the field of firearms literature (first edition was in 1971). But even a classic deserves a critical review, such as to determine its (remaining) usefulness, and its strengthes and weaknesses.

This book is not a true encyclopedia of rifles; for such a purpose, a work like John Walter's "Rifles of the World" (or, formerly, W.H.B. Smith's now outdated "Book of Rifles") would be more comprehensive. It is mainly a thorough (528 pp.) technical treatise on most of the major military (17) and civilian (56) rifle actions. Its strength lies in the very good and very thorough technical descriptions, instructions for disassembly, hints for reworking and sporterizing. Nevertheless, the book also contains a remarkable amount of historical and general information; it is therefore suitable not only for the professional and amateur gunsmith, but also for any hunter or collector who wishes to gain a more thorough understanding of his gun, and who contemplates acquiring a new one.

De Haas' language is clear and simple, not without an occasional touch of humour. The author's modesty and willingness to acknowledge some limits of knowledge in such a vast field are remarkable and greatly underline his general credibility and experience.

Small drawbacks of the book are the generally mediocre quality of illustrations (while often okay, they are sometimes dark, sometimes downright blotchy). The bibliography is limited to articles in the "American Rifleman" and "Gun Digest", and an expanded edition would be appreciated. And some commercial German rifle actions might be added.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent reference, June 6, 2000

By 

K. Marsh (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bolt Action Rifles, 3rd Expanded Edition (Paperback)

If you already own one rifle and will never buy another, don't bother. Reading this would be like reading Road&Track after buying your only new car for the next ten years. If you're only going to buy one rifle and know it well, or if you collect, or especially if you are considering a conversion of an old ex-military bolt action into a sporter, you need this book. It provides an in-depth analysis of not just how rifle actions are designed, but their suitability for customization, what cartridges they can and cannot be converted to, etc. The author restocked, scoped, honed, rebarreled, or otherwise upgraded all of the common actions in the book (and many of the less common ones too). Since these upgrades are what most hunters are interested in, the book in invaluable before dropping money on changes. It is not a gunsmithing how-to, but gives the detail you will need to speak intelligently to your gunsmith and understand his/her suggestions and objections. If you are looking for a good read, you can read the history of each action, skip the assembly/disassembly and design analysis, and then read the conclusions on conversion or upgrades. Later when a greasy old war trophy follows you home from a gun show, you can eagerly lap up every detail from receiver ring to tang.