Customer Reviews

Jane's Guns Recognition Guide 5e

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

 

 

This book was a disappointment to me. I also have the previous (4th edition) which was also a disappointment.

The book sets out to be a "comprehensive guide to firearms", and it fails largely on the fact that it is NOT COMPREHENSIVE enough. There are so many weapons that are missing from this book, both new and old. Many modern weapons cannot be found in here, even such popular pistols as the Springfield XD range, and assault rifles like the Magpul Masada, XM8... nowhere to be seen.

What also strikes me is the amount of inconsistency in the book. It appears that each gun write-up has been written by a different person, and so none of the explanations or SPECS are phrased or explained similarly. The SPECIFICATIONS for instance, contains the most inconsistencies. Such as "RATE OF FIRE: Unknown." On another gun it may read "RATE OF FIRE: not known or RATE OF FIRE IS UNKNOWN.

There are also a lot of spelling mistakes such as calling Remington rounds being written "Remingtiion".

It just shows that this book was rushed, not proof-read enough (or at all!), and was released to the shelves with many imperfections.

SORT IT OUT JANE'S! You are supposedly a reputable organization and you are letting yourselves down consistently.

Jane's Guns Recognition Guide, 5th Edition, was first published in 2008 and has 464 pages. By my estimation, it contains information on 104 pistols, 46 revolvers, 61 submachine guns, 37 bolt-action rifles, 75 automatic rifles, 17 shotguns, and 57 machine guns, followed by a manufacturer's and brand name's index. It is a cold, humorless book full of lots and lots of cold, humorless facts. Not that it should be otherwise- it is a reference book on objects that were designed solely to take lives. When talking about firearms, one should always be nothing short of serious. Each profile on each firearm contains a picture- some are color and some are not- the name of the weapon, its country of origin, a description, and a list of specifications: cartridge, dimensions, in production, markings, safety, unloading. If you want information on a wide range of weapons, this is one of the best, if not the best, book available. It will no doubt be useful and relevant years after the 6th Edition is out. If you want a huge, in-depth description and history of each weapon, this book won't have what you are looking for. To do that would make this book comparable to the size of the Library of Congress. In its field and class- a general reference book on firearms- this book is superb. I highly recommend it, but I urge persons considering buying it to pay due attention to its limitations. It does not have the answers to the life, the universe, and everything of modern firearms. Well, maybe it does. But only a quarter of it.

For the occasional reader or gun aficionado this book has it all; a wide range of weapons from around the world, detailed illustrations and basic data. But as a gun recognition guide it falls short of being complete in any sense.

To be really useful you'd need more info on safety features (preferably with schematics), more raw data on markings and serial numbers, photographs covering more angles, production data and manufacturing locations. And so on.

This is a fully comprehensive guide for the most inspired gun freak. It has pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, submachine guns, and bolt action. This book covers it all!

This book is hard to rate because it is really one of a kind. The book is neither hardcover or paperback. It is rather a plasticised manual for the identification of arms by police personnel or the like. The book also has much to offer to a writer who doesn't want to constantly use the phrase " He pulled out his service revolver...". The manual offers nothing on shotguns as has been noted elsewhere. This is at least the third in a series and contrary to expectation they have not gotten better. This edition offers no critique which was present in the earliest edition, and the needed correction have not een made. Corrections? Yes, the manual is by no means complete as advertised, and has many small errors that I found: photos that did not match the guns, incorrect dating etc. This is not firearm porn. If what you are searching for is a huge book of glossy color photos done pinup style, well, forget this offering. The book has it's place and I keep looking for the newer editions and continue to correct them.

I bought 2 of these books, one for myself and the other for a fellow Firearms Instructor.

Both of us were not happy with the very "basic" information that is in the book.

It does not have very many of the guns that are now found on the shelves of your local gun shop.

It does cover a wide range of guns from all over the World and that is great if you are a collector.

But for being able to look up a pistol, say a Walther PPS, my CCW gun, you will not find it in the book.

Nor will you find the S&W .357 Magnum, I carry as a back up gun.

I hope the next "updated" Guide will be better, but I more than likley not buy it.

This book is published by one of the leading military information companies in the world. It was thus surprising to find that the book was rife with grammatical problems as well as technical inaccuracies. This book tries to be both a history book, and a recognition guide. It fails on both accounts. Jane's Guns Recognition Guide gives too many details on some guns, and has important information left out on some. The book is simply overall too inconsistent.

While somewhat helpful, there are better guides to be found.

There are too many editing errors, out right errors, and important firearms (such as the Smith and Wesson M&P) left out for this book to get a positive review.

I work as a Senior Weapons Analyst in the Security Assistance Office in Afghanistan. I often encounter FWP Weapons, components and equipment from around the World which somehow ended up here. The Janes Guns recognition Guide is an invalueable tool which I use to help identify some of the more obscure weapons. Great value and a super "Pocket-sized" reference when in the field.

This little book is a terrific resource and covers a huge array of firearms. I am sure it will be of use for many years to come.