Customer Reviews

Standard Catalog of Winchester Firearms

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

 

 

The first book of this series that I bought was "The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson", 3rd Edition, which is a well-thought-out book full of information on each model; good detail, some unique information and a gem to the collector's library. Naturally, I thought that the editors would have husbanded subsequent books in the series to be of comparable quality.

Sadly, it didn't happen. The "Standard Catalog of Winchester Firearms" and its companion "The Standard Catalog of Colt Firearms" are just awful. I'm reasonably certain that they were rushed into print for Christmas and the product that went to the public shows it.

The illustrations are of good quality, but who cares? One normally expects that firearms books be organized chronologically, and that they actually contain information that comes from other than the company advertising brochures. The thing makes no sense to me and is a total waste of money. I'm not even going to try to resell it; I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

If you want a book on Winchester, there is only one available and always has been: The Winchester Book by George Madis. Sure, the photos are not in color but what the hey...it's CRAMMED with the information the collector needs to help make his decisions. The only way to fly.

Other than excellent photography, this book is not special. The generalized description of each gun, along with the incredibly low posted values of each gun show a desire to
get this book to the publisher without checking the ground swell of popularity as collectibles that these rifles have. I do give the author an A+ on his photography. I have never seen a collection of pictures as good as this book has. Pictures alone make the book worth having. There is too much wasted space putting values on the guns (which I consider low ball) that the author could have used with more in depth descriptions of the firearms and their variations. (ie.) Why was this gun better/worse, why was it different? Standard Catalog is the correct name, but it could have been much more.

This is a review of the STANDARD CATALOG OF WINCHESTER FIREARMS by Joseph M. Cornell, CMA, ASA, ISA. Mine is the hardbound copy published by Gun Digest Books in 2007. It's full of beautiful photographs by Paul Goodwin and includes a useful appendix listing the dates of manufacture of most models and a handy index.

Cornell is a prominent gun collector and author. His most recent work is the STANDARD CATALOG OF BROWNING FIREARMS which just came out this year. By the way, those initials following his name are significant. They identify Cornell as a Certified Master Appraiser, member of the American Society of Appraisers and the International Society of Appraisers. He's an authority on firearms and he knows what they're worth because he's in the business determining their values. That's important information for collectors and gun buffs.

This is an attractive book as well as an interesting one especially if you have Winchester firearms. Almost everybody out west does. I think it's a law of some kind here in Montana.

Although it's not a formal company history, Cornell does a good job of including a lot of the history of this iconic American company in his CATALOG. He's also accurate and comprehensive in his descriptions of Winchester models.

I like this book and gave it five stars. If you're interested in Winchester firearms, you'll enjoy it and find it useful and informative.

I'm new to Winchester rifles and hoped the book would be more comprehensive. Great pictures. Not sure how applicable pricing is to current market. Overall pleased with book.

In chronological order all the Winchester guns are mentioned.
Not just a catalog, but also some back ground information of the models.
Nice photography. A high quality book for the person who is interested in Winchester arms.

My husband is an avid gun collector and user in hunting, and he says it is a very good book, with valuable and concise information.

Fantastic. Excellent value for money. Beautifully illustrated with all colour photos. Brilliantly detailed. An absolute must for the Winchester collector.

Standard Catalog of Winchester Firearms

Great Book! Very informative. Could not be more pleased.