The Tactical Shotgun: The Best Techniques And Tactics For Employing The Shotgun In Personal Combat [Paperback]

Gabriel Suarez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

In his second book on tactical weapons, Suarez sets the record straight on the true role of the shotgun in combat. He shows you what you need to know to defend your home, family or business, including multiple hostiles, low-light situations, moving targets and more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gabe Suarez is a veteran of Southern California law enforcement, where he has served for many years. His extensive field experience includes single officer patrol, gang enforcement, special operations and tactical training. He was one of the founding members of his department's Special Weapons and Tactical Precision Rifle teams.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873648986
• ISBN-13: 978-0873648981
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth About Gunfighting, December 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tactical Shotgun: The Best Techniques And Tactics For Employing The Shotgun In Personal Combat (Paperback)

As a Federal LEO, I can safely say that I have seen a lot of firearms training and Gabe is in the leage of Master Trainers. He tells it like it is in this book and doesn't paint gunfighting with the rose colored glasses that cloud this sometimes PC topic. Gabe's techniques work and they work in the real world. I have used them on duty and they are far better than what is being taught at many of the so called high speed low drag schools.

Gabe teaches Gunfighting, not shooting. real gunfights are violent and while violence seems to offend some of the more timid readers, it is reality and anyone that is carrying a gun has a responsibility to be trained in its use. This book is a big step toward that training. Unlike many of his detractore, Gabe has actually been in gunfights and won. He knows what happens when it is time to sling lead and he knows how to win. I highly recomend this book for anyone interested in using a firearm for self defense.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A review written by the initiated policeman, March 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Tactical Shotgun: The Best Techniques And Tactics For Employing The Shotgun In Personal Combat (Paperback)

In my state, police shotgun training is kept to a minimum due to fiscally-motivated time restraints. I found Mr. Suarez's book to be well-written and completely appropriate for its intended purpose. For those who bought this book and found it offensive that cops or citizens sometimes have to use deadly force, I have to ask, why did you buy it? For those who want a non-realistic, 1970s television look at deadly force, do not buy this book. For those living in the real world, like myself, please do. Tactical Shotgun is a short and, though not perfect, a very informative book.

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative book on the tactical use of a shot gun, April 26, 2005

By 

AFN1000 (N. Hemisphere) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Tactical Shotgun: The Best Techniques And Tactics For Employing The Shotgun In Personal Combat (Paperback)

This is the second book in Gabriel Suarez's tactical series and like his others it is very readable and flows nicely. He is one of the few gun scribes who knows how to write logically and more importantly succinctly. His paragraphs flow together well and his composition works. This is rare with gun writers who seem to drone on endlessly introducing material. I have never met the author but I noticed how much my pistol shooting improved after reading his first book and how much it helped me when I attended a shooting school (not Suarez's program) last year so I purchased this book since my knowledge of the shotgun is limited.

I got a lot out of this book. I subscribe to the school that books on tactics should have more information on the basics of techniques and espouse the merits of repetition through "perfect practice" than promising you some ultimate "response" techniques that will never come to fruition. This is why I like Suarez's books. He adroitly knows how to give a thorough definition of the techniques with some reasonable example of why they work. There is no "high speed low drag" with his text, though to be honest, I don't even know what that statement means but I get nauseated every time I hear it.

The chapters are broken down into small, right-to-the-point paragraphs and are presented in a logical order: Intro, Safety, Ammo, Carry methods, etc. There are plenty of B&W photos and my only criticism is that I would have preferred more sequential photos showing the techniques in more detail than what is presented. Gabe's Tactical Pistol book does a better job of doing that, especially on the draw or carry techniques.

In my opinion this book is excellent for someone who needs a good, tactical introduction to the shotgun and good as a refresher to someone already trained in the shotgun. Some of the reviews I have read here are repeated synopsis of Mr. Suarez's other books and to be honest, not much thought to the actual text seems to be reported.

The bottom line is that there a lot of good, basic information you can learn from this book and that is what I liked. Suarez never promises you that you will become a super stealth operator from reading his books. What he does promise is that by learning the fundamentals and by practicing them until they are engrained in your muscle memory, it will increase your chance of surviving a gunfight. That is good enough for me. I recommend this book.