Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The best book on shotgun tactics I've ever seen! Covers all the bases: weapon selection, ammunition, carry and presentation, and CBQ. The CQB tactics section is better than anything I've seen to date.

There can be no doubt that Mr. Suarez writes well. Though I am not an expert with the shotgun, everything in the book jibes with the shotgun training I have had. After reading The Tactical Shotgun and some more practice, I am a few steps closer to being an expert. While it is impossible to learn any physical skill only by reading about it, The Tactical Shotgun is a huge help. This book makes an excellent supplement to professional instruction as well as an excellent introduction to the topic. The photographs are clear and serve the text well. I will certainly be buying the author's other books.

The Bounty Hunter Breakin here in Phoenix in '97 prompted me to take up the defensive shotgun. I found a local school and began the thrilling task of learning how to operate the 12 gauge pump as a formidable tool for things that go bump in the night. In like fashion Suarez' TSG addresses all the best techniques and provides much supplemental material for applying these techniques using different operating systems (Rem/Mossberg slide/pump, semi-autos).

It's all here: patterning with buckshot/shot, one/two-hand operations, slings and modes of carry, tactical and emergency reloads, indexing, loading a slug on demand, position shooting, and transitioning to sidearm/secondary weapon. The book is filled with excellent photographs which document the above techniques. Suarez' skill as a trainer clearly shows in the effectiveness of presentation.

Although I'd recommend studying the defensive shotgun in a practical setting, this book is a great way to see what should be covered in such a course. If you don't have social shotgun skills, there's no time like the present. Social unrest, home invasion, nuisance animals--do it now.

I found "Tactical Shotgun" to be a useful review of material that any responsible shotgun owner should know anyway. From gun selection to ballistics to a range of techniques, everyone should be able to find something useful here. Even if you're not into the "tactica" side, if you own a shotgun the sections on marksmanship and reloading are worth the price of the book.

Say what you will about Mr Suarez as a person, he definitely has the technical knowledge and real-world experience to teach about firearms.

In his book The Tactical Shotgun, Mr. Suarez clearly explains how to take full advantage of the shotgun's devastating and versatile capabilities. Among other topics, he explains the importance of using the right ammo for the job, how distance effects the shot pattern, the different types of slugs available, and even the mental mindset one must have during a conflict. Best of all, Mr. Suarez relays all this information in a clear and concise manner. If you want to become a master of what some have called the ultimate urban tactical weapon, start here.

This is not the author's best work. Flipping through the pages reminded me of a cut and paste approach to preparing this manuscript from other writing projects. I was hoping for a more comprehensive approach to a complex and important topic. There are important concepts presented (use a highlighter when you find them). There is a lot of filler. If you can, look before buying.

This book is really for LEO's but a person looking at personal defense can use at least 20% of it. That much makes it worth the price of the book. There are no wasted pages on superfluous topics or page fillers. If you want cut and dried info about using a shotgun in tactical situations this one covers almost all of what you need to know.