Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good reference book for every handgun shopper, August 26, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Complete Guide to Service Handguns (Paperback)
Gangarosa's book is a good source of information for those who seek reference material on standard-issue service hanguns (Glocks, Sigs and etc.) as well as more exotic, yet highly functional handguns (Astra, FEG and etc.). Complete with very good pictures, the book provides fairly detailed explanations of a very wide variety of handguns. This is definitely a must for those who are interested in handguns other than (or in addition to) the garden-variety found in local sports stores.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great reference source that does it all, February 14, 2003
This review is from: Complete Guide to Service Handguns (Paperback)
This is one of the best reference works out there for information about service handguns. It is a great combination of both factual data about subjective, expert opinion about a very large selection of standard handguns. The author gives the history of the weapon, the technical data, and shooting impressions. This is one of the few resources that give all three. The photographs are very good (not glossy but still very good), and the writing is clear and concise without being dry. The information is well organized with an excellent index. Finally, the author includes "classic" service handguns no longer in production as well as current models. Every gun I have been interested in has been in this book. I have read it from cover to cover just for pleasure reading. It is that good. If you are interested in firearms, I highly recommend it. The only downside is that it only comes in paperback, and I had to buy a second copy because I wore out my first one!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Must have gun books for the hardware fan, August 7, 2005
This review is from: Complete Guide to Service Handguns (Paperback)
Gene Gangarosa is one of the comparatively few gun writers with the integrity to call it like he sees it. You will not see Gene rating guns based on how "cool" they may be perceived to be by others. Thus this book reviews guns based on their quality, features, and performance, regardless of who made them. Gangarosa is well qualified to write on this topic, and although all reviews of anything that anyone writes is subjective, including this one, you will find an even-handedness in this book, as well as the companion volume, The Complete Guide to Compact Handguns which is also available on Amazon or from Stoeger Gun Books, the publisher.
First of all, these trade-size paperback books cover defensive handguns. Competition, hunting and plinking guns are not what these books are about. Service Handguns covers revolvers and pistols in the 4" to 5" size, guns which are normally carried in a belt holster. The companion Compact Handguns volume covers shorter and smaller version of defensive handguns. The books are organized into four basic sections, classic revolvers, classic semi-automatic pistols, modern revolvers, and modern pistols. The sheer number of models reviewed is staggering. Guns are all photographed in B&W, and fired for function and accuracy. With gun companies that make multiple versions of the same basic model a representative one or two might be fired, but all are discussed.
I rate these two books a four rather than five just because nothing is perfect. I do have some minor complaints. I would have liked to have seen expanded coverage of the biggest selling handguns such as Glock, Smith & Wesson, and SIG. But it is hard to fault an author for covering all makes equally. Second, function and accuracy varies among individual examples of the same exact model handgun. I would like to have seen that emphasized. Gangarosa is no doubt well aware of this fact, but an unsophisticated reader might get the wrong impression, right or wrong, basing judgments on examples of one. I don't want to hammer this one, as this is a minor complaint in the grand scheme of the book. Finally, I have found one or two minor inaccuracies, which are going to creep into any book. One example that comes to mind is in the section on classic revolvers. In reviewing the Ruger Security-six Gangarosa mentions the Speed-six and calls it slightly smaller. In fact the Speed-six is exactly the same size as the Security-six, using the same exact frame. The only differences in these two guns are that the Sec-six used a square butt grip frame and has adjustable sights while the Speed-six has a round-butt grip frame and fixed sights. Again, these inaccuracies are rare and minor. At the moment I can't even think of another example.
These books are now several years old, and given the dynamism of the handgun world of late, they are going to be slightly out of date. However I don't see that as a drawback. You read gun magazines to get the latest info on new releases, while you buy books as solid reference volumes which you'll refer to again and again. That is the type of books we have here.
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