This book is good, but not perfect. Anything by Patrick Sweeney is laced with knowledge gained from years in the field, and this book is no exception. Sweeney obviously knows what he is talking about and the small, personal tips interspersed throughout this book make it an invaluable resource for both the home and professional rifle smith. The range of content precludes any extreme detail work on specific topics, but enough is covered that anyone will gain something from having this on their bookshelf.
But it's not perfect. There are two issues with this book, neither the fault of the author. First, the Kindle edition, and presumably any electronic version, is scanned from the original printed text. While it has been spell checked, it has not been edited. There are numerous conversion errors throughout this book that distract from reading any electronic edition. Obvious errors, such as the letter 't' frequently appearing as the letter 'l' (time/lime, safety/safely) and the letters 'th' appearing as the letter 'm' (them/mem, this/mis) make the reader question whether more important, yet subtler, errors exist.
The second issue is that the content is dated. The firearms world has changed dramatically in the fifteen years since it was originally published. Information is provided on companies that no longer exist, techniques that were experimental or odd at the time are now common place (sonic cleaners) and labor-saving tools that are now readily available go unmentioned. An updated version of this book is warranted, though Sweeney has written extensively and other tomes exist which are more current. For example, if you're interested in working on the AR platform, choose one of his newer books covering that platform. Same with the Ruger 10/22. If you're into Mausers and other military surplus, this book is right up your alley.
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