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Ed McGivern's Book of Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting Paperback – October 17, 2007

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 125 ratings

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Ed McGivern needs no introduction to gun enthusiasts and serious marksmen. For more than 50 years he was revered as one of the top authorities in the field of small firearms. A world champion marksmen who made The Guinness Book of World Records, he trained scores of law enforcement officers and developed a system of teaching that is as effective today as it was when this book was originally published. It resulted from years of experimentation and research conducted by McGivern, who utilized electric timers and other devices to determine the angles and techniques that would produce the fastest, most accurate revolver shooting. Packed with handgun lore and original photographs from the first edition, this much-sought-after classic contains a wealth of facts for marksmen everywhere.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edward ('Ed') McGivern (October 20, 1874 - December 12, 1957) from Lewistown, Montana, was a famous exhibition shooter, shooting instructor and author of the book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting. McGivern also performed extensive research into the art of handgun shooting, particularly with the double action revolver.&nb

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Skyhorse (October 17, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 160239086X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1602390867
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.4 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 125 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
125 global ratings

Customers say

Customers say the book has great info and old six-gun lore. They also find the combat feats of speed and marksmanship. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it typical of the period and descriptive, while others say it's hard to read and uses very long sentences with many parenthetical clauses.

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8 customers mention "Content"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book has lots of great information, fascinating gun history, and relevant laws. They also say it's an extremely useful instructional manual.

"...Some of sections, gun control laws for example, are very relevant today and give you the sense that not much has changed in the last 70 years." Read more

"...a few chapters I realized that between the lines there is invaluable information about how to train for and how to think about this skill...." Read more

"...There is a real wealth of information here and I don't mean to disparage it, sure he was a little crusty, but his knowledge is worth a little..." Read more

"This is history without political correctness. Full of old six-gun lore and the little fat man's unbelievable achievements,are well documented...." Read more

3 customers mention "Combat"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's combat to be fast and accurate. They also appreciate the instructional manual.

"...It contains some great information on fast shooting, but is written in the prose of the 1930's, which in Ed's style, were overly verbose...." Read more

"Facinating feats of speed and marksmanship but also an extremely useful instructional manual. A real classic." Read more

"fast and fancy revolver shooting by Mcgivern..." Read more

10 customers mention "Writing style"3 positive7 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style. Some find it typical of the period, while others say it's hard to read, with long sentences and parenthetical clauses.

"...He uses very long sentences with many parenthetical clauses, a sort of faux Victorian style. Some of his sentences constitute a whole paragraph!..." Read more

"...It is worth it for the insights offered though.The author is a bit flowery and old fashioned in his language...." Read more

"...The writing style is typical of the period - very descriptive.Not just a book for revolver shooters...." Read more

"It's a very verbose and tedious reading. If this were rewritten in a more modern way, it would probably take less than half of words...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024
very good for people interested in improving their shooting and handling gun skills.
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2007
This is an amazing compilation of a lifetime spent asking...what would happen if...

McGivern spent a lifetime training, experimenting and demonstrating the possibilities with a sidearm. He was an extraordinary exhibition shooter but much of this book focuses on training law enforcement officers.

The writing style is typical of the period - very descriptive.

Not just a book for revolver shooters. McGivern covers a wide range of topics and most are not related to the type of firearm - i.e. gun control laws, law enforcement training, sight picture, trigger control, modifying firearms, carry positions, etc...

There are "pearls of wisdom" in every chapter, if not every few pages. Some of sections, gun control laws for example, are very relevant today and give you the sense that not much has changed in the last 70 years.
10 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2012
As a novice shooter I bought this book partly hoping to find some tips to improve my shooting. At first I was disappointed to see that most of the book deals only with 'fancy shooting' but after reading a few chapters I realized that between the lines there is invaluable information about how to train for and how to think about this skill. In addition there is a wealth of fascinating gun history and of course, the fancy shooting which is amazing.

The bad:

He is a total windbag and not a gifted writer. His approach to writing seems to be "why use one word when five will do the job?". He uses very long sentences with many parenthetical clauses, a sort of faux Victorian style. Some of his sentences constitute a whole paragraph! It is something of an effort to chew through his prose.

He spends a lot of time crowing about how he showed the pundits of the day to be wrong in their opinions.

There is a whole chapter devoted to the psychology of competition which didnt reveal anything that is not common knowledge.

The book is exclusively about revolvers and quite a bit of space is devoted to arguing for double action revolvers in accurate speed shooting. I guess DA was fairly new in his day and there was lot of skepticism it. Today there is no controversy, SA revolvers are confined to recreational shooting.

Some of his tricks were damn scary, like shooting targets out of an assistant's hand or a coin held between a lady's fingers! Today this would be considered recklessly dangerous and probably illegal. Those were different times.

These are quibbles really.

He was an implacable enemy of dogma and tradition "the rule of dead men" as he call it. He shoots down the pundits of his day using hard facts for bullets. He had total contempt for any opinion not based on facts. And he had the facts. Every claim he makes about shooting, he supports with facts. Either he would show data that others had generated, or if that was lacking (and mostly it was) he would construct careful meticulous experiments to test ideas himself. My impression is that he had little formal education yet his methods are a textbook application of the Scientific Method - test your ideas against the data. He devotes a whole chapter to the electronic timers that were constructed specially for his experiments. These kinds of instruments are abundantly and cheaply available today but it shows the lengths he went to to gather accurate information.

His central claim is that anyone can shoot 'fancy'. He insists that he had no special talent. All it takes is methodical practice. To learn DA shooting, first master SA. To master SA dry fire thousands of times. Practice slow deliberate fire. Analyze every shot. To shoot long range, start a few feet away from the target and slowly work back! For one aerial shooting stunt he mentions that he fired 30,000 rounds in practice! More than most shooters fire in their whole lives. One talent that he could not have denied was his enormous capacity for hard work.

He dismisses dogmatic rules about stance too. Everybody is made differently, why should one stance suit all? Find the position that is comfortable for your body, one that can be assumed quickly and held with out strain, and refine it as needed.

He was very involved in developing training programs for law enforcement officers, insisting that they learn to shoot competently in all situations: while running, lying on one's back, on the right shoulder, the left shoulder etc. He describes some of these training schedules and it couldn't hurt to follow his advice. This was a pressing problem in his time, the days of Prohibition, when police officers were being killed at the rate of 2 or 3 per day!

I read somewhere that Ed McGivern was a sign painter. It sort of fits. In those days, painting signs by hand required meticulous yet deft hands. Yes he was a pompous windbag, but I came away enormously impressed with the quality of this man, his integrity, his unyielding commitment to honesty and common sense in his work and his mind boggling capacity for hard work. He was a special guy. You don't often meet people like him and it was a privilege to do so.
41 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2014
the best and most comprehensive book ever writen on revolver trick shooting. But be forwarned. He drops J. Egar Hovers name at least two dozen times or more. One other caveat. All of his timed stunts are timed from the discharge of the first shot, minor complaints. There is a real wealth of information here and I don't mean to disparage it, sure he was a little crusty, but his knowledge is worth a little aggrivation. If you could master a quarter of it, there would be few alive who could match you.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2018
If you have any questions as to how one correctly sights a pistol this is literally the bible. I have never seen such a concise bit of work on the subject. Clearly Ed McGivern was as good as they come on the topic of pistol shooting. Thankfully for us he was also solid at prose because his instruction is clearly wrote with the laymen in mind.
One person found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2011
The amount of information in this book covers from the basics to very advanced shooting. Mall Ninjas and Wannabes will be disappointed at the lack of "cool factor" and dismiss it. Anybody seriously interested in learning or advancing in their knowledge, shooting and manipulation of handguns will appreciate the knowledge that Ed McGivern put down in these pages. It is a methodically written and very explicative book.
10 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2016
For youngsters (people under 50), this will be a tedious read. It contains some great information on fast shooting, but is written in the prose of the 1930's, which in Ed's style, were overly verbose. That doesn't take away from the fact that Ed was a remarkable quick shot, and once you learn to read his particular style of writing, there are things to le learned, plus it's a chance to glimpse into the era he lived in and how he pioneered the measuring of speed shooting timing.
4 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2010
The author offers much proof of his accoplishments in the field of exhibition shooting.
The instructional advice could be condensed down to 10 or so pages. It is worth it for the insights offered though.
The author is a bit flowery and old fashioned in his language. McGivern also states his opinion about the value of highly trained LE officers in our society. All in all a nice read.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Michael Reid
5.0 out of 5 stars Ol' stumpy and his fantastic shooting prowess
Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2017
Ol' stumpy and his fantastic shooting prowess! Unreal shootist and even the best today have not surpassed all of his feats. Good material for the future shooters. Wouldn't catch me holding targets bare handed for anyone to shoot and any distance though. Just a little too much for me to risk. Great read and great material for study.
Kai
1.0 out of 5 stars Schlechtes Buch
Reviewed in Germany on February 22, 2016
Diese Buch kann man getrost vergessen. Es hat keinerlei Informationswert für mich gehabt. Das sollte man lieber etwas moderneres kaufen. Nicht zu empfehlen.
Michel BARBET
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2015
Good book, a must for shooters enthusiasts. Good service from Amazon.
Maureen Deagle
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on April 4, 2018
My husband really liked this book.