Shooting to Live With the One Hand Gun

by W.E. Fairbairn (Author), E.A. Sykes (Author), Randolph Schwabe (Illustrator),

98 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-1581606782

ISBN-10: 1581606788

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One of the most influential combat shooting books ever published, Shooting to Live is the product of Capt. W.E. Fairbairn's and Capt. E.A. Sykes' practical experience with the handgun from their many close-quarters gunfights while working for the Shanghai Municipal Police in the 1930s. This expanded edition contains a new foreword by British World War II combatives expert Phil Mathews, which sheds new light on the career of E.A. Sykes - the "forgotten hero" of the Fairbairn-Sykes duo - as well as previously unpublished photos.

Hundreds of actual incidents provided the basis for this first true instruction manual on life-or-death shootouts with the pistol. In clear, concise terms, the book teaches the concepts, considerations and applications of combat pistolcraft. A foreword by Col. Rex Applegate explains how Fairbairn and Sykes introduced their groundbreaking methods into American military training circles at the height of World War II.

Shooting to Live With the One Hand Gun

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

W.E. Fairbairn taught unarmed combat to the famed British Commandos and the U.S. armed forces during World War II. Before the war he served as assistant commissioner of the Shanghai Police Force. He was the inventor of the Fairbairn Commando Knife and the author of the classics Get Tough and Shooting to Live. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Paladin Press (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1581606788
ISBN-13: 978-1581606782
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.3 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 98 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #51 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hunting & Fishing > Shooting
- #2969 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences
- #5078 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences

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Top customer reviews

Valuable information for law enforcement officers and others who rely on handguns for defence

ByBruce Hon March 25, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book contains valuable information for law enforcement officers and others who rely on handguns for defence. It presents the informative perspective of an officer well experienced in short range shooting situations decades ago. Most of the deadly armed assaults he experienced occurred at very short range. The bottom line is quick reaction and speed is of the essence. That is still true today. The point is emphasized when you see the photo of his revolver in which he removed part of the trigger guard to facilitate a quicker shooting response. You realize if you are unfortunate enough to be the victim of one of these assaults and must defend yourself with a handgun that you are not going to have time to look at the iron sights or point a laser sight at your assailant. If you depend on a handgun for defence you must to train and practice for that type of shooting.

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A must for police firearms instructors

Byrick barattaon March 22, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Eighty years and more has passed, but Fairbairn's "how to" book on staying alive in a gun fight is more than germane today. The nation's police have drifted towards target shooting instead of gun fighting, and the dead officers each year can attest to this failure. Fairbairn knew how to train officers to win in a gun fight, but he did not really know why his system worked...it just worked. Today we know why the brain and the body mediate the survival instincts that Fairbairn built on. Not surprisingly most police firearms trainers still teach target shooting and the "Weaver" stance to prepare an officer for a gun fight; calling on fine and complex motor skills that are just not available when facing a lethal threat. This book provides the basics to surviving a gun fight. You can;'t get much better.

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Great Classic in Staying Alive

By308Tomon November 22, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Great Classic - tactics and concepts are true today too! The weapons details have improved over the 70+ years since this was written, but the concepts and approaches to "staying alive" as developed and articulated by this pair are the basis for rational self defense against an assailant meaning to do harm.

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Four Stars

ByJDon July 10, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Not bad if a bit dated.

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A Must Have!

ByBVDon May 10, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you want to know how to point shoot this book will more than get you on your way. The book is set up more as an instructor's manual for teaching students how to point shoot, but it doesn't make it hard to understand how to point shoot. This book was recommended to me and is awesome, a must have for anyone that wants to learn how to point shoot.

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Typical Fairbain - "the real stuff".

ByAmazon Customeron July 1, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In so many ways Fairbairn, Sykes, Applegate, and others were ahead of their time with their training concepts. Their methods, including the contents of this book, were based on real life violent situations and not paper punching bulls-eye shooting and the like. I highly recommend this book to anyone desiring to take a look at how "modern" combat pistol shooting truly got started. Personally, I feel that you won't go wrong with anything written by Fairbairn/Sykes or Applegate...they were the real deal.

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The history of stress fire

ByCarlos Matoson June 26, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book was the first written manual on stress fire in history (or point shooting, or reflex shooting, etc). It is very interesting to read about why Fairbairn and Sykes developed it, and how training it improved the skills and saved the lives of many police officers. The book also shows the schemes of the shooting house the authors built for the Shangai Police and gives a direction on exercises to be conducted with those not familiar to this technique.

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The simple truth

ByDon Vescoon November 3, 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is THE handbook for real self defense against violent threats where a handgun is the only available and last resort. With no philosophical discussions, the directions for training and the discipline of armed self defense are delivered in clear, straightforward english. Keep in mind that modern weapons have improved and expanded the choices of tool, but the techniques are quite (if not virtually) the same... when the time comes.

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Most recent customer reviews

A great piece of history.

I'll start by saying that I'm giving this five stars by keeping in mind the time it was written and the historical context.Read more

Published 5 months ago by Amazon Customer

Old ideas still work......sometimes.

I chose three stars to give credit to the excellent work of the authors while avoiding the appearance of a recommendation for 21st century handgunners.Read more

Published 5 months ago by Amazon Customer

The information is very insightful and spot on. If ...

The information is very insightful and spot on. If you carry a gun you'll have to be willing to use it when that moment comes.

Published 6 months ago by Amazon Customer

Four Stars

Interesting

Published 7 months ago by robert mahar

Four Stars

Great historical information, and practical information that can be used by practical self defense practitioners today, using modern pistols.

Published 9 months ago by James M. Davies

Four Stars

"VINTAGE INFORMATION, THAT MANY OF TODAYS THEORIES ARE BASED ON.

Published 9 months ago by Amazon Customer

Five Stars

interesting

Published 9 months ago by Daniel W. Stevens

Would recommend to people interested into firearm history

It's a neat look into the foundation of practical shooting.

Published 10 months ago by Mark McCarin

Five Stars

As good as it gets

Published 1 year ago by Stanley D. George

Three Stars

Kind of interesting book. Very dated and very short.

Published 1 year ago by Turner050

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