Really fun thread. Reading through it I have added a couple of books to my library. Thanks.
Reading this thread took me to my gun library to see what it contained and a look for books that I have read but forgotten about. Here are a few that I have enjoyed and although not specifically gunsmith books are worth getting if you can find a copy.
Lancaster, Charles, Illustrated Treatise on the Art of Shooting, 1889. Part I on how to shoot on the wing; Part II on guns (mainly Lancaster). For those of us who chase birds on the wing with beloved gundog this volume is a fun read.
Churchill, Robert, Churchill's Shotgun Book. A guide to the successful use of the smooth-bored game gun. A. Knopf 1955. I list this here for those of us who rough shoot. While devoted to the English successful use of the smooth-bored game gun, Part IV, Chapter 1 Shotgun work in America is a very enjoyable view as presented by a respected member of the British shooting society. Reminds me of the first time I visited Purdey's and attempted to describe to the gunroom manager the art of woodcock shooting in Ohio and Upper Michigan, but that is a story for another time.
Dixon, W.B., European Sporting Cartridges, Vol. I, History and Development of German and Austrian Sporting Cartridges 1870-1995. Armory Press, 1997. As my gun safe includes a number of European stalking rifles, double rifles in odd metrics, and cape guns and drillings, this volume is essential.
McPherson, M.L., Accurizing the Factory Rifle. Precision Shooting, Inc. 1999. My interest includes long range BP precision shooting with pre-1885 Sharps, Winchesters and Springfield TD and 1920 to 1970 modern rifles. For the modern rifle, McPherson's volume contains a wealth of gunsmithing information.
Rinker, Robert A., Understanding Firearm Ballistics: Basic to Advanced Ballistics. Mulberry House Publishing, Inc. 3rd Ed. 1999. For anyone interested in firearms, this book is a complete course in firearms ballistics and a must read.
I would add the following. For those who shoot Damascus barreled shotguns, and shotguns and rifles aged 100+ years, the complete set of DoubleGun Journal articles by Sherman Bell Finding out for myself should be considered an essential volume of information. It would be nice if these articles were to be compiled into a single volume and offered for sale to DGJ subscribers or added to the Volume III reader.
