doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Best Books for the Amateur Smith

I recently acquired "The Art of Gunsmithing-The Shotgun" by Lewis Potter and have found it to be very well written and informative.

This copy of Shotgun Technicana just popped up on eBay. It's about half the going price for this book, even though it's still very expensive. Thought I would pass it along.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274340657282

Here is another suggestion. Instead of spending $150 to $200 on Technicana, and another $500 on overpriced books, search around and buy a beater boxlock, and a beater sidelock, a set of scrap barrels, Damascus and fluid, a good quality set of Brownell's gunsmith screwdrivers, punches, roll punches, a few quality files with handles, a quality set of drill bits and a good drill press with machinest's vise, a quality long-gun vise, a deadblow hammer, a brass hammer, a good bench vise with padded jaws, a reasonably priced sonic cleaner, a rotary tool with bits, and a small MAP torch, and a set of needle nose channel lock pliers (small and smallest and file the teeth flat). Also add a large clear plastic bag (used for disassembly whenever some part might go flying out and across the room). With this basic set of tools in hand, have at the boxlock and sidelock. Take each apart, clean, study, and reassemble. Figure out how they come apart and go together. Years ago, too many to mention, I did just this with a Stevens 311, Winchester Model 12 and 50, and a worn out wall hanger German sidelock. Valuable experience. I learned what I could handle and when I needed to contact the professional (read, much experience) smith. I am usually stopped when the task at hand calls for Larry Potterfield's array of high-end tools and shop.

I would add that for a specific project gun, this forum cannot be topped. It takes patience, but you will get the best advice (with a modicum of other input) right here on this forum. And it is great fun. The Parker forum and the Remington forum are also an excellent place to go for advice and insight.

Truth be told, I like books. Of all sorts.

Aside from the pleasure of it, I am also of the opinion that a good book by a master can save lots of time and mistakes and give insights that are otherwise difficult to come by.

Incidentally, the Technicana book on eBay has sold.

It is sad the book has not been reprinted in another edition as it is a good book.

You seem to be a very sad little worm Gladys Kravitz. You are sad about Polywad becoming an unreliable supplier of shotshells, and now you are sad that Shotgun Technicana has not been reprinted. Seems obvious that the demand for a second edition just isn't there.

Copies are available to just about anyone who wants one. There was a copy advertised right here in the For Sale forum for only $75.00 a couple weeks ago. About a year ago, I PM'd Argo44 to tell him where he could purchase a copy much cheaper than that. I think I paid around $20.00 for my own copy, brand new from Brownell's. Many of my gun and gunsmithing books have increased in value more than my guns. Nothing to be sad about unless you are just a sad individual.

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.

That's more in line with my thinking about the value of some books. Very few have recipes that can be followed to shoot better, find more game, or DIY a best gun, but they can give a look at history that's not always so easy to come by. The internet can be a huge resource, but books can roundout tidbits that're left out of summaries. Even if embellished, it would be sad if some of the sporting stories are lost,.