Best books/sites to find history of firearms?

[TMiller556]

I was interested in purchasing a book that covers the history of firearms from the 1400's to the 20th-21st centuries? Does anyone know if any books like this exist? I'm looking for detailed information in the different actions, ignition systems, etc of sporting and or military arms throughout the world. If there aren't books that have the history throughout the world, just the U.S. guns would be good. Some books that I saw that seemed interesting are the Textbook of Small Arms, The Gun and It's Development, The Encyclopedia of American Gun Design and Performance, Guns and How They Work, the Boston Bible, and Hatcher's Notebook. If anyone tell me which of these books are worth it or could recommend me any books, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[SDC]

Because this is such a detailed area, you might have to narrow down your search criteria a little bit; some references only deal with handguns, others only with rifles, and many of them only look at firearms from a specific time period or country. If you're like most people who have an interest in this field, you will accumulate a large number of references over time, and each of those will be able to add bits and pieces to your general knowledge.

 

[TMiller556]

Thanks for the reply. I figured that there would be at least one book with the history of every type of firearm. But that would be a pretty big book lol. Well do you know any books on the history of handguns?

 

[Radagast]

I'd start looking here: http://www.gundigest.com/

 

[SDC]

For handguns specifically, a good place to start might be Ezell's "Handguns of the World", which gives a prety thorough look at the histories of most of the major designs, and at least a quick overview of most of the more obscure ones. If you have specific interests or questions on specific designs (Colt 1911, Mauser C96, Browning HP, S&W revolvers, etc.) there are entire separate books devoted just to each of these, but Ezell has a pretty good overview.

 

[kdave21]

I would recommend "NRA Book of Small Arms" Volume I Pistols and Revolvers and Volume II Rifles by W.H.B. Smith. It wont cover every gun in the periods you mentioned, and I dont think it covers shotguns. I found both of these volumes in a box of books I bought at an auction. I almost foolishly sold them on Ebay, but decided to keep them as a reference. There is a pair on Amazon right now for $45. There are some at Ebay for $40 and up also. The rifles one has been especially handy for identifying foreign milsurp rifles. Good clear illustrations and identification of distinguishing features. It breaks it down by countrys, US, Germany, etc. If you buy them on Amazon or Ebay, just make sure you are getting both volumes, as some sellers are selling only one or the other.

 

[Jim Watson]

See Ezell's 'Handguns of the World' and raise you Geoffrey Boothroyd's 'The Handgun.'
Shows that not every pistol of interest was designed and sold in the USA.

'The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Handguns' by Zhuk has some history but mostly hundreds and hundreds of line drawings of different guns of all eras. (And people STILL post on the www with guns not shown even there.)

'The Gun and its Development' by W.W. Greener is interesting for the 1910 view on the subject. It is more on shotguns than rifles and pistols but they are mentioned. It is of course very self promoting, the Greeners had been building guns for a long time. And still do.

 

[TMiller556]

Thanks for the replies. NRA Book of Small Arms looks interesting. kdave21 does it just have pictures? Does it have specs for all of the guns listed in the book? And Jim, I'm going to check those other books out. I already ordered the Gun and it's Development. What about any good books on rifles/assault rifles? Do you know of any?

 

[Jim K]

There are several "coffee table" books that should provide what you want. While most collectors scorn them as not being detailed enough, they do provide a decent overview for the person who wants to know what a matchlock is without needing to identify that tiny mark on the left side of a blow-sideways Whoseonfirst Model 9999-Z.

A good one is Dudley Pope's Guns: From the Invention of Gunpowder to the Twentieth Century. It is out of print, but you might be able to find a copy on Amazon or the Ray Riling Gun Books site.

Jim

 

[mortablunt]

Wikipedia is a good place to look.

 

[kragluver]

An excellent firearms history book that can be found online for free is The Machine Gun by Chin. Unlike the title suggests, it covers nearly all aspects of firearms development from the sling forward. It is very detailed. I put a PDF copy on my Kindle. There are several volumes to this book. Another good old book is The Rifle in America by Sharpe. The Rose book American Rifle is also good.