|
Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World; The Full-Color Guide to All Your Favorite Vintage and Surplus Rifles |  | Authors: Stuart C. Mowbray, Joe Puleo
Publisher: Andrew Mowbray Publishers, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $69.99
Buy New: $62.90
as of 7/31/2010 12:12 MDT details
You Save: $7.09 (10%)
New (9) Used (2) from $62.90
Seller: aurora_book
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 199570
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st edition
Pages: 408
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.5
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.4 x 0.3
ISBN: 1931464391
EAN: 9781931464390
ASIN: 1931464391
Publication Date: January 9, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Discover a whole world of bolt-action military rifles as your authors take you on a country-by-country tour of these fascinating weapons. Never before has this subject been covered in such detail -- including an astounding 2,431 professional color photographs. Each rifle is shown in a number of large overall and close-up views, including serial numbers and mechanical variations. Small features like proof marks are blown up in massive, clear enlargements so every detail can be observed. Translations are provided when rifles are marked in another language and all confusing proofs, serial numbers and markings are explained. Handy tables list key specifications for each rifle, making identifying rifles in your collection easy, while the straight-forward text covers manufacture of the weapon and its issue to the troops. Special attention is given to identifying valuable rarities while avoiding rebuilds and fakes. Find out why the editor of the 'American Rifleman' calls this new guide, 'absolutely the finest single volume on the subject to date...invaluable' and says 'if you are at all interested in military bolt-action rifles, you must buy this book.' And since it is written by the editors of 'Gun Collector Magazine', you know you can trust the information. Whether you are interested in Mausers, Mosin-Nagants, Enfields, Springfields, Lebels or Arisakas or any other military bolt action, this 'must have' reference guide will quickly become a trusted tool in your reference arsenal. Printed to the highest standards in full color, it might just be the most beautiful gun book ever produced...so don't hesitate. You are going to love it. 408 pages, too many illustrations to count!!!
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
Milsurp Pleasure February 13, 2009
Lawrence Mier (Wisconsin)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
It is an excellent, high quality book with a printed cover and a matching dust cover. Written to provide an overall brief description and an in depth photographic review of specific military bolt action rifles for the milsurp collector, Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World by Stuart Mowbray and Joe Puleo offers an excellent photographic reference providing not often encountered photographic details that should be of assistance to all milsurp collectors. This book is not a price guide like Schwing's Standard Catalog of Military Firearms, nor is it a manual on disassembly like the author's superb book entitled The Collectors Guide to Military Rifle Disassembly and Reassembly. What makes this book brilliant are the photo mosaics providing close-up, detailed, professional, color photos of stock cartouches, marker's marks, and overviews of the rifles. Like Gun Collector magazine, these are outstanding quality photos grouped in an artistic manner providing a well illustrated book with thousands of photos of each rifle's details. Every page has numerous photos interspersed with verbal descriptions.
It is true... if you are looking for a specialist reference source like Ruth's War Baby or Skennerton's The Lee-Enfield, this is not the book for such detail. Instead, the book's research value lies in its enlarged photos and in depth views of each rifle discussed. While Scarlata's fine book, Collecting Classic Bolt Action Military Rifles, describes by word the basic identification of rifles and is aided by a few photos, Mowbray and Puleo's book reverses the emphasis by describing the firearm's unique features primarily through photos and then by excellent verbal description. It is a glossary of gunmarks and rifle overviews organized in the table of contents by country. I just wish they would have added subdivisions indicating which rifles are covered under each country. The book is organized alphabetically, but due to its vast scope, each rifle's discussion is somewhat brief. Each rifle's specifications are highlighted in a green information box listing caliber, total length, barrel length, weight, magazine, and bayonet. Their discussion is supplemented by a dazzling array of photos providing overall views of the entire rifle as well as the top/bottom, and right/left views. In addition, receiver crests and receiver side stampings, inspection stamps, acceptance marks, stock cartouches, bolts, bolt heads, barrel bands, sights, triggers, magazines, butt plates, nose caps and the internal views with open bolts are all shown in exquisite detail. An added plus is the view of the bayonet and scabbard and numerous military historical context photos showing soldiers with the particular rifle discussed. Some rifles are covered on one page, most others take four to sixteen pages to provide the necessary detail in order to illustrate each rifle. For example, the Gew 98 and the 1896 Swedish Mauser are reviewed in four pages, the Swiss K 31 in six, the 1895 Mannlicher in nine, while in contrast the K 98 Mauser requires twelve, and the Arisaka and Mosin are outlined in fourteen pages.
This is not a coffee table book. Rather, it is a useful display of standard issue military bolt action rifles that can be found today on the surplus market. The authors provide an ample amount of photographic and descriptive information you should know before you purchase a military surplus rifle. This book reminds me of a greatly enlarged version of John Walter's small book, the Greenhill Military Manual on Military Rifles of the Two World Wars, but with more powerful photos and greater scope.
What I did not like about the book is the index; it is too incomplete. You can not cross reference a rifle by model in order to search for it in the text. There is no master list of all the rifles discussed in the book. While bayonets are clearly identified and shown, no effort was made to identify and describe the slings, only few rifles actually have slings in the photos. In addition, there are no views of the cleaning rods and only rarely are there photos of the cartridges. Views of enblock clips or stripper clips are also lacking.
In the spirit of milsurp collecting, this book fulfilled my expectations. It will be an assistance to novice and intermediate collectors and I would daresay even to the the more experienced collectors venturing outside their preferred weapon of choice. While there are many more detailed books on specific rifles, this is an enjoyable book and is outstanding for the collector that wants an idea of what a particular rifle should look like and for its locational information relating to specific identification marks that are present on an unmodified military rifle. This is especially true if he or she is unfamiliar with a particular bolt action model. Its strong point is its focus on the types of rifles a buyer is likely to encounter at an auction or gun show in today's market. After reading the section on a specific rifle, you can be sure when you go to an auction or gun show that you will know what you are looking for. Filled throughout with many excellent photos on high quality glossy paper, it is amazing that this book only costs $69. It is a "must have" edition. This is one of the three books I would recommend to a beginning milsurp collector. Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World is a "must" along with the authors previous book, a Collectors Guide to Military Rifle Disassembly and Reassembly, and Paul Scarlata's Collecting Classic Bolt Action Military Rifles.
Bolt action masterpiece June 30, 2009
MeridianX (Bucks County, PA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
The book is not only a good read but the pictures are simply outstanding for this genre. The history of the rifles presented are not a cut and paste from old resources but a fresh outlook from individuals who have handled the weapons and kept up to date with the latest info. The photos are reproduced in high quality color with lots of inset pictures showing cartouches, arsenal markings etc. For the collector of surplus rifles this is one stop shopping at its best. I sincerely hope a semi-automatic rifle book is in the works as volume II.
Absolutely Outstanding in Every Way!!! September 18, 2009
M. Hurley (Los Angeles, CA USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Where to start? I've saved MORE than the cost of this book by avoiding purchasing what LOOKED like a great deal on a milsurp rifle. The book is well put together, the photography is beautiful, and I've been pointed in some new directions for my collection.
This book is easily worth the asking price. If you're interested in milsurp collecting, BUY THIS BOOK!!!
A New High Water Mark for Firearm Reference Books December 28, 2009
D. Albert
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Stuart Mowbray has set a new "high water mark" for other firearm books to fill with this book. The color photography, and in particular, the inset photos of markings, period photographs, as well as accessories, and the inclusion of rifles of less than perfect condition help to present a very collector-friendly guide that will be referenced often. This book is extremely well layed out on each page, and in its overall presentation. I have over 300 high quality firearm reference books in my collection, and this one, in my opinion, sets a standard that other publishers should take notice of, and strive to meet or exceed. Excellent job!
Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World March 16, 2010
James V. Rushing
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This one is great, full color very clear pictures, close up details of markings along with historical information about each rifle.Good reference I only wish it had more info for the collector and what to look for as far as most collectible.Would recomend this book on the pictures alone.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME. | |
