The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery

I agree with the previous poster...this is a great book! It informs, it shows you what's important, covers the basics and more, a book to read twice through.

A lot of gun writers just blow hot air, bragging about themselves or going on and on about their favorite style gun. Ayoob is one of the best known gun writers and gun enthousiasts out there and I like his style. I don't get the impression that he's pushing his ego, but rather that he is trying to show us what to look for, what to think about, what to consider with regards to handgun handling and shooting. I don't agree with everything, but I learned a lot from this book and I'm not a novice to handguns. Ayoob writes honestly and informs the reader as a genuine teacher and one who has much to offer and wants to offer it.

I recommend this book to anyone wanting a good overview of the basics and more on handgun handling, competitive and combat shooting, defensive ammo selection, concealed carry, handgun self-defense techniques etc.

See my review of the original Hangun Combat book. This is the refined and updated version. The best you will find, and everyone will find a good deal of knowledge from this book. Taylor is one the best instructors in the world, and if you cant get to his school, than get the book, and if you can or have been to his school, get the book!

Having read Massad Ayoobs books and articles for 25 plus years, I know he has accumulated a vast amount of pertinent knowledge on combat handgunnery and he has pretty well put it in this book. There are space limitations and he recommends reading the previous editions by other writers as well, (for night shooting & malfuntion clearing, etc., both covered in Chuck Taylor's 4th Ed.). The Table of Contents is almost useless, as there are many sub-chapters in each chapter not referred to, (Ayoob intended them to be chapters as stated "we'll cover that in the next chapter"). I will be writing these in on my copy, because some of them stand above the rest and I want to be able to flip there quickly. I underline and mark up personal copies of books, and this one has been marked up a lot!

If you want to cover your bases, buy the 4th and 5th Ed. Chuck Taylor and Massad Ayoob agree on more than they disagree, although they come from different views, (Taylor: Vietnam combat veteran, founder of S.W.A.T magazine and American Small Arms Academy, won 7 handgun fights, worlds first 4 weapon combat master, has a South West -AZ- U.S. view. Ayoob: veteran street cop, writes very much from cop's perspective, pioneer of post shooting information on what happens to you now, founder of Lethal Force Institute, has a North Eastern -NH- U.S. view). There are other writers, but you can do no better than these two.

Regarding specific strengths of Ayoobs edition, the section on buying a used gun is worth the purchase price. Ch. 8 on carry and draw is much more thorough, especially on CCW , than Taylor's. Ch. 11 is a stand out with CCW faux pas, CCW and the routine traffic stop and deadly force decision errors. Ch. 13 Beyond the Stereotypes gives excellent coverage to women, minorities and young people in relation to combat handguns. As always, Ayoob satisfies the knowledgeable reader with lots of trivia and great quotations.

I also saved by buying it from Amazon.com and got it as soon as it came off the press. Bottom line, if you care about the how and why of proven self defense with a handgun, then this is a must have book.

Taylor has devoted his professional life to the study of tactical firearms employment, and his no nonsense approach comes through clearly in this excellent primer. This author has been a special forces soldier, SWAT police officer, and professional firearms trainer for over 3 decades, and he does a fine job of distilling down what works. His description of calibers, weapon options, and general tactics is probably the best in print. He gives exceptional detail backing up his recommendation of semiautomics in .40 and .45 caliber as the best overall choices. The only thing that kept me from giving him the full five stars was the limited detail on dealing with stress, the "shoot" or "don't shoot" decision, and the legal aftermath. As a person who unfortunately did have to repel a home invasion and murder attempt, I found that the advice I gleaned from Massad Ayoob's book "In the Gravest Extreme" on the justication for deadly force was extremely valuable. Add in the valuable "combat mindset" information in Jeff Cooper's "Principles of Personal Defense", and you will have a basic library that pretty much covers the key issues.

A very good primer for handgun users. The book is full of firearm skills to practice and relevant tatcics for self defense use with a handgun. Mr. Taylor writes with authority regarding the technical operation and discharge of a handgun. There are good training tips and advice given to the novice as well as the advanced handgunner. I did find too much emphasis placed on the Weaver Stance. Taylor neglects to discuss "point shooting" techniques for that spontaneous lethal threat encounter, which is most likely to attack a armed individual. Granted if one knew of an impending lethal threat they would have their handgun drawn and held in a perfect two hand grip with a balanced stance facing the oncoming attack ready to fire. But, in the real world of predators who attack by surpise and without notice one must be able to respond immediately without hesitancy and discharge their weapon while attempting to evade the oncoming attack. This leaves no time for the optimum stance or grip on the handgun. Point shooting is the scientifically proven response to the spontaneous threat. Under the extreme stress of a spontaneous life threatening encounter the body reacts in a manner that is not suitable for responding in the two hand grip weaver stance. Individuals who carry a handgun for protection need to read and train in the technique of point shooting, along with the techniques Taylor write about.