This book is a very down-to-earth guide to selecting the best handgun type and caliber for an individual to carry for self-defense. Holsters, combat tactics, and local laws are not discussed, but that isn't the point of the book. Wiley Clapp is a very respected gun writer, a former U.S. Marine and law enforcement officer. His opinion is rather heavily weighted towards larger calibers of handguns, and rightly so. However, he approaches all of the myriad makes and models of handguns objectively. Part of his book does cover the ballistics and physics of different handgun calibers in simple terms. This makes it easier for people who are unfamiliar with guns to understand what exactly it is that makes a gun or bullet truly lethal. The author provides precise measurements of size and weight of all the popular models of pistols, allowing the reader to get an idea of just how light(or heavy!) some handguns can be. This book seems to have been written to those who are new to handguns, but even seasoned gun lovers will enjoy reading this excellent guide. Concealed Carry: The Shooter's Guide to Selecting Handguns
While this text may be beneath the experienced shooter, it was what I needed. My wife and I were selecting a handgun for concealed carry and, being novice shooters, we felt like Wiley Clapp was personally walking us through the selection process. We were better informed and knew what to look for before we walked in to make a purchase. Mr Clapp stresses the positives of each firearm presented along with some of the negatives while maintaining a focus on his main subject: Concealed Carry. His final chapter covers his personal favorites/recommendations. Only recommendation that I felt was not stressed in the text was to try and find a way to fire different guns before making a purchase. Text is easy to read and flows well. Chapters are sorted logically by subject (size/type of handguns). Would have liked color pictures but the BW images are effective and in keeping with the "get to the point," no nonsense nature of the book.
Concealed Carry: The Shooter's Guide To Selecting Handguns by firearms authority Wiley Clapp is a straightforward, accurate, no-nonsense guide to the practical matter of choosing and legally carrying a concealed handgun. Discussing the various attributes of handguns ranging from small automatics to large revolvers, and enhanced throughout with black-and-white photographs, Concealed Carry is a highly practical and methodical guide which is especially recommended to the non-specialist general reader with an interest in lawfully acquiring a handgun for personal protection and/or recreation.
This might have been a good book in 1999, when the author wrote it. Despite its 2002 copyright date, the original printing was 2000, and most of it was written in the 1990s and not updated. So, if you want a detailed look at what guns were available almost 10 years ago, this is it. If you want up-to-date information on CC handguns, this is a waste of money. The other is highly opinionated, and won't even discuss smaller caliber guns, so it's 9mm Luger and up only, folks. Also, many of the models he discusses in detail are no longer made (or are made by other manufacturers now) and many of the very best, most advanced and up-to-date guns aren't covered here because they didn't exist. Overall, this is a historical piece only. It is badly in need of a new edition, and not a quick makeover, but a ground-up rewrite. $16.50 for what you get is too much. There are far better, more up-to-date books out there on the subject.
I recently obtained my CCW permit. After spending about $1,000 on pistols that don't fill my need, I purchased one of the recommended pistols. I just wish I had read this book sooner.
The book discusses everything you need to know about your purchase of a concealed weapon.
Quite disappointing. I guess someone who knows nothing at all about firearms would get something out of it but for anyone with the least bit of experience in using guns this is not worth the effort. I thought some of the information was off target (pun intended). Photos did not match captions in some instances. The same old dogma about .45 caliber being the best choice. And, yes, the photo on the cover is Wiley Clapp's favorite snubnose revolver--despite the vast number of other reviewers who report you risk nerve damage in your hand by shooting magnum loads in such a lightweight handgun.
Oh, well....
Wiley Clapp is very experienced with firearms, as he has a military and law enforcement background; he's also been a 'gunwriter' for several major firearms magazines for many years, and he writes better than most.
Overall this is a very good book on the subject of choosing handguns for concealed carry duty, but its helpfulness depends on the reader's prior knowledge. This book seems mostly aimed at those who are new to firearms in general or concealable handguns in particular. If you fall into one of those categories, you'll probably learn some valuable things and get good food for thought for your firearm selection process. If, on the other hand, you're reasonably familiar with handguns, you won't learn very much. (About the only thing I really took away from this book that was new for me was Clapp's argument that a compact revolver often conceals better than a similarly compact automatic, because the revolver, despite its greater girth, has an irregular profile/outline, whereas the auto is blocky and generally has a lot of straight lines and right angles that can show more through clothing. I'd never thought of it that way before, but it makes sense and practical experimentation bears it out.)
One more weakness with the book: Because he focuses a lot on specific models, rather than just on general types and characteristics, the book runs the risk of becoming dated within a few more years. (The book's already 5 years old, and gun companies discontinue old models and add new ones every year -- often excessively so.) Still, on balance, this is a good book. - Concealed Carry - Handgun - Guns - Firearms'
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