Best books for C&R porn?

[River Jack]

I'd like to pick up a few books that illustrate and provide general info. on C&R rifles and pistols. I'm interested in the usual stuff (i.e., semi-auto rifles, mausers, mosins, pistols, etc.). Are there any books that would be considered "must haves" for the C&R collector? I know there are books that specialize on one particular gun (i.e., M1 carbine, Garands, Hitler's Garands, etc.), but are there any that are broader, or comprehensive in scope that are recommended?

[JacobCR03]

A good basic book for bolt action rifles that I've found is "Collecting Classic Bolt Action Military Rifles" by Paul Scarlata. It's got a lot of good photos and covers just about all of the classic bolt actions that are out there in the C&R realm. I found it at Midway for $39.99 ($35.49 if you have a C&R on file there), but can probably be found elsewhere for less.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=215682

[River Jack]

Thanks for the info. That's exactly the kind of book I'm looking for. Anyone else have any they recommend for semi-autos or pistols?

[Bukowski]

I'd also take a look at

Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World by Stuart Mowbray

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931464391/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

Full color photos and lots of them

and

Military Rifle Disassembly & Reassembly by the same author

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931464324/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

[DWarner]

If you are interested in WWII German Mausers, then, 'Backbone of the Wehrmacht' by Richard Law. Great book, it is available from Collector Grade Publications.

[joefrank64k]

I'd also take a look at

Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World by Stuart Mowbray

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931464391/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

Full color photos and lots of them

and

Military Rifle Disassembly & Reassembly by the same author

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193..._ya_oh_product

+++1 on these...I saved more than the cost of BOTH books by avoiding what looked like a "great" deal on a milsurp rifle because of the information in these books.

I also recommend:

331+ Essential Tips and Tricks; A How-To Guide for the Gun Collector (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Tips-Tricks-Guide-Collector/dp/1931464227/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252937242&sr=1-3

And any of the "For Collectors Only" series of books by North Cape Publications....like:

The Mosin-Nagant Rifle (For collectors only) (Paperback)

http://www.amazon.com/Mosin-Nagant-Rifle-collectors-only/dp/1882391217/ref=pd_sim_b_4

But be careful, especially with "Bolt Action Military Rifles of the World"!!! You WILL buy way more milsurp rifles than you ever thought you would after you drool over those fantastic photos!!!

[caldude]

In addition to the books mentioned above, here are a few of the reference books I have. None of these provide real in-depth information on specific weapons like a true collectors reference book, but deliver basic information on a broad range of weapons and vendors. When I started getting into firearms, I 'discovered' several rifles that I wanted by reading these. These cover modern weapons in addition to older weapons.

Pistols of the World - Ian Hogg
Military Small Arms of the 20th Century - Ian Hogg
Encyclopedia of Firearms - Ian Hogg
The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers - A.E. Hartink
The World Encyclopedia of Rifles and Machine Guns - Will Fowler and Patrick Sweeney