Boston’s Gun Bible

I do have one caveat. The author is obviously and tremendously trained in almost all aspects of martial arts. Yes, shooting is a martial art too. However, to my knowlegde, and Boston makes no reference to it in anything I have read by him, that he has taken down an oppenent with karate, knife, etc., or had someone in his custody and 'under his gun', much less shot anyone or been shot at. Its not like I have either, but if Boston has one weakness, it is this. No practical combat experience. You might want to balance his book with other material by bona fide veterans, etc.

This weighty tome is an absolute MUST for all gun owners. At $28 it isn't cheap, but as I stated before in reviewing the previous edition, it is worth every penny.

Boston's observations and conclusions about guns are precisely researched, scientific, and relatively dispassionate. Unlike many other writers in the firearms field, Boston has consistently shown that he is willing to change his mind when presented with logical evidence.

This is a book that may very well save the life of yourself or a loved one. It is also a highly influential book that may contribute in the long run to the restoration of our Constitutional Republic and freedom around the world. Boston's Gun Bible doesn't just whine about the decline of our God-given Constitutional liberties. Rather, it shows practical solutions that individual Citizens can and must take to insure the liberty of future generations. It is nothing short of a monumental work of non-fiction!

Don't just buy one copy. Buy two! You will soon find that you'll need an extra copy to lend out to family members and friends.

OBTW, if you already have the older edition, then I strongly suggest that you buy the new expanded and updated edition. This valuable new information is well worth the investment.

As a published fiction writer, I stand in awe of this important piece of non-fiction. It deserves a place of honor on the bookshelf of every freedom-loving Citizen.

Semper Paratus,>Author of the pro-gun novel "Patriots:Surviving the Coming Collapse."

Given the book's patchwork style, I think it best to review it according to themes. There are three I will consider: 1. Technical Aspects of Firearms; 2. Philosophy of Firearms;
3. Politics. Other themes which are thoughtfully developed in the 848 page book are on the laws governing gun use, women and guns, self-defense, tactics and training, combat rifle history and how to become a rifleman.

The Technical discussion is one of the strongest sections. I came to this book as a complete newbie as far as firearms are concerned. But the technical part of the book rewards careful reading. It is a complete and meticulously considered course on firearms - how to buy them, how to evaluate them, how they work, how to keep them working, etc. Of the 46 chapters in the book 22 are devoted to this one topic. In his sections evaluating various rifles and pistols, Mr. Royce, using a system he devised, rates dozens of rifles and pistols. His system employs "63 criteria...to rate the controls, features and specifications of combat rifles." And while it is true his full system is deployed only against rifles, the system itself is an extremely useful tool for evaluating any firearm, and also comparing firearms among themselves within distinct classes

The Philosophical aspect of the book is as difficult and convoluted as the Technical part is straightforward. On the one hand, this is in the nature of philosophy. On the other, the difficulty has to do with the purpose and meaning of guns in human culture. This topic has no Socrates (unless it is Nietzsche), and Mr. Royce in this book provides what is only a rudimentary outline. (In his other books, none of which I have read, he may articulate more fully his philosophical arguments.) Mr. Royce's view of human society is that it consists of a very large number of sheep-like beings, who are preyed upon by a few rapacious predators and/or bad governments. He seeks to lay out a third position: "those who refuse to be either", and offers as an example, "an armed libertarian".

The core values of the Third Way are the values of the Warrior, and in any number of ways, Mr. Royce drapes the term Warrior in the full regalia of an ancient and venerable tradition. By denying the Warrior as predator (Mr. Royce's Warrior is no berserker, no pirate, no storm trooper and no imperialist) he evokes a sterner, more finely tempered kind of life, where honor, personal responsibility and concern for others hold pride of place. Human life is intrinsically a life of struggle, and in Mr. Royce's view, a person can accept the reality of this and learn to fight, or he can flee this responsibility, outright by becoming prey, or indirectly by delegating his role to other "protectors". Unfortunately, as any reading of history will attest, the protectors all too often themselves become the predators. Only the Warrior, living a value imbued life that explicitly eschews violent domination of others, can move beyond the predator/prey cycle. The state for which the Warrior strives is that of liberty, and the life of liberty in human societies is moved by four forces, symbolized as the soap box (discussion), the ballot box (formulation), the jury box (interpretation) and the cartridge box (decisive action). In the real world, the first three do not exist in a substantive way without the fourth. And for that reason, firearms - "liberty's teeth"-are the necessary though not sufficient conditions to resist servitude.

The Political themes of this book are the most passionate, and the least organized, of all.
Royce very rightly champions the second amendment as not only the safeguard of the right of each individual to keep firearms but the major bulwark against evil doers and tyrannous governments. Scattered throughout the book are many statistics concerning the relationship between gun ownership and crime. Just in case you are wondering, when a society is armed, there is less crime. Any society which disarms its citizens AND maintains a low rate of crime, does so only by sacrificing many of what we still regard as fundamental human rights (i.e. Japan).

With respect to tyrannical governments, Mr. Royce's arguments are not convincing, at least to me. Certainly, he does have history on his side. "Death by government" was a central motif of the twentieth century, and many previous centuries as well. People would do well to be wary of governments. They would do well to be prepared to take action against tyrannous governments. The question is, Do Americans now face such tyranny? Has the time come to step off the soap box, batten down the ballot box, burn the jury box and open the cartridge box? Mr. Royce is convinced that such a time is imminent, but his arguments in this direction are flimsy. The Political side of the book does not answer to the Philosophical side.

This is a strong book, which I recommend most highly for anyone who is interested in firearms, and who wishes to learn more about any of the themes I have outlined. Owning and using guns is a method which, in mature use, inspires careful reflection, as well as considered action.

James Wesley, Rawles....

This basic theme of BGB is the essentially libertarian theme linking free gun ownership with political freedom. That is, an armed citizenry are a free citizenry, and a disarmed citizenry are no more than slaves to an oppressive government. BGB contains several excellent chapters discussing this theme, and more chapters cussing and dis-cussing current American gun laws. Royce foresees future armed conflict pitting the people against the government, and in BGB he is encouraging us to obtain both the guns and the courage necessary to prevail in this conflict. Royce has little to say about potential ethnic conflict a la Chittum's "Civil War Two," but obviously the material on guns is equally valid for whichever type of conflict should actually occur in the future.

The bulk of the book is devoted to analysis of the suitability of various guns for battle, with an occasional nod toward their suitability as hunting tools. This is NOT a book about hunting (there are PLENTY of those available). Also, the emphasis in BGB is on rifles rather than handguns because, as Royce says, only rifles win wars, and handguns are merely what you use to fight your way back to the rifle you foolishly left behind.

The book also reviews tactics and training, gun gear, women and guns, body armor, etc. Military surplus rifles are extensively covered as well as modern rifles (after reading this book, I bought two "antique" Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant battle rifles, and after shooting them I can report that not only are they very rugged, but they are also quite accurate--and that I wouldn't feel underarmed if I had to rely on them in a firefight [Of course they're not ALL the rifles I've got....] One tip which the book doesn't mention, which will be of interest for Californians, is that there are two battle rifles that are currently legal in California: the M1A and the Garand. There are also at least two legal battle carbines: the Mini-14 and the fixed-magazine SKS).

This is the ONLY book in print which discusses battle guns with this degree of detail, clarity, and wit. The only book of which I know that is even similar to BGB is Mel Tappan's "Survival Guns." Tappan's book is very good, but it was written more than 20 years ago and is long out of print.

Even if you're not particularly interested in guns, you should buy this book for its political discussion. After you read it, I can almost guarantee that you WILL become interested in guns (unless you're terminally liberal, and in that case I encourage you NOT to buy a gun. Heh, heh!)

Boston's Gun Bible:

BUY IT!!!

Given the book's patchwork style, I think it best to review it according to themes. There are three I will consider: 1. Technical Aspects of Firearms; 2. Philosophy of Firearms;
3. Politics. Other themes which are thoughtfully developed in the 848 page book are on the laws governing gun use, women and guns, self-defense, tactics and training, combat rifle history and how to become a rifleman.

The Technical discussion is one of the strongest sections. I came to this book as a complete newbie as far as firearms are concerned. But the technical part of the book rewards careful reading. It is a complete and carefully considered course on firearms - how to buy them, how to evaluate them, how they work, how to keep them working, etc. Of the 46 chapters in the book 22 are devoted to this one topic. In his sections evaluating various rifles and pistols, Mr. Royce, using a system he devised, rates dozens of rifles and pistols. His system employs "63 criteria...to rate the controls, features and specifications of combat rifles." And while it is true his full system is deployed only against rifles, the system itself is an extremely useful tool for evaluating any firearm, and also comparing firearms among themselves within distinct classes

The Philosophical aspect of the book is as difficult and convoluted as the Technical part is straightforward. On the one hand, this is in the nature of philosophy. On the other, the difficulty has to do with the purpose and meaning of guns in human culture. This topic has no Socrates (unless it is Nietzsche), and Mr. Royce in this book provides what is only a rudimentary outline. (In his other books, none of which I have read, he may articulate more fully his philosophical arguments.) Mr. Royce's view of human society is that it consists of a very large number of sheep-like beings, who are preyed upon by a few rapacious predators and/or bad governments. He seeks to lay out a third position: "those who refuse to be either", and offers as an example, "an armed libertarian".

The core values of the Third Way are the values of the Warrior, and in any number of ways, Mr. Royce drapes the term Warrior in the full regalia of an ancient and venerable tradition. By denying the Warrior as predator (Mr. Royce's Warrior is no berserker, no pirate, no storm trooper and no imperialist) he evokes a sterner, more finely tempered kind of life, where honor, personal responsibility and concern for others hold pride of place. Human life is intrinsically a life of struggle, and in Mr. Royce's view, a person can accept the reality of this and learn to fight, or he can flee this responsibility, outright by becoming prey, or indirectly by delegating his role to other "protectors". Unfortunately, as any reading of history will attest, the protectors all too often themselves become the predators. Only the Warrior, living a value imbued life that explicitly eschews violent domination of others, can move beyond the predator/prey cycle. The state for which the Warrior strives is that of liberty, and the life of liberty in human societies is moved by four forces, symbolized as the soap box (discussion), the ballot box (formulation), the jury box (interpretation) and the cartridge box (decisive action). In the real world, the first three do not exist in a substantive way without the fourth. And for that reason, firearms - "liberty's teeth"-are the necessary though not sufficient conditions to resist servitude.

The Political themes of this book are the most passionate, and the least organized, of all.
Royce very rightly champions the second amendment as not only the safeguard of the right of each individual to keep firearms but the major bulwark against evil doers and tyrannous governments. Scattered throughout the book are many statistics concerning the relationship between gun ownership and crime. Just in case you are wondering, when a society is armed, there is less crime. Any society which disarms its citizens AND maintains a low rate of crime, does so only by sacrificing many of what we still regard as fundamental human rights (i.e. Japan).

With respect to tyrannical governments, Mr. Royce's arguments are not convincing, at least to me. Certainly, he does have history on his side. "Death by government" was a central motif of the twentieth century, and many previous centuries as well. People would do well to be wary of governments. They would do well to be prepared to take action against tyrannous governments. The question is, Do Americans now face such tyranny? Has the time come to step off the soap box, batten down the ballot box, burn the jury box and open the cartridge box? Mr. Royce is convinced that such a time is imminent, but his arguments in this direction are flimsy. The Political side of the book does not answer to the Philosophical side.

This is a strong book, which I recommend most highly for anyone who is interested in firearms, and who wishes to learn more about any of the themes I have outlined. Owning and using guns is a method which, in mature use, inspires careful reflection, as well as considered action.

It begins appropriately with a chapter on safety and handling guns. From there it goes on to chapters about self-defense and tactics. Following that there is information about any type of gun that most people would be interested in owning.

Being female, I particularly liked the chapter about Women and Guns. Great information for women are have decided to be armed, but need to be informed first.

This book also covers just about everything you'd need to know about the legalities and politics of gun use and ownership.

Written in an entertaining and captivating style, you can't go wrong with this great book.

Boston's Gun Bible is overflowing with information for gun aficionados, covering many topics usually untouched. However this book might be even more valuable for those just beginning to acquire firearms in it's extensive guide to purchasing. (I wish it had been written before my first firearms purchase.)

Must reading for anyone with a serious interest in guns or self-protection.

Off course there is a vast wealth of knowledge in here covering many, many weapons and all the correlating ammunition. Use it to wisely choose a weapon or three. There are defensive tactics, gun safety issues, politics, philosophy, some necessary ranting and a few attitude adjustments to boot. This is a must read for all Americans, not just us members of the gun culture.

The overiding theme of the book for me was preparedness. BUY THIS BOOK, use the information to learn as much as you can about guns and related issues. Take heed, and stand tall.

I'll not say I agree with everything in the text, but a large part of it for certain. There are some bits of opinionated difference, as to be expected. He won't just say "Do this because I said so", Boston will say "Do this because of these reasons:", and that's the greatest benefit of this book. A thinking individual can read the book, decide he doesn't like the recommended equipment, but will be able to find something else that will do the job just as well, because Boston will explain why he recommends what he does.

Get the book.

So what's in it? If it has anything to do with firearms, "it's in there." There is WAY too little space here to provide a synopsis of the subject matter contained within, but suffice to say, every subject is presented with the honesty and intelligence only Boston can deliver. I would like to say that I especially liked his Kepner-Tregoe analysis, in which he down-selected comparable firearms using a quantitative ranking system. (The analysis alone would be worthy of a graduate thesis). But don't let this intimidate you; despite his intellectual (yet practical) approach to firearms, the book is very "hands-on" in every respect, and an easy (and extremely enjoyable) read for anyone interested in guns.

Boston, you really out did yourself this time. I can honestly say you rank right up there with the best of them (Jeff Cooper, Clint Smith, etc.). You're a true American.

Boston's huge amount of experience and field use of these weapons really shows through and the data and rankings of those rifles is spot on. He goes into a lot of things that many of those who are considered "gun nuts" miss and makes fun of one of my favorite kinds of person: the over-accessorizer; the guy who has a fine rifle and then fills it up with extra grips, a too-large scope, an integral bipod, laser pointer, interchangeable buttstock, etc., etc... Yet can't hit a fifty-cent grouping at 50 yards...

Boston also includes a lot of great political commentary and information. He gives (no doubt accurate) predictions of what the lobbyists and gun-grabbers will go for next and how they'll succeed first in the near future. He explains definitively why we need to be armed and TRAINED in those arms to effectively defend our nation, way of life, and especially our liberty.

By far one of the most informed patriots and easily one of our nation's most learned gun nuts, Boston is worth reading.

P.S.
no disrespect to the 1911 or the AR15, They are fine battle implements.

Boston writes in the most readable style available and the pages fly by. He methodically goes through tests on different guns, ammo, ballistics, optics, and a whole lot more.

If you liked Boston's other books, this one's also going to have a very dog-eared place by your nitestand.

Boston solved the debate between .223 vs .308 as well as 9mm vs .45 by showing you the reasons to choose the most you can handle. I was offended at first read because I've always been partial to .223 but his explanations on being a "rifleman" convinced me to go the .308 route. He has a hell of an argument there.

The final 3rd of the book is the finest reading for any freedom lovers anywhere... I won't spoil it.

melbo

This book is about selecting firearms to do certain jobs and anyone thinking of selecting one or more weapons for home defense or survival would do well to read this book before they spend a penny on their next firearm. Boston discusses the various settings for when you'll need different firearms and he thoroughly covers the pros and cons on many of the most popular choices of firearms. It was also refreshing to hear someone say that you might not need to go out and buy the most expensive gun on the market (not that most of the readers of this book will want anything LESS than the best though). My eyes were opened to the qualities of a whole class of firearms (military surplus) that I had never considered owning before.

I found this book very helpful in that I had yet to select a specific home defense weapon and had not really figured out what to get in which order. Reading Boston's book was like getting advice from a knowledgeable friend or relative, I can't describe how much I like his writing style. I bought the book to learn, which I did, and to hear the well stated thoughtful opinions of someone that knows a lot about the subject. Boston definitely lets you know where he stands on issues but that was a nice change from so many publications that I've read lately where the authors seemed afraid to take a stand or name names.

I found the pro/ con discussion of the different firearms, the explanation of the confusing laws on the "so called assault weapons" and the fact that Boston named names for good and bad products particularly helpful. My only negative observation of the book and a minor one at that, is the second half of the book seems to rely on an aweful lot of quotes, much of which seems to be preaching to the choir.

I enjoyed this book and expect to refer to it often over the years. Any person interested in making a well informed firearm purchase should own this book.

Why should I own a gun?
How should I select which guns to buy?
Why a "battle rifle"?
Which battle rifle would be best for me?
What else do I need to know to be prepared to defend my liberty and security?

There is no single better (nor more entertainingly readable) book to answer these questions.

The only reason, and I mean "only" reason I don't give this book a higher rating is because all they allow is 5 stars.

Novice and journeyman riflemen and women can use this book every day. It really pays for itself. The only tiny bit of constructive criticism I have is that Mr. Royce did not, for whatever reason, round out his evaluation of the M1A/M-14 type rifle with input from Fulton Armory, Inc.,on receivers (good and bad ones). They've been around for quite awhile and enjoy a sterling reputation in both expertise and customer service. Maybe in the next update?

Best money I've spent on a shooting book in a long time. PS, I'm a long time DCM shooter and retired military, so I've seen quite a few references, both military and civilian.

Is the author right about his views and pronouncements? I don't know. I think some of the views could have been presented with more scholarship. I was also disappointed with the technical presentation of the book. It looked liked some pages were pieced together and then photographed.

Whether one agrees with the author or not, the book is thought provoking.