Here are a few books I highly recommend you read. They’ll give you some historical perspective
and maybe a different way to look at a few things. I see so many “new” things in the firearms
world that simply demonstrate a lack of historical knowledge.
When I compare martial arts, I look for the differences but
I also look for the similarities. When
you see a common thread running through all the martial arts, you may have come
across a very basic and important principle.
I think this is especially important when comparing the different
martial firearms philosophies and techniques.
You have so many people trying to differentiate themselves from everyone
else that you wind up with a lot of flourishes being added or changes being
made to no real improvement.
“No Second Place Winner” by Bill Jordan is what I consider
the bible when it comes to point shooting.
The man was in a number of gunfights and witnessed many more. You may not agree with his technique but you’d
do well to learn from his experience.
“Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting” by Ed McGivern is a
fascinating study in developing speed and accuracy with a handgun. It is, however, an extraordinarily dry read
as McGivern was trying to copy the writing style found in the textbooks of the
era. Still, I think you’ll find a great
deal of useful information; much of which is being re-discovered by a lot of
trainers, today.
“Shooting” by J. Henry Fitzgerald is similar to McGivern’s
book but much easier to read. Fitzgerald
covered a lot more of the martial applications of handguns. You’ll notice that Fitzgerald addressed
virtually all of the problems encountered in a gunfight.
You may be familiar with Chuck Taylor’s book, already. Taylor is another person with tons of
experience both in the military and police.
It’s good to look at his observations and the rationale behind the
techniques that he developed and taught.
