by: Glenn Newick
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Book Description:
The Ultimate Rifle Accuracy Books -- Whether it be for Competition, Testing, or Hunting, I have always been the type of gal who seeks the ultimate in rifle accuracy. So when I found this cheerful book on one of my late-night amazon browsing sessions, I knew it had to be mine. As soon as the book arrived I read it cover-to-cover, and all I can say is WOW. My rifle is now so accurate that I can shoot anything, if you catch my drift. I must extend a big "thanks" to Glenn Newick, who really takes the "if" out of "rifle"!
For benchrest shooters only -- This book is definitly for benchrest shooters only. It does not live up to its name of the "Ultimate" because it only addresses one area. Many more stories than useful information. Would not recommend for the average recreational shooter or hunter. Useful but not perfect -- A good introduction to the sport of benchrest shooting. It is a bit heavy on recounting old war stories of shooting events. I wish the author would have focused more on advice for accurate shooting and the rules of benchrest competition.
For competitive shooters only -- If you really want to get into bench shooting then get this book. If you want to know about accurizing rifles, better shooting techniques and sighting then forget about it. I think the 'hunting' part was thrown in to get this book sold at Wal-Mart. For every item I found useful I had to wade through page after page of competitive bench jargon. For instance the chapter on shooting technique was mostly about selecting a rest and punching '0.xx' inch groups by moving the sandbag under the stock. Not to mention that every picture in this book is of some competitive shooter with a rifle and most seem to be from the 1980's.
Reviews:
Bench rest only -- Regrettably the title is a bit of a misnomer. The book focuses almost completely on the sport of bench rest shooting, with very little on anything else- such as accurate rifles for hunting, varminting and sniping. If you are a newby to benchrest then this is highly recommended- no mistake. If however, you are a dyed in the wool varminter, or use a tactical rifle for work, then you will not learn a huge amount. So- for the benchrester a lot of good stuff. Bench rests, the match and so on. There are ample photos, and lots of stories of matches. Lots of "folksy" stories as well. This is better suited for the beginner and intermediate shooter. For you varminters, tactical shooters and full bore match shooters, the chapters on wind shooting, are excellent, but there is little new in them. All in all, useful enough for most rifle shooters bookshelves, but not a "must have". If you are a benchrester- recommended.
The name is misleading -- The title of the book is THE ULTIMATE IN RIFLE ACCURACY: GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR EQUIPMENT AND YOURSELF. Nowhere on the front or back cover, or inside flaps, is the reader told that the book is about benchrest shooting, except that the back cover indicates that the author is a champion in benchrest shooting. Yet the book is almost exclusively on benchrest shooting. The title page is even more misleading with the subtitle, "A handbook for those who seek the ultimate in rifle accuracy; whether it be for competition, testing, or hunting." I picked up this book thinking that it would help me in my rifle shooting. I thought it would tell me how to hold the rifle in different positions like standing, sitting or prone. Of course, it only addresses bench rest. I expected the author to explain what features that contribute to accuracy to look for in a rifle, but he talks primarily about specific manufacturers and parts instead of what to look for in components. In a field where many components are made by small one-man shops, this information can become very dated. At one point, the author uses this forum to complain of a certain manufacturer, and used language that was a bit on the coarse side for a non-fiction technical book. Chapters include Safety, History, Rifle, the 6PPC, Bullets, the Bench, Wind Shooting, Flags, and different categories of benchrest matches, like Light Varmint, Heavy Varmint and Unlimited/Heavy. I really can't tell the History chapter from the rest of the book, because most of the book seems to be the author telling stories from the history of benchrest shooting. At the end of each chapter, I just felt a hunger for more useful, technical information. In fact, in a couple of places, the author refers the reader to THE ACCURATE RIFLE by Warren Page for more detailed information. It seems that this was book I should have purchased instead! A chapter on "Benchrest Techniques for Hunting Rifles" is thrown in, but seems to be a half-hearted attempt at making the book applicable to a more general audience. (I can hear the publisher, "This book is all on benchrest shooting. Add a chapter on hunting so we can sell it to a broader audience.") Note that there is an entire chapter on the 6mm PPC cartridge. If you're not using it, you're a nobody, and you're not going to get any help here. The benchrest glossary in the back was pretty good, and in fact, if the reader reads it first, he has a better chance of following the remainder of the book. It is hard to tell who the intended audience is. Obviously, it is solely for someone with an interest in benchrest shooting, but to an experienced benchrest shooter, it is too basic. To someone with no previous knowledge of benchrest shooting, it skips some basics. (After a few chapters, I begin to get the impression that benchrest shooting only measures group size, rather than calculate a target score as with other type of shooting competitions, but that is never explicitly stated. I am also still puzzled as to the purpose of that square on the targets.) Although the book has photos (probably more than half are of prominent benchrest competitors either shooting or holding awards or targets), it could use more drawings to explain the technical points. It is hard to describe reloading with just words. I conclude that the book is for a novice who has had an introduction to benchrest shooting, and wants a cursory overview of the sport. With a few changes, and an appropriate title, this book might be a good one. For example, change the title to "Introduction to Benchrest Shooting," delete the "hunting" chapter, and add a chapter explaining the basics of the sport, such as the GOAL. With changes like this it wouldn't lead the wrong audience to purchase it, and would be more valuable to the correct audience.