Being one of those folks who love to get books for Christmas, I naturally tend to GIVE books for Christmas.

One I can strongly recommend is “Practical Home Security” by Alex Haddox.  I know Alex, and though his main foundation is as a martial arts instructor, I can tell you he knows his way around guns.  This isn’t a gun book, though; it’s a common sense approach to home safety.  An excellent gift for the people in your life who think the world is full of unicorns and moonbeams and butterflies, and don’t listen to your good advice about keeping their family safe.  Maybe they’ll listen to a gentle but persuasive voice like that of brother Haddox.  You (and they) can listen to his good advice in snippets on his free podcast, here:  The Practical Defense Podcast or on iTunes.  The book can be ordered from Amazon.

 

Are  you a rifle shooter, or do you have a rifle owner on your gift list?

If so, remember you don’t have to be a competitor at the National Championships at Camp Perry to benefit from the advice of one of the all time great National High Power Rifle Champions.  That would be one David Tubbs, who took the title no less than eleven times.  His advice is sometimes subtle and arcane, but the book is a solid read, and I couldn’t put it down.  You may not adopt his signature style of canting the rifle to the side as he aims, but you’ll be fascinated to understand his clearly explained rationale of why he does it that way…and you’ll want to try it.  New shooter or old hand, Appleseed attendee or deer hunter, there is information in his book “The Rifle Shooter” which will make you better at it.

“Practical Home Security” is inexpensive. Hell, you can give a bunch of ‘em out for stocking stuffers.  “The Rifle Shooter” is not inexpensive, at least by Barnes & Noble standards, but one thing I’ve found over the years is that expensive books are ideal gifts for people who would have been too frugal to buy them for themselves, and they cherish the gift all the more.  It’s also a helluva lot cheaper than taking a rifle course with a professional like Tubbs, and trust me, any rifle owner who reads it will get a lot out of it.

1 COMMENT

  1. “You may not adopt his signature style of canting the rifle to the side as he aims, but you’ll be fascinated to understand his clearly explained rationale of why he does it that way…and you’ll want to try it.”

    I’m going to guess that he uses the corner of the front sight as his aiming point. Long ago when shooting bullseye pistol, I was having problems using the Patridge sights on my S&W Model 25-2. Sight alignment was easy; aiming point was hard. I installed a white triangle on the front sight with the apex at the center of the blade. Putting the apex of the triangle at the bottom of the 25 yard bullseye while keeping the sights aligned tightened my groups dramatically. Am I right?

    ECS

  2. I’ll be giving reading material for Christmas too and was fortunate to find several copies of Pamela Geller’s excellent book, THE POST-AMERICAN PRESIDENCY on sale for under $4 each at my local Books-A-Million. I purchased every copy for gifts. This isn’t a gun book, but the information in it does concern firearms owners as it sheds more light on our Dear Leader, whose goal is to ban all guns for Americans, other than the police, military, and his elite cronies. The book is well researched and written, and an easy read. It shows us the diabolical mind of the Anointed One and his insidious agenda to destroy our nation and bring America down to the level of third world countries. Since I have no liberal friends and don’t care to have any, these books will be going to conservatives who already dislike the current White House occupier. However, these friends will now know more about our malevolent Messiah and have facts to counter the mostly emotional arguments of any liberals they talk with. Of course we all know that verbal sparring with the left is a waste of time, so maybe I should give them Ann Coulter’s book, HOW TO TALK TO A LIBERAL (IF YOU MUST) along with Geller’s tome.

  3. Mas is too humble to mention it (did I just say that?) but, if your looking for great books to give for Xmas, you can’t do better than some of his missives.

    Gun Digest Store has a fantastic deal on right now; $210 of books and DVDs by Massad Ayoob for only $52. Get more information here:
    http://www.gundigeststore.com/massad-ayoob-essen-value-pack

    I’m going to buy the set to cover three individuals on my to-give list – and keep the one Ayoob book missing in my personal library for myself!

  7. “Handguns for Self Defence: A South African Guide” by Gerry Gore. Okay since this was published in 1982 it’s a bit of an historical curiosity, but I found it very readable. The author is big Cooper fan, .45 auto from the Weaver stance and a couple of his suggestions would give the more litigation conscious shooter conniptions. But there is also quite a bit of common sense and one or two suggestions which might well be, literally, life-saving.

    Non-gun and also non-fiction: “Voodoo History” by David Aaronovitch; it’s a very neat, and very readable demolition job on a number of conspiracy theories from ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ to ‘The DaVinci Code.’ Of course some would say that by taking on conspiracy theories it’s proof that Mr. Aaronovitch is part of the conspiracy . . .

    Non-gun and non-non-fiction: A little subjective here, but if a friend appreciates historical fiction which combines a solid history with a good romp, and can appreciate a central protagonist who is a complete scumbag and yet extremely appealing; I’d recommend the ‘Flashman’ books by George MacDonald Fraser.