The Truth About Handguns - Duane Thomas

Product Description

Every gun enthusiast will enjoy reading this lively look at the myths about the Colt .45; the hype surrounding handgun stopping power; the truth about Alvin York's incredible World War I firefight; the answers to the questions "Are revolvers dead?" and "How good is the .40 Smith & Wesson cartridge?"; and much more.

Product Details
* Amazon Sales Rank: #1111907 in Books
* Published on: 1997-11
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 136 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
Duane Thomas is one of the newer breed of US gun writers and a highly entertaining one at that. An ex-US Army paratrooper stationed initially at Fort Bragg he was also an Administrative Sergeant - he describes this title to mean 'clerk typist' - who left the army after 10 years with an interest in firearms and the ability to type 100 words per minute.

A career as a free-lance gun writer seemed about the best way to combine the two. Thomas's book follows no fixed formula; in fact it is sort of a potpourri of material related to pistols and revolvers. He subtitles this work Exploding the Myths, Hype and Misinformation, obviously about handguns. Thomas covers subjects as widely diverse as The King of Combat Handguns - the .45 auto, pros and cons; Double-Action Autos - he carries, or did carry a SIG-Sauer P228 in 9mm Luger; Handgun Stopping Power; Firepower vs. the "One Shot Stop"; Are Revolvers Obsolete?; and Just How Good is the .40 S&W? Particularly good is the piece on the .40 Smith & Wesson cartridge and Thomas makes a valid point - with data to back it up - that this cartridge should only live in .45-size frame guns, not those who began their careers as 9mms. Equally thought-provoking is the chapter on Handgun Stopping Power and his conclusion about defensive shooting is worth noting, even if it is a little on the rich-mixture side for the politically correct: "If someone is trying to kill you, shoot him as accurately and as swiftly as possible and keep shooting, as many times as necessary. Only stop when he stops...trying to kill you, that is." -- ManMagnum, January 1999

From the first page of his Introduction, Duane Thomas, a prolific writer about guns for magazines, and a man whom I would class a hands-on expert, shows a very engaging writing style, a clear, informal, detailed technical knowledge and an involving story-telling manner.

It is a joy to read his inside information and judgments.

He deals first with the controversy over the 'King of Combat Handguns' - the Colt .45 auto (which he admires but feels is flawed...), and then takes on the pros and cons of Double-Action Autos..., discusses Handgun Stopping Power..., Alvin York: Hero With a .45 Auto..., Firepower vs. the "One Shot Stop"..., Are Revolvers Obsolete?..., Just How Good is the .40 S&W?...

And he delves into the arguments for and against owning a handgun, leaving most peoples' pretensions and nonthink in a shambles.

There is a Gun Trivia Quiz, and A Few Closing Comments: City Slickers & Gun Nuts. Invaluable info and perceptions - especially for any writer who often or occasionally needs to put handguns in a story or novel. This is a keeper. -- The Geis Newsletter #43

From the Author
This book saw its genesis in an article titled "Handgun Myths Exploded" that I wrote for a nationally distributed gun magazine. For years it's seemed to me there is an incredible amount of myth, dogma and outright silliness accepted as solemn truth in the world of the handgun, and in my article I addressed what I thought were some of the more outrageous examples. A book publisher was so impressed with that piece he had his editor call me up and ask if I'd be willing to expand it into a book. My reply: "Sure. Why not?" Since this book's publications I've gotten a lot of positive response on it. The chapter on Alvin York in particular seems to have touched people. I've had more than one person tell me, "I cried while reading that." I'm not surprised - I cried while writing it! Also the Gun Trivia Quiz, which I threw in just for the fun of it, has garnered a lot of praise. Just to let you know a bit of what you'll be letting yourself in for if you buy this book, I'm going to reprint here the opening paragraph from each of the book's nine major chapters.