The Practical Guide to Guns and Shooting, Handgun Edition: What you need to know to choose, buy, shoot, and maintain a handgun. (Practical Shooting Guides)

This book was exactly what I was looking for. It wasn’t overly complicated or difficult to understand. Lots of humor sprinkled in to keep my attention. Didn’t often introduce a term without immediately explaining it. I think I would have included a few more labeled pics and a glossary or terms at the end but the descriptions were very helpful. I feel so much more comfortable now. The author clearly is conservative with an undertone of misogyny, but that’s most fun owners so, really, is anyone gonna blame him? He is nice and explains things well. That’s the main point.

My daughter told me she wanted to learn how to shoot a firearm and and asked if I would help her. I was happy to hear she wanted to learn that skill and delighted she ask for my help. Shooting and guns were very familiar to me since I got my first firearm, a .410 shotgun, when I was ten years old and spent many years in law enforcement. I told her I would happy to teach her the proper skills of owning, shooting, and being responsible of using a firearm.The first thing I looked for was a good book concerning guns and the responsibility of owning and using one.That's when I ran across The Practical Guide To Guns and Shooting by Tom McHale. Before I gave it to my daughter I thought I would skim through it first to see if it was any good. As it turned out I read the whole book in half the day and learned a few things myself. What I really liked about the book other than a ton of good information, is the authors style of writing. He uses humor though out the book to make learning points. It is very effective and makes the read fun. I highly recommend this book for amateurs and knowledgeable folks both. I guarantee you will learn something.

I enjoyed Tom's words of wisdom. I have a basis in rifle shooting but no knowledge of handguns. Easy to read, humorous, I particularly like the way he takes time out of the narrative to explore the language of handguns. If you are new to the concepts as I was I can recommend this book.

For me, this book was terrific. A lot of basic info on handguns including safety, researching, buying, training, practicing, further reading... a really good primer. Valuable read without the confusing back and forth with attitude you get in so many online forums. I got the sense Mr. McHale is truly concerned with the reader learning, he’s not just writing to show how smart or right he is. Funny too, had me actually laughing out loud while reading in a room by myself. Ok, that part was a little unnerving, but still... After reading about how to research, and then walk into a gun shop for the first time and behave well and ask the right questions, it took the nervousness out of it for me - gave me confidence, and made my first purchase enjoyable. Much thanks to Mr. McHale.

I’ve had my Concealed Carry license for 20 years. But I just recently decided I want to learn so much more. I don’t have any close family or friends near me, so I started researching and teaching myself. This book explained so much. I just can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate this tool. I highly recommend it for all beginner to intermediate shooters who are simply trying to educate themselves beyond just hitting a target. And the humor is very welcomed as well! It’s so simple to understand and breaks down absolutely everything.

I got this book to learn the basics for making an informed decision on a first purchase handgun, and in that respect it’s very good. Lots of very relevant and not overly-complicated information. But… the author needs a good editor for tone, typo and diction. He slants right at every opportunity, and the “jokes” and puns are just annoying and slightly immature. Still, I’d recommend the book because it is very informative for the new shooter.

I have had training and practice but time passed. This book did a fantastic job of reminding me of all I learned and more. It also will act as a excellent outline for helping others to learn the proper way of all things gun related. This book was as near to perfection as it could be, relative to my needs. I have likely never given a training book such high praise.

This is a great book for anyone looking to buy a handgun for the first time and does not know where to start. The author breaks down the various types of handguns, what you will need to accompany the new purchase (holster, gunsafe/action lock, proper cleaning tools, etc).There is also good information for new shooters on dry fire practice at home, how to establish a proper grip on the firearm, range etiquette and what to expect at a range. Hundgun safety is dicussed throughout the book, and how to apply it to various situations.