According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the increased demand for concealed carry permits coupled to the highest ever National Instant Criminal Background checks (NICS) for the month of December (1,854,400), and a record for one day checks (129,166) that came on Black Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, shows that U.S. citizens are concerned about their safety. They know fully well that police can’t be everywhere and where you may need them in an instant.
Of those million plus people that got checked, I wonder how many really know how to handle a handgun or if they took the time to take a shooting safety course. For those, I’d say the next best bet is to pick up a copy of Julie Golob’s “SHOOT – Your Guide to Shooting and Competition.
Golob is a pro, competitive shooter for Smith & Wesson winning over 115 championship titles, is S&W’s team captain, was USPSA Ladies National Champ ten times, Ladies World Speed Shooting Champ seven times, IDPA Ladies National Champ four times and NRA Bianchi Cup Ladies Open Champ twice. She was also named both U.S. Army Female Athlete of the Year and AMU Athlete of the Year during her 20-year shooting career. Golob is an avid outdoorswoman, wife and mother who resides in Montana.
And although she’s a woman, males should bite the bullet and read what she has to say. I’ve been in law enforcement for 37 years and picked up an important night firing method from her that my firearms instructors over the years never promoted. Yet it’s the easiest and most logical to use.
In her 248 page soft cover, Golob’s book can be considered the encyclopedia of shooting as it covers the gamut from safety including the possibility of lead poisoning, women in shooting, ammo information, various types of firearms and their nomenclature, holsters, speed loaders, BB and air rifle shooting, Olympic shooting sports, skeet, trap, handgun action sports shooting, optics, nostalgia shooting sports even mounted shooting, shooting on the move, moving targets and going from newbie to champion.
Without a doubt, this is the ultimate shooting book, a bible of sorts that is unlike any other in the bookstores. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned shooter or beginner, you’re guaranteed to learn something as I did.
The book is being sold at better bookstores for $16.95 and is published by Skyhorse Publishing in New York.
GLOCK
Even if you’re not into shooting sports or own a handgun, Paul M. Barrett’s GLOCK, The Rise of America’s Gun, is a captivating book about how Austrian born Gaston Glock went from making curtain rods to becoming a multi-millionaire (or possibly billionaire since Glock Inc. doesn’t provide financial data) by selling plastic guns worldwide in an intriguing company.
Unlike most book reviewers who get free books to review, I bought mine at Barnes & Noble. And it was well worth the $26. In time, I have a hunch a movie will be made about Glock based on this book since Gaston Glock and his worldwide corporation are secretive with considerable intrigue.
Barrett, a former Wall Street Journal journalist, did a magnificent job digging, interviewing individuals worldwide even learning to shoot a Glock to be able to offer his sensations of this famed plastic framed semi-automatic pistol that is being used by the majority of U.S. police departments, federal law enforcement agencies and the military.
But the story goes way beyond the gun itself. It delves into Glock’s business dealings worldwide and how he denied evading income taxes in the U.S., Austria and elsewhere. It gets more interesting as Barrett describes an assassination attempt on Gaston Glock orchestrated by his business partner. Plus, Gaston’s association with a leader of the Third Reich and his dislike of American-based Glock workers.
The Gold Club strip club in Atlanta Georgia was used by Glock and his U.S. manager for treating potential customers to wine, women and top-notch dining experiences, often dropping $10,000 a night. But the part that will really upset readers, who are U.S. taxpayers, is the chapter on how our government spent millions on Glock pistols for the Iraqi and Afghanistan police, many of which ended up in the hands of the Taliban who used them to shoot at American troops.
The books’ ending is also Hollywood movie material as Barrett gets confessions from two lieutenants in Glock’s company who ended up going to jail. And lastly, at age 82, Glock divorced his wife of many years and married a 31-year-old Glock Company associate.
The extremely well written 291 page hardcover book made me dislike and hold distain for this highly profitable gun maker I once admired. But I still love my Glock model 30SF.
To automatically receive outdoor news and views from Nick Hromiak, click on the “Subscribe” notation on this page.
Comments