Reddit mentions: The best weapons & warfare history books

Hopefully it goes without saying that you can't learn something physical from the books.

But if you're the kind of person who likes to read a lot, and want to supplement your learning by reading about fencing theory, then here's what I would recommend.

First, read pretty much any general book about fencing. I've read quite a few books about fencing, but generally they're mostly all the same. Here's one that I've read that is indicative of most books, but there's loads

The only thing you're really trying to take away from it getting basic descriptions of the equipment, some basic nomenclature - "lunge", "fleche", "quarte", "disengage", "ballestra", etc. Maybe some basic history. You could also get all this stuff from wikipedia if you wanted, but maybe a book form might be presented in a nicer way.

A lot of these books will talk about mental game, perfect technique, and the great masters of whenever. This is mostly absolute garbage. Most of the history will be incorrect, and only semi-true 'factoids'. It often comes off as a bit of "mysticism". If you have any experience in the culture of martial arts you probably know what I mean.

So once you have a rough idea of what all the parries are, and what we call all the footwork movements, more or less, I would recommend reading Epee 2.0 (2.5 or whatever it's on now).

This book talks about a pragmatic based approach to fencing. No one makes a perfect lunge, and in fact, there is not even such a thing as a perfect lunge. Lots of moves that you learn aren't actually all that useful. etc. If you can internalize the themes of this book, that is very useful for approaching fencing in a way conducive to competitive success.

Then I would look at understanding fencing, which has a lot of very technical thoughts about fencing. E.g. Beyond just what is a step, or a lunge, he talks about different kinds of actions tactically speaking (e.g. pre-planned vs open eyes etc.).

If you read those three, you'll be in good shape

You are correct in that all of these things will help you enter and strike.

The manuals are a compendium of techniques, not a guide to "this is exactly what you must do". From the sounds of things, you are wanting more information into how to approach a fight rather than the actual techniques themselves. In that regards, there have been numerous books regarding fencing theory written for modern olympic fencing that would be of great use to you. The weapons are not the same but all preparatory actions translate very well into each other. The only part of the manual that talks about these (to my knowledge) are the naichraissens, the vor/nach plays and vaguely glossed over in the first part on the line, "All Art has Length and Measure".

Recommended reading:

• "The Onion - Vor & Nach flow exercises" by Roger Norling
  
  
• Understanding longsword - K. Ruokonen's blog
  
  
• Understanding Fencing - By Z Czajkowski. This is actually about modern epee fencing and fencing in general but works well as a modern take on fencing theory
  
  
• Epee 2.0 - by Johan Harmenber. Another modern book focusing on how to win. Essentially boils down to "do several things really really well instead of lots of things really well". And some other stuff.
  
  
• MS 3227a - "Hanko Dobringer" - a little more esoteric than the modern ones but at least its period. You may find it useful.
  
  
• The Art of Combat - By Joachim Meyer (trans by J Forgeng). This is out of print until next year but it is the best translation of Joachim Meyer's text available. It covers a wide range of plays intended, I think, for the instruction of fencers. It really is a wonderful resource and well worth getting your hands on.

For me, this is actually hard to answer in a well-substantiated fashion. Although there is an entire host of related publications, I found amazingly few of them anything like 'authoritative' (and if, then the publications in question are rather of 'niche' style).

Technology-wise, it should obvious that the T-72 is at least a generation behind the M1A2, Challenger 2 and similar types of 1991.

However, when designed - back in late 1960s and early 1970s - it was never built to face such tanks, but to fight M60s, Chieftains and the likes - and this while remaining economically affordable, so to enable replacement of thousands of older, and hopelessly outdated T-55s.

As such, yes, Iraqi T-72s were hopelessly outclassed in 1991, and this is little surprising.

But again, during the Iran-Iraq War they largely proved 'perfectly enough'. There they were facing MBTs of the same generation (M60s and Chieftains), and have proven their mettle in combat - repeatedly, and this weather in 1981, or in 1988. Actually, during that war their most dangerous opponents proved Iranian-operated TOWs and T-72s, and flank attacks of different sorts.

Reference-wise, I tend to recommend Zaloga's 'T-72 Main Battle Tank, 1974-1993'. It is not 'perfect', but a fair discussion of that tank, its strengths and weak spots.

Re. 'poor export quality': from my POV, this topic actually consists of two issues. One is the generally poor manufacturing quality of Soviet-manufactured equipment, the other is that of export models of Soviet arms being not as well-equipped/protected as those manufactured for Soviet service.

Soviet manufacturing standards were far lower than those in the West. Indeed, they were significantly lower than even those in Czechoslovakia or Poland. This didn't matter as much as long as the technology in question was still relatively... 'primitive'. Say, MiG-15 and T-55 were perfectly fine. But, the more sophisticated it got, the less-well manufactured it was (early AT-6s were falling apart on launch, just for example).

Unsurprisingly, there are well-substantiated reports about Iraq, Libya and Syria preferring Czechoslovak- or at least Polish-manufactured arms to those manufactured in the USSR, especially so in the 1980s. See such like 'My Life' - an autobiography of the former Deputy Commander of the Syrian Arab Air Force and then the Director of the Syrian Commission for Arms Acquisition, Mohammad Moukiiad, published in Damascus, in 2004, in Arabic.

Equipment/Protection-wise: partially due to the very nature of their entire system of governance, Soviets were not prone to really 'brag' about their best equipment to potential export customers (this began to change in mid-1970s, when the USSR was for the first time ever on the verge of bankruptcy, and thus became eager to start exporting arms). Plus, even if, many of these (including Syria) simply couldn't afford buying 'the best' the Soviets had to offer. Far more often, this usually resulted in a situation where receivers of their equipment were happy if they've got anything at all, and then as quick and in 'such numbers' as they often got it. So, why should have the Soviets cared about providing them with anything better?

However, certain of Soviet customers - see Iraq and Libya - could afford more and better equipment. In such cases crucial issue was if their representatives in the USSR were able to find out this is existing. This was anything than easy: one could easily get acquitted of 'espionage against the USSR'. So, sometimes they did (see the Iraqi acquisition of SA-2s as early as of 1961 or Kh-66 guided air-to-surface missiles in 1966), but more often they didn't (see their failure to get more advanced variants of T-72s, for most of the 1980s).

This is one that I referenced a huge amount while growing up;

https://www.amazon.com/Weapons-International-Encyclopedia-5000-D/dp/0312039506/ref=sr_1_12

It is pretty dated by now. However, if you are interested in the history of weapons and the beginnings of the firearm, it is a place to start. Once you find an epoch that interests you the most, using a guide like this one, you can start looking into more specific eras and types.

As with just about everything, guns have a deep and storied history and there simply isn't one source that will give you all the knowledge there is on them. There is A LOT of ground to cover, it might be best to use an overview like this one to decide what you will focus on. Guns are like any tool; people have adapted them throughout history for their own needs and because of this, you'll find that there is so much to know that you'll never learn it all.

My personal favorite gun subject would be the AK. I have about a dozen books about it from technical manuals, to pieces that absolutely condemn it, to pieces that treat it as a marvel like it were part of a religion, to pieces that give a general history about it with no discernible slant at all.

I hope you enjoy whatever you end up finding.

The best place to start is with The Collector's Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. It's more than a bit dated, and there have not been enough revisions to it over the decades. Having said that, it's an excellent collection of images and brief descriptions of every kind of extant artifact from the period: cookware, textiles, metalware, ceramics of all sorts, weapons, and so on.

The Collector's Illustrated Encyclopedia will give you a baseline to work from. Some of the artifacts (especially the spectacles) actually fall outside the time frame: too late or too early. But all of them are ballpark.

From that baseline, you'll want to then focus more specifically on what sort of material culture interests you. To narrow this down, I'd jump into the prolific website: The Eighteenth Century Material Culture Resource Center. It's a constantly updated site with lots of slideshows that examine specific occupations or types of artifacts.

It sounds to me that you're interested in the militaristic material culture of loyalists. To that end, I'd recommend grabbing yourself a copy of Osperey Publishing's American Loyalist Troops 1775-1783. It's a great introduction to the topic, with uniform illustrations and a few extant artifacts.

Other general guides I'd recommend to military material culture would be Don Troiani's Soldiers of the American Revolution and Neumann's Battle Weapons of the American Revolution.

Hope that helps!

Any ammo will be fine. As for what zero works best, etc., I recommend taking a look at this and going from there. You'll learn a lot about your rifle and how it was used historically.

There really isn't much to watch out for; if you get a side-mounted optic, just make sure you know how to install one. One thing's for certain, though, clean your muzzle device and its threads (as well as the front sight block's threads it mates with) as often as possible after a firing session. This is doubly so if you're firing corrosive surplus. My latest AK purchase was an SGL 31-61 and it looks like the previous owner shot 30 rounds, maybe 60, through the rifle, but it must have been 7N6 surplus. Everything was clean but he'd never removed the muzzle device to clean it. I had to depress the detent for the device with a punch and run a screwdriver through the brake's main exhaust port area. This was the only way I could get enough leverage to rotate it free since it had started rusting. That rust was fusing the metal of the brake and the metal of the FSB threads together, effectively turning it into what would eventually become a "permanent" muzzle brake. Clean that up or it will get nasty fast. I've seen a brake that only ever saw 7N6 through it -- like 1k+ rounds of it -- that had not been properly cleaned except maybe once or twice during the first couple hundred rounds. It has been permanently rusted into place for the past five years. Only hope the owner has for replacing it is drilling out the FSB pins and replacing the entire assembly.

Keep that brake and threads clean and you'll be fine. If you don't have time/products to clean it same-day, at the very least, remove the brake from the rifle. It'll keep any rust that's forming from fusing the two items together. I make it sound a lot worse than it is, but with muzzle brakes after firing corrosive 7N6, I get paranoid. Commercial ammunition isn't as big of an issue: just keep it oiled enough to where you can still remove it by-hand and you're good.

Glad you liked it! That’s Ryan Cleckner, and I agree with you. I’ve really gotten into his stuff. He has more videos on YouTube (try searching “NSSF Ryan Cleckner”) and I’m loving going through his book (I’m a beginner). Best of luck!

> What about economic programs? They turned Germany into one of the largest economies in the world in just a few years.

All smoke and mirrors: vast and unsustainable borrowing and a focus on militarisation with no long term economic benefits.

> All the amazing architecture they produced?

A subjective matter I suppose, but you might be interested in this documentary

> Military reforms that produced the most futuristic battle tactics the world had seen up until that point?

The German doctrine which came to be known as Blitzkrieg was in development before the Nazi Party came to power (see James Corum's The Roots of Blitzkrieg). It also worked once against an equivalent opposition: the Fall of France in 1940. It didn't work in North Africa, it didn't work in Russia, it couldn't defend Western Europe.

Under Hitler, Germany went from being the most powerful nation in Europe to the fifth most powerful nation in Berlin.

Anything relating to very recent firearms is going to be fairly dated as things change fairly quickly in the world of firearms.

The way I see it, there's electronic media for learning about the latest offerings from Ruger or Smith & Wesson.

I'd say get him a nice reference book. Ian Hogg was a prolific weaponry author, and he had many books on pistols, rifles, machine guns, artillery, what have you, and most are still in print or easy to get a hold of.

When I was a kid, my middle school had this book in the library:

http://www.amazon.com/Weapons-International-Encyclopedia-D-Updated/dp/0312039506/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345619493&sr=1-3&keywords=weapons+encyclopedia

I basically had it checked out throughout fifth and sixth grade. It's a bit dated, but it's a fantastic read. I'm pretty sure I eventually bought a copy and have it somewhere in my garage.

I don't think he's got any guns like the AR-15, just 1-2 hunting rifles and a lot of handguns. Just a cursory Amazon search gives me some good starting points. This might be good for the history of handguns or maybe a more general interest history, like this one.

Hey there. This sub just masturbates all day long to the CMP. However the CMP has been known to provide rifles with serious issues. Oldschool M1 rifle Gurus hate the CMP. But, you can work with the CMP to get a nice rifle. So there are pros and cons, but the CMP is not the only route.

I am old school, and I seriously advocate for going to a place where you can personally handle a few rifles and talk to a few guys in person who know their stuff. Call a few shops and ask who knows antique Military surplus rifles. These guns are finicky even at their best and require some knowledge. We gets lots of dumb ass posts on this thread every week where some guys spent the money but didn't pick up a book or do a lick of research and then encountered a simple quirk of the M1 system that left them stymied.

So, I would first buy a good book on shooting the M1 Garand. They are cheap and plentiful. Here is one I own and recommend for a beginner: https://www.amazon.com/Complete-M1-Garand-Jim-Thompson/dp/0873649842

Second, go talk to some people. Internet does not count. You just can't get the kind of detailed info a 5 minute conversation with someone in person that you can get from an online post, like this one for example.

Third, compare the CMP to other options because there are other options.

Finally, just hammer the research. Look at every photo online you can find, read every article. If you are going to spend $1000 on a rifle, you must understand that knowledge is free and will put you far ahead of the pack. I hope this helps.

There are some great resources, like the ghfs text that are targeted towards HEMA that will help. "Fencing and the Master" ( http://www.amazon.com/Fencing-Master-Laszlo-Szabo/dp/0965946800 ) and "Understanding Fencing" (http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Fencing-Zbigniew-Czajkowski/dp/0965946886) are great books about teaching modern fencing which are very useful. They have a lot of great stuff about running group classes, and also things to look for when working with someone individually.

With two years of training in longsword, you have the technical knowledge, but what you'll need for a study group is a plan to transmit that knowledge to student. I'd suggest visiting other groups - modern fencing clubs, kendo, akido, judo, etc... and observing how they are structured and taught. If you find something that you like, keep going, but also see if the instructor would be willing to mentor you while you run your own study group.

No, I'm not. I just read "the book". :D

​

If you want to learn more about long range shooting, there's a great book by Ryan Cleckner called "Long Range Shooting Handbook." I highly recommend it.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Range-Shooting-Handbook-Cleckner/dp/151865472X

​

He also did several great videos for the National Shooting Sports Foundation that are on YouTube. And he's got a podcast that's really good too.

Military Small Arms of the 20th Century is a great resource. It's amazing the amount of detail they have in there. It's not much on the way they function, but it catalogs basically every gun produced or used by a military in the 20th century, as well as a little bit of prior to and following the 20th C.

If you're interested in the function of guns this free to play game is actually remarkably good at teaching the functions and parts of a hell of a lot of different guns.

This book list may interest you.

Since you seem more interested in the Eastern Front, here are a few more books not on the list which focus on it:
[Stalingrad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalingrad_(book), and Berlin: The Downfall by Antony Beevor are must reads. Russia's War: A History of the Soviet Effort: 1941-1945 by Richard Overy is also a great summary of the entire Russian war from start to finish. Finally, for a good account from the perspective of Soviet tank crews, might I suggest T-34 in Action, from the Stackpole military history series. It’s a short read, but quite interesting. Hope this helps.

Some good advice in the thread and I would echo the need for preparatory research before investing time and money in your endeavor. It may help you to look over a book like Don Mann’s The Modern Day Gunslinger which despite the provocative title is a sound resource for answering a number of your questions as well a providing the premises for CC based upon the writings of Colonels David Grossman and Jeff Cooper. Particularly significant to training is the Shooter’s Triad, comprised of skills in marksmanship/weapons handling, tactics, and arguably the most important of all, establishing & maintaining a combat mindset to ensure that you will survive an armed encounter.

Edit: url

Our skills are quite thick and rounded and evolutionarily optimized to deflect blows. The forehead is a giant arch to protect the brain. There are quite a few accounts of handgun and even occasionally rifle bullets glancing off. The ocular region is one of the obvious thin parts that leads to the brain.

The vital organs lie surprisingly high in the torso. I was taught to aim for a triangle comprised of the nipples and Adam's apple, which covers the heart and lungs. Below that you start hitting the digestive organs, which aren't going to bleed much during an adrenaline dump.

Check out The Ultimate Sniper for more on this.

A Basic Fencing Companion by Paul Sise is really good, specially for beginners/intermediate fencers. It reads easily and has a great glossary that I used to get ready for my moniteur exam.

Another good one is Understanding Fencing by Czajkowski (who sadly passed away just last week). This one is more advanced, but it doesn’t read as easily. I took my time reading this one.

OP Please educate yourself and read THIS book. I don't believe it's the ultimate training guide but it has a very good discussion of mindset. Also THIS book might be even a better starting point.

I get your point about being able to carry but you need to listen to the comments in this thread.

Hopefully you've tried contacting your target to ask them about their collections, their uses, stuff they want, and stuff they wouldn't like. Feel free to drop as many Phone Booth references as possible. You should be able to get some ideas.

If you can't find anything specific, the stuff you've mentioned will never go amiss. Some other stuff I could think of:

• Targets, be they paper, adhesive, or metal
  
  
• Gun bags, belts, storage and transportation solutions, either generic or tailored to what you know of their collection
  
  
• Magazines (specific to their gun and of legal capacity; you can never have too many)
  
  
• Some ear or eye pro
  
  
• Gift certificates or range memberships for businesses in their area
  
  
• Action movies with gun porn (anything with a long-ass entry on IMFDB)
  
  
• A nice coffee table book
  
  
• Generic tools, like a pocket knife, multitool, or tacticool flashlight
  
  
• If they're a gun-toting gamer, stalk their Steam/Xbox Live/Playstation accounts and pick out a game they'd like (reloaders will particularly enjoy Fallout New Vegas)
  
  
• Beef jerky

I also started by watching Sniper 101. This is a better source for all the information found there.
It's available as an ebook and physically. I largely consider the series useful to a point, but not worth the 40+ hour investment. You can learn everything you need in much less time, and without massive tangential ramblings and half an hour of self-aggrandizing per video.

His whole "thing" basically boils down to "record your shots under every known condition so you can hit on a cold bore shot by referencing what you've already done." Requires a notebook to go shooting, in addition to the logbook most snipers use.

A ballistic calculator will basically get you there with a lot less effort.

Some people know this, others don't- you might have heard it already- but don't clean your bore from the muzzle side. That's probably the best tip I can give you to protect you from making a mistake early on.

In the book, however, there is one thing I disagree with, that's my personal preference (and I am by no means an expert- check my flair). The author likes second focal plane scopes; I prefer first focal plane. It's mostly about how you use the rifle, and what you're comfortable with.

Get formal training. It has improved my coaching tremendously and I would not be able the think of any other way to achieve my current level.

Good books for a starting fencing coach are Szabo L. Fencing and the Master, Czajkowski Z. Understanding Fencing and Kogler A. One Touch at a Time.

The $20 spring kit for the Compass from Mcarbo helped me a lot, brings the trigger way down and does it safely from what I can tell. Before I installed that kit, I was actually moving the reticle just trying to squeeze the trigger on the lowest setting. With it installed it feels somewhere around 2-3lbs, breaks a lot cleaner, and there's no more jump when I squeeze the trigger. Also, if you're dialing distance with your turrets, you want a bubble level attached to the scope. A $10 one off amazon is doing fine for me. Without one, a couple degrees of cant between shots is inches (or feet) off at distance.

Also, even as an experienced shooter, when I started getting involved with long range this book from Ryan Cleckner taught me quite a few tips that made me even better.

I also bought a T/C Compass this year in 6.5CM, got a discounted shooting mat on Midway, a $20 bipod off amazon and a $100 UTG scope. I plan on upgrading to a Vortex, but the so-so UTG scope does okay for now. With that setup, I'm handloading Hornady ELD-X bullets and am doing a good job whapping golf balls at 300 yards currently.

Nice! If you haven't I'd recommend picking up a copy of the long range shooting handbook: https://www.amazon.com/Long-Range-Shooting-Handbook-Cleckner/dp/151865472X

It's not exhaustive, but it was pretty useful in coming up to speed (and cutting through the chaff).

There is an excellent book called By the Sword which illustrates the evolution of swords throughout history. I highly recommend it, but lochlainn has already done a brilliant job of tldring the info.

Edit: Formatting

Check you local college and see if there are any classes you can take for it. For me I'm getting ready to take a cnc machinist class this semester. That should be a pretty good start.

Edit: If you have amazon kindle you can download this for free on a mobile device. http://www.amazon.com/Gunsmithing-Stackpole-Classic-Gun-Books/dp/0811707288/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1375751237&sr=8-8&keywords=Gunsmithing

Nice one. Thanks for your honest post. If you’re just starting out, I might suggest: https://www.amazon.com/dp/151865472X/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_0uATDb2WJJQG5

Read both. Thinking/talking points don't really change with time.

Then read "Principles of Personal Defense"[PDF Warning] and "To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth", both by the great Colonel Jeff Cooper.

Then look up Sentinel by Pat Mcnamara.

All fantastic reads.

Amazon link

Look through these and read the reviews on them. Amazon always has good books. I'm reading the Modern Day Gunslinger I'm still reading this one, but I think it would be a good book if you're looking into shooting for self defense.

at least mark thatcher got a new house and bandar got his dallas cowboys inspired plane

this deal is discussed in the brilliant

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-World-Inside-Global-Trade/dp/014104005X

High intensity, lots of "aliveness" in the drills.

At least a couple of possible outcomes for each action so that it doesn't turn into "I do this, you do that, I do this".

Working on setups instead of assuming ideal conditions so that it's possible to understand what leads to successful outcomes for given techniques in certain situations.

Basically, read Understanding Fencing and steal as much as possible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Louis_Michel

Wikipedia has one version of the story, but IIRC, By the Sword tells it a little differently. Guy's friend challenges him to a duel to the death. He can't turn down the duel and doesn't want to kill his friend, so he uses a training foil. Knocks the guy out, breaks his jaw.

Wanted to, really messed my spine up playing football out here in West Texas. Kinda had to shift most of my physical goals after that. I can still walk etc, but I'm ordered to never do physical stuff. I bend the rules, but I was told I probably wasn't gonna make it from a recruiter. That book however really peaked my interest.

From there I picked up:THIS!

I also had been mastering running the prerequisites to become a sniper. Long distance runs..insane amount of pullups etc.

Some nice books for you to read describing the russian side:

• Red Road from Stalingrad: Reflections of a Soviet Infantryman
  
• T-34 in Action
  
• Panzer Destroyer: Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander
  
• Guns Against the Reich: Memoirs of an Artillery Officer on the Eastern Front
  
  On of the best documentaires i have seen about the eastern front is BBC's war of the Centrury, with interviews with russian and german veterans
  
  Enjoy
  

I'm not all that up to date on modern military theory since most of my knowledge is from military history and not contemporary theory (although the two are, as one would expect, highly intersectional) - I do read some modern war journals and listen to talks on modern war theory though, although relatively rarely.

I'm hardly an expert on the matter (although I'm fairly certain know enough to recognize when someone has no idea what they are talking about). I just read a lot in college, and sucked up whatever I could from the library. I also liked reading a lot of primary sources, including things like reports from field exersises/war games/intel reports/naval excercises. One time I even read the entire

One of my favourites was this book on inter-war German reforms during the Weimar era. Rise and Fall of the Great Powers is another favourite of mine (although I never got to read the whole thing, it's a fucking massive book and I never had the time so) - it's especially good if you want to see some of the economic factors of warfare and tracking them through history. Clausewitz' On War is a classic primer on military and is practically ubiquotous - but it's also old as fuck and is far more important for showing some of the roots of modern (in the broad sense of Victorian/post-Victorian, not 21st century) - treat it like you would The Wealth of Nations.

His book is a great read. Link below:

​

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Fencing-Zbigniew-Czajkowski/dp/0965946886

As some one already suggest The Art of the Rifle, I will suggest another Jeff Cooper book, To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth.

Also Shooting To Live by W. E. Fairbairn and E. A. Sykes is also a interesting read.

EDIT: Also if you are interested in reloading, start with The ABCs of Reloading.

I have the book. I’m pretty set on what rifle I want. But he says in the intro “read the whole book before you buy if you’re serious”

on Amazon

What scope rings did you buy? I see Vortex. What height?

Long Range Shooting Handbook

​

Ryan Cleckner, former Ranger sniper, covers long range shooting (obviously), but the vast majority of the material is applicable to any kind of rifle shooting. He goes into a little history, terminology, choosing and setting up your rifle and gear, rifle maintenance, ballistics, calculations and scope adjustments, shooting technique, and a bunch more.

​

Despite the 'long range' label, he doesn't go overboard on the minutia of reading wind or correcting for Coriolis force. He has a follow up book ("Advanced Long Range Shooting") for the more esoteric stuff. It's all written for a layman, and anyone with two brain cells to rub together could understand it. Essentially, you can read the book with no previous knowledge and come out with a great baseline for getting started with rifles.

This reminds me of one of my favorite books growing up: "Weapons" from the Diagram Group.

http://www.amazon.com/Weapons-International-Encyclopedia-From-5000/dp/0312039506

> True story, look it up.

I hear you. You're preaching to the choir here ;) One of the books in my firearms reading collection is Silencer History and Performance, which talks about requiring silencers in some European countries, as you point out.

I didn't actually buy it, but I got a pair of 7.62 x 39 snap caps from my Reddit Secret Santa. I'm excited to see what I'll get from my secret sniper cough cough cough

khopesh & sapara Good for breaking blocks, disemboweling, bleeding and decapitating. A good replacement for Kirks BSS.

chinese hook sword Designed for parrying, countering and disarming.

shamshir Notice the angled pommel; used for increasing the speed of the swing.

tebutje In a fiction like Dark Souls this could be a powerful weapon, non repairable, short/medium range with strong poison and bleeding build/damage low physical damage.

vajra, also known as a dorge or tokko Use some imagination for this one, a boss soul weapon or catalyst, used to cast lighting from the weapons durability, and can be swung like an air sword.

war hammer Essentially a small lucerne.

flail

I could try and find more, I have the same book the devs would likely be using for design and purposed use reference: A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times

Edit: I found some more I liked.

"Madu" shield

Oriental maces

An assortment of forward curved swords These swords were designed to increase the likelihood of blood loss, and that reminds me that that bleeding should have two forms like poison/toxic. getting hit with any edged weapon would likely cause you to start bleeding so I think current bleed damage could be redesigned to be more realistic. There would be bleed caused in varying degrees by all edged weapons and then evisceration which would be caused by specific weapons, so bleed would become a DoT that scales over time and evisceration would be like bleed is right now.

This also makes me think about new combat items like a fictional equivalent to cocaine you would blow into your opponents face to make their heart rate increase incurring more/faster bleed/poison type damages. Maybe even faith/covenant based damage items used like gold pine resin; oils you could anoint your blade with that are aligned to a specific faith.

Katar

Indian palm blade(like a katar)

Upper congo double edged sword

If you really want to know why, I would suggest reading (or even listening to the audiobook) The Shadow World Inside the Global Arms Trade by Andrew Feinstein. It gives an amazingly detailed explanation of how and why the arms trade is conducted.

tldr; Profit

Comprehensive is difficult, since so many regions of the world have so many different types of swords. Even for European swords, most books focus on a single time period (ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, modern). One of the better books for comprehensive is:

• M. D. Coe et al. Swords and Hilt Weapons, various editions and reprints. https://www.amazon.com/Swords-Hilt-Weapons-Peter-Connolly/dp/1853751332
  
  Stone's Glossary is also a classic, with very broad coverage (but only brief entries for any particular weapon):
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Glossary-Construction-Decoration-Arms-Armor/dp/0486407268/
  
  

Longrange shooting handbook - Chapter 5.2.6

• Magnification can make it harder to initially find your target
  
• With too much magnification, shooters are often tempted to jerk the trigger when they think that the reticle, shaky from excess magnification, is perfectly centered on the target
  
• Target re-acquisition, after being bumped by recoil, is often more difficult at higher magnification due to smaller field of view.
  
  I'm sure there might be a few more examples/reasons, but I'm only on chapter 6.4.1

http://www.amazon.com/Military-Small-Arms-20th-Century/dp/0873418247

This book is on the history and designs of Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. It is written by two very knowledgeable guys. (From Wikipedia) Ian V. Hogg (1926 – 7 March 2002) was a notable British author of books on firearms, artillery, ammunition, and fortification, as well as biographies of several famous general officers. During his career he wrote, co-wrote, edited, or co-edited about 150 books and sold well over 1 million copies. And John S. Weeks an American who also wrote and co-wrote many a book on military small arms

book

honestly this book will give you just about everything you need to get started on long range.

If you're really interested:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0873649095/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

First I'm not an expert and have only read three books on the subjects of swords/dueling/fencing so I was hesitant to comment on it (since we are talking about an evolution of swordplay over a long span of time) but the most recent book I've read, "By the Sword" (http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Gladiators-Musketeers-Swashbucklers-anniversary/dp/0812969669), mentions it and since I just finished the book it was fresh in my mind.

Also, you should pick up this book and do some research before you buy.

Its better to spend a little more and get a state of the art can than it is to buy a cheaper/outmoded can.

Thanks, I'll look those over.

I do have this one now. But, as I said, it didn't come with the rifle.

I highly recommend Long Range Shooting Handbook by Ryan Cleckner. Also look him up on YouTube. https://www.amazon.com/dp/151865472X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_o3fPBbQPWJ6H3

I would assume that Winchester also had milled trigger guards, as they were producing the Garand early on. My knowledge of Garands doesn't extend much past knowing what would be accurate for which time period.

However, if you're really curious, I know there are several books about M1 collecting. I've been told that Scott Duff's book is the go to book for collectors.

For those that would like to order it

Shot placement is important, for sure, but the first thing to go in a gunfight is fine motor control.

Also, rifle combat is much different than pistol combat. Another read I highly recommend that covers numerous topics:

http://www.amazon.com/Ride-Shoot-Straight-Speak-Truth/dp/0873649737

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Range-Shooting-Handbook-Cleckner/dp/151865472X

Long Range Shooting Handbook Paperback – January 31, 2016
by Ryan M Cleckner (Author)

First thing I'd get is a book.

Pickup Gunsmithing by Roy Dunlap

First few chapters are all about the workshop and tools you'll need.

Throw this at them:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/159223304X

http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Johannes_Liechtenauer followed by http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Nuremberg_Hausbuch_(MS_3227a) http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Peter_von_Danzig_zum_Ingolstadt and http://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Pseudo-Peter_von_Danzig

In terms of actual paper books? http://www.academyofhistoricalarts.co.uk/publishing/german-longsword-study-guide.php

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Martial_Arts_of_Renaissance_Europe.html?id=keDBwirOTQwC

and

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Fencing-Zbigniew-Czajkowski/dp/0965946886

Andrew Feinstein's book on the industry is a first class piece of work on the subject, every page will make your jaw hit the floor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Shadow-World-Inside-Global/dp/014104005X

Ian Hogg's "Military Small Arms of the 20th Century"

https://www.amazon.com/Military-Small-Arms-20th-Century/dp/0873418247

I would suggest Ryan Cleckner's Long Range Shooting Handbook

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Range-Shooting-Handbook-Cleckner/dp/151865472X/

Just got this for Christmas yesterday.

Long Range Shooting Handbook https://www.amazon.com/dp/151865472X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_hntyybWQ3F683

Read this: http://www.amazon.com/Ride-Shoot-Straight-Speak-Truth/dp/0873649737

This one?

Do you paint the stock sight, or aftermarket one?

Try the following:

Roots of Blitzkrieg.

The Red Army and the Werhmacht.

Edit: One more Storm of Steel

Also when duelling started getting real big in europe it became a craze among the catholic monks at the time and the Church started getting worried partly due to the fame/ego and also the dead monks, and instituted the no dulling with bladed weapons thing in hopes of dissuading the young monks. - source By the Sword