Between the covers: books you really need

Guns Magazine, May, 2007 by Holt Bodinson

One of the pleasures of collecting military surplus arms is reading about them. They are living history. Each model was tested and adopted by a country, served with its military and is associated in some way with historical events or personalities--it may be a war or wars, a single battle or the designer himself. Fortunately, not only are these great days for collecting milsurps, but the firearms literature available today is mind-boggling in its scope and detail.

I'm often asked, "What one book I would recommend on military surplus arms?" The answer's easy--W.H.B. Smith's Small Arms of the World. It is the classic reference and it's been around in one edition or another since 1943. Organized by country, Smith's tome provides detailed pictures, historical documentation and assembly/disassembly information on common and obscure military small arms. There is simply nothing better between two covers.

W.H.B. Smith himself was "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." No known photograph of him exists. He emerges in WWII with an extensive knowledge of German small arms, often producing samples of Axis weapons even our War Department had never seen. His Small Arms of the World was followed by several other invaluable references: Mauser Rifles and Pistols, Walther Pistols and Revolvers, Mannlicher Rifles and Pistols, the Book of Pistols and Revolvers, and the Book of Rifles. Gems all. Be on the lookout for them on the used book market.

Along the same lines is International Armament by George B. Johnson. In its second edition, International Armament was originally produced in 1965 under the auspices of Samuel Cummings, president of INTERARMCO, one of the first emporiums of surplus arms bargains.

It now consists of two volumes in one and provides history, data, technical information and pictures of 800 military firearms in 947 pages. Between Smith and Johnson, the world of classic milsurp arms are pretty well covered.

Model Specific

Getting down to the level of model-specific references, two publishing houses stand head-and-shoulders above the competition: Collector Grade Publications and North Cape Publications.

The books published by Collector Grade Publications are extremely well researched and stunningly presented, coffee table quality reference books filled with hundreds of photographs and invaluable historical information. Some of the more popular titles for milsurp collectors are Kalashnikov--The Arms and the Man, The FAL Rifle, Backbone of the Wehrmacht--The German 98K Rifle, Crown Jewels--The Mausers of Sweden, Hitler's Garands--German Self-Loading Rifles of World War II, The Browning High Power Automatic Pistol, The Black Rifle--M16 Retrospective, Proud Promise--French Autoloading Rifles, US Rifle M14--From John Garand to the M21, and War Baby! The US Caliber .30 Carbine. They're not cheap, but you get what you pay for--a timeless reference and a good read.

North Cape Publications' "For Collectors Only" series is among my most favorite. At $19.95 a volume, they're readily affordable and they present information you can't find anywhere else. What each volume does is break the subject firearm down into a part-by-part analysis to document model variations and parts changes over serial number ranges. The books also reference finishes, codes and markings. Sound dry? They're not. The photographs and supporting text are worth twice the price of the book. Most importantly, the books will help you avoid fakes and parts guns, like the infamous fake Krag and Trapdoor carbines. Some of the interesting titles cover the Mosin-Nagant, Swedish Mauser, SKS, SMLE, No. 4 MkI, 1903 Springfield, US Krag, M1 Garand, MI Carbine, Yugoslav and Serbian Mausers, AK-47, SAFN-49, M14 and M16/AR-15.

When it comes to British firearms and ammunition, Ian Skennerton's Arms & Militaria Press is the place to head. As an author and publisher, Skennerton offers a variety of products including infinitely well-researched hardcover books on the Lee Enfield, Martini, Snider-Enfield and .303 Sniper Rifle; a soft cover Small Arms Identification Series takes the mystery out of identifying pieces like the Webley revolver models, a new series of assembly and disassembly guides, and the "Collector" magazine. His most popular book has to be The Lee Enfield Story, and is the best-documented reference on the subject ever published.

Pinning down military and quasi-military models made by large firearms firms has been made easier by the appearance of "official historian" type books. Three of the best are Remington by Roy Marcot; Marlin by William Brophy, Ruger & His Guns by R.L. Wilson and The Winchester Book by George Madis. Along these same lines is the availability of hundreds of rare, and heretofore unavailable, original catalog reprints offered by Cornell Publications. Paladin Press is republishing works of yesteryear like 1918's The American Rifle by Major Townsend Whelan.

Private Printings

Not uncommon are privately printed books of note. For example, being curious about the effectiveness of the Civil War era Whitworth rifle, I was both surprised and pleased to find via the Internet a well researched book by self-published author, John A. Morrow. Self-published books range from the coil-bound books on Swedish Mausers and Finish Mosin-Nagants by Doug Bowser and Pat Wolf's incomparable Loading Cartridges for the Original .45-70 Springfield Rifle and Carbine to Albert Frasca's definitive, hardbound, two-volume work on the .45-70 Springfield.