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I’ve always enjoyed my collection of vintage handgun books, particularly when I get the chance to turn my friends on to a book of which few have heard.
This being said, I recommend to you an older volume called The Art of Handgun Shooting written by Walter Winans, a legendary turn-of-the-century handgun marksman.
This hefty volume is really rare and I don’t think any of the reprint specialists have found it yet. In essence, this is a gentleman’s take on the world of handgun shooting before World War I.
The copyright was in 1911, which was a very good year. Among other treasures between the covers of the book are a chapter on sights and adjusting them, and another on care and cleaning.
Remember, this was in the latter years of black powder and corrosive primers. But there’s also a carefully measured treatise on “coursing the stags” or hunting deer with a handgun from the back of a running horse.
In his later years, Jeff Cooper grew interested in horseback shooting and was even planning to emulate Winston Churchill’s ride at Omdurman, shooting a C/96 Mauser. Great Stuff!