Books for new gun-owners

[Perd Hapley]

I have a 58-year-old friend that may be buying his first firearm, and he is a reader. Are there any books you would recommend? I'm mainly looking for advice on safety, storage, and shooting. Home defense info would also be useful.

Thanks.

[Perd Hapley]

Bump. 

[Fly320s]

Bump. 

Never heard of that book.

This is what Amazon came up with.  I don't anything about these books.  https://www.amazon.com/Basics-Pistol-Shooting-National-Association/dp/0935998004

[230RN]

Without question in my mind:  dated, but still packed with relevant "eternal" information Hatcher's Notebook.

[T.O.M.]

Not t a big Mas Ayoob fan, but this book did make me think about firearms for self defense, which is never a bad thing...

https://www.amazon.com/Gravest-Extreme-Firearm-Personal-Protection/dp/0936279001/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481757323&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=In+the+grvest+extreme

[MechAg94]

https://www.amazon.com/Thank-God-Had-Gun-Self-Defense/dp/098359015X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481761116&sr=8-1&keywords=had+a+gun

This was a quick and easy read and highlights some of the tactical and legal issues you can get hung up in using a gun for self defense.  The author took past self defense stories and did research and interviews to flesh out the story.  

[MechAg94]

http://www.selfdefensegunstories.com/

Not a book, but Rob Morse does these short podcasts that each highlight one or two self defense stories and has a guest on to talk about them.  I don't think any are more than 30 minutes.

[lee n. field]

I have a 58-year-old friend that may be buying his first firearm, and he is a reader. Are there any books you would recommend? I'm mainly looking for advice on safety, storage, and shooting. Home defense info would also be useful.

Thanks.

NRA Guide to the Basics of Pistol Shooting.  This was used inthe NRA Basic Pistol class I had to take as part of the required training for IL's CCL.  It looks pretty comprehensive.  I think it's a newer version of what Fly320 recommended.

It's been a while since I read it, but my recollection is that Chris Bird's Concealed handgun Manual was pretty good as well.

[charby]

Bump. 

What do you/they want to learn?

[Perd Hapley]

What do you/they want to learn?

From the OP:
"I'm mainly looking for advice on safety, storage, and shooting. Home defense info would also be useful."

[HankB]

"Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers" by Julian S. Hatcher   (A bit dated, but still an interesting read.)

"Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting" by Ed McGivern (Also a bit dated)

And then there's the late Jeff Cooper. Though I didn't agree with everything he wrote, his opinions were always thoughtful . . . and in terms of firearm safety - for a novice as well as expert - Cooper had it nailed down pretty well:

   1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
   2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (For those who insist that this particular gun is unloaded, see Rule 1.)
   3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.
   4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

If you think about it, you probably have to violate more than one of his rules to have a real disaster.

[HeroHog]

Addendum to the 4 rules:
Keep your guns out of the reach of others, unless under your personal supervision. Retention holsters are a MUST when wearing a gun in public!
Idiots, alcohol and firearms. You get one and only one at a time. Otherwise there are ambulance rides.

[MillCreek]

Have you thought about some of the Massad Ayoob books:

In the Gravest Extreme
Gun Safety in the Home
Some of the Gun Digest books

https://www.amazon.com/Massad-F.-Ayoob/e/B001H9VYZS