Understand... just picked-up McIntosh's "A.H. Fox, the finest gun in the world" used for $100. Dust cover torn in several place, binding a little loose, but I'm not willing to pay the asking price for a new and unused copy, $450.

The Parker Story is the best deal in a gun book by far, Gary

Thanks Gary, re the Parker book. I heard the same from other sources too.

And at least four of the authors of The Parker Story still continue to contribute to the Parker knowledge base and appreciate discussing things Parker at PGCA events they attend.

A major factor in the cost of gun-related books is the economy of scale. A major publishing house's representative told me that, at best, the books are aimed at a very limited market . . . in contrast to, say, a current bestseller (AND SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!!). It's the same way with hand-made knives or anything else; there are way more Bucks out there than Randalls. Another thing, while Brister's Shotgunning is being peddled as a 2nd edition, in reality it's just a reprint.

Books
 

I attended a gun show in SoCal this past weekend and there was a gentleman who had many collectable firearms books for sale to include the Clawson 1911 Service pistol book. His price tag was $900, about $300 or more over eBay retail. My "blemished" TPS for $200 was a great value IMHO.

Well patience does pay off, I just stumbled across a used copy of Lacy's Remington 700 book for $150.

A lot more then I prefer to pay for a book, but a lot less then I have ever seen online. Plus, this one appears to be autographed.

TPS
 

Just got my copy of The Parker Story today. Was trolling one night and thought I'd hit amazon for some books and lo and behold I got the cased limited edition of TPS for a song! I am stunned by how big the volumes are. I had no idea how much was packed into these books. No wonder they're so expensive. I've got to build a new bookshelf just to hold this beast. I'm so happy, you might not see me on the forum for a few days till the new wears off. More exciting than my first Playboy!:whistle:

Now, the next thing you need to do is to religiously read both volumes cover to cover. I did and it took a few months of my free time to fully digest it all.

Dean,
Your reading skills are no doubt better than mine! I'll give myself a year at least.:banghead: