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Rating: 
Summary: I found a Terrific Book on shooting 19th Century guns!
Review: I had the great pleasure, during the gun show this past weekend, to make the acquaintence of a fine gentleman, Steve Frey, who has written a most astounding little book on 19th century foreign military guns (rifles, pistols, & even shotguns), with empahsis on shooting! Including how to adapt ctge. cases, bullets, loading dies, and otherwise get your old whatever-it-is up and firing with a minimum of $$ investment, whether your rifle is a relatively common Remington rolling block in .43 Spanish, or a M.1891 Dutch Knil revolver. Or... hey, want to shoot that old Dreyse "needle-gun"? The "how-to" is in there! Or scratching your head over how to come up with .329" bullets for your M95 Steyr? Solutions are provided!... As I riffled through the book I quickly realized this was a GOLD MINE, a treasure trove of goodies for all us old gun enthusiasts. Plus, an incredible amount of fun simply to read. It's not a real thick book -exactly 100 pages- but it's pretty well-packed with fascinating history, lore, trivia and "how-to" regarding these fine old guns in general and many, many different models in particular. From Argentina to Switzerland, they're all in here (no U.S. guns, though... the emphasis here is on "economical" collecting and shooting, and Steve points out that most American guns have gotten quite pricey! Out of the budget of many beginning collectors -especially if they be erstwile shooters, too).
Rating:
Summary: Gun Report
Review: Part II of this book lists and describes in detail military arms of 17 nations from Argentina to Switzerland, and the entries are well explained when the author says, on page 1, "This book is dedicated to Francis Bannerman (1851-1918), who popularized arms collecting and saved many rare artifacts from the smelter". The arms of each nation are shown in oustanding old drawings and/or photographs, and described in detail as to action types and cartridges... But there is much more: the author expects the owners of these arms to want to shoot as well as collect them, so Part I tells about cases, powder(black, of course), bullets, primers, the transitional breechloaders, proof marks, and Mannlicher clips!.. The appendices tell of the Franco-Prussian War (where many of them started), how to restore an old gun without its looking restored, antique revolver repair, hot bluing. There are detailed cartridge drawings (3 pages, 46 cartridges from .45 Martini Henry to 6mm U.S. Navy), 3 pages listing 380 case forming dies from Huntington (RCBS of Oroville,CA) which can be used to make the cases for these old guns, and a 25 item list of sources of parts and supplies. These places are indicated in the text by an asterisk after the name (GRAF*), but the purpose of the asterisk is not told in the text, so the reader must look all through the book to find it! The author is a long-time shooter of these "Bannerman" guns, so the information he gives comes from practical experience.
Rating:
Summary: Gun Report
Review: Part II of this book lists and describes in detail military arms of 17 nations from Argentina to Switzerland, and the entries are well explained when the author says, on page 1, "This book is dedicated to Francis Bannerman (1851-1918), who popularized arms collecting and saved many rare artifacts from the smelter". The arms of each nation are shown in oustanding old drawings and/or photographs, and described in detail as to action types and cartridges... But there is much more: the author expects the owners of these arms to want to shoot as well as collect them, so Part I tells about cases, powder(black, of course), bullets, primers, the transitional breechloaders, proof marks, and Mannlicher clips!.. The appendices tell of the Franco-Prussian War (where many of them started), how to restore an old gun without its looking restored, antique revolver repair, hot bluing. There are detailed cartridge drawings (3 pages, 46 cartridges from .45 Martini Henry to 6mm U.S. Navy), 3 pages listing 380 case forming dies from Huntington (RCBS of Oroville,CA) which can be used to make the cases for these old guns, and a 25 item list of sources of parts and supplies. These places are indicated in the text by an asterisk after the name (GRAF*), but the purpose of the asterisk is not told in the text, so the reader must look all through the book to find it! The author is a long-time shooter of these "Bannerman" guns, so the information he gives comes from practical experience.
Rating: 
Summary: OldGuns.net
Review: Steve Frey's "Imported Military Firearms 1866-1899" is a wonderful reference on oddball guns of this period, and loaded with tips on their care and repair, and his personal recipes for improvising ammunition for obsolete calibers, even pinfires. I do not recommend or endorse his methods as safe or effective, but point them out as interesting information, such as his indication that .32-20 cases can be the basis to make 8mm Lebel pistol cartridges.....If the gun doesn't have much collector value, and you mainly want to shoot it, then go ahead and read up on polishing and reblueing and that sort of thing. There is a great section on somewhat primitive gunsmithing, refinishing and reloading with really basic equipment. It is useful for the bargain basement bow-wows that most of us cannot resist because they are cheap. With a little practice on these, you can progress to the more sophisticated methods described in the more technical books, and slightly more valuable guns.
Rating:
Summary: OldGuns.net
Review: Steve Frey's "Imported Military Firearms 1866-1899" is a wonderful reference on oddball guns of this period, and loaded with tips on their care and repair, and his personal recipes for improvising ammunition for obsolete calibers, even pinfires. I do not recommend or endorse his methods as safe or effective, but point them out as interesting information, such as his indication that .32-20 cases can be the basis to make 8mm Lebel pistol cartridges.....If the gun doesn't have much collector value, and you mainly want to shoot it, then go ahead and read up on polishing and reblueing and that sort of thing. There is a great section on somewhat primitive gunsmithing, refinishing and reloading with really basic equipment. It is useful for the bargain basement bow-wows that most of us cannot resist because they are cheap. With a little practice on these, you can progress to the more sophisticated methods described in the more technical books, and slightly more valuable guns.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Military History
Review: This kind of book is a bit hard to find in England but I discovered a copy at a local arms show and am quite pleased with it. We British do not have much opportunity to shoot guns but those of us who favour them, collect for military history. Steve Frey's book is a surprise. Here, we would expect an American gun book to devote some pages to "The Right To Keep and Bear Arms", but Frey doesn't do that. Instead he offers what many British men like to read - not so much the terminology of guns, but the distinguished HISTORY of guns and military accoutrements. Considering my nation's long and gorious history of military campaigns, I can vouch that many of my fellow Engishmen will read Frey's work with interest. I shall certainly recommend it to my ex-military friends. There are many old soldiers looking for a good read on a subject we knew well in our youth but seldom do we find one as right-on as this work. Sincerely, C.B.A.
Rating:
Summary: Good Military History
Review: This kind of book is a bit hard to find in England but I discovered a copy at a local arms show and am quite pleased with it. We British do not have much opportunity to shoot guns but those of us who favour them, collect for military history. Steve Frey's book is a surprise. Here, we would expect an American gun book to devote some pages to "The Right To Keep and Bear Arms", but Frey doesn't do that. Instead he offers what many British men like to read - not so much the terminology of guns, but the distinguished HISTORY of guns and military accoutrements. Considering my nation's long and gorious history of military campaigns, I can vouch that many of my fellow Engishmen will read Frey's work with interest. I shall certainly recommend it to my ex-military friends. There are many old soldiers looking for a good read on a subject we knew well in our youth but seldom do we find one as right-on as this work. Sincerely, C.B.A.
Rating:
Summary: Gun Buff's Delight.
Review: ››› A friend told me about this book. What a gem it is! ››› I'm a retired engineer, gun collector, and sometime basement gunsmith. I like to shoot the old rifles I buy, quite cheap, on my 100 acre weekend farm. But it's very hard to buy ammunition for those vintage guns, So Steve Frey's guidebook is just the reference an eager gun buff should have. ››› Truly, his introductory chapters on "Making Ammunition" followed by Caliber Adaption, Powder Types, Cartridge Cases, Bullet Sizes, etc, have proved to be heaven-sent to this long-time mechanic and shooter. ››› Author Frey's book is a gem in another way. Besides the many illustrations and descriptions of antique guns and military rifles, Frey balances his gunsmith jargon with scholarly vignettes of important battles in world history. ››› This makes for good reading despite my ususal "gun greasy" hands - and in that respect I must praise the author for his foresight for putting his pages into a spiral-bound, lay-flat volume. It surely is the best format for a mechanic's reference book. ››› I think this book is very well done - well-written and thoughtfully constructed. Sincerely, Edw. Julian.
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