Gun Digest 2008: The World's Greatest Gun Book

Ken Ramage does it again with this totally up to the minute listing of the guns available in todays market as well as some informative articles, reviews and anecdotes.

My last Shooter's Guide was a 2004.....the 2008 is much better, especially the ballistics section. Very interesting & informative articles.

This is a very fine product and it was sent in timely manner. I think anyone who enjoys guns will find it useful. Bob

This book is not as comprehensive as it could be. Also many manufacturers are under represented and some not at all while others have no photos. This makes it somewhat inconsistent. Having said that it is also just about the only thing available that gives you an overview of what's available in the industry. The "other" book, Shooters Bible, is more detailed in its listings but even less comprehensive. You really need both. I buy one every other year.

Every year for the past thirty odd years I have ran out in the early fall and purchased the annual Gun Digest as soon as it hits the bookstores. I did so again this year with the Gun Digest 2008. Unfortunately there has been a decline in quality to the Gun Digest in the past several years and John Amber the original editor and publisher of the Gun Digest would be very sadden to see GD 2008. Under John Amber, the GD every year was always an encyclopedia of technical, historical and pertinent related information for the collector, the sportsman, the historian and the gun enthusiast.
Now Gun Digest 2008 is basically a coffee table book. The photography is uniformly excellent but half the book is a catalog and the remaining half is a update on what the fireamrns industry has produced the past year i.e. Reports From The Field (Rifles, Shotguns, Autoloaders, Sixguns and others,Single Shots, Black Powder). Apart from a few nostaglia pieces ( Me and the CMP, 50 years in Boy Scout Shooting) that is the GD 2008 in a nutshell. The sole article that caught my attention was on the restoration of a Model 1886. I personally wish there had been more on restorations and custom rifles and handguns.
It just amazes me that with the explosion of firearms related forums and websites on the Internet (and I must admit that such information is not always credible)the Gun Digest cannot return to its' previous high standard. The ideas and material are out there.
Would I buy GD 2008 again? Sure but I will hope that GD 2009 is better.