Guns Illustrated 2009

I'm not quite sure why Guns Illustrated exists, to be honest. It is put out by Gun Digest books and covers the same material as Gun Digest, at least in the gun catalog section - which is the major portion of the book and reason most buy it. In just about every regard outside of the catalog section, it is a lesser book than Gun Digest. Fewer sections and fewer articles. I also don't think the articles are as well-written as those included in the Digest, but your mileage may vary. There is a minor price-point difference (Guns Illustrated is cheaper), but it doesn't seem enough to justify marketing both. Finally, as the publisher has seen fit to proclaim Gun Digest as "The World's Greatest Gun Book" right on the cover, who am I to argue?

One interesting side note - the description and cover illustration of Guns Illustrated here on Amazon shows Ken Ramage as the editor (Ken edits Gun Digest), but my own copy of this edition has Derrek Sigler as the editor. The cover is otherwise identical.

In any event, I picked up both this year with the general notion of gleaning value from both, but having gone through them, would not recommend it to anyone else. In short, I would direct anyone looking for an annual like this to Gun Digest or Shooter's Bible. Links to both follow.

Gun Digest 2009: The World's Greatest Gun Book

Shooter's Bible - 99th Edition (This is the most current edition available as-of this writing, but I'd check to see if the 100th edition has been released before you buy. The 99th was published in mid-2007.)