We could make this review very short and to the point....... The 12th Edition of the Firearms Guide is the absolute best reference guide on the market, whether you are a hunter, target shooter or collector. You are really missing a tremendous bargain if you do not add the Guide to your references. With that being said, we imagine you are wondering what is so special about this document. The following paragraphs will answer your question.
The Guide doesn't require any installation on your computer. Simply load the flash drive into your computer and the home page comes right up. There are five large icons displayed on the home page: Firearms, Airguns and Ammo Guide, Schematics Library, USA-EU Caliber Chart, Gun Values and Printable Targets. Click on one and you are taken to the relevant files. It quickly became obvious that to reproduce this volume of information (over 9 gigabytes) in hard copy would be cost prohibitive for the consumer and unwieldy to handle because of its weight. Does anyone remember the unabridged library version of the Webster's Dictionary? That is close to what would be required if the Firearms Guide was available in print form.
The Guides firearms section has references to 80,000 guns (with specs) and ammunition types from 1,500 manufacturers from 62 countries. If you want to browse through them all, you'd better have a lot of coffee and time available... see you in a couple of months. While I don't collect or shoot military stuff, being a veteran, I do like to follow the development of new weapons. As such, the military section was very interesting and a lot of fun to browse through.
The Schematics Library includes over 18,500 printable gun schematics with their parts list. The schematics and firearms pictures can be zoomed-in for easier viewing. There are “original blueprints for AK-47, 1911, AR-15, Luger, M1 Garand, M14, MP44, STG44, P38, etc. We have Armorers Manuals for SIG, H&K, Glock, FN, IWI, Blaser, RSAF, Webley, Vickers, etc. Zoom in to see the smallest gun parts on diagrams or exploded views, parts dimensions on blueprints, read manuals and print out as many as you like.“ Very few other digital media programs provide that capability.... and, if you want a hard copy, you can print the schematic with a single click.
“Search guns privately, find gun values privately, print out schematics and manuals privately, without tracking, without search engines archiving your searches and downloads. No targeted ads. No cookies. No personal data collecting. No search history storing. 100% user privacy!”
The ammunition section was of particular interest to me. For all of the commercial calibers listed (and there are a lot), you can find virtually every manufacturer in the world with the specifications of their products. This makes it possible to compare brands before buying.
The Printable Target section has more targets than I could count. You can browse, zoom in and print directly from your computer. The only targets not listed are NRA competition targets, but you need to purchase them anyway. There are "classic targets", animal targets and animal targets with bulls eyes.... if you can't find one to your liking, look again.
The nice thing about the Firearms Guide being in digital format is it represents a "work in progress" that can be (and will be) updated periodically as new information becomes available. The Firearms Guide is superior to anything else on the market.
With an MSRP of $49.94, it is a "must have" for any serious shooter or collector. You can purchase the 12th Edition on line at www.firearmsguide.com. Your purchase also includes a year