Fine Shotguns: The History, Science, and Art of the Finest Shotguns from Around the World

This is one of the finest books on collectible shotguns I have every read. High quality with good photos.

This is one of the best books on the history of shotguns I have read. I am not an expert on shotguns, but I do shoot trap competitively, and enjoy reading about the forerunners of our current guns. The book was first published in 2010, and this paperback was printed in 2015, so I had to keep that in mind, but the only thing that has really changed in the last ten years is the development of non-toxic shot. One must note that the title of the book is "Fine" Shotguns, not "Best" shotguns, so Mr Taylor includes all the American SxS's: the Parker's, L.C. Smith's, Fox's, Lefever's, and Ithaca's in "fine". The book is broken down into 29 chapters covering the shotguns of different countries, and then going through all the different components of shotguns from locks and actions, barrels, fit and finish, to how to store a high grade gun. I liked the short chapters, and the thoroughness of the coverage. Mr. Taylor kept the discussion at a high enough level that you don't need to be a gunsmith to understand what he was talking about. Well worth the money.

I must confess that I am one of those people who walk into a high end gunroom and are shocked by the very high prices that some fine shotguns are able to command. Just what is it about those shotguns that makes them so special? What are the collectors looking for and what shapes their aesthetics? John Taylor's "Fine Shotguns" answers those questions and a lot more.Like any good introductory book, Taylor begins with the history of the modern shotgun and then moves onto the key manufacturers who have shaped the development of the shotgun. His book then proceeds to highlight the most famous gunmakers from the United States and Europe. He concludes with the more mundane aspects of purchasing and maintaing a high end shotgun.John Taylor is a knowledgable writer with a graceful style. The photographs are interesting and this book is printed on high quality paper. However, it is important to emphasize that "Fine Shotguns" was not written for the hardcore shotgun expert. The target market for this book are people like me who are considering stepping up from the world of mass produced shotguns to a higher quality shotgun. I thought this book was a good value and I recommend it.

lots of information presented clearly & concisely

Great book ! Highly recommend it!

Great coverage.

I was excited when I read the preview for this book, excited when I received it and saw the table of contents, and pleased when I initially thumbed through it (many pictures of some wonderful subjects, although often the newer pictures of cased guns were not taken with enough light to see details), but once I started reading the text, my excitement turned to disappointment.My impression is that the author knows guns, but doesn't know fine guns well enough to write such an ambitious treatise. Sure there is some good information, but nothing new or more complete for double gun aficionados. The same information is available in other better written books. "Fine Shotguns" is full of opinions, strange segues (in the section on pairs and garnitures, the author tells us that his dentist ordered two different pairs of guns, and that had he requested it, the manufacturer would have gladly supplied two sets of three), and constant name-dropping . . . to the point where you are rolling your eyes, and the text gets awkward (the author mentions seven or eight different people by name on page 159).Although many manufacturers are listed as important, the vast majority of the book concentrates on only a small group of products that the author seems devoted to.If you're like me and you just have to buy every book that comes out on double guns, go ahead, there are enough interesting photos of the manufacturing process to justify it, but if you're smarter about your money, take a pass or wait until the price comes down to reflect the quality.

I like John Taylor and read many of his writings in other periodicals. I was excited to buy the book and read it hoping that like in every one of my reads I can learn something new. It started okay but then became more and more mediocre as I progressed. I don't like writing any kind of poor review for any gun book because I know the work the author has to go to write and the sacrifices required but there are a few points that jumped out at me worth mentioning:Photography is not very good, dark pictures, lack detail and in a few cases not germane to the text...Photoshop would have helped immenselyThe author repeats numerous examples and situations throughout the text. It is okay to give an example and then refer to it later but not repeat the same thing...there were at least 5-6 examples of this in my readI'm not sure the chapter flow made sense in terms of subjects and in some cases there was not enough detail or missed topics...for example no mention of Fausti in the O Italia chapter. Though they are not know for their high grade shotguns they are major players in the Italian market and growing respectable over time.I respect Mr. Taylor and I believe he has an immense knowledge of shotguns and their uses and functionality but would like to see him spend a bit more time in organizing and reviewing his work before publishing....still having said what I have I will continue to buy his books and read his writings.

The book has more than enough words but it covered the subject in a more simplistic manner than I was expecting. I admit it's a personal & subjective view & it may not be a problem for some readers.What is a problem though are the illustrations - many are too dark & hide a lot of detail. It looks like something has gone wrong at the printing stage.It's not a bad book & if the subject of 'fine shotguns' is new to you then it's worth buying but otherwise there are better alternatives.