daverichey August 12th, 2008

TITLE: Marlin Firearms: A History Of The Guns & The Company That Made Them

AUTHOR: Lt. Col. William S. Brophy USAR, Ret.
PUBLISHER: Stackpole Books
DISTIRBUTOR: Stackpole Books
CONTACT:
Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

WEBSITE: Stackpole Books
ISBN #978-0-8117-0877-7
COST $89.95 + S/H; Hardcover, dust jacket, 696 pages with index, black-white photos & drawings.

This large and heavy book is not only a tribute to the company and its many employees and fine products but to the firearms themselves. This book is the encyclopedia of Marlin firearms, and the author left no stone unturned in his efforts to make this book complete in all respects.

This book discusses Marlin firearms in all their many forms. The company made handguns, Ballard rifles, lever action rifles, semiautomatic rifles, bolt action rifles, shotguns and pump action rifles for sportsmen and target shooters. They also made barrels for automatic rifles during World War II and the Korean Conflict.

The company bearing his name was founded by John Mahlon Marlin (1836-1901), and he first began making pistols. In 1863, Marlin became known as a pistol-maker in New Haven, Conn. By 1871 he became known as a pistol manufacturer, and in 1872 he was known as a manufacturer of firearms. From that time on, Marlin’s business became known as the Marlin Fire Arms Company. It went through other name changes in the future as Marlin’s business became affiliated with other similar businesses.

The book is filled with historic photographs and patent drawings. The company manufactured machine guns for the war efforts for World War I and II, and the company made machine guns for the U. S. Navy and machine guns for air planes.

Marlin firearms were a part of my youth, and it was through advertising and dramatic drawings such as the one on the cover of this book, that provided me with the romance of this American firearm company back when I was a kid.

Marlin firearms played an important role in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and this book captures everything about this company that made it a household name during that era. This was, in true American fashion, the story of one man’s dream and how he built it into a nationally known and world recognized manufacturer of fine firearms.

Tags: brophy, company, dave, firearms, guns, history, marlin, richey, scoopsbooks

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daverichey May 16th, 2008

TITLE: Bowhunting For The North American Twenty-Eight
AUTHOR: Gary Bogner
PUBLISHER: Safari Press
DISTIRBUTOR: Safari Press

CONTACT:

Safari Press
15621 Chemical Lane Building B
Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1506

WEBSITE: Safari Press.com
PHONE: (714) 894-9080
ISBN #: (for bookstore ordering)
COST: $29.95+ postage; These books are sold only by Safari Press and are not sold in bookstores

I’ve never had the chance to shake and howdy with Bogner, but he is from Michigan, and I’ve known of he and his hunting exploits and charitable work on behalf of game and their habitat, for many years. There are other well known hunters who have taken all 28 North American game species, but not many who have done so with a bow and arrow.

Bogner believes in the rules of Fair Chase, and all of his bow hunts are planned according to these basic rules that govern ethical hunting. Some of this hunts required three, four or more attempts to take the animal with a bow under the most difficult of conditions.

This taking of a quality specimen of the 28 species of big game animals is more than one man’s dreams: it became his obsession. Bogner made four hunts to take his Dall ram, and his quest for a bighorn sheep in deep mountainous snow will make your hair stand on end.

He writes here of hunting antelope, Barren Ground caribou, bison, black bear, brown bear, polar bear, Canada moose, caribou, Central Canada barren-ground caribou, Columbia whitetail, Coues deer, Dall sheep, Desert bighorn, moose. Mountain caribou, mountain lion, mule deer, muskox, Rocky Mountain elk, Rocky Mountain goat, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, Roosevelt elk, Shiras moose, Sitka blacktail deer, Stone sheep, Tule elk, whitetail deer, and woodland caribou.

This book is more than the ramblings of a man who spent great sums of money to realize his dream. While many sportsmen will never have the chance to duplicate his efforts, they will have the chance to read about how and why he put himself through so much hard work. He may or may not be a perfectionist but he does know what he wants, and once that urge needs scratching, Bogner lines up a guide and goes hunting.

This is a hunting book but it’s also a tale of sheer determination. This hunter is now a retired airline pilot, and concentrates on taking more bow hunting trips, being a real estate developer and a bank founder. Bogner’s list of credentials include being one of only eight people who have taken all 28 North American game species, and taking Africa’s Big Five, all with a bow.

He has been president of Safari Club International twice, and he has worked tirelessly to support animal conservation and the preservation of the environment. This is a book that details one man’s dream to hunt wild game and his fight to help protect it.

It is a rare individual who will subject his body and equipment to the challenges he so willingly accepts. This book is filled with pride of accomplishment, of helping the environment, the animals he hunts, and the true love of the hunt.

Tags: bogner, book, bowhunting, daverichey, northamerica, review, scoopsbooks, trophy

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