I have read nearly all Massad Ayoob's books and many of his articles. When I got into guns recently, in particular handguns, I ran across his writings. They changed my life. Not only is he an authority on self defense with and without handguns, his analyses of guns and manufacturers of guns are superb. Anyone looking to learn about modern handgunnery ought to turn to Mas Ayoob's writings. His style is concise yet exploratory; his coverage is complete; his demonstrations and illustrations and/or photos are informative; and his message is clear: handgunnery is a serious subject, one that can take many hours of anyone's time, and it should be analyzed carefully along the way. And, finally, Gun Digest is an authority as well, so this combination of publisher and author is one with which you cannot go wrong.

This book will allow you to look at what is available in the current field of combat handguns. The book covers pistols, revolvers, larger frame.service size handguns, compacts, subcompacts, and little "mouse" guns. Also covered is the most popular self defense calibers and suggestions on the best loads for your favorite caliber. Also covered, as a primer really, how to carry your weapon and some product suggestions. There is also a section introing the reader to drawing your weapon and shooting your weapon. Some shooting sports is also covered.

Mr Ayoob has done a great job of putting together a complete book on the top choices in handgun seceltion, caliber choice, and load offerings from his own persoanl experiance and from other well know professionals in the shooting/defense field. There is $400 to $100 handguns in here, something for everyone's budget. The book is ment to be a primer for the novice, but experiance shooters can learn also.

Alot of the chapters are sometimes a "refresher" from Mr Ayoob's other books on shooting and self defense. I've read all of his books and I haven't found a bad one yet. The beginner is well advised to search out his other books as well.

Mr. Ayoob, as always does an excellent job whenever it comes to gun topics. If you have a gun in the house I would urge you to read his books. Even my wife who knows almost nothing about guns found the book interesting.

A disappointment...Ayoob is an awesome author, but if you've already purchased the fifth edition this is almost identical. I own all six and have loved this series as my favorite in the subject. I was so dissapointed when I found out Ayoob just added a couple pages and resold the book as a new edition. Editions 1-5 were always relevant and had a lot to say, but 6 was just a reprint of 5 with a couple new pages. not sure why he didn't write a whole new book like the others always were, however his authority on the subject is without question near the top five in the country.

A disappointment...Ayoob is an awesome author, but if you've already purchased the fifth edition this is almost identical. I own all six and have loved this series as my favorite in the subject. I was so dissapointed when I found out Ayoob just added a couple pages and resold the book as a new edition. Editions 1-5 were always relevant and had a lot to say, but 6 was just a reprint of 5 with a couple new pages. not sure why he didn't write a whole new book like the others always were, however his authority on the subject is without question near the top five in the country.

I was very disappointed when I received my 6th edition of Combat Handgunnery. I own the 5th edition, also by Ayoob, and loved it. I incorrectly assumed that the 6th edition would be updated, but as far as I can tell, it is simply a reprinting of the 5th edition. The chapters and text appear to be identical. I could not tell this from the descriptions or reviews that I read on Amazon. It is a great book, but don't buy it if you expect it to be different from the 5th edition.

The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery
This is an excellent book for those of us that hold the 2nd Amendment near and dear. Perfect for learning about in-home defense of your loved ones.

This is almost the exactly the same as the 5th edition. There are a few pages updated for this edition but very few. So do not waste your hard earned dollars if you have the 5th edition.

However, if this title is new to you; I would recommend it. Ayoob is very knowledgeable and give excellent advice and information. I am a major fan of Ayoob's writing. And this does not disappoint.

I'll keep this brief.If you cant find a copy of the fifth edition of this series of books,Then this sixth edition is for you!
Basically thats it in a nutshell. Most of the book,(like about 90%)is made up of chapters taken directly from the previous book.Many of these chapters have a whole two or three paragraphs dedicated to updating the material that was written three or four years ago since the last edition was published.The chapters are placed in a different order,(so as not to make it too obivious) but, they are all the same chapters nonetheless.
I have a lot of respect for Mr.Ayoob,and for the most part the information is relevant...if you haven't purchased the fifth edition...
Overall I would have to say I'm pretty ticked off at this latest effort.
I have been purchasing this series of books since the 80's.Chuck Karwin put out two of these.Both with different information than the one before.
Chuch Taylor Also put out an edition that was unique and informative in its own right.
But this really kinda takes the cake.I would not recommend buying this if you have the fifth edition as its the same stuff, with little new to offer to justify the cost of purchase.
As consumers, we should let the company responsible for this know that we are not amused.I suggest we refuse to purchase this expensive re-run till they pull these off the shelves and rewrite the whole damn thing with new material!
In conclusion I would like to point out that this review refers to the newly released (as of october,2007.) sixth edition.
Be careful when you read these reviews,check the dates,all of these refer(at this point in time) to editions of previous release.

This book featured a great deal of useful information. The book reads easily and is a fantastic starting point for any citizen with a concealed carry permit. I would have liked to have some specific shooting drills designed for CCW permit holders but, overall the book was very informative and I would highly recommend it. Readers of the author's regular magazine columns will recognize the style of writing and professionalism.