Ken Ramage does it again with this totally up to the minute listing of the guns available in todays market as well as some informative articles, reviews and anecdotes.

My last Shooter's Guide was a 2004.....the 2008 is much better, especially the ballistics section. Very interesting & informative articles.

This is a very fine product and it was sent in timely manner. I think anyone who enjoys guns will find it useful. Bob

This book is not as comprehensive as it could be. Also many manufacturers are under represented and some not at all while others have no photos. This makes it somewhat inconsistent. Having said that it is also just about the only thing available that gives you an overview of what's available in the industry. The "other" book, Shooters Bible, is more detailed in its listings but even less comprehensive. You really need both. I buy one every other year.

Every year for the past thirty odd years I have ran out in the early fall and purchased the annual Gun Digest as soon as it hits the bookstores. I did so again this year with the Gun Digest 2008. Unfortunately there has been a decline in quality to the Gun Digest in the past several years and John Amber the original editor and publisher of the Gun Digest would be very sadden to see GD 2008. Under John Amber, the GD every year was always an encyclopedia of technical, historical and pertinent related information for the collector, the sportsman, the historian and the gun enthusiast.
Now Gun Digest 2008 is basically a coffee table book. The photography is uniformly excellent but half the book is a catalog and the remaining half is a update on what the fireamrns industry has produced the past year i.e. Reports From The Field (Rifles, Shotguns, Autoloaders, Sixguns and others,Single Shots, Black Powder). Apart from a few nostaglia pieces ( Me and the CMP, 50 years in Boy Scout Shooting) that is the GD 2008 in a nutshell. The sole article that caught my attention was on the restoration of a Model 1886. I personally wish there had been more on restorations and custom rifles and handguns.
It just amazes me that with the explosion of firearms related forums and websites on the Internet (and I must admit that such information is not always credible)the Gun Digest cannot return to its' previous high standard. The ideas and material are out there.
Would I buy GD 2008 again? Sure but I will hope that GD 2009 is better.

There is no book like Gun Digest. It has the up-to-date info thatt other books lack. I enjoy the artcles as I think they best speak to me as a firearms enthusiast. You don't get to 62 editions without being the best!

The articles are very interesting. The specs on the firearms are minimal and incomplete at best. All of the currently available firearms are not listed or pictured. Still, it is the first book I grab when considering the purchase of a new firearm. A very handy, albeit incomplete reference book. Probably buying one every other year would be an economical alternative. Various gun magazines maintain the leading edge on what is new and hot.

Gun Digest 2007
Edited by Ken Ramage

Handgus 2007
Edited by Ken Ramage

What can I say?
They don't make them like they used to.
This is not your father's gun digest.

It has been a long time since I bought a Gun Digest but I am about to retire and I want to revive my interest in shooting spoorts. My primary interest is target shooting with handguns.

I expected to catch up on all the new stuff and read dozens of interesting articles and see all the new models and perhaps some fondly remembered old ones.

Well, they don't make them like they used to.
I was severely disappointed. Only 17 articles total. Many of them historical. The ones that are not historical tend to have long, boring, historical introductions.

The Photography is absolutely beautiful. If you are interested in beautiful pictures of beautiful guns, buy the Gun Digest. If you are looking for information about guns, shooting, or hunting, stick to your regular magaziine subscriptions.

If you are interested in handguns, Handguns 2007 is worth the money but just barely. It does not have the slick paper photography but it does have 21 articles. Still a lot of boring historical stuff about how one company morphed into another 75 years ago but a decent amount of real information.

The catalog portion is a disappointment, it is neither organized or comlete. There are photos of guns with no descriptions and descriptions of guns with no photos. There are manufacturers who are not represented at all.


Summary:
If you are interested in handguns, buy Handguns 2007 only.

If you are interested in beautiful pictures of guns, buy the Gun Digest 2007.

If you haven't seen one on quite a while be prepared for a disapointment.

Gun Digest is top shelf for gun afficiandos and this issue is no exception.

I was not as pleased with this addition as past issues.It lacked the type articals and stories that I have enjoyed in the past.

This years gun digest has many color pictures, unlike previous editions.
It hepled to see the colors. This annual edition still meets with "Gun Digest" usual value, both in the articles, and the price lists.

After the depressingly poor content of the Gun Digest 60th edition (2006), I had decided to not purchase the 61st edition. However, I did anyway. I was surprised to find that it was a definite improvement over the 2006 edition. While not nearly up to the standards of the pre-Ken Ramage administration (why is he still there?), it did have several interesting articles, the most enjoyable of which (to me) were those on the Remington Rolling Block rifle and the .38-44 Smith and Wesson Outdoorsman. At least this time, Ramage demonstrated good sense by not having any more knife articles, as he did the last time. There was one "foul ball" article entitled "The AuVer System" that was total garbage and has no place in any gun publication. Aside from that, the rest of the edition was at least readable and somewhat interesting, if not up to the high standards of the editions published under the late John Amber's editorial direction. Again, this edition is published in full color and on slick paper. All that does is run up the production cost. I'd far rather see interesting articles, and the money should be spent there than on cosmetics. Therefore, I'm giving the 61st edition 3 stars. At least, that's enough to get me to buy the 62nd edition when it is published.

Ken Ramage edits the 61st updated edition of GUN DIGEST 2007, providing and updating the latest in firearms data. Gun digest has been produced since 1944, and this compiles and synthesizes all kinds of details for the shooting sportsmen, gathering reports from the field, details on prices and caliber, collector's information, and pairing all with small black and white photos. The new gun collector's guides reports and feature reports can't be beat.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I was pleasently surprised when I opened my 2007 edition. It abounds with interesting articles. Tops and lead in this issue was an excellent piece from John Malloy, renowned author of many top notch articles on guns and gun history. He takes you through 60 years of the automatic pistol in the US and neatly ties it into the 60 years of the Gun Digest. I found this year's other articles both very intersting and informative. Those that downplay this years edition either haven't read it, or don't appreciate it. I've given it 5 stars to counteract the insultingly low ratings. I have collected the entire gun digest library starting with the 1944 edition and have read through many volumes of the library. I believe that this qualifies me to speak about the entire body of work that is Gun Digest. I can honestly say that this issue is certainly not one of the worst and would be ranked as a refreshing change from those of the recent past. Get it for the articles, and enjoy it until next year. Ken Ramage and the GD team have made an effort. That says alot in this day and age and I believe that you won't be disappointed - do yourself a favor though, and this goes for any book. Don't pay anywhere close to retail price. You should be able to get this one brand new for around 15 bucks - delivered as of the date of this review!