Well over 100 years ago, our grandparents searched the pages of the Sears catalog to discover the latest in consumer goods. By the late 1800s the catalog began carrying Christmas holiday items leading to its eventual status as the “Wish Book.” Although the catalog was a mail-order marketing marvel, it was also entertainment for the whole family. Times have certainly changed, as the Wish Book’s shiny pages have been replaced with point and click technology of the computer age. However, a new “Wish Book” has surfaced for the gun enthusiast in the form of a DVD: Firearms Guide, 3rd Edition.
When the president of Impressum Media, Inc., Chris Mijic, contacted me to see if I’d be interested in reviewing the guide, I agreed. Since then, I call it my Wish Book. Imagine 55,000 firearms, airguns, ammunition specs and photos with over 3,000 gun schematics. It even has 500 printable targets and a listing of all Federal Firearms Licensed dealers anywhere in the U.S.
As I began to familiarize myself with its contents, I decided to take a look at some offerings from a very prestigious European firearms manufacturer, Merkel. My only opportunity to actually shoot one of these fine, hand-crafted firearms came a few years ago at a media event, when I punched some paper at 100 yards. Since then, I’ve never seen another – until now!
It was almost as if I was holding it in my hands under a huge magnifying glass, as I examined the hand scrolling and workmanship in amazing high-resolution colored photos from different angles. Drop-down menus guided me through calibers, stock types, materials, finishes, and even prices.
Once you’ve decided on a particular firearm and caliber to peruse, by clicking on “Show Me Ammo”, the guide presents ballistics of that firearm’s ammunition. And, if you want to check out any ammo on the market, the high-resolution images make it easy to decide what is right for you.
In addition, I located the schematics for an old favorite, a Marlin Golden 39A in .22 long rifle caliber, because mine was missing a small cosmetic part in the stock, which I learned by the schematic was called a bull’s eye. At the bottom of the page, was a telephone number, including business hours. It turned out to be Marlin’s own parts department, and with the information at hand, the customer service person said he’d send one out – at no charge!
The Firearms Guide is an easy to use, organized volume of information, even for a not-so-tech-savvy person such as me. The Firearms Guide is available online at www.firearmsmultimedia.com and sells for $39.95 and is shipped same day. This DVD is a lot of fun and is the next best thing to handling firearms and ammunition without leaving the comfort of your home.
Five products on one DVD every shooter must have:
1. Reference guide that presents over 55,000 models of Firearms, Airguns and Ammo from 500 manufacturers worldwide (38 countries)!
• Now with Military Firearms – machine guns, assault rifles, submachine guns and automatic pistols.
• Computer searchable with 14 different search criteria! Find any gun in a second!
• Presents models with Tech Specs – Hi-Resolution Color Pictures – Features – Ballistics – Prices!
• Over 36,000 high-resolution color pictures in resolution up to 6636 x 1492!
• Up to 12 pictures per model! Zoom in to see the smallest details!
• Guns are presented in different finishes, stock types and stock materials!
• ExclusiveU.S.and EU custom guns with price tags up to $1,000,000!
• Interlinked ammo and gun database. Check the stopping power of each gun with one click.
2. Schematics Library with over 3,000 high resolutiongun schematics with parts lists from 268 manufacturers!
• Search for a specific gun schematic by manufacturer, then choose the model and zoom in to see the smallest gun parts and print out any schematic.
3. FFL Locator – Database of over 62,000 gun dealers in theUSA with phone numbers and addresses. When you need a gun dealer find them by type of license, by state and by ZIP code.
4. 500 Printable Targets – Print as many as you like! Shoot as many as you like! Choose from a great selection: game animals, silhouettes, crosshairs, sight-ins, fun-to-shoot objects, etc. Both black & white and color targets!
5. US-EU Ammo Caliber Chart – No more hassle trying to figure out which EU ammo caliber is whichUS ammo caliber. We’ve figured it out for you, from US to EU and EU to US – works both ways!
BONUS on DVD: FNH Ballista Precision Sniper Rifle video
