Top 7 Shooting Books To Take Your Hunting Game to the Next Level

If you’re an experienced hunter, you probably know there’s a wealth of information available at your fingertips—especially if you want to learn rifle, shotgun, or archery skills. 

We’ve gathered some of the best shooting books, from the mechanics of how guns work to some of the best military-based nonfiction guides. Some are more valuable in terms of information rather than application, while others provide detailed instructions and courses to up your hunting and overall shooting game. 

Selecting some of these books for a look-over is sure to improve your skills out in the range, hunting grounds, or in the event of self-defense.

#7. Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt 

This book can take you through developing strategic observational skills and how to apply them.

Rumelt’s book does this in a number of ways. He primarily demonstrates this by displaying examples and patterns of “bad strategies” and puts them in contrast to the “good” way of strategizing. By presenting a number of different steps, Rumelt will walk you through the process of picking the best strategy for a unique situation.  

This book covers numerous real-life examples in order to help illustrate all of his points. He compares the relationships between nonprofit organizations, small businesses, and large businesses.

Each workplace requires a slightly different form of management; strategies will vary depending upon motivation. He also discusses military operations and various tactics that are utilized in the event of an emergency, crisis, or war in order to preserve peace. 

All of these skills can be applied directly to hunting since sometimes you will need to keep a cool head or a sharp wit in order to handle a threat or outsmart your prey.

#6. Vicker’s Guides by Larry Vickers 

There’s not simply one that can be picked out for recommendation with these books. They are all good and highly aesthetic. Larry Vickers writes about modern and dated weaponry, their origins and mechanics, how they operate, what they were used for in war, and more.

Detailed research and excellent photography are poured into every book to properly illustrate Vicker’s descriptions of old World War Two rifles, or the effectiveness of modern-day scopes, or whatever the topic may be. 

It should be noted that these books are of exceptionally high quality, both in content and the materials that go into making them. Therefore, if you’re looking to invest in one, it will cost about as much as some college hardbacks. 

#5. Bushcraft 101: A Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival, by Dave Canterbury 

If you’re going hunting, then you need to know how to thrive in the environment you’re hunting in. Dave Canterbury writes about how to up your survival skills in this book, enhancing your status as a hunter overall. 

This book mainly teaches the reader how to utilize all of their surrounding resources in order to survive in the wilderness. Dave Canterbury’s advice ensures that you feel safe and equipped no matter the circumstance. This gives you more time to enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors.

The book takes you through the importance of knowing how to use various cutting tools like knives, finding and/or making the proper shelter for your particular environment, preserving the environment and your own safety by properly handling combustible equipment, and more.

By reading this book, you’ll be teaching yourself skills that go hand in hand with your aim. Although it doesn’t give you any tips on how to use your gun (or bow), it will teach you about how to pack properly.

It also covers how to use the equipment you have or how to put together new equipment and some of the best ways to cook your food in the wild. These are all pretty useful to know after you’ve officially bagged your prize. 

#4. Dryfire: Reloaded, by Ben Stoeger 

Ben Stoeger has a couple of books that are worthy of checking out and could seriously improve anyone’s shooting skills. His manuals took you through simple steps to enhance aim, gun handling, and more. 

According to the book, it is largely intended for anyone considering or preparing to participate in any sort of shooting competition. But, the book can, of course, be used as an at-home learning resource for anyone looking to improve their shooting skills in some way.

It mainly does this by walking you through various drills to enhance your skills while providing commentary on how the drills work, why they work, and what can result from practicing the drills repeatedly. It also takes you through how to handle your gun properly and presents the things you want to avoid to ensure you’re shooting as safely as possible. 

Owning this book can help you become self-sufficient in your shooting skills. Due to the book’s plethora of exercises and information, you can be your own teacher. The book even comes with charts to help you track your progress and statistics.

It’s recommended that you use this book as a guide alongside Ben’s various classes or his other book, “Skills and Drills,” but this book, in itself, is a massive resource for anyone looking to enhance their shooting game.

#3. How To Shoot Like a Navy Seal: Combat Marksmanship Fundamentals, by Chris Sajnog 

Taking down a deer may not require hand-to-hand combat training. But, shooting one can take some great skill, so where’s a better place to look for shooting skills than the military? Chris Sajnog writes about the techniques taught to other Navy Seals in order to make them into the best marksman available, and you can apply the same techniques for yourself.

In his book, the title will work itself out as you read more and more. You’ll be learning some of the same techniques taught to military-grade marksmen and snipers. The methodology is meant to be presented in clear, comprehensive ways in order to put skills into the hands of the reader.

By investing some time in this book, you may find yourself with a better knowledge of your gun, which provides a firm foundation while hunting or even in the case of protection.  

#2. Shoot: Your Guide to Shooting and Competition, by Julie Golob 

A “how to shoot” book is exactly what you need if you’re looking to improve your skills after a good read. Julie Golob talks, in detail, about how to hone those skills in this book of hers, and she speaks from the viewpoint of competitive experience. 

The subject matter in this book is intended for any type of audience, making it a good read for the well-versed gun expert just as much as the rookie. The book takes you through a great number of tips that will help you understand and handle your firearm in the best way possible while helping you to improve your shooting skills. This describes plenty of lessons on basic gun safety protocols. 

The book will also take you through some of the most popular types of firearms used at the shooting range or during competitions, like pistols and rifles and their different forms of automatic fire.

In the same way, it will introduce all the different forms that competitive shooting games can take. There are plenty of great quality photographs and details to help illustrate all of Julie Golob’s points and ensure that the reader has a visual aid to all of her instruction and information.  

Beyond raising awareness of proper gun safety and functionality, Golob also explains the ins and outs of some of the competitions available and breaks down some of their lingo to help you understand the rules and structure better.

On top of this, the book will take you through how to exercise and apply all the skills you are gaining by clarifying the best ways to practice and keep your skills nice and sharp. This book, as a whole, is sure to be an excellent gift for anyone from the novice to the expert who specializes in either competition or hunting.  

#1. Long Range Shooting Handbook, by Ryan Cleckner 

Ryan Cleckner is a well-established firearms teacher. Classes of his are available online, but he has also published books to help you out for those who enjoy the old-fashioned manual way. 

This book is basically a complete guide that aims to introduce the concept of long range shooting to anyone who is new to it. It incorporates the lingo and language that is most frequently used in order to help with familiarization in an easy, quick way. The variety of instruction, tips, and advice all stem from Ryan Cleckner’s experience with special operations sniping as well as years’ worth of teaching the same skills.

This book could easily serve as a valuable resource for the shooting range, hunting grounds, or in order to brush up on any shooting skills in general. Cleckner goes on to write other books that may be more beneficial either after reading this one or to the more experienced marksman.

This book is intended to not only take beginners through the basics of how a long range gun works but also some of the best decisions that should be made while using the gun, its optics/sights, and any gear that you’ll want to take to accompany your gun. 

Readers Are Leaders

Reading has a wide variety of benefits, for everyone from surgeons to teachers to hunters. However, reading is only half the battle. Better yet, regular practice, application, and willingness to learn will tremendously increase your comfort over time and take you closer and closer to the level of an expert. 

These have been some of the best books available to help you up your hunting game. If you enjoyed this list, click here to explore some of our other articles!

Sources: 

Firearm Safety - 10 Rules of Safe Gun Handling | NSSF 

6 of the Most Notable Guns the US Military Used Before It Got the M16 | Business Insider

14 Reasons Why Reading Is Good for Your Health | Business Insider