Home Gun Care & Repair

Harrisburg, PA: The Stackpole Company, 1969. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Good. Format is approximately 5.25 inches by 7.75 inches. Illustrations. Glossary. List of Suppliers. Index. No dust jacket present. Previous owner's stamp inside front and back covers. Cover has some wear and soiling. Parker Otto Ackley (May 25, 1903, Granville, New York - August 23, 1989) was an American gunsmith, barrel maker, author, columnist, and wildcat cartridge developer. The Ackley Improved family of wildcat cartridges are designed to be easily made by rechambering existing firearms, and fireforming the ammunition to decrease body taper and increase shoulder angle, resulting in a higher case capacity. Ackley improved not only standard cartridges, but also other popular wildcats, and was the first to create a .17 caliber (4.5 mm) centerfire cartridge. Ackley began gunsmithing full-time in Oregon in 1936, but was interrupted by World War II. In 1945, he established a new shop in Trinidad, Colorado, and soon became one of the largest custom gunmakers in the United States. He was also on the staff of the magazines Guns & Ammo and Shooting Times, and was an instructor at the Trinidad State Junior College from 1946 to 1951, where he did much experimentation in the field of firearms. For a complete biography read the book, "P.O. Ackley, America's Gunsmith". Ackley was not just a wildcatter, he was a researcher as well, often testing firearms to destruction in the search for information. He also produced a number of experimental cartridges, not intended to be practical, but rather to test the limits of firearms. One of these experimental cartridges was the .22 Eargesplitten Loudenboomer. This work guides the layman in the maintenance and repair of a variety of guns. Topics include: Gun fixing. Bolt-action rifles. Pumpguns. Shotguns. Handguns. Converting. Cleaning. Soldering. Installing sights and mounts. Forming new stocks. And more.