Sniper’s Honor

by
posted on April 4, 2014
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
xW9204_TAR-4139final1.jpg

My only Pulitzer Prize-winning friend is Stephen Hunter, and he is also the only New York Times bestselling fiction author who regularly takes my calls. He has penned 19 novels, and I discovered his work in the 1990s when I bought a copy of Point of Impact; the first of his books to feature the character Bob Lee Swagger. Remember the movie “Shooter”? It is based on that novel.

Single-handedly, Hunter has created the sniper genre in contemporary fiction. He retired several years ago as the chief film critic for the Washington Post (he was at the Baltimore Sun before that) and spends his time these days writing novels. And despite his employment at liberal icons, Steve is a true gun guy. He loves guns, and his descriptions of them and their performance-especially when it comes to ballistics-are second to none. Steve also loves gun magazines, and is a fan of all of them, but especially American Rifleman. He and I have become friends, and of all the guys I know that know guns and can really, really write, he tops the list. And Steve is a class act, in memory of former NRA staffer and gunwriter J. Guthrie, who died unexpectedly last year, Steve named a character in his latest book for him. It is a special tribute that most readers will not even recognize, but for those of us who knew and miss Guthrie, it is no small thing.

On his latest work Sniper’s Honor, of which I just received an advanced copy, I let my friend down. Steve asked me if I knew anyone with a Fallshirmjaeger Gewehr 42, the extremely rare-and nearly uncontrollable in full-auto-lightweight, selective-fire machine gun created for German paratroopers during World War II. I reached out and managed to locate a couple of the legally owned machine guns (there are not that many, and the last one I saw at auction went for around $125,000). But I was unable to get back to Steve in time and go to the range with him and the gun.

Thankfully, Steve went to Dan Shea and Long Mountain Outfitters in Nevada and spent some time examining both major variants of the gun. And the description of it in Sniper’s Honor is excellent and true to the way the gun feels in the hands. I do not want to give away what other guns are built into Steve’s storyline, but he makes one of my favorite rifles as real as the characters he builds.

Combine Bob Lee Swagger with a beautiful Russian sniper, some of World War II’s coolest hardware, a mystery, a government cover up and a couple of villains, and you have a superlative novel. It cost me some sleep, but I don’t regret it one iota. Sniper’s Honor goes on sale from Simon & Shuster on May 20 and is highly recommended.

Steve has written a few times for American Rifleman, including on the National Firearms Museum's movie guns exhibit and his piece on the .38 Super was superlative. He has also helped us out on “American Rifleman Television.” In my hands now is a piece from him on the FG42. Look for it in the July issue of American Rifleman.

In the next week or two Steve and I will head to the range with Rick Smith’s semi-auto-only version of the FG42 made in Texas. A gun is sitting on my credenza (see the photo above). It is magnificent. More so because of the unopened case of 8x57 mm Mauser from the good folks at Hornady at my feet. I don’t think it will last very long.

Latest

Making Keltec Pr57 1
Making Keltec Pr57 1

Making The KelTec PR57 In Wyoming

To make its PR57 handgun, KelTec invested in an entirely new manufacturing facility located in Rock Springs, Wyo. "American Rifleman Television" headed out for an inside look at the company's efficient production process.

Taurus 66 Combat: A New "Fighting Revolver"

First introduced in the 1970s, the Taurus 66 Combat is a medium-frame revolver that has seen several evolutions in its lifetime, and the latest update creates what the company considers "the final word in fighting revolvers."

Review: Taurus GX2

From cars to cellphones, as a product gets more sophisticated, it usually also gets more expensive. And, as modern handguns get more modular and optic-ready, their prices tend to go up.

Rifleman Q&A: A Garand Puzzlement

"We are a father-and-son NRA member tandem in search of an answer regarding the branding of an M1 Garand rifle. We own an M1 rifle that has markings indicating it was a “lend lease to England,” and it also has a .308 barrel/sleeve."

$160K Raised For HAVA At SIG Sauer Event

SIG Sauer hosted its 9th Annual Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA) Charity Golf event early last month and raised more than $160,000 to support disabled veterans.

Scout The Trail To A General Purpose Rifle

The search for a universal longarm—one suitable for both hunting and defensive scenarios—is a trek that involves a bit of doubling back.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.