Me as well, well, I skipped the books too. just read to remember what ACTS and PROVE stood for, then went and did them. If your not familiar with the rifle/handgun shown to you for the practical, ASK where the safety is, and how to operate it properly, then proceed with your test. A friend of mine had never seen a 1911 before, and was used to single action revolvers. He told the instructor that, was shown how to operate it, then proceeded with his RPAL test.