Gun T Offense Resources: Where Should I Start?
There are close to two hundred things in the store and most coaches land on that page looking for one answer: which book do I buy first. This page answers that, and nothing on it will try to talk you into buying more than you need.
Short version, if you want to stop reading now. If you coach high school and you are installing this offense for the first time, buy the Gun T RPO Playbook. If you coach third through ninth grade, buy the Gun T Youth Manual instead. Everything below is the reasoning, and the answers for the situations those two do not cover.
Start here
Gun T RPO Playbook, $29.99, printed book.
This is the base system. Formations, the run game, the RPO structure, and the blocking rules everything else is built on. You can install off this one book without buying anything else, and that is the point of it.
One book. Not a starter pack, not a bundle, not a subscription. If money is tight, this is the only thing on this page you actually need.
Choose by situation
"I coach high school and I have never run this." Gun T RPO Playbook. Start there and install it. Come back for a season update after you have run it a year.
"I coach youth or middle school." Gun T Youth Manual, 130 pages, built for third through ninth grade specifically. It is the same offense cut down to what a younger kid can hold, with practice organization and staff roles in the back. Do not start with the high school playbook and try to simplify it yourself.
"I already run the Gun T and I want what you run now." Gun T 7.0 Playbook Update is the most recent season update. It builds on the RPO Playbook rather than replacing it.
"I want to see it before I spend anything." Five things in the store are free. Start with the Powerpoint Shotgun Wing T Overview for the system, or the Buck Sweep drill video if you want to see how a play actually gets coached.
"My buck sweep is already in and it is getting walled off." Skip the playbook for now. 3 main problems with Buck and solutions is free, and the Complete Guide to Buck Sweep from the Gun is the deep version.
"I want the whole thing and I do not want to piece it together." The Gun T 16 Book Bundle is the library. The Gun T System is the library plus film, installs and clinic footage.
The path, cheapest to most complete
Free. Five downloads, no card required. Watch one and you will know inside ten minutes whether this offense fits your kids.
$29.99, one book. The Gun T RPO Playbook for high school, or the Gun T Youth Manual for youth. This is where most coaches should stop on their first purchase.
A season update. Once the base is in, add the year you want. 2.0 through 7.0, $29.99 each.
Position manuals. When you have assistants to hand something to: QB Manual, Wide Receiver Manual, Offensive Line Manual, $29.99 each.
A bundle. The 16 Book Bundle at $389.99, or Gun T Bundle PLUS Youth Books at $429.99 if you also coach the youth program.
The complete system. The Gun T System, $1,699 one time, is the books plus the film library, the recorded and future installs, the PowerPoints and clinic footage. It takes school purchase orders, which matters if this is coming out of a program budget rather than your pocket.
Compare the starting points
| Product | Best for | Format | Price | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gun T RPO Playbook | High school, first install | Printed book | $29.99 | The season updates, position manuals |
| Gun T Youth Manual | 3rd-9th grade | Printed book, 130 pages | $29.99 | The high school version |
| Gun T 7.0 Update | Already running it | Printed book | $29.99 | The base install. Requires the RPO Playbook |
| Organizational Guide | Have the book, need a plan | Printed book | $29.99 | The plays themselves |
| Complete Guide to Buck Sweep | One play, done right | Printed book | $29.99 | The rest of the offense |
| 16 Book Bundle | Coaches who want the library | Printed books | $389.99 | Film, installs, clinic footage |
| The Gun T System | Programs, not individuals | Books plus film and installs | $1,699 | Nothing in the Gun T catalog |
Prices are current at the time of writing and the bundles move on and off sale, so check the product page before you plan a budget around one.
How the books fit together
This is the part that confuses people, so here it is plainly.
The Gun T RPO Playbook is the system. Then 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 are season updates. Each one is what we actually ran and adjusted that year. They run in order, they build on the playbook, and they do not replace it. A coach who buys 7.0 first because it is the highest number ends up holding a year of adjustments to a system he does not have.
You do not need all of them. Most coaches get the playbook, run it a season, then pick up the most recent update to see where the system sits now.
The position manuals are a different kind of thing. The QB Manual, Wide Receiver Manual and Offensive Line Manual are for handing to assistants so your staff teaches the same thing you do. They assume the system is already in.
The formation books are reference, not install. 98 Shotgun Wing Formations at $24.99 printed or $19.99 as a PDF, 90 Unbalanced Formations and 90 Power Gun Formations at $24.99 each, or all of them in the Formation book bundle at $59.99. You do not read these front to back. You open one in January when you want another way to get to the same play, or in October when a team has your base look figured out.
Free help, no card required
- Powerpoint Shotgun Wing T Overview — the system at a glance
- Buck Sweep drill video — 4 minutes, three drills
- 3 main problems with Buck and solutions
- Spring Install PPT
- Attacking Man Zero with the Gun T System
There is also several years of teaching tape on the FBCoachSimpson YouTube channel, free, and the blog covers most of the questions coaches send in.
Questions coaches actually ask
Which book do I buy first? The Gun T RPO Playbook if you coach high school, the Gun T Youth Manual if you coach third through ninth grade.
Do I need all of them? No. One book installs the offense. The rest are updates, position manuals and reference.
What is the difference between the playbook and the numbered books? The playbook is the system. The numbers are season updates that build on it. Buy the playbook first.
Should I just buy 7.0 since it is the newest? No. 7.0 is a year of adjustments to a system it assumes you already run.
Are these PDFs or printed books? The books are printed and shipped. The PowerPoints and the drill video are digital downloads. Each product page says which, right at the top.
Do I have to run the shotgun? Yes, that is what the Gun in Gun T means. It is the wing T run game out of the gun, so if you are committed to being under center this is not the system for you.
I run wing T under center now. Is this a full rebuild? The run game concepts will look familiar, buck sweep, belly, counter, jet. The alignment, the mesh and the RPO layer are different. Most coaches making that move start with the playbook and install it as new rather than trying to convert what they have.
Is the bundle worth it over buying one at a time? Depends on whether you will actually use sixteen books. If you are installing this offense this year, one book and one update will do more for you than a library you do not have time to read. The bundle makes sense when you already run it and want everything on the shelf.
What is the difference between the books and the Gun T System? The books are the material. The Gun T System is the material plus film, recorded and future installs, PowerPoints and clinic footage, at $1,699 one time.
Can my school pay with a purchase order? Yes for the Gun T System. For individual books, order through the store.
What to do right now
If you have read this far you are past the point where more information helps. Pick one.
- High school, installing this year: buy the Gun T RPO Playbook, $29.99.
- Youth or middle school: buy the Gun T Youth Manual, $29.99.
- Not ready to spend anything: download the free overview and watch it tonight.
- Already running it: add 7.0.
- Building a program around it: look at the Gun T System.
Buy the one that matches where you actually are, then go install it. The offense does not work because you own the book. It works because your kids get reps at it in August.