Memories of the great gun writers being lost to today's shooters

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357smallbore

357smallbore

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I have talked to many shooters and hunters that have no clue to the gun writers of the past. They are clueless. Many people of different ages have zero clue. What saddens me the most is the older hunters and shooters don't know the giants that led the way.

Lots know the name Elmer Keith, Craig Bodington, and some of the new writers. But they are clueless to:

Skeeter Skelton
Bob Milek
Bill Jordon
Jon Sundra
John Wooters
Dave Arnold
Phil Spangenberger
Jack O'connor
Dick Metcalf
Rick Jamison
Fin Agard
Jan Libourel
Charles Askins
 
Build your own library; invite your multi-generational offspring to read. I didn't get into shooting until my early 30s and am indebted to my father-in-law who kept a fine library of shooting and safari books. I got to know many of these authors, plus Peter Capstick and Robert Ruark, perusing his shelves. I'm building my own library for my grandkids.
 
Always been a fan of Keith. Years back I was sitting in a restaurant in Salmon, Idaho and was going through a real estate flyer. Keith’s house was on the market for around $245K if I remember right. One pic in the attic showed some of his old load data he scribbled on the roof. I was going to drive by it and take a pic but we didn’t have the time. Might do it next trip.
 
"Fin Agard"? Somebody needs to buy a vowel!
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It's actually spelled Finn Aagaard. Too many vowels! IIRC he was of Norwegian descent and lived in Kenya most of his life. He moved to the US late in his career. I really liked most of his writings. He spent a lot of time testing various cartridges and loads and knew a thing or two about what it took to bring down the biggest game in Africa.

There is also Jeff Cooper. I'm about 50/50 on Cooper. Lots of good stuff, lots of hyperbole.
 
I learned to shoot a rifle by reading Jack O'Connor's instruction, and then went along on many of his hunts courtesy of his writing. Guys like Jim Carmichel fine tuned my skills and kept me engaged. I even remember George C. Nonte from Shooting Times many decades ago. Corey Ford was entertaining, Gene Hill thought provoking, and many others helped me along the way. I think Huntsman has it right--nobody reads anymore. Recent generations suffer from TL;DR (too long; didn't read). My generation now suffers from EAS (exceeds attention span) but I do enjoy time spent with good writers even in short bursts. The sport has changed, but great writers are a link to the golden age we enjoy recalling.
 
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There are a few good ones that are newer to the scene.. “eyes wide open” Patrick Sweeney and Dr. Will Dabbs M.D. are a couple I read regularly. They’re thorough and write well when reviewing new guns.

I’m still a fan of John Taffin and Mike Venturino because I like revolvers, mil surps and lever guns... items these guys write about all the time.

I get Ballistic and a couple of other mags that seem to focus a lot of attention on the cult of the tattooed-bearded operator. The new gun stuff is sometimes fun to read about, but the authors don’t really stand out from the crowd.

It’s easy to start pining for the golden era of gunwriting, we really looked forward to the next issue. There wasn’t G&A tv, we had to wait a month for new articles and photos as you couldn’t google or you tube a review, etc. Plus we as humans seem to habitually put a glossy sheen on “what was” and look at it in a more favorable light against “what is”. I don’t know why that is, but I know I do it as well.

Stay safe.
 
Jack Oconner and John Wotters were a couple of my favorites. I would still love to have a pre-64 model 70 in .270. And Parker Ackley has a couple books that were really good reading. PETA would freak plum out if one of them ever read some of P.O. Ackleys books. Lol
 
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