Favorite & Least Favorite Gun Authors?

Raymond Chandler. He was a combat veteran of World War I. He knew guns and got things right,

Favorite? Elmer Keith being the .44 caliber fan that I am. Least favorite would be Jeff Cooper. I know I might get some flak for that, but after reading his views he seems like a guy that would only believe his way was the right way, and I'm not a fan of that mentality especially when several individuals beat either him or ray Chapman in competition. It seemed as if he couldn't get over that fact.

Several favorites. All dead unfortunately. Skeeter Skelton, Jackk O'Connor, Warren Page, Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, Robert Ruark...although he's more hunting than guns, same with Peter Capstick. Mike Venturino is about my favorite who's still active I suppose. About the only name I know really. I couldn't tell you who writes the stuff in the American Rifleman these days.

Is Jim Carmichael still alive? I liked him also.

Least favorite I think would be Jeff Cooper.

Favorite Gun Writer

Massad Ayoob by a mile

Col. Cooper; he wrote about guns, but also about much more-all of it worth studying.



Larry

Favorites-Skeeter Skelton, Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan, Jeff Cooper, John Taffin, Massad Ayoob, Bob Milek, Chuck Taylor, J.B. Woods, Ross Seyfried, Peter Kokalis.

Least Favorites-Charles Askins, Clair Rees, Dick Metcalf.

Skeeter was by far the most entertaining writer for me. He also knew a good bit about firearms and shooting.

Favorite: In a tie. Jack O`Conner and Warren Page.

Oh,Gun Mag gun writers?!

Mas Ayoob,Colonel Craig Boddington, John Taffin and Sheriff Jim Wilson. All are knowledgeable and entertaining

Taffin is a real stand out on revolvers. No one knows more about six guns than the man from Idaho.

Favorites: Skeeter Skelton, John Taffin, Craig Boddington, Jim Carmichael.

Least favorite: Mike Venturino, Cooper, Dick Metcalf, Jim Zumbo

Grits and Tom Gresham.

Barry the Bear said:

Favorite? Elmer Keith being the .44 caliber fan that I am. Least favorite would be Jeff Cooper. I know I might get some flak for that, but after reading his views he seems like a guy that would only believe his way was the right way, and I'm not a fan of that mentality especially when several individuals beat either him or ray Chapman in competition. It seemed as if he couldn't get over that fact.

Click to expand...

Cooper was almost silly after awhile in this context.

Favorites include Ayoob, of course. For rifles and hunting, Craig Boddington. Louis Awerbuck was awesome (RIP). For the stories, Robert Ruark, whom I read as teen and couldn't get enough of ...

I enjoy the anecdotal stuff by such as John Taffin (and, I'll admit, even Roy Huntington). John Connor in AH, I get him sometimes ... I'll include Cooper as a favorite, not so much because of what he wrote about actual guns, but because of the concepts he espoused -- I guess for some, the notions of honor, integrity and learning are no longer of interest.

And sorry, Mike Venturino, your stuff has just gotten silly. Pat Rogers, you kinda preach too much sometimes ... there are different ways to do things.

I have a different take on this. We a bunch of outdoor writers in my home county. Some had columns published all over the world. I really enjoyed their work because it was often about people I knew and my home town. But one author, who was as big as Stephen King back in his time, made my home county famous world wide. His name was Jesse Stuart. Jesse wrote a whole bunch of stuff but some of it was hunting stuff. In particular, "Hie To The Hunters" was a classic that has been forgotten by most people in the world but not be all. Stuart was listed among the best US authors of the century by literary magazines and the stories he told were timeless and close to home for me. 3 miles from home actually. That's where "Hie To The Hunters" took place. That book sells for thousands of dollars depending on the edition. It's about coon hunting and possum hunting and it takes place in my back yard. I might have hunted some of the same hills as the book covers. So I tend to be a little swayed by familiarity. I met Jesse a time or two. He was considerably older than me. He represented a culture that is almost gone now. The hillbilly culture I guess I would have to say. I dated his niece for a while and it was pretty serious. If things had worked out a little different I might have married her. I also played in a band with his nephew. I spent a bunch of time at his house. Two of his sisters taught me in school too.

Here's a link to the book I mentioned but keep in mind that Jesse could get on a roll and write a book in a couple of days. He was prolific. He has a bunch of books in print still to this day. I work with the head of the Jesse Stuart Foundation on my documentaries too. Anyway here's that link:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=15249272004&searchurl=tn=hie+hunters

The price listed there is $6,155.51.

Favorites: Peter Capstick, John Taylor, W.D.M. Bell, Steward Edward White, Craig Boddington, Charlie Petty, Ken Waters. Many of these are dead or retired, but they all seemed to know their stuff.

Least Favorite: Elmer Keith, Mike Venturino, Jim Zumbo Hard to tell with these guys where the truth leaves off and imagination begins.

Ambivalent: Jeff Cooper, Massad Ayoob Usually well thought out, but on occasion downright preposterous with justification for their positions based on nothing more than "I'm the expert and I said so!!"

I'm gonna have to add skeeter skelton and John taffin on the favorable authors as well.

Hard to believe no one has mentioned Stephen Hunter, who wrote the Bob Lee Swagger books (although Dirty White Boys is my favorite).

I too like Ayoob and I like David Petzal

Elmer Keith takes the top spot of favorites for me. Finn Aagard was another enjoyable read. Sondra & Boddington were good back in the day. There are others but these stand out above the the writers/ mags I read.

Least favorite are numberous. Dick Metcalf (disappointing), Mike Venturino (yawn), Jeff Cooper (annoying 3rd person crap)

Truthfully, I haven't bought a gun rag in years.

There are a couple more I like a lot that I suppose fall more into the "general outdoor" catagory, but I always enjoyed them.

Gene Hill, and Cory Ford.

I liked Cooper, but didn't drink the Kool-Aid.
Capstick was almost as good as Hemmingway at telling a tale.
John Connor is entertaining and informative.
Dave Petzal is good. Opinionated but rational about his opinions.
Skeeter Skelton.
Robert Ruark got me turned on to reading "gun books".

Least favorite is Mike Venturino. He'd be alright, even if not my cup of tea, if he stuck with the C.A.S. stuff. But he goes on these tangents that aren't very interesting or informative.

John T Amber, Lucian Cary, Dean Grennell.

Favorites: Mike Venturino for BP cartridge and general hand loading, John Taffin for revolvers, Elmer Keith for everything, John Connor for practical advice and attitude, Mike Nesbitt in Muzzleloader Magazine, and the late Donald Hamilton who wrote the Matt Helm books because he really knew firearms and used them correctly in the stories.

Honorary Mention: Roy Huntington

Least favorites: Most of the writers for American Rifleman, informative but often dull.