John Ross bio, Part 6

[John Ross]

This bio for you gun guys has been primarily about my shooting activities starting at an early age, but some non-shooting background is in order, as it’s relevant for the “big picture.”

Like most young boys, I had a fascination with motorized vehicles in addition to my passion for shooting and experimenting with firearms. My father was an aerobatic pilot who taught flight instruction in the Navy, and he started taking me flying almost before I can remember. My uncle owned and rode motorcycles his entire adult life, and was passionate enough about it that before WWII he owned a Crocker, and in the ‘50s a Vincent Black Shadow. You bike guys know what those two names mean...

Anyway, I had been poring over aviation, automotive, and motorcycle publications at the library along with gun magazines since age 7. This was the era of the Land Speed Wars at Bonneville between Craig Breedlove and Art and Walt Arfons, and the heyday of the Michigan Madman, E.J. Potter, with his Chevy V-8 powered exhibition dragbike.

When I was 9 years old, Dad took me to see E.J. Potter and his V-8 motorcycle at a local track.

http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn302/JohnRoss_07/Potter1.jpg

I’ll never forget the sight and sound of Potter sitting at the starting line on his direct-drive-only bike (no clutch), perched on a jackstand, the alky-burning, Hilborn-injected 327 Chevy turning 7000 RPM with white flames coming out of the exhaust headers. When Potter rocked the bike off the jackstand, the spinning tire hit the pavement with a sound like a woman having her guts torn out with a pair of Vise-Grips. Every hair on my 9-year-old body stood up. Bike and rider rocketed down the strip, both tire and engine screaming. The bike was sideways most of the time, and left a crooked black stripe the entire length of the track. My whole body was shaking as I saw the speed displayed on the light board at the end of the track: 163 MPH. I promised myself that some day I’d build a V-8 bike of my own. It took thirty years, but it happened…

I started driving in 1968 at age 11 on our hundred-acre summer property in Imperial, MO in a 6-cylinder 1957 Ford station wagon that the caretaker had bought for $75 so that his sons and I could learn about cars. We took the body off and sold it for scrap, getting $17 if I remember right. A plywood and pine “truck bed” installation soon followed, as did a crude “roll bar” (mainly useful for passengers to hang on to while standing in the bed) and an aluminum beer keg for a gas tank. We called it our “dune buggy,” but if there’d been any sand around, I’m sure our creation would have gotten hopelessly stuck…

I don’t know whether it was our ineptitude at bleeding brakes or if there was something seriously wrong with the braking system, but no matter what we did, the brakes on the car wouldn’t work at all if you just stepped on the pedal and expected the car to slow down. The driver had to pump the pedal quickly three or four times before the brakes would begin to bite. It taught us to think ahead while driving.

The Ford’s transmission was a manual three speed with a non-synchronized first gear. Additionally, the synchros on second and third were so worn that they might as well not have been there. That was what I learned on in 1968. It was a good teacher. Over 30 years later, soon-to-be Le Mans racer Chris Kniefel was my instructor in a Dodge Viper at Justin Bell’s racing school in Florida at Moroso Raceway Park. Chris was startled when I shifted the Viper GTS into 5th on the front straight at 135 mph so quickly that the tires chirped. “Where the hell did you learn to shift like that?” he demanded.

I told him, but I’m not sure he believed me…

At the end of that same summer of 1968, Dad replaced his aging 1956 Thunderbird with a new 1968 tri-power 427 Corvette. Dad was impressed with the skill I displayed double-clutching the “dune buggy” I’d learned on, so he took me out on some paved rural roads where there weren’t many people, and let me drive his new Corvette.

Oh. My. God. Now this was what a car should be like!

More later...

[Don Purcell]

Don't stop with the bio John, It always amazes me when people have an intense intrest in some things like shooting/reloading/experimenting, that it also carries over into completely different areas like high performance machines. Like you, meeting Kent Lomont and then camping and shooting with him when he lived in Indiana made a BIG difference in my concepts
and horizons in shooting to say the least! All the best.

[John Ross]

Don't stop with the bio John, It always amazes me when people have an intense intrest in some things like shooting/reloading/experimenting, that it also carries over into completely different areas like high performance machines. Like you, meeting Kent Lomont and then camping and shooting with him when he lived in Indiana made a BIG difference in my concepts
and horizons in shooting to say the least! All the best.

Thanks for the kind words.

[John Ross]

I wonder if the gent has any information to share that does no promote himself.

salty

There's a "search" function on this site that will let you answer this question for yourself, so that you don't have to wonder about these kinds of things any longer.

Here's a bit of information I'll share with you that you should find useful, and it does no [sic] promote myself. It's from this website's FAQ, that link up at the top of the page third from the left. (It's always a good idea to read a website's FAQ. There's a lot of useful information there that will save you a lot of time, not just on this site but on all websites.)

From the FAQ:

=============================================

Can I block posts, emails and messages from specific users?

If there are particular members that bother you and you do not want to see their posts or receive Private Messages and Emails from them, then you can add these members to your 'Ignore List'. There are several ways to do this:

Through your User Control Panel: User CP, Settings & Options, Edit Ignore List. Then, type their name into the empty text box and click 'Okay'.

==============================================

You'll note that this tip says there are "several" ways to accomplish a task, then goes on to only list one way. If that bothers you, I suggest you contact the site administrator and bring it to his attention.

[princeout]

John,
Keep the updates coming! I've enjoyed reading them a bunch. We're about the same age and I started reading gun magazines and such about 1968 so I remember a lot of the things you mention - then I realize how young you were and how lucky I would have felt had I been able to do some of what you had a chance to do.

Great reading!
Thanks
Tim

[Spartacus]

I wonder if the gent has any information to share that does no promote himself.

salty

Piss off Salty. Just because you don't have anything interesting to share doesn't mean others don't.

Also in the first of these bio's Mr. Ross states that He is doing this at the request of the board owner.

[Slingshot]

Hello John,

Very interesting and entertaining stuff. You seem to be a jack of all trades and master of some :razz:

All in all don't mind the haters, there is always someone out there that has a negative thing to say. :kissarse:

I enjoy reading your bio's and have a stupid grin on my face after. They make me think of the good times growing up around guns and other guys stuff with my Dad.

Jeff / Slingshot :coffeecom

[saltydog452]

I don't hate the guy. Never even met him. I did make the comment that implied that he seemed a little full of himself.

Not sure, but i think its an Autobiography.

salty

[John Ross]

Not sure, but i think its an Autobiography.

salty

LOL! There's orange juice on my keyboard!

FYI, a bio written by the person it covers is, BY DEFINITION, an autobiography.

Kind of like someone telling you he's never been married, and you telling us, "Not sure, but I think he's a bachelor."

[Doby45]

But why is it in the "Group Buy Discussion" area? If anything this should be in the "Shooters Community Center".

[Spartacus]

^^^ Does it matter?

Be thankful Mr Ross is posting anywhere on the forum. Some of you guys have no idea how fortunate you are to have him here at all.

[Doby45]

Yes, it DOES matter. This is a "GROUP BUY DISCUSSION" area. I assure you Mr. Ross and whatever water he walks on will be MUCH better served in an area that gets more eyes on him. THAT would be the "SHOOTERS DISCUSSION" area as not EVERY caster comes to the Group Buy area and more than most DO go to the shooters discussion area. Then it also serves the people that are wanting to come to this area to discuss (of all things) a group buy and they do not want to wade through a bunch of bio posts.

[Doby45]

Oh and as to the being thankful comment, I have no idea who Mr. Ross is so I have zero desire to be thankful. Now what I will do is read some of his bio posts and get an idea about the fellow. Maybe in the circles that you run in Mr. Ross is a household name, but not as much in my circle.

[John Ross]

I did make the comment that implied that he seemed a little full of himself.

salty

What you may not know is that some people consider me an "expert" on certain specific areas in the firearms and shooting field. The site owner asked me to write a bio introducing myself and describing my credentials, so the members would know more about me and could make more-informed judgments about whether or not any advice I offered might have merit.

When I started doing that, I found myself re-living some very happy times in my past, and the project grew and got a lot more detailed, kind of on its own.

There are some people who like reading about the entire history of something or someone, including all the things that went wrong, with a lot of detail. I know this because I am like that, and I get emails from other people who are the same way.

There are others who just want the short version. That's why reloading articles include a table with the load data organized in a fashion that can be scanned at a glance. There's nothing wrong with that.

Here's the John Ross Bio, Short Version:
===================================

Got a .22 and a lot of ammo as a kid. Found I loved shooting. Got into centerfires later, big revolvers and rifles, as well as reloading and then casting. Always sought out the people with the most knowledge in the things that interested me.

Did some stuff to make money to fund my interests.

Developed additional interests that involved skills (like machining) that would benefit me in the gun area.

Designed and built a bunch of Wildcats. Designed and built .50 BMG shoulder rifles when no commercial actions existed. Shot a bunch of stuff and did a bunch of other things.

Got married. Started the effort to bring CCW to Missouri. Was successful. Wrote a novel that sold well. Had a stroke and was partially paralyzed. Wife cashed out. Got better.

Experimented with the Smith .500. Joined this forum but there weren't many members then and not much info here. Redesigned the .500 and took it to the factory. Got them to make a special run of my version.

Did some other stuff.

Revisited this forum and found there was a LOT of good stuff here now.

=================================================

[Spartacus]

Oh and as to the being thankful comment, I have no idea who Mr. Ross is so I have zero desire to be thankful. Now what I will do is read some of his bio posts and get an idea about the fellow. Maybe in the circles that you run in Mr. Ross is a household name, but not as much in my circle.


You travel in a small circle.

All you have to do is google his name and read his book and you will understand the the Greek phrase Molōn labe! that you carry in your sig file describes much of what JR's life has been devoted to.

I'm not a suck-up John, its just that I despise ignorance in all its forms.

[John Ross]

This is a "GROUP BUY DISCUSSION" area.

people that are wanting to come to this area to discuss (of all things) a group buy and they do not want to wade through a bunch of bio posts.

I put it in Group Buy discussion as that was where I was interacting with the most people of like mind on my area of interest, the .500 S&W.

In the beginning of my first bio post, I said I didn't know where the owner wanted me to post it and asked that he move it somewhere else if he felt that was better. He hasn't so far.

BTW you don't have to "wade through" a bio post if it is accurately labeled (as mine is) any more than you have to "wade through" discussions of molds in calibers you don't cast for. Just don't click on that thread.

Ken, please move this thread somewhere else so more people don't get upset.

[Doby45]

You travel in a small circle.

All you have to do is google his name and read his book and you will understand the the Greek phrase Molōn labe! that you carry in your sig file describes much of what JR's life has been devoted to.

I'm not a suck-up John, its just that I despise ignorance in all its forms.

Watch yourself brother. You have no idea the size of my "circle" and simply because I do not know Mr. Ross does not make me ignorant. I am positive I could name 3-4 people you have never heard of and by your own recount I could then call you ignorant.

Now since I appeared to step upon your deity, I apologize for any slight you may have felt. My intention was simply to have his bio articles moved to a section that they could be better seen. But you would be very wise to watch the direct attacks to someones intelligence simply because they do not know someone.

In the time since my first post I have in fact Googled Mr. Ross and read some of his articles on his website. (Really enjoyed the human BBQ) It would appear that he is more or less a 500 guru (which I do not own) and wrote a book about CCW. For his efforts on the CCW issue I am indeed thankful.

[Doby45]

Ken, please move this thread somewhere else so more people don't get upset.

I don't understand where the upset reference is coming from? No where in any of my posts am I upset. Once again, I posted my post to ASSIST with the general desire of your BIO posts. The only person that appears to have gotten upset was your follower Spartacus. I am all about the most info posibble being offered to as many people as possible. I did not make curt posts as some others may have. I simply suggested that it be moved to the discussion area..:coffee:

[John Ross]

It would appear that he is more or less a 500 guru (which I do not own) and wrote a book about CCW.

Well, sort of...

Glad you liked the BBQ piece. I had fun writing it.

[Spartacus]

Watch yourself brother....

Now since I appeared to step upon your deity...

Pfffttt...

[saltydog452]

Dang Ross, we agree.

Since you are writing about Your-Own-Self and your many exploits, Autobiography seems to fit.

I've never met you. We might be decent neighbors and share a 4th of July BBQ. Its kinda unlikely that we'd tolerate one another on a week long deer lease 'tho. I probabally wouldn't have gotten along with Keith either.

To me, John Ross seems a little puffed up with himself. No insult, just my impression. Nothing wrong, or right about that, just my impression.

I imagine there are several folks on this Forum who have led interesting lives, yet none have both hoisted their own flag and saluted it.

This is getting interesting, would you care to continue? We can do it via PM or here.

Thanks,

salty

[waksupi]

Dang Ross, we agree.

Since you are writing about Your-Own-Self and your many exploits, Autobiography seems to fit.

I've never met you. We might be decent neighbors and share a 4th of July BBQ. Its kinda unlikely that we'd tolerate one another on a week long deer lease 'tho. I probabally wouldn't have gotten along with Keith either.

To me, John Ross seems a little puffed up with himself. No insult, just my impression. Nothing wrong, or right about that, just my impression.

I imagine there are several folks on this Forum who have led interesting lives, yet none have both hoisted their own flag and saluted it.

This is getting interesting, would you care to continue? We can do it via PM or here.

Thanks,

salty


I'm not sure why you continue to push this, when the original post was requested by the board owner. There are several members here I would like to see an autobiography of, and in fact if they are long time members, many have pretty much given this insight into their life.
I have moved the thread to a different heading. Keep in mind, it is not a great problem if something is in some other heading. If it bothers someone, they can notify the staff, and we will move it if we deem it necessary.

Move along.

[45nut]

I REALLY appreciate the time John has taken to share his background and experiences, it WAS by my request he took the time to post this and I for one am inspired and thankful he had the chance to live some dreams and overtake the hurdles in that journey, we all have unique experiences in our lives and John's was pretty remarkable to me.
I encourage ANYONE to share the richness of their lives and to be as open as he has.

John, thanks. Your stock value has gone up for me again in light of your ability to handle the few that just can't appreciate your accomplishments.

[9.3X62AL]

Mr. Ross, I enjoy and appreciate your accounts. Thank you!

A lot of people "stay low and keep dark" about the events in their lives, and the reasons vary for this reluctance. A pretty good reason to remain quiet has been shown here--there's always some keyboard commando ready to throw rocks or spray-paint grafitti on the labors and constructs of others. These people are known as "critics". Most of them produce nothing, but feel justified in holding and expressing views on everything. They love being speedbumps on the autobahn. Fark 'em, and feed 'em fish heads and rice.

[pmer]

:coffeecom I think I'll be OK as long as dont see a picture of his but in the back of 57 Chevy and have to read the exploits there of...

[pmer]

:kidding:

[abunaitoo]

I'm guessing you are the same John Ross who wrote the book "Unintended Consiquences".
If you are, I have only one question for you.
When is the movies coming out????

This is by far my favorite book of all time.
I must have read it well over 20 time since I got it.
Sometimes when it's raining out, and all the reloading is done, I like to just open your book up at random and start reading.
I really believe this book should be required reading in all high schools.
I know it's been out of print for a while, and the paperback is suppose to come out soon, but do you still have any hard copies that you can sign and sell????

PS to saltydog452.
Have you even read his book????
If you had, you'd understand how important Mr. John Ross is to the gun culture.

[Catshooter]

John,

I thank you for all you have done for us gun nuts. The only critisium I can level at your book is that I wish you had written it ten or 15 years earlier. You lived every single fantasy this boy had in it.

I'm sorry to hear of your stroke and divorce. I had wondered where you had gotten to after your book came out, now I know.

If you'd like to make some more funds for more toys (God knows you don't have enough! :) ) then get busy and write some more! Please! Had a guy offer me $200 for my copy of UC, turned him down.


Cat

[TCLouis]

Years ago Jimmy Dean (singer and sausage) had an ad that said 'If I don't like what I hear I hope i have sense to turn the radio off' (not sure what issue he was referring to), but it is so easy to pass on anything I see on the net or hear from someone I know if Idon't like it or agree.

Not worth complaining and I don't need ignore, i just don't open thread that I think I won't like.

Just an opinion (mine) and we all know about opinions.

[WILCO]

Just found this thread. Good stuff. Well written.

[Recluse]

You travel in a small circle.

All you have to do is google his name and read his book and you will understand the the Greek phrase Molōn labe! that you carry in your sig file describes much of what JR's life has been devoted to.

I'm not a suck-up John, its just that I despise ignorance in all its forms.



Some of travel in circles that are pretty wide, but do not know all the nuances and folks in every circle.

Sorry, but the name John Ross means nothing to me. Doesn't mean I do not enjoy reading and learning about the man and his accomplishments--which I'm absolutely doing.

But your new-boy comments to some folks around calling us ignorant is a bit over the top.

Take that advice you gave to Salty and try it out yourself.

:coffee:

[Omnivore]

Your stories are much appreciated, J R. Good suggestion too, regarding the search function. I'd been wading through this section to cherry pick the John Ross threads. Good stuff.

[Plate plinker]

bump Love it