Who here is a fan of Skeeter Skelton and his writings?

[Texasflyboy]

I ask for a reason.

I've been reading and re-reading all of articles and books and wanted to know his fan base.

Tom in Va.

[alleyoop]

Skeeter, Keith, and Jordan are all good in my book.

[youngda9]

I prefer Kieth. His books are outstanding.

Skeeter is more of a story teller in his articles (stories of chasing bad guys on horseback, not my thing), whereas Keith is more about the facts and data IMO.

As far as hunting writers go...Capstack is the best I've come across.

[GaryN]

Skeeter, Keith, and Jordan are all good in my book.
alleyoop

I will second that. I miss reading those guys.

[DoubleAdobe]

I prefer Kieth. His books are outstanding.

Skeeter is more of a story teller in his articles (stories of chasing bad guys on horseback, not my thing), whereas Keith is more about the facts and data IMO.

As far as hunting writers go...Capstack is the best I've come across.

The reason you don't prefer Skeeter is the reason I like his writings.
To each his own, plus I know his son and respect and admire him and his writing.
The LE angle is what I can relate too, generally.

[country gent]

Skelton Kieth Jordan Ed Mcgivern Oconnor all were good at getting information accross and used the written mediums very well. You knew when the wrote they had done it and been there. Some of the new writers I really wonder about the reason for them writing

[300savage]

Skeeter was the kind of man that drew a line in the sand of humanity, if you don't like him, I am probably not going to like you.

[Boz330]

I forget what Gun Mag Skeeter wrote for but I always looked forward to each issue and went to his column first. I have his book Good Guns, Good Friends, and Good Whiskey, and have read it several times. Got some hospital time coming up this month and may have to read it again. A few good laughs might come in handy for my outlook.

Bob

[Char-Gar]

Skelton was a good writer and story teller being an English major at Texas Tech. I enjoyed his writing very much.

Keith provided lots of good information, but offered up much opinion passed off at facts. He had an ego as big as the country in which he lived.

My all time favorite was Townsend Whelen. He was the man who defined the American sporting rifle after WWI. In the period between the world wars, the was the authority on the subject. He also was an excellent writer and lived and wrote about good times in this country for men with rifles. He was in the twilight of his career after WWII and there are darn few left who read Whelen when he was in his prime.

My least favorite writer of the post-war years was Charles Askins, but that is another topic.

Gun writers today have become the advertisers whores, which was not the case "back in the day".

[foesgth]

Writers like Skeeter made gun mags interesting. I don't read the current crop of magazines as they are just ads. The writers never find a bad gun only a good advertiser. I think this is why sites like this are so great.

[mt bwana]

stories of jug johnson, shipp ranch, and ruger 357 blackhawks converted to 44 special. how can a shooter not appreciate his writings

[Larry Gibson]

I always enjoyed Skeeter's writings whether technical (he did a lot of those too) or story telling or a combination of both. I got a chance to meet and talk with Skeeter and numerous other big named writers at the NRA convention in Portland, Oregon back around '68 - '70. Was at a no-host bar for press ( I was credentialed as a photographer). All were deaf so the more rounds bought the louder the converstion got! What amarvelous time for me! ! Best conversation was the hoohrahing Keith took about his long range outhouse shooting. ......that was back when men were men and women were glad of it. ......

Larry Gibson

[Spruce]

Skeeter, was a good writer, I always enjoyed his columns. I have some of his loads in .357 mag., but after several moves can't find the articles anymore.

[km101]

Skeeter, Keith, and Jordan are all good in my book.


Couldn't have said it better! Bill Jordan was the only one I was fortunate enough to meet, but all three are great writers and sportsmen in my book!

[beagle]

I always liked Skeeter's articles. They were kind of down to earth and reasonable. Skeeter had a turn about him of taking what he had and making the best out of it instead of throwing a bunch of money at something like many gun writers today do. I liked his characters; Jug Johnson and Dobe Grant too./beagle

[bubba.50]

elmer keith was an overcompensating egotistical blowhard who knew about 1/2 as much as he thought he did. o'connor was knowledgeable but too hung-up on one cartridge/gun. skeeter was the all-time & all around best gunwriter to ever hit the printed page!

honorable mention goes out to bill jordan & mike venturino.

my opinions & yer welcome to'em.

[Jimmy10mm]

Skeeter, Keith, and Jordan are all good in my book.
Couldn't agree more. I would change the order to Keith, Skeeter and Jordan though. O'Connor was great but one of my all time favorites was John Pondoro Taylor's African Rifles And Cartridges.

[nekshot]

Count me in on skeeters band wagon. My first handgun was a 357 and I am sure he is to blame because every thing else I do I always think bigger is better.

[Love Life]

I enjoy the writings of Skeeter and Kieth. Not so much Skeeter's son...

The only gun writer from my era that I enjoy is Mike Venturino. You actually get useful tips out of his articles, and I absolutely love it when he writes non gun articles detailing life in his area.

My favorite write though, is Townsend Whelen. You read his writings and you get the feeling that he would tell all the gunwriters of today to quit being a bunch of sissies.

If you've never read "On Your Own in the Wilderness" I highly suggest you do.

[wcp4570]

Skeeter was my all time favorite gun writer. I could and did read other that have been mentioned here but Skeeter will always be my favorite. Growing up in Texas I guess gave me a connection to his writing that I related to. I often do Internet searches looking for articals by him in hopes I will find new ones that someone has scanned from old Shooting Times magazine.

wcp

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I enjoyed the articles by Skeeter very much. He put me on to the 44 spl and It is still my favorite center fire pistol cartridge although if I had a 41 mag I would be just as happy. One thing Skeeter said I have never forgotten. He said in a pistol round he liked a 200 grain bullet at 900 fps. I think that will cover most tasks you ask of a pistol.

[EDG]

Skeet was the only pistol shooter that I cared to read. I enjoyed his stories and his practical approach to handguns.
Most writers of that time had some niche they promoted and none were wide spectrum promiscuous users of all types of firearms.
O'Connor favored modern hunting rifles and M21 Winchester shotguns and told good stories.
Keith was an old blow hard that shot nothing unless you could hear an echo when the breech was open.
There were a number of other writers in other and lesser magazines.
I think John Matunas and Don Zutz were the best shotgun writers from the technical standpoint.
Ackley was good but his subject matter needs books not magazine articles.
There were gun writers in Field and Stream and Sports Afield and others that I cannot remember because I did not subscribe nor get my hair cut often enough to keep up with them at the barber shop.

[TheGrimReaper]

I like him! Along with Keith, Jordan, and Cooper.

[sixshot]

Some good, thought provoking remarks here on past gun writers. Skeeter was a marvelous writer & story teller, he had a lot of first hand knowledge about sixguns & passed it on very well to his many readers. For me at least he was the best, plus he helped get many of us into the great 44 special cartridge.
I met Elmer Keith several times & have all his books, most of which he signed for me. Some have said he was kind of windy, lots of men with great knowledge can seem a little arrogant. Elmer was raised in tough times & spent much of his life outdoors, living & doing things most of us do one or two times a year, maybe in our entire life. He was very honest & that caused him some grief because he did things many though were impossible. I have never met a person or talked to a person that knew him first hand that doubted his honesty, only those that couldn't do what he did have made some rude remarks. Ross Seyfried was a world champion with a handgun, in his own words he said that Elmer Keith was the best shot he had ever seen with the rifle, sixgun & shotgun combined. Re-read the above statement by Ross Seyfried!
Perhaps the very best writer of outdoor related experiences was Russel Annebel but you could also mention Bob Hagel & John Taffin in the mix as well.
We all have favorites, hate to see any of the old timers bad mouthed. One other thing, now days its really hard to write certain gun articles because the old timers covered all that ground years ago. How many times can you write about the 45 ACP, the 357 maggie or the 44 maggie before there's nothing left to write about, now days its about new bullets or some super magnum, true story!

Dick

[Love Life]

Very good point on having no new ground to cover, Sixshot. What was the last cool handgun cartridge? The 327 Federal magnum?

There are a couple of today's writers I look for, but for the most part many are just company advertisement regurgitators. I haven't bought a gun rag in almost 4 months now...

I get all the knowledge I need or want from forums like this. We have the experts among us, and they share their information.

[1Shirt]

Kieth, Jordan, Skeeter, in that order! All good!
1Shirt!

[44Vaquero]

81116Always one of my top favorites!

[oscarflytyer]

I grew up reading Skeeter's articles in SHOOTING TIMES.
He is part of the reason I like 44 special revolvers.
+1 on Skeeter's writings, and +1 on the 44 SPC. He is the reason I always had to have one, and now do!

I also always enjoyed Jim Carmichel. Never seemed too full of himself.

[GaryN]

I think it would be fun to read a compilation of a bunch of his stories in book form.

[marvelshooter]

Count me as a Skeeter fan.

[Three44s]

Count me on the Skeeter fan club!

Of his magazine stories, one that sticks in my mind is where he had a horse trained where he'd see a coyote along the trail and he would slide off with his rifle behind a bush and the horse would travel up the trail another 100 yds or so ........ or possibly stop upon a shot ringing out.

The coyote would invariably have fixation on the horse and as long as it was moving .... no fear .........

I have used that tactic a couple of times with our winter feed trailer ........ my employee driving the tractor keeps driving off and I set up for the shot after sliding off, gun in hand .........

............ dead coyote!

I have never had a horse I could trust to stop .... that rifle would get heavy after while ......... can't say I blame the horse ....

Three 44s

[wcp4570]

For all you Skeeter fans, here is a link to the biggest collection of articles by Charles Skelton that I've found so far. The articles are not scanned from magazines, I think they are retype of actual articles.
http://darkcanyon.net/skeeter_skelton.htm

wcp

[John Allen]

If you have read any of skeeter skeltons stuff you can not help but be a fan.

[kenyerian]

I enjoyed all of the writers in the 60's and 70's although my favorite was Pat McManus. he was always good for a laugh.

[firefly1957]

Yes i enjoyed many hours reading his stuff.

[Catshooter]

Count me as a confirmed Skeeter fan. Man died way too young. I do wish he'd written of his four gunfights though.


Cat

[Artful]

Count me as a Skeeter fan as well - Patrick F. McManus, Dean A. Grennell, Peter Hathaway Capstick would also be high on my list of outdoor writers to be included with Keith, Jordan, Carmichel, O'Connor and Cooper.

[kmag]

I enjoyed Skeltons writings along with Keith, O'Connor, Jordan and a host of the old writers.
After reading a few of Charles Askins writings in the 60's and after that I would just skip over his writings.
Guess I liked Skeeter because I had traveled in the area of Texas where he was stationed. Also he liked the 32-20 which I also shot a lot.

[Hickory]

I liked them all, even the snobbish Jeff Cooper.

[Bent Ramrod]

I've got three of Skeeter's books. I guess I'm a fan.

[contender1]

I too have been a LONGTIME fan of Skeeter. I looked forward to his articles each month in Shooting Times. When his books came out,, I bought them. (Still have all 3.) I also have a few of the ST Special mags that he did. I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1982 at the SHOT Show. I later on got to shoot a gun that belonged to him. Now, I'm also the proud owner of a rare piece of Skeeter's personal items.
It's hard to find anybody even close to Skeeter when it came to story telling. But, I can also say I enjoyed Jordan, Keith, and a few others. Later on when Sheriff Jim Wilson came along, he came close to Skeeters writing style. No Skeeter,, but close enough to make me enjoy his stuff. When I got to know Jim, he's just as nice as Skeeter was.

And I have to say that sixshot has posted an honest appraisal of things he knows of first hand. He too is "one to ride the river with."

[MT Gianni]

I enjoyed Skeeters cartridge and historical writings but never felt a real kinship with them. I read almost all that Elmer wrote and thought the world of him. I think much of that might be living and recreating in the same areas he did for much of his life. [ID & MT]. It is easy to believe those folks as being credible when you can see the country they describe.

[Piedmont]

I'm glad these guys left a written record. I have all Skeeter's books. Last time I looked they were outrageous on the open market, something like $100, so the fellows that didn't grow up reading them probably just won't be familiar with what they wrote.

Just last week I was reading the Gun Notes books that were Elmer Keith Guns & Blammo columns assembled in one place. I have most that Jeff Cooper wrote too. If nothing else, it is a step back in time.

I sometimes wonder what these guys would think of the trends in the modern gun industry. George Nonte did an article on his ideal autoloading pistol in Shooting Times back in the 1960s or 1970s. No one made one with all the features he wanted and he picked the .38 Super cartridge with an alloy frame but said he really wanted a .40. George would have been on board, I think, with all the polymer pistols and the .40, 10mm, and .357 Sig.

[GaryN]

For all you Skeeter fans, here is a link to the biggest collection of articles by Charles Skelton that I've found so far. The articles are not scanned from magazines, I think they are retype of actual articles.
http://darkcanyon.net/skeeter_skelton.htm

Hey WCP, Thanks for the link. I got some reading to do.

[bob208]

I have 2 of his books did not know there was a third.

[captaint]

Was always a fan. Stopped my subscription to Shooting Times shortly after Skeeter's passing. Just wasn't the same. No magazine scripts any more. Just American Rifleman. Mike

[David2011]

Been reading Skeeter since his stuff was first run and he's still one of my favorites.

David

[Rifleman55]

I read many of Skeeter's articles, I enjoyed all of his stories also, John Taffin is one that I read nowdays, He knew Keith, Skeeter, Jorden and many of the others and has written about them.
I have read some of Bart Skelton's articles and he writes much like his dad.

[pmeisel]

Really enjoy Skeeter and have both of his books. They sit in a nearby bookshelf where I can get to them quickly, and have been read thru a few times. I like his mix of practical shooting knowledge with story telling, and his writing style is comfortable.

Some others -- I like Mike Venturino's writing style, but not all of his articles, because of his wide interests. I just don't give a damn about blackpowder, for instance.

I liked Bob Hagel and have his book nearby as well.

I have Ackley's book but use it mostly as a reference. Great info but not easy to read.

I often pull out Ken Waters' Pet Loads, to read for fun as well as reference. I use it as much as my better loading manuals.

I enjoyed Francis Sell's articles and sought out an old copy of his deer hunting book.

There are some other good ones too, these just immediately jump to mind, I can see the bookshelf from here.

[Ohio Rusty]

Who ??? Don't know anything about him other than his name, but I was a big fan of his brother Red Skelton ....
Ohio Rusty ><>

[HeavyMetal]

Long time fan of Skeeter Skelton, he used to write for Shooting Times, lost interst in the Mag after his death same thing with Dean Grinnell who used to write for Gun World as well as doing several of those reloading how to books.

Can't forget Ken Waters his stuff in Handloader was way ahead of the curve when compared to the rest of the gun scribes doing so called writing.
All of them had a unique writing style that gave you info with a smile on your face!

Considering the worlds condition a little relief and humor makes the end of the day easier to deal with and I can't think of a single person that currently fills any of thier shoes, which is sad.

[ga41]

no doubt Skeeter and Jordan were tops

[fivegunner]

Because of Skeeter I grew up the way I did. He`s number 1 in my book .

[Catshooter]

So Texasflyboy, we've answered your question. Can you share why you want to know?


Cat

[Farmall]

Skeeter is the all time greatest, in my book. Jordan, Keith, Askins and Cooper.
I remember meeting my BIL's dad for the first time, and finding out he was a "gun guy" too. Felt soooo bad when I had to inform him Dobe Grant was fictional!!
We still have a few good ones, Venturino, Pearce, and Taffin come to mind.
One writer whose name I hate to see forgotten, is Bon Milek. Really liked him too.

[gandydancer]

Skeeter-- Jordan-- I met Jordan once. Keith. Mike who? :bigsmyl2:

[44Vaquero]

Farmall,
Always liked Bob Milek and Ross Seyfried too.

[MT Gianni]

I lost a ot of respect for Milek after the 357 Max fiasco. IIRC, he was the impetus behind the exposure of throat cutting, which happened with other calibers as well. I don't thin k he wanted anything to compete with his Herret cartridges. Then he put down the 357 when his handloaded speer swedged soft lead boolits would not kill a treed bear.

[Thin Man]

Skeeter's writing style made me search for his articles. I enjoyed each of them, technical and fictional alike, and each one caused me to smile. He gave rise to my interest in 44 Special. That interest led me to convert an S&W M28 to 44 Spl., buy other firearms in that caliber, and still wait for more to appear to join the herd. When I learned of his passing I experienced a sadness that lingers - that of losing a friend I had never met. Still miss him and his writings.

[375supermag]

always enjoyed Skeeter's writing...
Led me to buy my first .44Special and then a Lipsey's Flat top Ruger.


He was right about 7.5 GRS of Unique over a 240gr LSWC

[facetious]

Its Skeeters fault that i ended up reloading and casting. When I was 23 and all hopped up reading Skeeter and a gun shop close to where I was living i ended up blowing most of my rent money on a Ruger Black Hawk .357 ss. The probalem was that I didn't have any thing left for ammo. A guy that lived in the same apartment building that i had been going shooting with started making fun of me saying that I didn't make enough money to learn how to shoot it. Then he started to teach me to reload and help me set up a reloading set up that would fit in a apartment. He all so showed me how to cast. 33 years later I still have my first 2'x3' bench and lee press. Now it sits next to my 3 1/2' x 7' bench and enough stuff to fill one corner of the basement. And it is all his fault.

P.S. I still have the B.H.

[jlchucker]

I used to enjoy reading Skeeter's stories. They were more about nostalgia--particularly the "Me and Joe" stuff, than about gun tech. For tech stuff, there's this website and not much else, as far as I'm concerned. But for stories that trigger memories of growing up in a rural area, Skeeter was hard to beat.

[Dframe]

I always enjoyed Skeeters technical writings more than his story telling. But enjoyed it I did. My favorite writer of all time was the late George Nonte. Got to meet him briefly once. I could hardly speak.

[375RUGER]

Count me too. I've always enjoyed Skeeter's writings.

[gandydancer]

George Nonte.. Dang! I forgot about him. great writer. with a handle bar mustache & a cowboy hat. died way to young.

[TXGunNut]

Reading this thread makes me feel sorry for kids and young adults reading today's gun rags, no wonder they prefer video games. I know there are a few good writers left but their articles are driven by the advertising dollar and little more. Sad, very sad.
I kept a magazine open to Bob Milek's reloading article on my nightstand for years, better than any sleeping pill!

[Outpost75]

I always enjoyed Skeeter's writingz, but more as entertainment, than for technical content. Many of his "recommended" loads are hotter than I care to shoot. It was my pleasure to share an adult beverage and dinner with him and Bill Jordan, Bob Millick and Bob Bell, as a guest of Mr. Ruger and Ed Harris, when I went through armorer's school in the mid-1980s. They did things right with dignity and class.