Your favorite old timers and why

[Bazoo]

I started by having moms boyfriend shoot a 22 with me occasionally, then got a bb gun for christmas, round age 13. I dont recall shooting more than a dozen times... but it was something I looked forward to each time. He died after a couple years, and Mom wouldnt let me have a gun of my own. When I turned 18, i started buying rifles, and trading around. Got into handguns sometime, and started reading what I could get ahold of bout guns. I really aint read a whole lot of the old stuff. I fell in love with the older cartridges, and older guns. I like very few of the ones... but some. Im 33, reload, cast, and look at old guns when I got to gunshops. Something special about keeping it alive I think.

I think the most influential i've read so far is Cartridges of the world 4 and 5, by Frank C Barnes. He's funny, and loved what he wrote about. I especially liked when he wrote about the 32 special, when It would get a worn bore "you couldnt hit a flock of barns with it". I laughed pretty hard over that one.

[marlin39a]

Jeff Cooper. Lived here in Paulden, and founded Gunsite. Met him and his wife, Janelle. I miss his writings from the old Guns & Ammo magazine.

[Chili]

At one time I had about 10 or gun magazine subscriptions. Overtime as the good writes mentioned above passed away or retired I noticed these magazines had prostituted themselves to pimps of the gun industry. Gone are the informative articles, technical write-ups and down right funny stories. I think the decline in the quality is because of the internet, aging authors, and let's face it firearms technology is almost developed to the point that there is very little to develop when it comes to cartridges and firearms.

[Tom W.]

Once upon a time there was an idea that the pressure curve could be controlled by loading two or three different burn rates of powder, the idea being to use a fast powder first then progressively slower, the slower powders igniting later in the burn would extend the pressure curve and yeild higher velocities. Dick Casull used the concept, a triple powder charge in developing the 454 Casull. Pressure testing with piezo electric transducers showed the idea to be bunk, the powder charge did not ignite sequentially. This method should not be confused with duplesing which is a different application of a similar concept where a small charge of a fast er powder is used as a primer charge for larger charges of a very slow powder. Elmer Keith and a couple other fellows (I don't recall their names, the 338 OKH is their namesake) experimented with a variation using a cartridge case with a tube centered in the cartridge to carry the primer ignition to the front of the powder charge (the concept is used is/was used in cannon cases). Their experiments came to nothing as well.

That's not what Pat McManus wrote about.......

[Digital Dan]

Patton comes to mind.

[BeeMan]

There are a lot of familiar names mentioned above. My earlier influences, in no particular order include: Skeeter Skelton, Bob Milek, Jack O'Connor, Elgin Gates, David Bradshaw, Sam Fadala, Jeff Cooper, Finn Aagaard, Ken Howell, and more recently, John Barsness.

Edit to add: Ross Seyfried, JD Jones, Dean Grennell, and Bob Brister.

[halvey]

I always enjoyed reading Jeff Cooper, even though I disagreed with him a lot.

[Nueces]

Harvey D would have been one of my first choices. The book with his letters to Handloader "Yours Truly by HD" done by Wolfe publishing is just excellent. I sometimes grab it off the bookshelf just to peruse again. If you haven't read it, find a copy. It won't disappoint.

I came to know HD through his back page 'letters' in Handloader, so I bought the Wolfe book when it was published. He knew about sizing large, which knowledge rusted through during the latter 20th century, when few writers were as grounded in experimental experience as was Donaldson. I recall the writer's revolt that induced the mould makers to reduce the as cast sizes of their designs to better match jacketed diameters. We are fortunate that this madness was overcome by modern CBers more like the old ones.

This site is one of the conservators of really good CB practice.

[Texas by God]

Skeeter, John Wooters, John Lachuk, Bill Jordan, P.O.Ackley, Finn Aagard to name a few. IMO Kieth,Askins, O'Conner & Cooper were a tad egotistical for me but I read them anyway.
Best, Thomas.

[texasnative46]

To All,

Inasmuch as my boyhood wasn't very happy (after my beloved grandfather suddenly died & then my father early became an invalid & passed away), I spent a great deal of time reading Robert Ruark. = I spent many an hour wishing that I was HIM and reading his books until some of them literally fell apart.
(I've visited Southport & "The Old Man's house" numerous times & have tried W/O success to buy the house several times. - I've also tried to get the town to celebrate a ROBERT RUARK DAY, W/O success, as he was NOT remembered fondly there.)

yours, tex

[Tom W.]

http://mcmanusindex.com

[Shiloh]

'Bout the only two names on my bookshelves that haven't appeared here are Theodore Roosevelt and Robert Ruark, both of whom, I feel, had considerable influence on my reading habits. Still have copies of Ruark's "Something of Value" and "Use Enough Gun" on the same shelf with the Hemingway, Roosevelt, Keith, Cooper, and Jordan.

Bill

I had a first edition hardback of "Use Enough Gun" from a library give away.
Loaned it and it is gone forever. Mistake.

Shiloh

[Brad Cayton]

I grew up on a farm using rifles and shotguns but dad would never let us have a handgun as he considered them dangerous. I left home, and picked up my first handgun. I subscribed to Shooting Times around 1980. Skeeter, Bob Milek and Bill Jordan handgun articles kept me fired up. I found an old hardback copy of Kieth's Sixguns that had been left in a house I rented and there was no looking back then. Read Bob Milek's handgun hunting stuff and had to have a Contender in 30 Herrett and another barrel in 223. Skeeter and Mike Venturo both played a big part in me casting and shooting lead.
I wish I could remember the whole story correctly but remember an article where someone was interviewing Skeeter. He was asked to name one time a handgun had saved his life. Of course the fellow doing the interview was expecting to hear one of his border patrol or law officer stories. Skeeter, being Skeeter, told him of a earlier time, home from over seas and tight on money, that he sold a SA Colt for $5. Said if he hadn't had that Colt he would have starved to death

[texasnative46]

To All,

Btw, my nearly life-long "fixation" on big-game hunting started with HORN OF THE HUNTER by Robert Ruark.

yours, tex

[LeadPoisonTX]

This has become an A-List of Top Authors. My personal favorites and the ones who have influenced me the most are: Skeeter Skelton, Bill Jordan, Elmer Keith, Bob Hagel, Ed McGivern, Ken Waters. Unfortunately, I only have one favorite contemporary author, and that is Brian Pearce who will in time be recognized as worthy of joining the ranks of the classic authors of yesterday.

[JohnH]

Elmer Keith, "Sixguns" and "Hell, I Was There" in particular.
All of Skeeter's articles.

And not really old timers, but...
John Taffin and Jim Wilson stuff.
Brian Pearce nowadays also.
And Dick Thompson's adventures he posts online.

His style kind of puts me off and for the most part rifles aren't my thing, but I do enjoy his articles on handguns immensely. He is well written and widely experienced. The man has prolly forgotten more than I'll ever know. Handloader/Rifle's current staff is likely the most talented and experienced of the current crop. We would be amiss not to include them as they have made very solid contributions in the shooting/handloading world and there is among us a generation that will consider them to be their "old timers" in the same way some of us look at the likes of Ross Seyfreid, Jack O'Conner or Elmer Keith. John Barsness stands out to me from his sensible approach to game rifles and ballistics. Although I had been seeing it on my own for some time before he wrote it, an article he wrote titled something like "Too Much Gun or How Much Velocity?" stands out to me. The jist of the article of course is that most hunters use too much gun for the game and conditions. Hunting with cast boolits taught me a lot about how little gun is actually needed. These men bring and have brought to the table a body of experience that most of us will never have, and the ready remembrance's here of them speaks to their positive influences on their audience. So cheers to the fathers, grandfathers, uncles and writers who have influenced us and made the pursuit of our hobby more enjoyable.

[izzyjoe]

I'm from the younger generation, being 42 I've not read any of the articles, or stories from the past writers. I've heard the names like Sketter, O'connor, and Keith sitting around the camp fires at deer camps as a teen with my dad. I would love to go back and read some of the old books, but I wouldn't know where to look for them, and at the time I don't have the extra coin. Of the current writers my favorites are Mike Venturino, John Barness, and Brian Pearce. I've learned a lot from this site more than anyplace, I never had anybody who taught me reloading or casting, I just jumped right into it head first, my wife thought that I was crazy, and still does for that matter. Every time we go anywhere, if I have time I'm rummaging through old gun stores, looking for molds, lead, powder, and other gun stuff. My Grandpa let me shoot his 22 when I was younger, but my dad never did take shooting, he never had the time, and he had only taken me deerhunting a few times, now my Grandpa was the hunter of the family when he was young, of course around the time of the Deppression you had to hunt to survive, I loved his stories of hunting as a young man, some where kinda rough, but they had to do what they to do to live. I just wish I could have hunted with him, but his health had failed him before I come about. He's still with me, but I do miss him!

[waarp8nt]

I'm in my mid 40's too. So, I wasn't there for much, if any of the older timers 1st hand accounts.

I remember reading some of the articles and stories of the old timers in my Dad, Uncles and Older Brother's magazines. It wasn't until taking some Night Classes as a young adult that I had the library order a P.O. Ackley book. I now own several books from P.O. Ackley, Jack O'Conner, Elmer Keith, George Nonte, Sam Fadala, among other Gunsmithing, Reloading, Casting and Shooting books from various authors.

I like the writing style of Boyd Mace from Precision Shooting.

While it may not be in the spirit of the thread as he is not a writer, there have been books written about him. I must say that Hands down...My all time favorite "gun person" is Carlos Hathcock. His service and sacrifice to the country was outstanding.

[lightman]

Lucian Carey's stories about the machinist/gunsmith/shooter JM Pyne. I have all the stories in a collection by Guy Lautard.
Loren

I enjoyed those stories myself. I guess I liked and respected about all of the old timers. But there were too many good ones to really pick a favorite. I guess my favorites were Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan and John Wooters. If I'm searching for a bullet mold I will always choose a "Keith" type, if possible. I met Bill Jordan at the Tulsa Gun Show several years ago. I always enjoyed reading and learning about reloading with John Wooters. Miss all of those guys!

[jhrosier]

I always enjoyed Elmer Keith's writing.
A few years ago when I bought a 1903A3 Springfield, I got lucky and found one with his stamp from the time that he inspected rifles at Ogden for the army.

Jack