Gunwriters

[High Desert Hunter]

I love to read, and reading about guns is even better, while there are still some good writers out there passing along good information, there are a few missing from my favorite periodicals. Of course at the top of the list is Elmer Keith, while not much of a 44 guy, his honest talk about what worked and what didn't would likely get a guy fired these days, but increased his stock in my book. Ross Seyfried, I miss his articles on handguns, and handgun hunting, he inspired my switch from jacketed to cast for most of my handgunning needs, he also fostered my love of the 45 Colt, how impressed he was with the caliber and big cast bullets, while he didn't have much love for the 454, the fact that it pushed a large bullet to the 5 shot 45 Colt speeds sold me, I can only dream of taking as many African and American big game animals with mine as he did with his. John Taffin, his were the first "stout" 45 Colt loads I used, I still read his articles! Mike Venturino, his work on bullet casting has really helped me over the years, his tastes run counter to mine, but I owe him for making me a better caster. There are others, but when it came to handguns, these were the big ones for me.

[Dan Cash]

I agree with your list above. Might add to that, Skeeter Skelton. Sadly, such fellows as these are dead or dying off. The modern crop is not so slick,

[Piedmont]

If the original poster likes those he should try Brian Pearce, too. Brian is the only guy in my opinion who could write a modern version of Keith's Sixguns. Brian has spent his whole life on huge cattle ranches and has been shooting big game and everything smaller with sixguns since he was a teenager. I would guess he is fifty or so now. When I want to know how cartridges work on game, I look to Brian because he has a vast amount of experience.

[High Desert Hunter]

Believe it or not, I didn't read much Skeeter until I was in my 30s and he was on to his reward, something I wish I could change, I enjoy his work very much, and he should definitely be on this list. There is a small collection of his writings at http://www.darkcanyon.net/skeeter_skelton.htm .

[High Desert Hunter]

I do enjoy Mr. Pearce's articles, I wish he hadn't replaced Ross Seyfried, but he is very knowledgeable, wish they were both in Handloader. He re-enforces stuff I know, and every now and again prints a jewel that really shines, I reference his article on midrange 454 loads, and he is spot on, they work very well. Hope he continues to write.

[Adam10mm]

I miss Milek. Simpson and Pierce are my two I seek out.

[Char-Gar]

Townsend Whelen is the one I miss most. While in the Army, he commanded both Frankford and Springfield arsenals. He also a hunter and outdoorsman. He was indeed "Mister Rifleman". He was gone from the scene before most more modern writers began to publish. For me at least, he was the high water mark.

[357Mag]

HDH -

Howdy !

For ballistics info & education, you can't go wrong readin' Homer Powley's articles; even though he's been deceased for a while.
For wound ballistics info, the works of Dr. Martin Fackler.

For self defense w/ a handgun practical knowledge, Masad Ayoob tells it like it is.
For a knowlegeable writer w/ a good revolver background, Bill Jordan's " No second place winner " is a worth-while read.


With regards,
357Mag

[ErnieBishop]

I liked Ross for his revolver articles and Bob Milek for his specialty pistol articles.

[High Desert Hunter]

This list could get pretty long, when it came to rifles, I had a whole other list, although some of the names are the same! I lament the fact that our gun culture seems to have taken a turn towards the tactical, and some of that is due to the world we live in. Would love to see how old Elmer would have addressed things today, I don't imagine he had a PC bone in his body. I miss there being more hunting, and plain target shooting articles than there were "tactical", or "defensive" ones. I'm nearing 50, still young, but I fondly remember the days when the 30'06 and the 44 Magnum were the tops. I remember watching my Granddad shoot a raghorn bull elk at near 50 yards with his Blackhawk in 357 Magnum, and how amazed I was to watch it fall to one shot, I knew he could do it with his 45 Colt, but that 357 to my young eyes seemed so small, wish I still had that bullet. I have only performed a coup de grace on a few head of game, and right now, with 50 approaching, I have it in my heart to try and take a big game animal with my 45 Colt or 454 Casull, the 454 is my giving into the whole has to be bigger to work weakness, just as my 45/70 and 375 Ruger are, but I know from first hand experience, and from reading Elmer, Skeeter, and others, that my 45 Colt is really all I need, the 454 just makes a little bigger hole, and sends the bullet further after the work is done. Sorry for going off on a tangent.....

[Scharfschuetze]

Jack O'Conner and Jim Carmichael were both knowledgeable and readable writers in the 60s and early 70s. I always enjoyed their columns in such monthly magazines like Field & Stream and Outdoor Life. I still have a couple of their books on my book shelf.

[High Desert Hunter]

Thank you for the replies, you guys have really jogged the old memory banks!

[Hardcast416taylor]

Jack O'Conner and Jim Carmichael were both knowledgeable and readable writers in the 60s and early 70s. I always enjoyed their columns in such monthly magazines like Field & Stream and Outdoor Life. I still have a couple of their books on my book shelf.

You beat me to it mentioning this 2 great writers that made Outdoor Life magazine enjoyable to read. Besides it was O`Connor that championed the .270 Winchester, his wife Elenor was a deadly shot with her 7x57 Mauser.Robert

[sthwestvictoria]

We have Townsend Whelen in the castpic reference section as PDF
http://www.castpics.net/subsite2/ClassicWorks/default.html
Elmer Keith and Bill Jordan are available here:
https://archive.org/details/folkscanomy_selfdefense (https://archive.org/search.php?query=%28collection%3Afolkscanomy_selfd efense%20OR%20mediatype%3Afolkscanomy_selfdefense% 29%20AND%20-mediatype%3Acollection&sort=-reviewdate)
I like the old Gun Digest Treasury Books which often contain writings by Keith and Connor.

[Scharfschuetze]

You beat me to it mentioning this 2 great writers that made Outdoor Life magazine enjoyable to read. Besides it was O`Connor that championed the .270 Winchester, his wife Elenor was a deadly shot with her 7x57 Mauser.Robert

Yep. He was a die hard 270 fan. I think he moved on to the 7mm Remington later in his career, but I'll always remember his unceasing praise of the Winchester Model 70 in 270. I have a Pre-War Model 70 in 270 and I always think of some of his writings every time I have it out to shoot.

Cabellas had a Jack O'Connor memorial Winchester 270 out last year. I looked at one and it was quite well executed and would have been too nice, at least for me, to hunt with. Here's my Model 270. Not quite as fancy, but it has the fun factor written all over it.

[pworley1]

That is a great list of writers, there is not a cull in the lot. I would add Reid Coffield for his gunsmithing articles.

[pkie44]

Ross, Milek, Skeeter, Bill Jordan, Layne Simpson, Rick Jamison, Brain Pearce and John Barsness.

[Charley]

Phil Engledrum (I think that is how he spelled his last name). Never wrote in depth, but wasn't afraid to call a piece of dung a piece of dung when he reviewed a firearm.

[koehlerrk]

Always found myself agreeing with Jeff Cooper. Stay in "condition yellow" my friends.

[rintinglen]

Phil Sharpe and George Nonte knew more about fire arms than just about any three you can name combined. Sharpe in particular gets too little credit for his contributions to shooting knowledge.

[mac60]

I always enjoyed Dean Grenell's writing. George Nonte is another one I miss.

[Firebricker]

Bob Milek was always my favorite I really miss his work. Growing up in the 80s I always looked forward to his articles in G&A. Brian Pierces writing style reminds of him. If I had to pick a current favorite it would be Pierce. FB

[GhostHawk]

I am reading Kieth's "Hell I was there!" right now, frankly I love it.

Takes me back to a quieter, simpler time, perhaps not more gentle, life was often rough as a cob.
No electricity or refrigeration, but people were not afraid to talk to people. Neighbor's helped each other.

I grew up that way in a very small town in Minnesota, population 135 counting dogs.

I miss that way of life, but I don't miss the isolation, the fact that everyone else knows your business, and what your doing, and what your up to. I quickly found that unless you had the itch to be a farmer it was a hard place to make a living.

40 miles away in Fargo ND life is much easier, lots of jobs to be had by a farm boy that wasn't afraid of work.

[salvadore]

Carmichael referred to rifles as legitimate firearms, throwing handguns under the bus, haven't bought an outdoor life since.

O'Conner once said, "Just because you wear a big hat, doesn't mean you know what you're talking about.

My favorite was Skeeter and most of his era's writers. Currently I like Brian Pearce, John Barsness, Terry Wieland, and not strictly a gun writer, John Conners.

[Outpost75]

There are also some good writers who simply fell off the radar, whom I miss. Rick Jamison who used to write for Wolfe was a nice guy who I had the pleasure of hunting with a few times. Same for Bob Milek, another fine, modest man. Not self-serving blow-hards like Askins, who I also met at an NRA Annual meeting in San Antonio years ago.

I was introduced to Col. Askins by NRA Director Roy F. Dunlap, another fine gentleman of good character, fine craftsman and great writer. He referred to Col. Askins as "Horse's A$$Ki$$", which Askins overhead and then remarked, "Sgt. Dunlap, I'd bet when I die, you'd walk all the way from Tucson to San Antonio just to urinate on my headstone!"

Roy replied, "No Sir, Colonel Sir, when I got out of the Army, I swore I would never stand in line again!"

Dunlap's Gunsmithing book is a classic, as is his volume Ordnance Went Up Front.

[robertbank]

O'Conner once said, "Just because you wear a big hat, doesn't mean you know what you're talking about.


That would have been directed at old Elmer Keith.

Take Care

Bob

[L Ross]

My mom taught me to read before I started school. By second grade my favorite thing to read was Jack O'Connor in Outdoor Life. Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Agaard stoked my desire for a 7x57 and I finally had a custom Mauser built in 1991. They did not steer me wrong.

Duke

[country gent]

Keep in mind alot of these writers being named here seen the transistion from black powder to smokeless and were in on the begining, developing new technologies. Kiet had first hand knowledge of the big buffalo rifles and cap and ball revolvers before starting work with the cartridge revolvers and firearms. Oconnor was from the same ebasic era. I think I read once Col. Wheland had a hand in the development of the hornet. In the 50s and 60s benchrest was at its beginning and growing fast leaps and bounds being made and these writers were in on it. I believe the 41 mag was Bill Jordans ideal police cartridge till it was magnumized, now we have the 40 S&W that meets his original criteria. These old boys didnt report the "knowledge" they lived it and wrote what was thier observations.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have a few favorites. Some guys just read a little easier than others, and that coupled with irrefutable knowledge born of vast experience is what I look for. A way with words is more important than absolute experience IMHO. But still the guy has to know what he is talking about or his input is basically useless.

I have spent my entire adult life looking for the truth. I am pretty good at ferreting out BS in a large range of subjects. As a result I can usually figure who's information I will use to advance my ambitions in any given field of endeavor. I always look for the original source of information. It is the least likely to be convoluted by others that came after who think they knew what they were doing.

The freshest example in my mind right now is the .375 and .400 Whelen cartridges which have been so defiled by the meddling of late comers who had credibility with some but really didn't know what they were talking about in this case. The source and the people who really did know, had no problems whatsoever with these cartridges in properly made guns using properly made reloading dies. Still the BS resurfaces frequently.

I really like Brian Pearce because he has an easy to read and not offensive to anyone type of style. His knowledge on guns ammo and the subject in general is pretty extensive, and if you knew how many loading manuals are written around his and his sons test shooting data you'd be really surprised. Lyman 49, and Hornady's Manuals being largely populated with his data. I have been pressing him to do books using compilations of his articles. He knows who I am and that I respect his knowledge and as such I would love to see his writings spread further. I think he is one of the best currently out there. Helluva nice guy who always has and hour or so to listen to my ramblings and give advise which is easy to put to use.

Mike Venturino has published a lot of information on guns, ammo, etc. The shear volume of his work is staggering. Most all of his work is backed up by the axiom "If you haven't done it, you can't write about it!" I just got a copy of the new Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook...It was largely written by him.

I grew up with Jack O'Connor and started reading his articles in Outdoor Life when I was 10. My grandmother got me a subscription every year for Christmas. His stories have stayed and one in particular, "New Cartridges are like new jokes." has stayed with me my entire life. Everytime I see a new cartridge come out I immediately think of that phrase. Most everything that was worth while in cartridges was done before 1960 and the majority of the really good ones were out before 1935. Obviously there are some new ones that will make the cut, but the .30-06 will never die just because it is "that good." The newest cartridge I have much interest in is the .44 Magnum from 1956. I was 6 years old when it came out.

Elmer Keith is another one, but his main contribution was more from the direct field experience side of the sport. "Hell,,,I was there!" pretty much covers it with him, simply because he was there when a lot of the good stuff was invented. I also like his "Fog Horn Leghorn" Style of writing, mainly because I know he could back most all of it up in the real world. Acting like you are full of BS doesn't necessarily mean you are. Maybe a little but not completely full.

I love Townsend Whelen's stories and since he pretty much invented the American Bolt Action Sporting Rifle I think we can safely say he was a good source for information on that subject. The fact that he and his contemporaries had all of this figured out nearly 100 years ago speaks volumes about the newbies who try (usually unsuccessfully) to reinvent the wheel. I try to read everything I can find from him, because I know it is "Source Material."

"Source Material" is where it is at for me. This is what I seek out, and I would advise others do the same if they are serious about what they do..

There are others that I enjoy reading as well, and there are some that I dismiss utterly.

They didn't pass the "source test."

Randy

[Char-Gar]

It is always good to remember that writing gun related material is done for profit and there is always a business side of this that must be acknowledged. Often, more so these days than earlier, the business side has an influence on the content.

[onceabull]

Right on target re:Brian Pearce...Spent and few minutes chatting with him(& Mrs P.) at the John Taffin Appreciation Banquet last Saturday night..for sure,he is darn easy to spot even in a crowd like that..Also shared a dinner table there with Glen Fryxell .. I'm a fan[smilie=l: of his Cast bullet endeavors..All the great door prizes landed elsewhere, and the auction Revolver went to $4500(with accessories,autographs,et al).. Nonetheless a grand event...Onceabull

[alamogunr]

In addition to most of the writers mentioned so far, I enjoy John Taffin. I know he is not too popular here considering his disdain for Cast Boolits but I still like his writing. I've got most of his books since they primarily deal with subjects I'm interested in.

I too wish that Brian Pearce would write one or more books based on his many articles. He is the main reason I continue to subscribe to Handloader.

[Quiettime]

I always enjoyed Dean Grenell's writing...

+1 he was great. ABC's of Reloading taught me a ton when I was starting out in my teens

[Boogieman]

Elmer, Skeeter, & Jeff Cooper. They lived what they wrote about & didn't have one drop of PC amoung them. almost forgot Bill Jordan

[lefty o]

i like some of the old favorties, and some of the current guys arent bad........that said, even the current guys that are decent need to take a step back and quit writing the same drivel over and over, and over.

[Patrick L]

A third vote for Dean Grennel. I learned a lot from his writings

Another guy I always liked was Clay Harvey. He was active back in the 80s. His writings always were based on a lot of practical experience.

Also a big fan of Skeeter and Bill Jordan.

[High Desert Hunter]

I would like to see Handloader do some articles on cast bullets in some new calibers, instead of the same old 357, 44, 45, etc. How about an article on shooting cast in an AR, or a 22-250? I also would like to see the results when things don't go right, easy to tell me that such and such a combo doesn't work at XXX yards. Why didn't it work, did it keyhole, or did it say fly off into never never land. When I talk about shooting caliber X, I like to tell what worked, what didn't, and what I saw that led me to believe it was a crappy combination. I have gotten poor accuracy with almost every caliber I shoot, and usually I can trace it back to something I did, some change I made, or having to admit that I messed something up. My cast bullets in my 375 Ruger are giving me fits, to the point that I have set it aside for now, shoots MOA out beyond 500 yards with J word bullets, and it shoots very well with bullets a scosh heavier from the Bullshop, but I obviously haven't found the right alloy for the pressures I am wanting to shoot at. Stuff like that is what I want to read, not 3 pages on the 300 Win Mag, that I have about 6 different articles on, that the only real changes were a new bullet, and maybe a new powder, a couple of paragraphs worth at best. Of course if I had my own magazine, I would likely go out of business withing 6 months.

[alamogunr]

I would like to see Handloader do some articles on cast bullets in some new calibers, instead of the same old 357, 44, 45, etc. How about an article on shooting cast in an AR, or a 22-250? I also would like to see the results when things don't go right, easy to tell me that such and such a combo doesn't work at XXX yards. Why didn't it work, did it keyhole, or did it say fly off into never never land. When I talk about shooting caliber X, I like to tell what worked, what didn't, and what I saw that led me to believe it was a crappy combination. I have gotten poor accuracy with almost every caliber I shoot, and usually I can trace it back to something I did, some change I made, or having to admit that I messed something up. My cast bullets in my 375 Ruger are giving me fits, to the point that I have set it aside for now, shoots MOA out beyond 500 yards with J word bullets, and it shoots very well with bullets a scosh heavier from the Bullshop, but I obviously haven't found the right alloy for the pressures I am wanting to shoot at. Stuff like that is what I want to read, not 3 pages on the 300 Win Mag, that I have about 6 different articles on, that the only real changes were a new bullet, and maybe a new powder, a couple of paragraphs worth at best. Of course if I had my own magazine, I would likely go out of business withing 6 months.

Aside from the $$, that is why most of us here will never have our own magazine. I have to be content to keep copies of articles/posts/etc. that interest me despite the repetition.

[canyon-ghost]

On the official site for Cast Bullet Association, I found Ed Harris. He still shoots cast bullets and reports his findings. He writes some, is quite personable, so I bought the first old copy I could find of the original cast bullets book. Sure enough, his article was in it, in 1956. He's in his latter years now but, still comes up with some dazzling projects. Although there has been some competition between the two sites(somebody hurt somebody's feelings), I've never had a problem with being a member of both.

Ron

[Outpost75]

The 1956 American Rifleman article was written by Edwin H. Harrison, retired, Colonel, U.S. Army Ordnance Corps, West Point class of 1934, an entirely different gentleman, now deceased.

C.E. Harris, no relation, was mentored by Col. Harrison, and is some years younger.

[5Shot]

Good list...

Just picked up a 1st edition of Sixguns (which I have never read) and I am looking forward to digging into that.

[sixshot]

The true sixgun pioneer was Elmer Keith, he was an experimenter supreme & we owe him much thanks. Skeeter was my favorite writer though, he just had a way of letting you join him when he headed into the desert looking for adventure for mischief! O'Connor was a great writer but I never cared for his uppity ways, although I loved the 270, go figure! Bob Hagel was a great writer & experimenter, I also enjoyed Bob Milek, Jim Carmichael, Layne Simpson & Ted Trueblood. One of the most experineced gun men was Finn Aargard. Probably the very finest outdoor writer of them all was Russell Annabel. The latest crop of writers are now headlined by John Taffin, The Duke, Brian Pearce & John Barsness, all 4 are very good writers. The biggest draw back to todays writers is the fact that there is very little left to write about, how many new calibers are left to be invented & written up. These guys can only write so many aritcles about the 30/06, 270, 7mm mag or the latest 223, its pretty tough to keep all of us happy now days!

Dick

[canyon-ghost]

Read "Sixguns" cover to cover. I'm now reading, "Sixgun Cartridges and Loads". Almost finished with it. I read Elmer Keith too.

[High Desert Hunter]

As a kid, one of my favorite books was Jack O'Connor's "Big Game Animals of North America" Still look at it from time to time.