Skeeter Loads

[joatmon]

I wonder what boolit Skeeter would be loading in .44spl and 38/357 if he were still with us? The same or would some of these current ones turn his head!

Thanks Aaron

[Ola]

Have you read this?

http://www.lasc.us/FryxellSkeetersBullets.htm

[scattershot]

Great read, thanks!

[Green Frog]

That old 358156 is likely to be around for a long time... at least as long as the 38/357 is still here and people are loading for it. The design that Thompson came up with was (IMHO, at least) the perfect storm of bullet weight, shape and all other factors to make a combination that can't be beat. Skeeter recognized it and so have a very large number of mere mortals as well. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :mrgreen:

Froggie

[joatmon]

Yes Ola, I've read all the Skeeter I could find and have a coupla books. He has been a real good read for me unlike some other older writers that were full of themselves. Skeeter was down to earth and the 156 always reminds me of him but he tried others before he settled on the 156 and I wonder what he would of thought of so me newer offerings.
Aaron

[Drm50]

I agree with bullet choice and character of Skeeter. Some of the old guys were a little hard to take, being full of theirselves. I still prefer most of them over a lot of the new guys, they are
not only full of themselves, they are full of something else.

[Ola]

I think Skeeter would be fascinated with all of the new designs. He would be trying them out and MAYBE he would find some new favorite cast bullets. If not, he would go back to his "old" favorites. Either way he'd be happy because of all the new knowledge he gained in these experiments.

[Piedmont]

Skeeter wasn't much of an experimenter or an advanced handloader. I mean no disparagement by that since he and Elmer Keith were my print shooting mentors. What worked then works just as well now.

[shoot-n-lead]

I think Skeeter would be fascinated with all of the new designs. He would be trying them out and MAYBE he would find some new favorite cast bullets. If not, he would go back to his "old" favorites. Either way he'd be happy because of all the new knowledge he gained in these experiments.

I have been a Skeeter fan for many, many years and I am sure he would find different favorites...there are better designs around, now.

[nicholst55]

I think Skeeter would find the ease with which one can design a new cast bullet and obtain a mold for that design a source of great interest. I'll wager that he would spend a lot of time on websites like Mountain Mold's, designing new bullets. Who knows how many new molds and bullets he'd end up trying?

[shoot-n-lead]

Skeeter wasn't much of an experimenter or an advanced handloader. I mean no disparagement by that since he and Elmer Keith were my print shooting mentors. What worked then works just as well now.

I agree with this...and there are plenty of us that have loaded and cast more bullets than Skeeter ever did. Where he holds the advantage over most of us was his opportunity to use his loads in the field...more than most of us.

[rintinglen]

Skeeter ran up a few loads that worked well with the powders he had available and called it good. There are times when I wish I could do the same, but there is always some new powder on the market.

[Leadmelter]

I think Skeeter taught me more than most. I think be would be bewildered by all the molds and powder available to us these days.
But in my wisdom, I use his loads before spending time and money trying to find the next best thing.
Ledmelter
MI

[Blackwater]

Skeeter was one heckuva' shooter, and a very brave and solid man. If he wrote something, you could pretty well take it to the bank. I remember one reason he liked the 358156 was because he got .38 cases for free on most ranges he shot on, simply by picking them up. These he loaded with the 358156, seated out to crimp in the lower crimp groove for an OAL not too short of a full length .357 case crimped in the top, or normal crimp groove. IIRC (somebody correct me if I'm wrong here - my forgetter is the only thing I have that's getting stronger) he loaded 12.5 gr. of 2400 behind that long seated bullet for what he said was @ 1200 fps., give or take depending on gun and barrel length. He used tons of those loads in his big M-27 5" S&W, because it was very cheap (they didn't pay BP folks all that terribly well, and economy was a way of life for almost all of them), and because it served any purpose he had need of, even for self defense and long range shooting with his pistols. In short, he was a very practical man, who DID experiment, but only when necessity dictated it, or he simply got a case of the curiousness. But he was honest about his experiences to a fault, and generally good natured about it all. He greatly respected the genuine experience of others, BP or not, and was appreciative of any good man who had good will and was of an honest nature. He had a great sense of humor, especially about the less gifted mentally, and all the things that he'd seen normally sane people do. His "Jug Johnson" stories were hilarious! I miss that man greatly.

I have seen some allusions to his having developed a drinking problem later in life - a fate many soldiers and LE types seem prone to when the "action" stops. Apparently, he'd become morose when in his cups, but I have no definitive proof of this. Either way, I love the guy and value all his stories, whether the humorous or the instructive and informative types. He was master of them all, and totally reliable and honest. I wish I could say that about the current salesmen .... oops! Meant "gunwriters" of today! I miss him, Bill, Warren, Jack, and many more. Gun writing is a whole 'nother ball game today, and I doubt any of the classic writers would put up with or could make it in the sales .... oops again! I meant "gun writing" business of today.

The editors of their day printed pretty much whatever they wrote, even bad reviews. I can't remember the last bad review I've seen by our "modern" crew! Bob Dylan was right: "The times, they are a'changin'!"

[Thumbcocker]

At this stage in my shooting life I tend to look for one or two loads per caliber that work well in a lot of different sixguns. Learning what Elmer and Skeeter knew before I was born.

[Green Frog]

I have three revolver bullet moulds I am unlikely to ever relinquish... a 3118, a 357156, and a 429421. Coincidentally, they were also apparently three of Skeeter's favorites as well. Coincidence? I think not! Now I've got to dig out my old copy of "Hipshots" and just make sure the 45 Colt bullet I pick is the right one.

As for him being "morose" in his later years, I had the honor of being one of the last folks to talk to him at one of his last public appearances at an NRA meeting... in fact he left early that day due to his illness. He was cordial, engaged and helpful, willing to take time to talk to a relative newbie and share his experience. Morose? Not even a little! He may have had his bad days, but then again, don't we all?

Froggie