Random Duke Venturino question

[Patrick L]

I wasn't sure where to post this.

So I'm a fan of Duke, have been for years. My question is, early in his career did he write under an assumed name? I like acquiring old Gun Digests, Guns Illustrated, etc. I recently got the 1983 Guns Illustrated, and there is an article about reloading for the .30 Carbine Blackhawk penned by a guy named Brandon Wolf. In the photos he looks for all the world like a young Duke. There is even a photo of "the author's wife" that sure looks like Yvonne.

Was this something he did back then? I know it used to be a thing for some writers.

Just curious.

[Bazoo]

You mean mike venturino? Does he go by duke? Never heard of that.

[elmacgyver0]

You mean mike venturino? Does he go by duke? Never heard of that.

You must not read the gun rags.

[Bazoo]

Not much. Just handloader.

[Nobade]

If you are on Facebook you could ask him. He is on there.

[porthos]

some magazines; he is "duke" in others he is mike. he is not John Wayne!

[M-Tecs]

He was a member here and may still be under a different name. Message his on Facebook.

[Patrick L]

Dinosaur here, I don't do Facebook.

Fire bad!!!!!

[Nueces]

I can confirm that Mike did publish the occasional article under the nom de plume of Brandon Wolf. George C Nonte used C George Charles. Was common practice at 1980s gunzines.

[Patrick L]

Thank you Nueces!

[lotech]

It may not apply in the above cases, but sometimes an editor would have too many articles by one author yet he wants to publish all of them in the same publication. The reasoning was that it looks better if there at least appears to be a greater number of writers for the edition than there really were. I never figured out such reasoning but it was a common practice years ago especially with the various GUN DIGEST publications (GUNS ILLUSTRATED, etc.). Someone mentioned George Nonte; I think his most used alias was Otto Schofield. This practice didn't lessen the quality of an article, but it may have been a little less than ethical. A lesser example of the same practice but one that was commonly employed was using a writer's full name, Charles James Smith instead of of the usual Charlie Smith that readers were familiar with.

[Outpost75]

Who was the "phantom gun writer" aka P.G. Wrighter?

[StrawHat]

… he is not John Wayne!…

I don’t recall Mike or anyone else claiming he was/is JW.

Kevin

[Patrick L]

I don't recall where, but somewhere years ago I read something penned by Mike where he explained where he got the nickname "Duke" and I don't believe it has anything to do with John Wayne. I can't for the life of me remember where.

[Electrod47]

I don't recall where, but somewhere years ago I read something penned by Mike where he explained where he got the nickname "Duke" and I don't believe it has anything to do with John Wayne. I can't for the life of me remember where.

As I recall Mr. Venturino explained in an article his nickname Duke was given him as a boy by his family. He had a horse ( or a dog ) named Duke. They were so inseparable that the family just called them both by the same name. In his story he wanted to make plain he was not trying to channel John Wayne.

[mdi]

John Wayne- "The Duke". Mike Vinturino- "Duke"...

[derek45]

Dinosaur here, I don't do Facebook.

Fire bad!!!!!

You're better off without

FB is a vile, anti 1st & 2nd amendment, leftist sesspool of idiot soccermom Karens from hell.

.

[Bazoo]

I like mikes articles. Especially the older ones. He has a passion for firearms much the same as me. Except o like a slightly different style of guns than he does.

[StrawHat]

As I recall Mr. Venturino explained in an article his nickname Duke was given him as a boy by his family. He had a horse ( or a dog ) named Duke. They were so inseparable that the family just called them both by the same name. In his story he wanted to make plain he was not trying to channel John Wayne.


John Wayne had a dog named Duke. I think you have conjoined your myths.

Kevin

[Green Frog]

Indiana Jones got his name from his dog... it’s a fine old tradition! :mrgreen:

[gwpercle]

I remember reading the article Mike V. wrote explaing how he got the nickname "Duke" and why he was going to start using it instead of Mike in his by line ...
Seems there was a dog involved in the story ... but if you want to use a nick name , go for it .
My brother is "Digger" , a friend is "Fishy" , kid next door is "Bugger" , my Uncle is "Nookie" , local politician is "Needle Nose" ...
... funny ... I never got a nick name , kind of fell left out !
Gary

[jonp]

Does he ever stop by here anymore? I remember him chiming in on a thread about him or something he did a while back. I do enjoy his articles in Handloader.

[square butte]

Shrapnel ought'a know

[gwpercle]

Shrapnel ought'a know

:goodpost:
LIKE

His last article in Handloader was on his experiences with single shot black powder cartridge rifle shooting ... all the different calibers he used and different rifles by different makers and then at the end ... no conclusion as to what caliber was best and what company made a good or the best rifle . I sure would have liked to hear some words of wisdom from someone who spent years shooting them and knew what worked and what didn't ...
but there was nothing ... Kind of left me hanging !

Gary

[Plate plinker]

Does he ever stop by here anymore? I remember him chiming in on a thread about him or something he did a while back. I do enjoy his articles in Handloader.

Doubt it. The (I know more than he crowd) turns his type off.

[Larry Gibson]

:goodpost:
LIKE

His last article in Handloader was on his experiences with single shot black powder cartridge rifle shooting ... all the different calibers he used and different rifles by different makers and then at the end ... no conclusion as to what caliber was best and what company made a good or the best rifle . I sure would have liked to hear some words of wisdom from someone who spent years shooting them and knew what worked and what didn't ...
but there was nothing ... Kind of left me hanging !

Gary

Mike very well may have had that information in the submitted article. Because magazines have editors and space limitations (# of words per article) the editors can and do edit some out.

Just before Mike quit posting here, he received a lot of undue criticism from some who do not understand the nature of magazine publishing and, thus, the type of articles he was writing. Also, he caught a lot of gruff from those who disagreed with him, especially when he questioned some "conventional wisdoms" AKA myths. Mike always backed his opinions up with test results and scientific facts. That really brought the criticism out. Mike was/is a busy guy and was only here to enjoy himself, discuss cast bullet shooting with friends and help others where he could. He left, or doesn't post any longer, because apparently, he didn't enjoy it any longer. That's unfortunate as Mike had a lot of knowledge to share. I miss his posts

[lotech]

Mike very well may have had that information in the submitted article. Because magazines have editors and space limitations (# of words per article) the editors can and do edit some out.

Just before Mike quit posting here, he received a lot of undue criticism from some who do not understand the nature of magazine publishing and, thus, the type of articles he was writing. Also, he caught a lot of gruff from those who disagreed with him, especially when he questioned some "conventional wisdoms" AKA myths. Mike always backed his opinions up with test results and scientific facts. That really brought the criticism out. Mike was/is a busy guy and was only here to enjoy himself, discuss cast bullet shooting with friends and help others where he could. He left, or doesn't post any longer, because apparently, he didn't enjoy it any longer. That's unfortunate as Mike had a lot of knowledge to share. I miss his posts

That's well said. Venturino continues to do good work.

Article length is much more critical nowadays and is often limited to around 2,200 words as opposed to years past when a feature length article might be over 3,000 words. No telling what gets omitted by editors and magazine staff.

[gwpercle]

I wish the editor's would at least think about what they are omitting .
Reading an article only to find out the conclusions to years of shooting testing and experimentation has been cut off and left on the floor does a big disservice to both the writer and the reader .
Gary

[lotech]

I wish the editor's would at least think about what they are omitting .
Reading an article only to find out the conclusions to years of shooting testing and experimentation has been cut off and left on the floor does a big disservice to both the writer and the reader .
Gary

I know exactly what you are saying, but...the editors may or may not be well-versed gun people, though they are generally very good professional editors and do a far better editing job on paper magazine articles than the very poor amateur work often seen on Internet pieces if they get edited at all. That's why you have twenty minute YouTube segments that need seventeen minutes edited out for clarity and best information. The "paper" editors, especially the non-gun expert types, may exclude something vital to an article, but often they don't know that. Still no excuse.

[freakonaleash]

Mike very well may have had that information in the submitted article. Because magazines have editors and space limitations (# of words per article) the editors can and do edit some out.

Just before Mike quit posting here, he received a lot of undue criticism from some who do not understand the nature of magazine publishing and, thus, the type of articles he was writing. Also, he caught a lot of gruff from those who disagreed with him, especially when he questioned some "conventional wisdoms" AKA myths. Mike always backed his opinions up with test results and scientific facts. That really brought the criticism out. Mike was/is a busy guy and was only here to enjoy himself, discuss cast bullet shooting with friends and help others where he could. He left, or doesn't post any longer, because apparently, he didn't enjoy it any longer. That's unfortunate as Mike had a lot of knowledge to share. I miss his posts

The same thing has happened to me. Keyboard commandos have made me flee a couple muzzleloading forums. Life is much better with out arguing with idiots. Shooting is far more fun than staring at this stupid computer.