Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What would you write about ...

As a consumer I find that a lot of the more recent articles and stories are not enough "in-depth" on the technical aspects of shooting and reloading. I have been shooting for almost 40 years and reloading for close to 35. I am not a formal target shooter or bench rest shooter but I do strive to improve my shooting and reloading. I recognize that it is necessary to keep repeating some of the basic material in order to entice new recruits into our sport.

The historical aspects of classic firearms and cartridges seems to be slipping out of focus as the industry concertrates on the "new and improved".

I also enjoy reading well written hunting stories.

LawMan

Merry Christmas Ken.

Stories are needed. Not reports, reviews or regurgitated ramblings. Stories. Heck, they can be pure fiction for all that matters.

Each one should have elements of humour or maybe even tug at ones heart strings. The writer should focus on the complete experience - not just pieces. Hunting trips are more than getting up in the morning and chasing something.

No talk of rifles, cartridges or any other equipment, except where needed to sustain the story line. What did Uncle George do to get that lump on his head? Why do the guys come here every year? What happens around the campfire? Remember when dad used to hunt with us? What makes you look forward to this trip above the others? Why with this group? Etc.

You might call it an expanded back page or memories of hunts gone by. As a species, we love to listen to stories.

Merry Christmas!
Steve Redgwell <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

We see reports ad nauseum about the optical qualities of scopes. Not that those aren't important, but what I'd like to see is someone with knowledge of optical engineering actually get into the innards of some representative rifle scopes and write a report on their design and construction from the standpoint of mechanical reliability.

Paul

So far, I see two patterns forming in the responses, which I am thoroughly and richly enjoying:

� I'm not hearing from the writers whom I know, whom I know are here. Bashful, guys? If you don't want to post your response here for all to see, then e-mail me at kenhowell1931@earthlink.net or call me at 1-406-777-2878 (Montana) or 1-505-773-4342 (New Mexico). I'm back and forth, unpredictably, between these places. Right now and for I-don't-know-how-many days to come, I'm in New Mexico � 1-505-773-4342.

� Many who post "I'd write ..." are really saying "I'd love to read ..." or "I'd like to have written ..." I appreciate this alternate insight more than I can say, so keep it up.

Now let me phrase the question a bit differently � What are you [i]prepared to write about, under the conditions that I identified in my original post, if the opportunity materializes for having it published?[/i]

.

Hey Ken, do you want outlines (a la query letters) or the whole enchilada? I can send you some stuff down. Some serious. Some funny. All of it from 1,000 to as much as 2500 words.

Better yet, I'll email some outlines.

Merry Christmas!
Steve Redgwell

Merry Christmas Ken,

If I could write (and I can't) I would write about classic stories in the style of Annabel or Capstick. I would write those type of stories along with articles on the processes of our sport - how barrels are made, actions, stocks, top gunsmith procedures ect.

To clarify the gunsmith one - articles where I would sit with a gunsmith and go over how he/she does things and why - get several perspectives from guys who do different kinds of work. Lever guns, light and heavy rifles and shotguns, that type of thing.


I would write and focus on hunting adventure - something I feel is kind of missing a little bit. We have Barsness and he is great but would like to read more like him. Africa, Alaska, Western US and also the midwest.

Someone said "over the counter tags/western hunting" - EXACTLY - would love to see that.

Maybe I would stretch the subject matter a bit - taxidermy and trapping (something SORELY missing in mainstream magazines these days IMO).

Those are the things I would write --- Hunting adventure with industry insiders occasionaly.

Characters, the real ones, the guys and gals who have been there and done it. Why they did it, how they did it, what made them do or go this way, why they think this is better, on, on, and on.

The old proven characters, and the new ones in the making. As long as it relates to the outdoor hunting and shooting sports.

Their mistakes, their sucesses, their mindset.

Helps me to understand the individual, and given enough info, I can learn a lot from them, even if I never know them.

This would include some of the names that get praised in this forum, AND some of the names that get damned.

This would include some of the ladies who get mentioned here every now and then. Some of them have the "soul" of a hunter.

Ken,
Let me split my answer into two parts. What I would like to write and what I would like to read.

What I would like to write:
A story about hunting with my dad. How I started following him around in the woods when I was about 4 and the influence he had on me. He was a rather prolific poacher. I would give anything I own to do a legal hunt with him. He has been dead since 1992. I would like to tell how I evolved into an ethical hunter.

As a follow up to that I would like to do a story as a tribute to my main hunting partner Tom Funderburk. He is one of the reasons I am a hunter today. He took me for my first antelope and I have been able to pass along a love for hunting to several other people. As a matter of fact it is going in to the third generation. I was the biggest influence on my brother and he has passed it on to his daughter. She is about 8 now and has asked for a pellet gun for Christmas.

Another story I would love to do is one on physical conditioning for hunting.

Stories I would love to read:
More on home gunsmithing and how handloading affects hunting. Things like the economics of it, how ammunition can be tailored to the individual rifle, how it can bring an older rifle to life (have you ever tried to find ammo for the 8X60 Kropachek). I think an article on handloading vs factory ammo would be interesting.

One thing I dearly miss is stories that bring the human interest ala Gary Sitton.

Ken,
I always wrote about things "not usually" covered as my specialty. I never followed writing trends nor attempted to emulate others.

When I test a rifle, I bench shoot it and handload extensively for it. eg: When the new Boss rifle was released, a sample was air freighted to me for review.

I deliberately did not read any other review as I did not want to be tainted nor did I want to be sloppy in order to gain an exclusive or be first in print.

I hammered that rifle for 6 months at the range and took it into the field for testing. I killed many, many animals with it and wrote it up.

What came out of it was that I had the most complete instructional information on how to use the BOSS system to effect and the groups I shot were the tightest ever published over that first year of frenzy.

I shot many groups way under .5 with the best about .239" as I remember, although I still have the targets for all the non believers.

The other things I cover is when I have several samples of something like powder throwers for example, I may test them against each other to see how much variation they have. I may test various bullets for accuracy or mike variences in dimension and see what differences in accuracy there are on the bench.

I cover things like power, what it is, how did we cover it historically, how do the various theories compare, is there any real basis for assessment or are the various writers simply attempting to place future historical significance to their contribution by becoming the next "Taylor" "Lott" Wooters" or "Keith"?.

I go through phases where I am heavy handed and will hunt deer with a .460 Weatherby or back off and hunt elk with a .275 Rigby.

I like to bed and accurize rifles and see what they can really do if prepared correctly.

Most of all, I like to expose myths and perpetuated bull dust that gets regurgitated decade after decade such as "inherent accuracy" what the hell is that?

What cartridges genuinely shoot different bullet to the same point and what does that mean? How big a group are we allowing for here?

Hunting stories, reflections, opinions, all based on the fact that I have never seen ballistic gellatin nor ever used a wet newspaper to test a bullet. Every bullet used since 1962 was used on paper for accuracy and flesh and bone for field results. No theory or conjecture to it.

It helps newer reloaders and hunters make some choices that can help them get into shape faster and learn to love this hobby as I do.

The most responsible thing a writer can do, is to help those coming up behind him. Knowledge taken to the grave is as dead as the fool who carried it there.

PS: Something else I always wanted to do:

Send me a top semi custom rig in the $4,000 bracket from one of the newer legends and then send me a cheap $500-600 factory over the counter special and let me play with the factory rig and then shoot both side by side to see what I can get from the over the counter job, set up correctly compared to the higher ticket item.

Won't matter a damn for hunting accuracy, but it will be fun to see how close I can get based on recent articles written promoting the semi custom road many hunters are travelling.

May damage the custom market though and that means advertising, ego's and reputations. What fun?

AGW

Dr. Ken,

I like to write about experiences in the field and with trying new to me rifles and components at the range.

My current pet areas are: training shooters to shoot in the field; fixing the Remington trigger; what's with the .404 Jeff?; what happened in this year's hunt?; how to hunt big whitetail in Saskatchewan; and after-market reliability improvement in rifles.

I am going to give SCI a pass this year in favor of SHOT and I expect I will find some one or three things exciting there too.

jim

You guys might like to read 'With winning in mind' by Lanny Bassham if you have not already. Neet book about mental aspects of sports and shooting.

Right-on Steve, I'm all for that myself.

Next issue of Professional Bowhunter Magazine is gonna have an article titled, "Martin Zamudio, Philippino Spearfisherman," About my newly acquired brother-in-law I had the extreme pleasure of meeting this past May in Bagumbayan bario, town of Baao, in Camarines Sur in the PI's. What a fascinating guy he was. 73, and he still shinnies up coconut trees every day, AND rides his vintage Fuji bike 3 miles 1 way to town to sell a load of firewood he cuts on a daily basis-- FASCINATING man.

Actually i've had several romantic style articles published, and absolutely love writing them-- from the heart, u know?? Best 1 i ever did was in PBS magazine titled, "One Fleeting Moment", about an ageing hunter (me) that falls asleep, in the mtns. hunting, and has a dream of meeting himself as a younger hunter, and the encounter they both share. I sent it in requesting that it be published unedited, and the editor did so. Jack Smith is one of the most insightful editors i've met so far. Insightfulness probably being one of the most important qualities an editor shoud have, but unfortunately....

Another was published in Varmint Master's Mag. a # years ago, titled, "Predator vs. Predator" detailing my first coyote call-in, and the brief interaction betwen myself and the coyote. What they published was a disaster. The last sentence was meant to leave the reader with a philosophical question that each of us needed to answer for ourselves----and guess what-- the editor edited it, and answered the question for the readership himself. When i 1st read it, i was in the bathtub, and almost drowned when i saw what they did to my "masterpiece". It really was a literary tragedy, i thought.

One other that stands out in my memory is an article i wrote for TVHM, titled, "From the Other Side of the Coin," detailing a coyote call-in from the coyote's viewpoint, that was certainly unusual if nothing else.

That's the stuff i really like to write. When i can touch somebody's heart with the written word, then i can say i've really accomplished something. And u know what the best part of that is? Often you'll never know u did, but u write that kinda stuff hoping that u will, thinking maybe somewhere somebody will say-- "yeah, i liked it."

It really is nice when someone comments positively about stories like that. So different from the regular fare.

As was mentioned on another thread, cranking out technical doo doo becomes tiresome. To relax, I wrote silly or off the wall stories. They've accumulated over the years and I've posted some of them on occasion on sites that I visit.

The odd inspirational story appeared as well. I found a special place to write about, complete with characters and situations drawn from my youth. These stories were more enjoyable to write and everybody loved reading them.

I told my wife that I would attempt to get some published to the mainstream media, but my books and teaching always took precedence. After four technical books, I took a collection of stories to my editor for a good working over.

You don't see many stories similar to those written by Gene Hill, Pat McManus, Ted Trueblood, et al these days. They must have gone out of style.

Things I've experienced afield or at the range, breathing new life into old guns, and tales told 'round the campfire. People relate to "Snipe hunting" more than epicyclic precession theory.

I have some fascination for the technical side of shooting but such pontification only plays to a narrow audience in the public domain. Conversely, it plays well in books as the audience has a specific interest. I care not a hoot for field test reports. The best I find to read these days is found between the covers of Double Gun Journal, and to feed my technical cravings, the Varmint Hunter Magazine. I find the writings of common men in that publication refreshing. I enjoy Mule Deer's articles and writings where I find them. He seems free of the common appearance of agendas, slavery and devotion to promotion. Seems to have his facts in order too, something which sets him apart from many. I once enjoyed Gray's quite a bit...excellent content I thought, but their incessant marketing drove me away. Not to flog a dead horse, but as Dogzapper has said, the back and forth here at the Campfire has a lot going for it...everybody gets to be a writer to some degree.

Merry Christmas Ken, and best of Holidays to all!

I would go with a couple of "how to" or more correctly some "how not to" articles that would be based on my personal experiences in hunting blacktails and gunsmithing rifles.

Maybe also about my progression as a hunter, encompassing the mental aspects, the equipment that caught my eye and actually worked as oppossed to the equipment that I wish I had my money back on. Maybe even a bit of the direction I want my hunting to as far as the mental and technical aspects.

Ooooh, I excel at that! Once a frustrated lad in the dove fields northwest of Oklahoma City, I told Dad my gun was no good because it wouldn't, couldn't hit anything. When he traded his Ithaca 16 pump for my H&R .410 I could not believe my good fortune! Ha! He raised the .410 to his shoulder, pointed over my head behind me. I thought he was checking to see if the barrel was straight or something. It went bang and I turned around in time to see the dove hit at my feet. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> We untraded guns...I thought Dad was a smartazz the rest of the day, but I couldn't figure out what to say about it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> I still have the .410, Dad is gone. Not a time passes when I see or think about the gun that I don't recall the moment.

I would write about hunting bullets and the availability of the various types as it relates to which ones would be expected to perform well based on the cartridge involved and the expected velocity of the round. ie interlocks work just fine in the slower cartridges verses perhaps the need for the newer bonded or solid copper bullets which "may" be better choices in the higher velocity cartridges. Does a deer or elk know the difference really if it gets hit by a partition verses a TSX? ect.

PS Welcome back Ken! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I agree with writing to the youngens' in the crowd.

Maybe even a "New" magazine.... ? ? ?

Try to help us get the kids involved, target, comp, wing shooting, coyotes, bigger game, whatever. My 13 yr. old has no interest in shooting animals but she can come Damn close to out shooting me open sight @ 100 yds, .22 LR. (o.k. maybe she has outshot me.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />)

She has a keen interest in the Comp part of it, but she has taken more than a few shots @ Coyotes. (cause they ate her cats).

Myself, the dreaming articles, (Africa, New Zealand, Australia)
work.

BTW, I sure hope you are getting close to settled in the new digs! A pleasure to see you posting again!

Pat

"What would you write about ...

... if ...

... a. there were no new products being introduced ...

... b. Editors would not assign topics or limit you to certain areas ... "

I always enjoyed the "Me and Joe" and "Doby Grant" stories told by Skeeter Skelton, or Pat McMantus on the pages of Outdoor Life. I think Wolf is making a mistake steering JB from a follow up on his BS-29.

I also enjoy reading more about real world hunts, not some high priced hunt most will never be able to afford. I`d like to see more on how to introduce new comers and kids to our sport and making it enjoyable to them, with less on what a great time a writer had on a $25K sheep hunt.

If rifles/cartridges are the topic, make them writen for someone older then 12. Tell about the firearm in general with its good and bad points and leave out how great the new model with the high tech metal finish is compared to last years "old" model with passe finishes. A M700 no matter what the stock is made from or what new cartridge they are chambering it for is still the same rifle we have known for the last 40 years, and doesn`t warrent a full issues attention.

Old firearm histories and how to care for and use them are alot of the allure of Ross S. Whether or not we own them, old rifles and how our grandfathers used them and what kind of results they could, or can today obtain, seem to hold alot of loonies interest.

Friend Ken,
What I like to both read and write are stories. You are more of a technical writer but I know you have stories. You must have as long as you have been around.

Stories of the weird, wild and wacky variety. You know, where everything is set up just perfect and then it all goes to hell in a handbasket.

While not considering myself a pro writer by any stretch of the imagination I have had a few things put in print that I got paid for. Personal experience essays type deals.

To me the Ghost of Christmas past stories are always enjoyable.

BCR