Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Who was not influenced by Jack or Elmer?

Jack O'Connor for me. 100%.
Oh how he could write and take you right along with him on his hunts.
He told the truth about rifles and calibers and had the experience to support it.
His writings still hold up today and he set the bar so high for outdoor writers that it may never be equaled.
Elmer was okay in short doses and informative regarding handguns.

I didn't read many articles of Jack and Elmer until in my 20's.

As a teenager Skeeter Skelton influenced my love of Ruger and S&W revolvers, Jon Sundra my addiction to Ruger # 1"s, Ross Seyfreid to unusall guns and cartridges.

Other favourites were Bob Milek, Clair Rees, John Wooters, Gary Sitton, Rick Jameison.

Current writers that are I find worth my time to read are John Barsness , Brian Pierce , and Craig Boddington.

Flyer

Many on your list mirror mine. I'd add John Taffin as well.

They both influenced me, long before I was more than an armchair "hunter."

Then hunting big game, especially in the West, swung me closer to Elmer's point of view.

Fortunately, I was a pretty good shot by then. Often scored higher than our champs in range practice but was woefully shy of their dog-biting "gotta win" attitude in official competitions.

Jack and Outdoor Life? A lot.
Elmer? Not so much.

I started reading Outdoor Life in the barber shop in 1965. I was 7. I know that for a fact, because that was the year my home town celebrated their Centennial, and there was a lot of hoo-haw going on over the parade. Bud Scholl was my barber. He was a drummer in the local big band orchestra. The guy at the next chair was the colorful Johnny Wade. Johnny was an "artiste." He took an hour to do one head of hair, and took three smoke breaks. I had Johnny for a barber for a few years, and then started with Earl Rachel. Everyone in that shop grew an elaborate beard for the parade.

This is probably the cover of the first issue I read:




I don't remember much about Jack O'Connor at first, but I do remember discussions among the barbers and the patrons. Everyone had an opinion on 30-06 vs 270 WIN, even though Ohio was a shotgun-only state. As I remember, most guys went to Michigan to hunt deer.

We moved out in 1969, and I started getting Outdoor Life at home-- by then I was hooked. Earl moved to-- opened a store a couple of miles from our new house. I was still having him cutting my hair until about 20 years ago.

Jack and Elmer were two writers who lived the life and gave you the plain unvarnished truth in their writings. Elmer was a little full of himself at times and some things he wrote about were a little hard to believe. He was the driving force behind the development of the .44 Magnum as Jack was the champion of the .270. Skeeter Skelton an John Taffin were more focused on handguns whose writings did much to advance handgun shooting and hunting

. . . Sorry, but I got pulled away.

The thing about Jack and Elmer' feud really didn't impinge on my consciousness until fairly late. Back at Bud Scholl's barbershop, there were opinions, but for the most part folks saw this as an "Out West" kind of thing. Easterners hunted with shotguns. When a rifle was an option, there was the 30-30 or the 30-06. You used a 30-30, unless you were a Vet and then you usually picked a 30-06, because that was what you were used to. 270 WIN was for Out West where you shot at long distances.

John,

Sorry but I was making a joke with the pompous. The saying here in the US is that if you have to explain the joke then it was not funny.

I tend to treat posting here like I would discussions at a real campfire so keep that in mind if one even bothers to read any of my posts.

I was in no way influenced by either writer. Matter of fact, Hell I was There is one of the worst books I have ever read and I just made it to chapter 2 of Sheep and Sheep Hunting before giving up.




Travis

As far as magazines go, since I'm under 40 neither Keith nor O'Connor were still writing so Jim Carmichael is the one that stands out as having a big influence on me.

From what I can remember of my childhood I began hunting with Dad at age 8 in 1947. As I remember there were always new Sports Afield, Field and Stream, and Outdoor Life magazines each month. Those advertisements sure did elevate this kid's imagination. Later in life I did enjoy both Jack and Elmer but the person whom I really looked forward to reading was John Jobson. It was his wit that caught me. I had some great laughs reading his material. Miss his stuff. He too was a great fan of the .270. Me? Not so much. Never owned one. Correction, I purchased two because I have a son who is partial to them.

Jim

I had a very nice Jovino, round butt, 3" S&W Model 624 that Elmer influenced me to rattle loose with way too much 2400 and hard cast 429421's.

I never did blow up a revolver with Elmer's loads. but I punched enough of 'em through model 24's and Model 29's to find out that you can definitely loosen up an N frame .44.

People can argue with me all they want, but a steady diet of 22 grains of 2400 capped by a Lyman 429421 will make a Model 29 rattle like a coffee can full of marbles in pretty damn short order.

I finally started using big frame Rugers for Elmer's loads.

I cooked the forcing cone out a few Superblackhawks with his loads, but I never shot one loose.

Well,...the grip frame would shoot loose, but not after I started using Locktite on the screws.

I grew up with family in Salmon, Idaho. As a youngster, when visiting my family, one of my 'summer' jobs was to mow my Aunt & Uncle's yard. My uncle 'loaned' me out to a 'friend' to mow his yard. That was my first meeting with Elmer Keith. He took me up to the city dump and tried to teach this youngster all about shooting a handgun.
As for influencing me, primarily he influenced my ideas on handguns and handgun cartridges. One of the things he taught me was to pick a cartridge I was comfortable shooting. Seemed a bit different from his thoughts and ideas on rifle cartridges after the fact but, though he liked the bigger handgun calibers he understood that a 12 year old kid probably wouldn't enjoy shooting a 45 LC.
I have three autographed books by Elmer Keith; one was to my Dad the other two were to me.
I didn't read much of JOC and still haven't though the one's I have read have a lot of good information in them.
Finn Aagard and JB have had a lot of input into my shooting but the # 1 influence on my has been my Dad and all of his brothers. Each served in WWII and each had learned to shoot prior to joining their respective branches of service. None of the pushed one type of cartridge over the other, rather, they pushed learning your rifle by shooting as much as you can at what ranges you hope to take game and, to them most importantly, hitting your target where you will do the most damage with what you are shooting. Their ideas still color my thinking though all are long gone.

Elmer has been my mentor since i was a kid. I liked Jack writing but he couldn't have walked a mile in Elmer Boots

Indirectly, I was influenced through Jack because of my Grandfather, who was definitely in Jack's camp.

Elmer had it right , big bullets , big holes, kill big game

Better give me your 4" 29 then, you blasphemous COCK.

I don't think that he could have even gotten into them.

Heehe. I saw that coming from 50 miles away.

I sure was. I love to read, and especially love to read about guns and hunting, and O'Connor and Keith were important to me as a youth. I have a copy of Sheep and Sheep Hunting. The chapters on the biology and ecology of the various sheep species could be a college level textbook. Might not be as interesting as some of O'Connor's other work, but it is darn well researched. And I, by golly, made it through the entire book!