24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 5 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 269
P
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
P
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 269
Frankly, I can't remember ever reading anything by Jack O'Connor in my formative years in the early 1970s, though I probably did, being a devotee of Outdoor Life. I do remember Elmer Keith's columns and Articles in Guns & Ammo. Keith's writing and his opinions were interesting, entertaining, and memorable for their color, but Keith's experiences seemed exotic and irrelevant to the hunting and shooting I did (and still do) in the Midwest.

I much enjoyed the writing of Skeeter Skelton, and still do enjoy that of Ken Warner, whose laid back, tolerant and philosophical attitude toward his subjects I greatly admire.

Last edited by Ploughman; 09/16/14.
BP-B2

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 29,348
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 29,348
Ken Warner is indeed a laid-back, tolerant, philosophical guy. Laughs at himself easily.

Nice guy. One of the best in the business. I've hunted with him several times and shared at least a few motel rooms with him.

I like him a lot as a person, as an editor, and as a writer.

He bought an article from me once that he never published � sent it back to me so that I could sell it to some other editor. Ne'er a mumblin' word about returning my fee.

A rare thing in this business � this is the only occurrence that I know of.


"Good enough" isn't.

Always take your responsibilities seriously but never yourself.



















Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,129
3
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
3
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,129
moosemike, though I was disappointed when Jack O'Connor left OL (1972?), it didn't take me long to begin to appreciate Jim Carmichael's work. I found myself equally disappointed when he recently retired...after a longer run as shooting editor at OL than Mr. O'Connor! I also have Carmichael's book "The Modern Rifle" and wish he'd written more books.

Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 11,891
P
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
P
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 11,891
I try to read all that i can of all the writers that interest me.

The one that i really like is Ron Spoomer.
He shows everyone that without a sense of humor,it don't matter.

Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 11,891
P
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
P
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 11,891
I try to read all that i can of all the writers that interest me.

The one that i really like is Ron Spoomer.
He shows everyone that without a sense of humor,it don't matter.

Double post!!!

Last edited by plainsman456; 09/16/14.
IC B2

Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,225
T
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
T
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,225
I can't say that I was "influenced" so much by either writer, but I definitely agreed more with Keith than O'Conner based on my personal experiences. I grew up at a time when bullets were not as reliable as those we have today and hunted in areas that featured heavy brussh. A quick put-down and great blood trail was critical, so I learned early to trust heavy bullets and big bores more than velosity.

I always felt that if I'd grown up in the more open west where an animal could be seen after the shot, I might lean more to flat shooting faster rounds......but I didn't.

I also was more drawn to Keith and viewed him as a true "hunter" who could take game based on his talent and ability. O'Conner I always saw as a "dude" hunter who drank champaign with the local prince before having a guide do ther real work for him. He could, however, spin a good story and was a much more pollished writer than Keith.


I hate change, it's never for the better.... Grumpy Old Men
The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 50,169
Campfire Kahuna
Offline
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 50,169
I learned to read by Outdoor Life and Field and Stream, but to be honest, it didn't take long to figure out that most writers are writers...not experts in anything else. Pat McManus was my favorite.


The only thing worse than a liberal is a liberal that thinks they're a conservative.
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 4,906
T
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
T
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 4,906
I read them both extensively. I still pull out my copy of Keiths "Hell, I was there!" from time to time.


Charter Member
Ancient order of the 1895 Winchester

"It's an insecure and petite man who demands all others like what he likes and dislike what he dislikes."
szihn

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 10,463
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 10,463
There was a time in my childhood when I knew what a .30-06 round and a .22 LR round looked like and that's about all I knew. I was reading some of my buddies dad's Outdoor Life mags and remember reading about a .270, which I'd never heard of. So in my childish ignorance I pictured the physical size of a .270 round as someplace about halfway between a 22LR and a .30-06; cause one's a 22 and the other's eight calibers bigger at 30. A year or so later I saw my first .270 and it totally blew my mind. I guess that experience could be called: "Birth of a Rifle Looney".

Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,047
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,047
Not me I found Craig B. Ross S. and I own John B. Here the ones I first read and still read.


Molan Labe
IC B3

Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786
J
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
J
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786
Originally Posted by AussieGunWriter
With all the comments on another thread, (mine included) I realized that I was not influenced by them, as my opinions were determined and set before I discovered them. In fact I never heard of Jack O'Connor until after he was dead.

My first read of his work was a publication put out by Guns and Ammo after his death. Prior to that, I never heard or read a single word of his and by then was already "closer" to his camp for general hunting, but also a leaning towards Elmer with a growing passion for larger bore rifles, albeit with larger doses of velocity than traditionally associated with bigger bores.

In my earlier days, Aussies were using mil-surp rifles and smaller caliber cartridges like the .222, .22/250 and .243 with a .270 considered a big rifle, a .30/06 quite rare unless you ventured into sambar country and Aussies tended to step up to the .375 and to a lesser degree the .458 for bigger game.

A door survey I conducted at an SCI convention many years back determined that the .338 handloaded with 250gn Partitions was by a long way, far ahead of anything else with international hunters.

Most Aussies tended to self determine their needs and only commonly read or agreed with reviews of what they were already using again, through self determination. If you covered "their" cartridge, they bought the magazine. It was commonly called "the flick test" but flipping through the pages on the news stand to "audition" the publication. The 1980's is where the US publications started to become more common and my generation was already an opinionated bunch by then.



Sounds about right.


These are my opinions, feel free to disagree.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786
J
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
J
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786
Originally Posted by AussieGunWriter
Originally Posted by JohnBurns
Originally Posted by AussieGunWriter

John,
My apologies for incorrect internet interpretation.(The dreaded iii Factor)
My opinions were set at the point of firstly discovering JO'C meaning were found to lean towards his view, secondly, you cannot be a "learned" or "well read" reader for something that is not available to read. We are after all, talking pre computer and internet stage.

And again, Because my experience with handloading and cartridges measure better by the wheel barrow load in consumables, it is an incorrect assumption to assume I am inflexible to learn after any point.

The internet teaches me both the value and detriments associated with was we assume, is communication.

John


Sounds fair, but by your explanation JOC had some degree of influence if only to add validation to your opinions.

Anyway just take a note from my playbook and error on the side of modesty. Such a tactic has served me well and I would bet not more than half the members here think I am a pompous ass. grin

Originally Posted by RDFinn
Burns you really ought to write a book perhaps named " Astonishing Tales of Bedding Blocks...."


If anyone could write that book it would be me.



John
Let me clarify and then I'll drop it.
1. I never heard on O'Connor until that G& A publication after his death.
2. Most of the cartidges in that publication, I had already used.
3. I had formed some opinion of them through that first hand experience.
4. By coincidence, I read that he had similar views to mine based on his experience.

It is as simple as that and there was no pomposity stated or implied by myself though we are back that that internet interpretation again.
JW


Three replies, that has torn it...now burns will send you a selfie!


These are my opinions, feel free to disagree.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,605
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,605
Originally Posted by AMRA
Not me I found Craig B. Ross S. and I own John B. Here the ones I first read and still read.



same here but as i said in an earlier post at 32 im one of the younger guys here and those three are some of the ones that were writing when i started paying attention


A serious student of the "Armchair Safari" always looking for Africa/Asia hunting books
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,218
O
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
O
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,218
Aus..,

I am thinking of building a new custom rifle so decided to go 'back to basics' and re-read two of JO'Cs books just last week. It was a surprise to learn everything I hold to be true about modern rifles came from O'Connor. And it's just as true today.

Elmer Keith's opinions on buffalo rifles, double rifles and handguns was spot on because by 1935 their development was pretty much done. And that's where Elmer stopped learning. Not trashing Elmer, I've been a .44 fan all my life mostly because of him.

But around 1935 is where O'Connor picked up the thread of the modern rifle and never looked back. Some of his writing is a little dated but by and large his stuff is going to remain current until we are shooting ray guns.

O


Too old to suffer fools
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,046
A
Campfire Tracker
OP Offline
Campfire Tracker
A
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,046
If you read something for the first time and find it aligns with your own views, I fail to see how that is considered an influence. It simply means 2 people traveled their own road and ended up in the same town.
The 2 learning's and opinions are mutually exclusive in the pure sense.


When truth is ignored, it does not change an untruth from remaining a lie.
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 25,681
I
Campfire Ranger
Online Happy
Campfire Ranger
I
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 25,681
I did not have access to gun rags in my youth. By the time I started looking for shooting mags, Jim Carmichael was writing a rifle cartridge column in Outdoor Life.

I read and studied Carmichael's words. I even clipped his monthly column and kept the pages in a binder for a couple years. Carmichael's are the only books I have purchased on this subject.

His writing influenced me to purchase a 22-250, a 25-06, a 264 Win, and eventually a 260 Rem.


People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,218
O
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
O
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,218
Aus..,

My dad was a follower of JO'C. Outdoor Life was the only mag that came to our house in those days (1950's). I was just a kid so I didn't have any basis for an opinion. So when I reread my O'Connor books for the first time in years, I was surprised at how much I had been influenced.

O



Too old to suffer fools
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 13,000
O
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
O
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 13,000
I'm 32, and I learned about Keith from John Taffin and about O'Connor from John Barsness. I've never liked O'Connor as a writer but I've enjoyed Keith. I think both are very out of date, as one would expect from men who have been dead for thirty years and whose most productive and creative years were more than a half century ago. I read them for entertainment and in that they still excel.

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 666
G
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
G
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 666
Never paid attention to either of them. P.O. Ackley was more my style.

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,950
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,950
Personally, I was not influenced at all by Jack or Elmer.


Our God reigns.
Harrumph!!!
I often use quick reply. My posts are not directed toward any specific person unless I mention them by name.
Page 5 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
717 members (10gaugemag, 10Glocks, 11point, 12344mag, 17CalFan, 160user, 91 invisible), 2,713 guests, and 1,287 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,695
Posts18,399,890
Members73,820
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.145s Queries: 15 (0.006s) Memory: 0.9039 MB (Peak: 1.0591 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 23:23:06 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS