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Mule Deer,
Thanks for the quick reply, he is a super person , we shared some holiday meals together while in school , good friends with Bobby Lee, Art Leckie, a guy named Buecher who had been the chef for a US Army General, made a damn good pheasant and duck for Thanksgiving, I read as much as I can by you , full of info and not BS. I am old , got 57 years behind me can sort out the bull and the bull S##t over a good adult libation, anything malted.
Mule Deer if you get this way, let me know, we will share some knowledge(like I might have something to offer.)

CBI

Mule Deer,
Thanks for the quick reply, he is a super person , we shared some holiday meals together while in school , good friends with Bobby Lee, Art Leckie, a guy named Buecher who had been the chef for a US Army General, made a damn good pheasant and duck for Thanksgiving, I read as much as I can by you , full of info and not BS. I am old , got 57 years behind me can sort out the bull and the bull S##t over a good adult libation, anything malted.
Mule Deer if you get this way, let me know, we will share some knowledge(like I might have something to offer.)

CBI

Malt is good for me too! The one thing Jack didn't like on the Alaska hunt (among others) was not being able to bring enough beer to a spike camp.

I turn 57 in a month so we are right in there together. Jack is 11 years older and sure doesn't look it.

As far as knowledge, I have learned something every day of my life and have a lot more to learn. If I get down your way would love to talk guns and anything else.

rrconductor
Unfortunately Ralph Bone passed away recently and was pretty much broke. A couple guys took advantage of his widow on some of Ralph's stuff.
Butch

Butch, thank you for forwarding my post to Mr. Carmichael... that was very thoughtful of you - and I really appreciate his reply. Thanks again!

Growing up reading O'Connor fueled my desire to hunt and shoot. When Carmichael�s reign began, I was entering adulthood, and he fill my need for "how to" achieve and be proficient with a hunting rifle. His engineering and shooting background dovetailed my exact needs at the time... What he penned in his articles, proved to be correct by my experiences in the field.

My two most favorite books in my library are "The Hunting Rifle" by O'Connor and "The Modern Rifle" by Carmichael. I have almost warn the ink off the pages of those two over the years. They became my bible, both Old and New Testament. I shouldn't admit this, but I can recite some memorable paragraphs word for word as they were written... Am I addicted or what?

Next month my son goes on his first sheep hunt, a Desert Bighorn in Nevada... As with all things, the cycle of life continues. Ovis_Chaser

Butch, I saw a picture of Mr. Bone awhile back, did not know he had passed away, I think he was a Texan, he engraved a VZ 33/40 that I built for my Dad in 7x57 , got stolen after my Dad died.
He was a hell of a nice man with a multitude of knowledge. sorry to hear that people would take advantage of his widow, SOB'S.Where is Poetry, Texas?

Mule Deer,
Thats the Jack M. I know, hope the hunt was sucessful, it's not about killing, it's hunting.

Poetry is a community about 45 miles east of Dallas between I30 and I20. Ralph lived in Okla when he passed away in the Tulsa area.
Butch

I'm new here and only on page two of this thread, but am amazed that I didn't find this site sooner. What an awesome forum. This is so cool to actually be able to communicate one on one with you fellas(gun writers). I can't wait to read on.

pinku,

You might have gotten more response from your post if you'd used it to start a new thread.

I both agree and disagree. I agree that too many gun reviews are very much like you describe. I disagree that ALL are like that.

Part of the problem is that about 20 years ago one magazine publishing company (in New York City) discovered that they could sell a lot more ads if they pimped a pile of products in every article. This the origin of the hunting story that began something like this: "I got out of my Super-Cozy sleeping bag and slipped my feet into my Rugged Brand Boots, then grabbed my Remingchester .300 Whiz-Bang and a box of Grizzly Blaster ammo and headed out the door of my marvelous Mountain Master tent."

Advertisers soon flocked to these magazines, and other publishing companies noticed. Some (but not all) publishers copied the technique. In fact I know of one that has a clause guaranteeing editorial coverage of the product in their advertising contracts.

The problem was that readers also noticed. The old-fashioned way of publishing magazines was to attract lots of readers, then persuade companies to advertise by pointing out how many hard-core shooters and hunters read the magazine. The "adverwhorial" method of publishing turned this around. The reader was secondary to advertising sales, and many readers (like you) noticed.

This is one reason, among several, for the readership drop in some hunting and shooting magazines over the past 20-odd years. As a matter of fact, the publishing company that started the trend no longer publishes ANY hunting magazines, because too many readers got fed up and quit buying the magazines.

Another example is what once used to be a fine hunting magazine, with a mix of actual hunting stories and real equipment evaluations. But for the past decade or so it became a thinly disguised gun magazine, full of "hunting stories" about hunts thrown by manufacturers for writers. Since these hunts usually take place somewhere like a ranch in Wyoming where every writer gets to shoot a 13-inch pronghorn within a couple of days, there isn't much hunting involved--but there is plenty of space in the article to talk about the wonderful rifle. Quite often the rifle is only shot a few times before the hunt, with the ammo provided by the host company. (Lately, though, I have noticed a change in this magazine back toward its roots.)

On the other hand, there are some magazine publishers who do not follow the adverwhorial formula, either because of integrity or because they've seen what eventually happens to the magazines that slavishly follow it. There are also some writers who actually test firearms thoroughly before writing an article. They may not publish an article on a new product before everybody else, but the article they do published will have more information.

I happen to know one writer very well who will not test any rifle unless he has a wide variety of factory ammo or can handload for the rifle. He also doesn't go on very many "industry hunts," and if he does, he doesn't write an article just about that limited experience, but also tests the rifle (or scope, or bullet) thoroughly in other ways. And there are enough magazines that are interested in his articles that he can make a fair living at it. And I know several others who pretty much operate in the same way.

So, again, I both agree and disagree with your post.

Well said, and needed to be said.

There never was a substitute for integrity. We all know writers that "stop" us from purchasing magazines, and others that make us reach for the wallet.

JW

"I happen to know one writer very well who will not test any rifle unless he has a wide variety of factory ammo or can handload for the rifle. He also doesn't go on very many "industry hunts," and if he does, he doesn't write an article just about that limited experience, but also tests the rifle (or scope, or bullet) thoroughly in other ways. And there are enough magazines that are interested in his articles that he can make a fair living at it. And I know several others who pretty much operate in the same way."

I would think that writer would be a "Mule Deer".

Dew

Thanks, Dew!

Evidently "pinku" had a short career on the Campfire. His post and his user name are now gone!

Hi I'm looking at getting a Handi Rifle in the 500 smith and wesson caliber and was wondering if anyone has any feedback on the gun, thanks

Irving,

Wecome to the Campfire!

You'd get more responses if you started a new thread on this subject, either here or in the "Hunting Rifles" forum.

I am wondering if anyone can shed some light on Jim Rearden of Homer, Alaska? How he and his wife are doing up there, etc? I always thought it would be a pleasure to shake that man's hand and thank him for his writing.

In January 2010, Jim fell and seriously hurt himself. He is slowly recovering and I'm sure he would appreciate hearing from friends.

Do a search for: "Big Bore on the Cheap" A good read for you in the "Big Bores Only" Forum.

Always search first...........And Welcome!!!!!!!!!

I bet me and him would get along,..provided he ain't one o'them dirty martini drinkers.

I haven't read the whole thread,..and I can't claim to actually know the man, but from his writings, I'd guess that Massad Ayoob is a very decent kind of fellow.

I especially like the fact that he's a writer for Backwoods Home Magazine

Lot's of good, down to earth stuff in his writings there.