Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Gary Sitton.

This isn't a question, but I've been rereading some of Gary's old "Backtracking" articles in Peterson's Hunting magazine back when he used the pen name Jacob Bowers. I sure miss his writing, he was quite good, and left us too soon.

I wish someone in the industry would put together a compilation of his best work from Huntng, Guns and Ammo and Handloader/The Rifle magazines (remember "Tales From French Creek?") like Elmer Keith's "Gun Notes" books.

I also enjoyed his writing. Sorry to know he has already passed on.

I always enjoyed his work as well. Would love to to see a compilation as well.

"I wish someone in the industry would put together a compilation of his best work from Huntng, Guns and Ammo and Handloader/The Rifle magazines (remember "Tales From French Creek?") like Elmer Keith's "Gun Notes" books."

Over the years I've forwarded that same notion - sure wish some publisher would compile the best of GARY SITTON's material. The first thing I'd read in my Peterson's Hunting back in the 90s was the Backtracking page. He worked the nostalgic theme well. His voice is missed around the proverbial campfire.

I would like to see a collection of his pieces too, but doubt it will happens, for several reasons. First, books of hunting/shooting essays and stories don't sell very well, unless the author is quite famous--which leads to the second reason. Gary has been gone a decade now, and wasn't writing for a while before he passed away, so isn't exactly a well-known name among today's readers. Third, there might be complications due to copyright ownership.

The subject of a Gary Sitton book has come up before on the Campfire. I believe Mule Deer posted that such a thing was not going to happen due to complications with copyright(?) or somesuch. Possibly John will chime in.

I, too, would very much like to see a compilation of Gary Sitton's work.

RS

not enough money in trying to bring back the dead

He was one of my very favorite writers.

I still have a few old Hunting magazines with his writing and enjoy reading them once in a while.

One I think was called "Too much stuff" or something similar??

I enjoyed his writing very much--his company less so. However, that doesn't diminish my appreciation of his writing. If someone published an anthology I would definitely buy it.

I find that sad. I miss his writing. He wasn't a celebrity and probably never wanted to be one. But he was quite a wordsmith and knew his subject

Olgrouser you are right. Gary did hit the nostalgic button with me in his article, if memory serves "A squirrel story" I sure wish I could find that article as it would
easily rank in my top 5 and I've read the works of many gun/hunting writers since the late 60's spanning 8-10 magazines.

John

Gary Sitton was a fantastic writer and a wonderful friend. He was also a very complex person and not easy to get to know well. He left us way too early. I too would love to see a compilation of his writings in book form, but I agree totally with John B. that there are two chances of us seeing such a thing in the future, slim and none.

I propose something novel. The only piece of Sitton's writing I have is in a Word document the column beginning “Some people go hunting; others are hunters."
This text I am willing to make available/share/trade in exchange for other of Sitton's works for my private reading library.

OK on copyrights? Or does one set up a fanzine site? Any comments?

He was without a doubt one of my favorite writers of all time.

I have a stack of old Peterson's publications in a box that I kept only because Gary had articles in them.

Backtracking was the first thing I read every issue of Peterson's Hunting.

Bill

Thanks for the reminder about Gary Sitton. I have boxes and boxes of old magazines taking up space. For some reason it's a struggle let them go 'cause I know I should revisit many of the authors and at least thumb through those magazines one last time.

Pdfs, scans, word docx...

I was able to have brief correspondence[one letter] with Sitton regarding the 7-08 Rem. I was thinking of buying one and he was putting one together for a hunt, I believe, in Colorado. I contacted Hunting Magazine, and the lady said send my letter to them and they'll try and get it to Mr. Sitton. Got my reply in about 3-4 weeks, full of all manner of loading info and general insight of the caliber, bullet weights,etc. I think I may still have that letter. He was pretty nice in his letter. Great writer.

I remember a column he wrote about putting together a "walking around rifle" in .250 Savage. At least I think it was him. anyone else remember that article?

Sycamore

A Kenny Jarrett 250 Imp?

He had nothing to do with the design, Jarrett handed it to him and said "try this".

From the article a neat rifle.

Me too. I've toyed with the idea of framing some of my favorite stories to hang in my office and guest room. It's been a while since I read them and I really should dig them out and see what kind of shape they are in.

I can't say I remember that much detail, maybe the article was more about walking around with the rifle? (rather than putting it together?) the improved part rings a bell though (that I didn't recall before)

Sycamore

I loved his articles. Not just his 'Backtracking' column, but the articles he wrote for the text of the magazine. His writing style just suited me. I liked him, just from the articles that he wrote. After he dropped off the printed page, I ran into Larry Weishun in Oklahoma City and he told me that G. Sitton was spending a lot of time at Penn Baggett's ranch in Texas. Seems like not too long after that, I found out that he had died of pancreatic cancer I believe. Regardless, it made me sad to learn of his passing. I got a lot of 'good stuff' from his writing.

There has been no better writer, ever.

I fondly remember an article he wrote- "Christmas past and present".... I believe that was the title. Fantastic.... Would love to have a copy of that one!

I met him once at a DU event in Memphis. He was doing a handloading seminar and I went specifically to met him. We talked afterwards, ate some food and he gave me his address and phone.

I loved his back page articles.

I consider him to have been one of the very best...

Add me to the list of fans. Used to have a 3-ring binder I filled with his articles. Lost it in a move. One of my favorites involved the life-long bachelor/hunter who only owned 4 guns. Would love to read that one again.

Eureka!

A generous member of this forum has agreed to sell me 84 articles by Sitton clipped from PH over the span of years he wrote for that magazine.

The text is in the mail.

He was one of my favorite writers too. Several years ago, I purchased a 6mm JDJ #2 Contender barrel that JD Jones of SSK made for Gary. I don't know if he ever wrote an article about the cartridge or barrel, but I'd sure like to read it if he did.

He was one of my favorite writer also. I think the article about "too much stuff" was him getting down to 10 guns and moving to Arizona or New Mexico. I just reread it the other day and can really relate.

I think he was discussing it with John Wooters over the phone right?

The Backtracking pages have arrived. Mr. Sitton's essays stand up well to the coursing of time. It took all of six sentences and two short paragraphs before his distinct voice caused a lump to form in my throat. The piece was entitled "Economics"- April 1998. Loss, regret, renewed friendships...

Now to put a newly printed English degree to work and start bugging Peterson and other stakeholders. We'll see how it all goes.

In the mean time here a video clip of the "Bear" hunting aoudad in Texas:

http://huntervids.com/videos/youngblood-films-texas-gary-sitton-and-the-west-texas-hunt/

That ain't the same Gary Sitton.

Certainly not the one that I met.

Wrong Gary Sitton.

Apparently roofing contractors can afford more hunts than literate hunting writers, which doesn't surprise me.

MY BAD!

Well, I finally dug my old Peterson's Hunting magazines out of storage and pulled all the Backtracking columns out to put into a binder for easy reading.



I thought I had a bunch more, but couldn't seem to track them down. Here's what I'm missing if anyone has these laying around and would like to sell me the Backtracking columns from these issues...

- Anything prior to May 1995
- June & September 1995
- March & June 1996
- July & December 1998
- May,June,July & August 1999
- Anything after September 1999

If anyone needs a particular column that I have, I'd be happy to share a copy of what I have.

Putting these stories into the binder definitely brought back some memories of where I was in my life when these were published. So many of these stories are as relevant today as they were back then, some even more so.

Any help to complete this project would be MUCH appreciated.


THANK YOU!

Mike

Who do we lobby to get these printed in book form?

I loved his writing too. Would copyright laws be broken if someone scanned some of his work and created a document which could be emailed without charging for it?

Even without charging money, “publishing” copyright material without the written permission of the copyright owner is illegal. If you publicly offered to send it to anybody who asked, that would probably be considered publishing.

I've only been shooting for a few years, but I'm where I am in life (which ain't bad) because of Peter Egan's writing in Cycle World and Road & Track. Started in on that when I was 13. He's faded in recent years, but it'll be a huge loss when he is gone.

Well, for some reason, I don't have an edit option for my post, so please pretend there is a line crossing over the sentence about sharing what I have with others.

I hope everyone realizes I didn't have any nefarious intentions and just hoped to help others. My apologies to those who may have been offended by my post. I appreciate the legal warning.

Sincerely,

Mike

Interesting that no "gun writer" commented on the OP. Speaks volumes...

Ed,

Evidently you missed the 5th post on this thread:

“I would like to see a collection of his pieces too, but doubt it will happen, for several reasons. First, books of hunting/shooting essays and stories don't sell very well, unless the author is quite famous--which leads to the second reason. Gary has been gone a decade now, and wasn't writing for a while before he passed away, so isn't exactly a well-known name among today's readers. Third, there might be complications due to copyright ownership.”

Of everything I read that Gary Sitton wrote, I remember best his article exposing the funds raised by anti-hunting groups and how little they actually spent on animal welfare. It was a damned fine piece of investigative reporting, and it was written in a clear, straightforward style that was easy to read.

Other outdoor writers, including me, used quotes and data from that article for years.

He spent his final years in Tucson, and was a good friend of one of my friends. He also attended a party at our home and we bumped into each other infrequently around town, but I can't say I ever got to know him.

Bill Quimby