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 ...
(My friend Bill Jordan did not like writing about handguns, which were never a hobby interest for him and reminded him of many dark memories that he'd much rather forget. But his Editors always kept him tightly shackled to handguns when he'd've been much happier writing about rifles, shotguns, and hunting birds, big game, and varmints. He and I discussed this at some length, many times, so I'm not airing my own opinion.)

... c. You could therefore write about whatever interests you most, and reasonably expect to see it published ...


(This is not an idle question. I have to walk a fine line here, lest I leak something that isn't due to be announced for a while yet. I'm prospecting, looking to see who can provide what � and be happy doing so. I assume that no one here thinks that regurgitating manufactuers' hype and pumping fluff about their latest and greatest products is the highest calling or the peak of achievement for us who write about guns, hunting, the outdoors, etc. ... and I address this question not just to the writers here who are already established, more or less, but also to those of you who have maybe just one story to tell but have made no effort to write it because it's "so off-the-wall" that you're sure that no Editor would publish it.)

I would write about shooting doves with my Dad.

Rick

Like Rick Bin above I would write a hunting story. Each persons story can have interesting details and turns of events that are unique.

Then there are areas that have been forgotten. For instance it's not really the gun that counts most in hunting or target shooting but the aiming. A topic that included real ways to improve aiming would be of value.

I was thinking of bipods or the marksmans sling. They would be more effective than a 40 degree shoulder on a cartridge in my experiance.

what would i write about? thats a tough one as im a poor writer and know it but heres the articles i find myself reading over and over:

"Does Size Matter?", cant for the life of me remeber who wrote it but it appeared in Rifle bout 4 or 5 years ago i think.

most of MD's articles on "Buying Old Shooters", and the ones like that.

Ross S.'s article on his working rifle in 416 Rem. got my attention and was a good read as was Phil S.'s article on "Ol' Ugly". i like reading bout writers personal and favorite working rifles and what they did to get them that way.

Savage_99's comment on an aticle on aiming would be good, especially more articles on the proper use of iron sights.

im not really experianced enough in any to write about them but thats the kind of stuff i find myself rereading in old gun rags i have laying around. i rarely reread an article about a than new rifle unless it happens to be one i picked up recently.

Another topic that interests me is mind control. What I mean is how to keep from firing bad shots in the field and of course this includes safety first of all and not wounding or missing game.

Calling it "Buck Fever" does not seem to go over. Few want to talk about it with that name or maybe its the way it's presented as a topic. If the topic of avoiding bad shots was put in the context of everyones favorite radio station WIIFM (whats in it for me) a valuable and interesting point could be made.

I really love to read about hunting with the old classic rifles like the various levers, early bolt actions, etc. and hunting with cast bullets. I guess, if I had the skill, these would be my choices. -Joe

i would write how to storys, like how to hunt high desert mule deer, cascade elk, blacktail in the wilderness. public land hunting, in each state

how about over the counter tag hunts in the west.

Practical, logistically-sensible, 100%-reliable, no-fluff/romance-free African safari rifles for plainsgame as well as dangerous game purposes...........

AD

There are two very different things I would write about.

First, I have been keeping a journal of my experiences (successes and failures) in trying to introduce my two sons into hunting and fishing. So there is a range of sentimentality and but also pragmatic advice. (I spend a lot of time on airplanes, so I use this time to write; in my hubris I figured it might make a book some day.)

The second is research-style articles using good scientific methods to address some common wisdoms about shooting/hunting. These would typically require the help of a lot of shooters (e.g., send 30 boxes of the same lot 30-06 ammo to different shooters to get real world velocity and accuracy data, maybe even holding the rifle brand constant). Or publish the results from an extensive test of Tubbs fire lapping in a .22lr rimfire that I conducted several years ago, with a large before and after sample.

But there isn't much of an outlet, and there certainly isn't enough time for it all.

I've contemplated penning a piece on Myth Bustin',as well as a treatise on how mainstream offerings can be exceptional,on the average......................

An article on how to introduce young people to the art of handgunning. From starting with air pistols, then the progression to .22's and so forth. Lots of articles on teaching kids how to shoot, but most deal with rifles. Use of the handgun for recreation is fun and challenging. I just haven't seen an article dealing with it yet. Perhaps someday....

I like the hunting stories angle, such as the antelope I ended up taking with a .357 S&W 686 after three frustrating days of hunting on a friends ranch in NM. Have to throw in some humor once in a while too.
The shooting tecnique angle is a good one also. I know many people who would shoot 4" groups with a tack driver from a bench. Now add buck fever, cold fingers, poor shot angles, etc. Makes ya shudder don't it?
Research is also a fun topic, --How does COL affect velocity in the new super duper mega mag? We tested it in five different factory rifles!-- etc.
The first and the last would be my subjects in all likelyhood, as they are the ones I most enjoy reading.

Along the myth busting line, I write about shooting for groups with scopes of various magnification. I've been told more than once that a 2.5X or 3X scope isn't worth anything at 200 yards though it's hard to argue with the results on paper. How about a survey of what rifles hunters actually carry while deer hunting? An article about out of state hunts that are affordable would be great and I'd like to do the research. Ward

Well every year I see guys that can not shoot. They are either afraid of their super mag rifles or just never take the time to practise.
I got to hunt a prime elk property this year because the folks that run this place make the hunters qualify and most could not so I got on.
All they had to do was put 2 out of three shots in a 8 inch piece of paper at 150 yards from a field shooting position.
15 out of the first 20 hunters could not do that.
I hate to think of all the elk that get wounded by these yahoos.
Maybe some articles on how to shoot a rifle would be in order. Or how to select a rifle you can shoot and how to pratice shooting.
Reading about wonder bullets and ballistics just will not do it.
-Doc-

Ken
Very good to see you back and posting! Merry Christmas to you, in case I forget to say it later!

I would be looking at things that I have done my experiments with over the years. How to put a good finish on a stock and how it was proved that it was a good finish. Would also be able to show how it compares to the standard finishes after years of hard use.

I've more than a few stories of hunting under more than a few different conditions with more than a few different results.
art

I'd write about how to train hunters to shoot in the field. I'd cover practical targets and courses of fire, then go into the differences between practice, training and rehearsal. I'd write a little on the gear you need to hit well and keep a rifle running in the field, and how to set it up.


Okie John

I'd also write about setting up equipment and training people to work in a particular environment (cold/wet/brushy, cold/dry/open, etc.) rather than for a particular species.


Okie John

I'd write technical articles on what actually works, and what is a waste of the shooter's time. My interest is finding what works well and reliably for the minimum investment of time and effort. I guess that partially comes under the heading of "mythbusters". This whole hobby is practically awash in old wives tales.

One of the models I try to follow is Harold Vaughn, who wrote "Rifle Accuracy Facts". He was a hard-core experimentalist, who carried a Tek 555 oscillscope (monster boatanchor device... had one once) and a gas driven generator around in the back of his pickup, so he could do measurements. What he said, he backed up with experimental data.

Questions that I'm thinking about at the moment: Does using a magnum rifle actually diminish terminal performance in many cases? We know the average penetration of various bullet types, but which types give the least "spread" around the mean in actual, bony animals? Does it make any difference if you individually weigh each powder charge? Are digital scales as precise as balance scales? Are fast powders and light bullets (your basic cast bullet plinking loads for the 30-06) an invitation to disaster, repeating the experience of Charlie Sisk? How susceptible to internal light scattering are some of the major brands of rifle scopes?

Ken, given that criteria and at my current effort level, I'd probably write about cast bullets in rifles (not blackpowder) and some shotgunning.
In a perfect world, I would really like to have the $$$ backing to employ the resources of places such as H.P. White or SW Research to help publish meaningful, and REPEATABLE, shooting results. Last time I did that, it cost $2500 per day.
I'm disappointed when gun writers make an observation in the field and attribute it to the wrong reason. I'm also not impressed when they do something like shoot a couple of water jugs and state the observations as definitive. Instead, form a hypothesis, devise an experiment, determine a confidence level and then the necessary sample size to get statistically significant results to test that hypothesis. Shoot that many under controlled conditions, and then talk to me.

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

I would write about my first day of the 2003 archery season. My dad, who introduced me to hunting, was battling cancer that would claim his life within a month. I was hunting with two of my cousins at our family farm. All three of us had a role in taking two nice eight points that evening. But my father's obvious pleasure with our success in his moment of suffering will be with me forever.

Ken,

Glad to see you back at the 'fire!

I'd like to see more "how to" pieces on gunsmithing and stockmaking.

I'd also love to see an update on your chapter on selecting shop equipment, that was in a Wolfe book on gunsmithing. I think it would be of interest, if it included evaluations of the current crop of machines that are within reach, cost wise, of the home hobbyist. While it would be great to have a nice Clausing, Myford, etc...such machines are way too pricy for most folks, and something like the Jets, Grizzlies, Acra, etc...are within reach of Joe Sixpack.

Merry Christmas to you, and to all!

Jeff

I like the idea of stories being spun telling of equipment or strategies used. I like to see myths busted as the "brush busting" cartridges have been.

Ken--

I might be doing the same writing I was about 10 years ago, before getting so heavily into gun writing: hunting (including pure narrative stories), general instructive gun writing, fishing, and Western history.

When I started staff writing for FIELD & STREAM in the 1980's, staffers were expected to be all-around hands, writing about all sorts of hunting and fishing. It wasn't until the 90's that many of started getting pigeon-holed. At F&S I eventually got slotted as the "deer guy." This got boring, one reason I eventually resigned.

In reality, I don't get assigned to write about too many new guns or products. Most of the "new" firearms articles I write grow out of long use of a particular type of firearm, and I much prefer to use several samples beforehand. Thus I never "reviewed" the Ruger 77 Mark II until more than a decade after it appeared.

Once in a while there is a new product that intrigues me, such as a new bullet or loading tool. The Juenke Internal Concentricity Comparator is an example, but even then I never wrote about it until it had been around several years.
My most recent rifle and handloading articles were about the Savage 99 and the Savage cartridges, so maybe I never will get to be cutting-edge!

See you in Sin City?

MD

MD,
I think you made a valid statement that many editors never get:

All writers have a specialty(s) that they are more comfortable with. If permitted to cover anything that is within your area of knowledge, experience and substance to cover, the article will always have readership.

When sent down a road not of your choosing, I don't believe it is possible to present the same quality in both research (because you are dying to get it over with) and presentation as your most important component, pride coupled with pleasure is removed.

2 articles I hated covering were the Ruger Mini 30 when it came out and the 4th BOSS rifle that was sent to me. Yawn!

Merry Christmas

AGW

I love reading "myth-busting" articles. When writers go out and actually seek to see if what we've been told is true, for decades - is actually true.

I also enjoy reading about bullet tests - differing bullets, differing test media, differing calibers and differing impact speeds. I can't test 10% of what a professional writer could - so I depend on you guys for steering me in the right direction.

If I were a writer - I'd want to be pigeon-holed as the "bullet test guy". In that way, I'd be forced to spend a lot of time at the range - which I enjoy, and then, even more time "testing" the bullets on actual game - which I'd love!

In a perfect world, the editors would send me all over the globe, on the company ticket, in order that I could test every bullet, out of every gun, on every animal. Well, at least testing every "suitable bullet" out on each species. I guess if the sent me out to check on how .22's work on Cape Buffalo - I'd know I'd pissed someone off at head office.

A guy can dream can't he?

It's a good dream and will continue to influence new blood into the writing market.

Keep it as long as you can.

AGW

Ken,

Sorry to take so long in responding but just got in from a trip and found your thread. I was up in Idaho at the Flying B Ranch bird shooting in single digit weather with a pile of snow on the ground. Thank goodness for Arizona - it will be in the 70s today here in Sierra Vista.

If I'm not writing about rifles, hunting, and subjects associated with each, I'd probably be writing about how it was growing up in eastern Kentucky during WWII. My sons can't imagine a world without McDonalds, pre-packaged and instant everything, and most of all, outdoor privies, pot-belly stoves, and ice boxes! I've done considerable work on a book on this subject but, alas, have not been able to find a publisher. I have also done much work on a book dealing with situations I've come across in the course of a half-century plus of hunting. It contains such chapter titles as "Hunting Camp Out-Houses I've Known, and, Hunting Pals I've Known." Here too, I seem to be the only one that believes the subjects to be book material. One of these days though.

Of course I love writing about custom rifles and fine engraving, and will continue to write about both. Like MD though, I don't want to be boxed into a subject matter that doesn't allow me to do other things.

See you in neon city.

Tom

I would write about the down fall of informative, and interesting articals and thier repacement with five minute "reviews"

Then I would proceed with said informative and interesting articals.

In the end I would problably end up writing a lot like Mule Deer.

Old Friend Ken,

I'm not sure if what I am about to suggest really answers your question, but it was an answer for me in a time of personal crisis.

You might remember that my wife, Karen, had major spinal surgery several years ago. The term "major" really doesn't cut it; she had the four lower-back vertabrae and her pelvis fused. That's right, all five units fused, titanium rods, screws and enough hardware to stock a Home Depot store.

The operation, during which we almost lost her, was very successful from a technical standpoint. The difference between total success and being still in a lifetime of pain and designer drugs rested on my nursing ability. Obviously, the better care she had at home (that would be me), the better the outcome would be.

Soooo, I was Karen's 24/7 nurse for about five months. And I served as part-time nurse 'til about the one-year mark. Yeah, I did every personal thing for her and will go to my grave believing that it will always stand as the greatest showing of personal love.

I momentarily thought about not writing for the duration. Hey, we are financially independant and the money is less than peanuts, so why not stick to what is important?

About a week after the operation, I decided to write an article that would involve no range time. I found that I needed the distraction of writing, in-between sessions of supporting Karen on her way to the potty, bathing Karen, making the bed, cooking, cleaning the house, etc, etc. Anyway, I NEEDED the distaction.

What I wrote became HUGE. I wrote about building a custom rifle (barrels, twist-rates, stocks, actions, bedding, blah-blah-blah) and the sucker became so big (24K words) that I had to split it into three sections. There was not one second of range time involved, no new products.....just useful stuff out of my head. The readers absolutely loved it.

The best part is I never missed a beat in Karen's healthcare. And she healed perfectly. I will forever be convinced that if I was not her 24/7 caring, loving nurse that she wouldn't have healed as well as she did. The readers loved the series totally and the fan mail filled our mail box for a long, long time.

It always seemed strange that writers must rely on readers for feedback. In all of my years at two magazines, I can count the number of Attaboys I received on one hand, and have several fingers left over. When I owned my store, I was always praising my staff; they thrived, worked their buns off for me and became loyal to a fault. I find it strange that the publishing industry and my retail experience should be so different.

Anyway, I thought that my example might help you. My friend, just write about what you know. In your case, that is a great deal.

Merry Christmas and God Bless you,

Your friend Steve

If I had the ability I would write this:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/674934/an/0/page/2#674934

Since you rephrased your question Dr. Howell, I am prepared to write the stories so many members seem to want. I will leave all of the technichal stuff to those here with much more experience than I.
But I agree that much of the nostalgia, humor, adventure, and romance have gone from most of today's outdoor writing. Being a fan of Mcmanus, Skelton, etc. myself, I would like to see their style and tradition continue on. A chuckle or heartfelt sigh inspired by someone's writing is always most welcome amid all of the reviews, tests, and tables we gun enthusiasts devour. I would like to contribute to that continuation.
The other subject I am prepared to write about is the physical training mentioned in a previous post. I am very qualified, as I have studied and put to use a wide variety of workout tequniques, regimens, nutrition tips, etc. I don't have a degree or anything, I'm just a guy who went from 240# with probably 30% body fat, to 185 with 20%, to 195 with 12%. I can tell you from experience that it makes for a much more pleasurable hunt if that elk quarter isn't about to give you a coronary. I can think of half a dozen fast articles packed with information off the top of my head ranging in subject from the effects of high altitude to a 30 day training routine(60 would be better)to get in shape for that Alaska sheep hunt to exercising in tight quarters or while travelling, or both, such as in an R.V.
I would also like to write about shooting training, and document the effects of daily, or at least weekly, shooting practice using field positions. You can email me if any of this interests you. I may even have a story or two lurking about that I could let you peek at. shaunryan71@yahoo.com
Merry Christmas and Happy '06 to you Dr. Howell, and to everyone here at the campfire, thanks for the great site. It would be a dream come true for my humble self to be ranked among the great ones here as a gunwriter.<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />Okay, just to meet some of you would be an honor, but one can always dream.
Oh and how do you like Catron county Dr. Howell?

I would write about what we as sportsman must do to advance the shooting and hunting sports.In particular I would exhaust myself on informing people on how to increase the access for hunting.Propose new ideas that would ensure landowners reduced property taxes or continued enrollment in government subsidised programs,in return for access.
Like any successful campaign getting the message out to the youth of America is the key.Develop interest in target or range style shooting,with emphasis on hunting.Preaching to the dwindleing choir makes little sense.
Develop an interest in a sport where the average American has a chance of participateing.Affordable access to hunting is key.Without starting to challenge the escalating cost of hunting,we are headed for a European style system where the fiscal impediments will dictate that only the wealthy will be hunters.Access,access,access.

Tom, I must say the book sounds GREAT, almost like bathroom reading, (no insult here). I cannot even remember all the conversations I have had @ hunting camps, about other camps & the trials & tribulations that led to greatness & failures of one type or another.

Year before last, a guy pulls in late, says he had to get away from his other camp. Cannot deal with them anymore..
Turns out, one of the guys got mad about a joke at the fireside chat & set fire to anothers camper...

Pat

Hey Ken,
If you've been back and forth between MT & AZ you've noticed a significant change in climate recently, eh? It's been chinooketty and 50 above after 15 below! I'm dreaming of a muddy Christmas.

Don't know what you have in mind, I've lots of ideas mostly about high-end custom rifles, making them here and in Europe, and hunting with them. And lots of GREAT photos (workshop, covers, fine rifles, trophies and walnut stocks etc.). I know how to meet a deadline with good material and excellent illustration. Did you ever see any of my Accurate Rifle stuff, cover photos?

All the shotgun stories goes to Shooting Sportsman, the Fine Gunmaking column is in its 12 year. I could sure entertain a good rifle story venue.
Let me know if I can help. If you don't have it, I'll forward a copy of the Custom Rifles book. Just let me know.

Ken,

Nice to respond to you; I am a fan.

I love the idea of writing articles, etc. aimed at kids. 10 to 16 years old. Not sure the market is there commercially, but every year there is a new crop coming on; and every year there is a new crop losing interest or becoming distracted by unimportant things such as money, 4-wheelers, sports, and video games. And, kids cannot depend on hours and hours of outdoor time with Dad to learn about this stuff. I don't think one has to write like Ted Nugent in order to attract young people, although he probably does appeal to a bunch of them.

Second thing I would write about is my .218 Mashburn Bee contender carbine. An all around behind-the-door rifle. It is dead-on at 100 yards with full loads, and with the scope on 6x the bottom post of the duplex is dead on at 50 yards with rimfire speed reduced loads. Hunt squirrels with the reduced loads, but keep a couple stiff ones in your pocket in case a coyote or turkey shows up.

Third topic would be to make a better comparison of different rifle models for accuracy. Instead of shooting one Rem and one Win and one Ruger, shoot six of each with a handful of factory loads. Where or how a fellow comes up with that many rifles might be a story in itself...perhaps borrowing them from local used racks? But it would be a much more definitive evaluation than shooting the various rifles one at a time. Another possibility would be a 'literature review' type article where magazine articles are collected from several sources and compiled for a statistical comparison of various rifle models.

PAndy

Ken - in case you (they) want me and my outlandish thinking (& superior attitudes):
May I be the "general European conscience" of the thingy...

RD

Id like to write more along the lines of the story I have in the current Sports Afield (Jan) about the 35 Whelen, but focus on classic German and English cartridges.

Aussie--

I do believe you've hit on one major difference between good editors and not-so-good editors.

The one article I hated to write most in my career was one on "tactical scopes." This must have been assigned at least 12 year ago. Back then I was working quite a bit for a big publishing company that put out several shooting magazines. Kind of had to do it when one editor assigned the piece. Held my nose while putting the package in the mailbox.

The worst editors are the ones with no real knowledge of the subject themselves, and who also have no feel for the talents and tastes of their writers.

Of course, I could list other faults of bad editors, but those are the pertinent ones here.

Merry Christmas,
Mule Deer

I would enjoy doing comparisons on gear. Anything that would be associated with hunting . Example would be to take any number 5,6,10, of the latest GPS's . What are there strength's and weakness's . Which is fastest or works best in heavy cover. It could be anything to do with hunting not just bullets , scopes , rifles , shotguns etc. But things like camera's , boot's, backpack's, shooting sticks , hunting suits . Anything that would give a hunter a chance to compare like products to see which one is best for them.
I've also always wanted to take not just 1 but 5 or more of , say, each currently manufactured bolt rifle . Have a shootout, really work them over to see which is most accurate , feeds and opperates best on average .
Also advanced technical articals. Reloading , shooting , gunsmithing, anything aimed at the advanced shooter/hunter . Mule Deer already does a fine job on this , which is why I read everthing he write's and have such great respect for his opinion .
To do the comparisons you would have to have help so you would get a cross section rather then an opinion.

Another big problem is the cookie-cutter template for article length. For decades, I've been asked "How long should an article be?" My answer has always been that an article is just like a man's legs in one respect � that a man's legs should be just long enough to reach the ground. Herve Villechaiz (on "Love Boat") got about quite well on legs a lot shorter than mine. An article should be just long enough to cover everything, clearly, that needs to be covered.

So write the piece � include all that's needful, none that isn't. If it's short, it may not be an article (an item in a column, or a filler, maybe). If it's long, it may be a series � look for natural places where it's appropriate to separate Part I from the rest, etc. If it's very long, you're probably better-off thinking of it as a book.

Re Editors in general, I love the remark by (IIRC) Gene Fowler:
"An Editor should have a pimp for a brother, so he'd have somebody to look up to."

.

Mr.Lee of Lee Valley tools published a wood working magazine Wood Cuts for a while.My favourite article in it was a series on rebuilding a Unisaw.I have never seen anything like it before or since.So a project rifle within cost constraints would be interesting.

Our paper does a car section once a week,in it someone does a small article on one of their cars,such as my first car "a A-40 Austin for $35" or "the trip to Mexico in a '52 Chev " It's hugely popular. So the stories around some rifles would be interesting.

Mr. Howell,

You are sure getting a good mix here. I hope you are up to something that will come of all of this.

I specifically did not mention what I would "like" to write. It is too agonizing. Editors have a way to remove the "heart and soul" from things, and to me it is like seeing a child go wrong.

Another thing, there are far better talent than I'll ever be if they get a chance, some of them I'm sure here on this forum.

Names, what they did, and how they did it may fade, but who can ever forget the essense of "The Road to Tinkhamton"! (If I spelled it right, why I need an editor)

Best of luck with whatever "the plan" is!

I think there is a problem with access to hunting and the cost when it is available. I believe this is costing us hunters.

As a remedy, I would spend more time writing on "local" hunting, including small, upland and big game. How about an article on just woods loafing.

I would also write about how you could obtain an english or european SxS for a reasonable price by importing a gun. It isn't the hassle many would have you believe. I would also write about how guns from the past could be imitated (certainly not copied) for a reasonable cost. As an example, how to make a H&R Handi into a stalking rifle (or a rook rifle).

My sense is that some (more?) people are ready to look for nostalgia and reasonable cost instead of high tech and high $.

I'd do something like the "$40.00 a day" show on food TV, except I'd write about desirable hunts you can take on a weeks vacation, including traveling time for a specific total cost, something like "$2000.00 a week", or even $1500.00 a week", including cheap transportation. Then I'd expand on the idea, and toss in an occasional low-budget African plains safari, investigating some of the ads you see in the hunting magazines. Meet with people who actually took these safaris, and get their stories. People love to read about real people, and often think that gunwriters get special perks on these trips, so do it undercover, so to speak, so you don't have outfitters blowing smoke up your err.... jumpers.

OK so I am not a gun writer and I really don't pretend to play one on the Internet. But if I had the time for the research (and I don't) I would love to write something along the lines of "Ackleyizing: How Much Improvement".

Since the .280 AI seems to be the most popular of these wildcats, take a stock .280 (Sucks 700, Ruger 77 MKII, whatever). Shoot the the thing with factory loads. Work up representative handloads showing the progression of load development. See what you can accomplish with a stock rifle before tweaking.

Fix the trigger. See what that accomplishes with it's favorite loads. Bed it. See what that does. Float the barrel. See what that does. Get that non Ackley rifle as good as it is gonna get.

Then when you have it as good as it is gonna get you are at the point we are all waiting for: Ream it to an AI, work up loads for it. See what it does (including differences in powder/bullet preferences from the new casing and even documenting the effectiveness of factory .280 loads while fireforming).

Ultimately we would be left with lessons in progression of a stock rifle, great loading data for a couple of rifle loony cartridges, and serious "apples to apples" mythbuster data that will enable the individual rifle owner to decide whether the AI is for them.

Hey, I'd read it.

Thanks for all your comments, guys � even those that haven't addressed my questions. Everything that you've said here reinforces my position re what an outdoor or gun magazine ought to be.

As soon as I can tell you all the details � which aren't mine to reveal � I'll let you know what's in the works. I hope that you like what we have in mind and what we will present. For now, all that I can tell you is that I'm consulting (again!) with a friend, whose name you'd recognize immediately, making plans for a new magazine. I've agreed to be the Editor, and I've been suggesting � nay, requiring � several drastic differences from the ways that current magazines operate.

I'll need your support but won't ask for it � I'll do my darnedest to earn it.

I have enough material on hand and on tap that I don't expect to be asking for more for months � maybe for as long as a year.

The first and most basic thing about this new magazine is that I'll be slanting it unmistakably toward the reader, not the advertiser. Where readers congregate repeatedly, advertisers will come (not vice versa). This means no fluff, no hype, no pimping, no froth.

So the emphasis will be on good reading, not so much on the latest products. I plan, for example, to reach back in time and publish good outdoor reading from the rich past � old articles and stories, excerpts or chapters from classic books. "Reviews" of new books won't be like high-school book reports or publishers' hype sheets � instead, I'll publish long excerpts (even entire chapters) from these new books, along with dope on where you can get a copy, and let you decide whether you want to read more of it.

Product reviews will be secondary to good reading. A seller who wants to have his product reviewed (a) won't have to be an advertiser and (b) won't contact his favorite writer to arrange for a review. For a review in our new magazine, the seller will have to contact me (just as for an ad, he'll contact the ad manager). I'll decide (a) whether the product is likely enough to interest our readers to justify reviewing it and (b) who will examine it � maybe one person (who may be a known writer and may not), maybe several persons (probably local "ordinary" shooters, hunters, and outdoorsmen). Reviews must be credible, practical, and realistic. Products that turn-out to be too sorry to consider worth buying will be ignored, not worth page space in our magazine.

Rates for writers will be tops. But according to the value of each piece of writing, not on name, reputation, ego, etc. A good piece from a one-time writer may be worth as much as (or even more than) a piece from a pro with a widely recognizable name.

I'll let you know more as soon as I can. Now, I have to get back to work getting the first issue ready. (Good stuff! I'm having a ball with it and can hardly wait for you to see it.)

.

i would like to see a monthly column written by a youngster. maybe the first deer or deer hunt. whatever they choose.

have an online essay blank for them to fill out or snail mail works. i would love to read in detail how they "see" this sport/tradition they are entering.

woofer

Ken, best of luck to you on your venture. The type of publication you are describing is greatly needed. For me, Varmint Hunter comes as close as anything I've found. More that's simply useful, fun reading would be most welcome.

Dr. Ken,

Put me down as your first subscriber. You just described why I don't to some of the major publications. They are paid infomercials. If an advertiser wants my business he can seek me out. I am not going to pay him to come to me.

A magazine as you described would be a great avenue for discovering new talent.

This e-mail from a Campfire regular is good enough to share with the rest of you. So, I hope, is my reply:

"The new magazine you described seems exciting. ... Would you consider bringing Ross Seyfried on board? He is a writer who is well thought of and I think he could be an asset. But I do not know if he would clash with what you have in mind."

Thanks for writing!

If Ross Seyfried wants to write for us, his material will be welcome � if it fits, and if he's happy with our conditions and rates. I won't have much patience with prima donna attitudes and egos and no use at all for froth, fluff, or hype. As far as I'm concerned right now, there are very few writers whose work I expect (with abundant good reason) to be unworthy of our consideration.

I don't know whether we'll have a regular staff of writers. Several, I'm sure, will have their work in our magazine again and again. They'll be regulars � but staff? maybe, maybe not. I hope that any writer will consider it an honor and achievement to have his material accepted for our new magazine and will submit suggestions, queries, and material voluntarily. So far, I'm not in a position where I have to ask any specific writer to send me material, although I've been scouting among my old friends to let them know what we're planning and to alert them to the significant differences between our new magazine and the old ones that they're used-to.

.

Correction;

I have asked a fellow whom I met years ago to detail for us something that he told me about � years ago � how hunting and shooting reformed him from a life of crime (years ago) into a responsible citizen and concerned, conservative community activist. He called my suggestion "scary," so I promised to protect his identity with a byline like "name withheld by request" or a pen name. Or I might publish some of his statements as quotations under my own byline.

He said that he'd consider it. I think that such a piece from a convicted but reformed felon would be not only interesting reading but also a significant contribution to gun literature. So I hope, of course, that he'll send me some details.

.

That would be outstanding.

Ken -best wishes to you and I hope that the project goes well.

For things I would love to write here is a couple

*gun store etiquette (spl?)--I've worked behind the counters and would love to share some thoughts ( kind of a do's and don't and how to be realistic..)

*I just turned 47 and it would be very nice to write about how the hunt changed for me over the years. I would also take time to try to help people to start thinking about enjoying their hunt more. (you know leave the tape mea home kind of stuff)

*ego's--I would love to write an article encouraging people to try like heck to sit back and enjoy this. To leave the ego's for their glory days of football or whatever. I would heavily encourage people to listen more, spout off less. And to not be so darn promotin of their ideas. Case in point our hero's that love this or that round and love to grandstand about them. They will make a round go this or that speed no matter what. Then sit back and claim that it is ok and all should be able to get there as well. I learned long ago that I can make a round go whatever I want the questions is should I?

*I'd write about the idea of a couple of good rifles that would cover things for them. And how to get intimate with them. I am always amazed at how some people think. In the last year I spoke to one fella who claimed to not have the $ to hunt elk. And yet this chap also told me he has something like 13 elk rifles..

*lastl I've done some guiding and would like to write a bit about how to enjoy the hunt mo. And I would also like to highlite a couple of hunts that have been special to me. Like one fella that hunted with me in Sonora for borrego. He had ccancer and knew it was his last hunt and it was a true privaledge to share it with him!

Enough from me, good luck Ken

Mark D

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hey Ken
I would write about what to do when your eyes change and you cant shoot with iron sights. and proper winter wear and the latest and greatest in foot wear. keeping in shape for the big hunt in your life. what to carry on your hunt in differant locations in north america. Casting bullits and equipment needed to start. Proper stock fit for accurate/comfortable shooting. Off hand shooting, how to build a set of shooting sticks and how to use them. I can go on ........................
Also getting back to basics after getting bad habbits.
Bearbeater

i'd write, for a time, of using one weapon to hunt everything from doves, quail, and pheasant to deer, bear, and elk....

then i'd write of time spent in the wilderness living the lifestyle of the woodsman.... perhaps traveling by canoe, or with a pack mule, or car camping across the high desert... fishing, hunting, and gathering sustenance.....

that is, i would if i were a workmanlike writer...

i would not feel compelled to write about every cartridge and every rifle.... every shotgun and every gauge..... every specie and every locale

I would write technical articles on metallurgy, plastics and ceramics as related to firearms. I would also delve into esoterica regarding firearms metal and wood finishing, as well as some gunsmithing issues.

Mr. Howell,

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray! Think this might turn to be bigger THAN EVEN YOU CAN IMAGINE!!!

By the way, I've read some of your stuff, so do not forget to include yourself among the contributing writers.

Now for the practical: Anyway we will be able to get in line or on the list, to make sure we get one of the "thingys", so we don't have to wait months for you to catch up with the printing orders!!!

I could tell you what I would not write about, and this is as follows: I would not write a hunting story to advertise a gun or bullet, at least not like most of the stories being written nowadays.

The majority of hunting stories I read today follow a pattern similar to this:
1. Title includes the firearm or ammo "being advertised"
2. Some details and data relating to the item, target and pictures of the item, etc.
3. A trip somewhere and details of the hunt, environment, some nice person, guide or something, etc.
4. Pictures of the kill to emphasize the greatness of the product over other similar products
-------
Now I remember a story I read years ago, and one I kick myself on the behind for not saving (I don't even remember who wrote it). The story was about a hunting trip to Russia, and the perils of the hunt. The writer had some sort of beautiful custom rifle, too, which he lost to the Russian authorities at the end of the hunt.

Supposedly there was enough food for a week or two, but it ran out a few days later. However, every night the cook, guides, etc. would sit by the table to eat and drink Vodka, and there was plenty, at least enough to drink all night and fall asleep under the table.

The hunter killed something with his rifle by the end of the hunt, so the hunt itself was successful, but by then there was only bread and Vodka left. He managed to make it back to a city and airport after losing the rifle to the Russians. On his way to the airport he stopped at McDonalds, where he ate a huge hamburger (he was so hungry), and which he later barfed on the taxi's floor-matt, making the taxi very smelly, and driver extremely mad. It was cold, but the window was kept open to air-out the cab.

This story was so funny that tears rolled down my face when I read it, and not even once did he advertise the gun and ammo. If you are lucky enough to read the story somewhere, you will understand how a great story this one is.

Ray, I would like to read that story myself!

The thing that bothers me about many rifle/cartridge stories that get published is that all too often the writer jumps to conclusions based on very little actually field experience, although we've all been guilty of that, I guess, now and again.

But I can think of a 338 Win. Mag. article that was in either Rifle or Handloader a number of years ago that was so sophmoric that a sixteen year-old kid with a rifle and a reloading bench could have written it, and from all appearances the writer never shot anything with the cartridge he was writing about other than atmosphere, paper, and dirt!

AD

I read such articles ever now and then. I do enjoy reloading articles, specifically articles that deal with reloading improvements for existing cartridges, reloading techniques, reloading safety, game tracking techniques (with color pictures showing blood trails, blood-pattern differences, etc.).

A real, but funny story like the one I mentioned above is rare. The story was not very long, maybe a couple of pages, and even though the writer didn't mean to sound funny, it was hilarious. I could not help but to feel sorry for the guy as I laughed. He was not complaining about the hunt, food, campsite, nor anybody, not even the Russians who took his rifle. He was just telling the story as he saw it, and was extremely happy to have lived to tell it.

I am certain that average hunters experience some funny, even dangerous events, but for whatever reason they don't write of publish the story. Most hunting stories, however, are relatively boring, unless the writer can write the story in such a way that the reader "lives it" in his mind like watching a movie. Such writers aren't common, but I have come across some. For example, I came upon an old book that had been placed in a box full of freebies. The book is titled "The Spanish Temper," Written by V.S Pritchett, and last published in 1959. I had no idea of who V.S Pritchett was (he is long gone now), but didn't want to stop reading his book. One can "mentally watch" the events taking place as he explains them in his book.

I think I would like to read about Ken Howell, and especially the story up to the present, describing the trials and tribulations of his move and the work entailed in keeping going in the Outdoor sports Biz.
And working on making the dreams a reality.

With the risk of hijacking this thread, which is not my intention, please allow me to quote a paragraph i picked at random from V.S. Pritchett's book. Note how he talks of an old man at the Customs House in a Spanish city:

"This silent dialogue in the Customs House is a dialogue of half-thruths. It indicates only one thing: We have already been infected by the Spanish compulsion to see things black and white. We are entering the country of 'todo o nada'-all or nothing.
And change is slow. In the customs House at Irum there is still that finger-marked hole in the station wall through which you push your passport; still that thin, sallow-faced man with the sick eyes, the shrunken chest, the poor bureaucrats's jacket, writing slowly in the large useless book , in silence. He sits like a prisoner. His hand can only do one thing at a time. It's impossible for him to write his book, blot his paper, and hand you your passport in a single continuous action. He certainly cannot hold passport in one hand and pen in the other. Each action is separate and he does not speak."

Some of Pritchett's paragraphs fill one page, but one gets every little detail relating to the person or thing he writes of, and even with all of these details, one wants to read more.

My point about this whole thing is that the most difficult but important skill for any writer to develop, is to be able to write as he or she speaks, giving enough details to induce the reader into living the story without getting bored. I would love to write; I have always dreamed of it, but don't have the time, nor the knowledge. I would love to read your stories, however, without advertisements. This is not meant for the creator of the original post, but to all gun writers. Also, these are my own personal opinions, for every person here is an independent thinker.

Tell you all a true story:
I stated writing for another magazine a dozen years back and the editor had seen my work and was happy to have me on board, but stipulated his criteria for a sucessful writing career anyway.

Simply put, he said, "Nobody cares how may flat tyres you had, or how many airports you had to wait in to get to the hunt." "All the readers want to know is, What did you hunt?, What do you shoot it with?, What bullet and load did you use? and What happend when you shot it?".

The emphasis was on firearms and loads and reaction to the shot.

The Aussie market is predominately a handloaders market and it is rare to meet someone who uses factory ammo there. The readers tend to be somewhat hostile and disrespectful (understatement) to writers that seem to go out of their way to avoid telling you about the firearm and loads being used.

Interestingly enough, the cable TV market here is exactly the kind of market despised there. I find it interesting because they above all communicators, have the ability to talk up a firearm and load in a hunting situation.

I wonder what do you blokes think about that?

AGW

Yes, being able to keep the reader interested is so very important. That's why when reading technical stuff, the reader should take frequent, small breaks. That is of course, unless the author is gifted and can keep your attention.

You can see my failings in that area. In this excerpt from my now long out of print book on do-it-yourself plastic surgery, "Rhinoplasty, Penguins and Shirley Booth", Gun Plumber Books, 1977, note the poor paragraph structure and boring jumble of words -

"His mind drifted back to that fateful day in August, in New York, in the park, in the zoo, in the cage (the penguins being in the cage that is, not him!), in the heat, in the dark, in can descent. What he found was shocking! There, in side, in the zoo, in the cage, in the heat, in the dark, in can descent, he found dozens of skinny penguins! They all looked so sad. Perhaps it was nerves, but he recalled laughing at one of them, not realizing that it was their leader. And then it died..."

I think that you can see the reason why I switched to firearms and explosives from performing plastic surgery! Along the way, I discovered that one has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

Except of course, unless you make a mistake with the explosives...

Post deleted by Ken Howell

That's really interesting and I believe it. Personally, I could give a rat's arse to know the gun minutia. I want to know about the hunt and that's it. I figure if the animal's dead the bloke must have used something appropriate to the task...

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Post deleted by Ken Howell

the hunting and sportsmen answer man, a real full length artical in a large national magazine, that answers questions every month on all hunting related issues. indepth. not these little half page blurbs printed in some national magazines. now the reality is, it would take a very well connected, experienced writer/sportsperson to pull it off professionally. they would also need to be great sales people,to get a large company like remington or winchester to sponser it.

If I could, I would want to write like Havilah Babcock. His books and articles are some of the most enjoyable reading I've spent precious time on. Some of it was hunting, some fishing, some out working the dogs, and some about trying to keep your sweet potato and chaw separate.

No matter what he wrote, he put you right there beside him. I could feel the heat, shiver in the chill, and smell the fresh cut sorghum. He didn't shoot want to shoot an elephant, but knew where the Jaybirds went.

***Edited for spelling.

I have never read his book, but by what you have said he may be one of those few writers and story tellers who can hold one's attention.

[quote]

For a review in our new magazine, the seller will have to contact me (just as for an ad, he'll contact the ad manager). I'll decide (a) whether the product is likely enough to interest our readers to justify reviewing it and (b) who will examine it � maybe one person (who may be a known writer and may not), maybe several persons (probably local "ordinary" shooters, hunters, and outdoorsmen).

Dr Ken,
This is very interesting and refreshing because it has never been done before in a truely honest, non orchestrated way.

We have seen two writers in the usual "planned" and "orchestrated" way, write a typical "Pro vs Con" article and you tend to know the results before you read the script.

It would make very interesting reading to get a couple of independant types to write something up and put them back to back because it they are the type of character who would stand his ground when surrounded in controversy, the reviews would not write the same and neither they should.

I am reminded of a review I read once for a rifle I rejected because it had a mechanical fault. After I returned it, it was passed onto another writer who wrote a glowing report. This is sadly, not uncommon.

I have been told of writers who photographed rifles with scopes attached "finger tight" for the pic's, only who put the rifle back in the box and then wrote the reports without firing a shot. (Thank you very much for the marketing material supplied.)

If the distributors who were in attendance and witnessed this, openly pass this information on with a chuckle, what happens that we don't know about or is actually falsehood?

Credability is everything. When lost, it's lost.

AGW

I don't recall who the writer was who told me this, and he wouldn't tell me the magazine or the "writer" responsible.

He was visiting the headquarters of the magazine. Out back, one of the staff writers stood with a target on the ground between his feet. Holding a new snubby revolver at arm's length straight down, he fired a cylinderful of rounds into the target.

The writer who told me about it laughed. He thought it was a gag, a wry comment on the limited inherent accuracy of the snubby. But when the review of that snubby appeared in the magazine, there was the target, with ne'er a word to indicate that it wasn't fired at, say, twenty-five yards.

Another writer friend "had to tell somebody" what his Editor had asked him when he sent-in his monthly article and column for that magazine � so he told me the two questions but wouldn't tell me which magazine or which Editor (of several that he wrote for).
"What do you mean by keyholing?"
"What's a touch hole?"

I don't think that I'll have to ask my writers to explain or define many of their terms. And I don't think that any of the writers whose work I'll use will "test" any firearm like that "writer" "test-fired" that snubby.

.

Excellent idea for this new magazine Ken-- sounds like something the industry needs. Always liked freelance stuff, to introduce new styles/experiences. Varmint Hunter's the closest so far. Can't wait to see the premiere issue. Good luck.

I plan two innovations that may interest you (I hope so!):

� "Lore from Yore" � old articles, chapters from old books, etc, that still make darn good reading (of course I'll love to get your requests, suggestions, recommendations). I have for you in the first issue a charming bear yarn from 1878.

� "Book-Tasters" � excerpts (some as long as entire chapters) from books, in lieu of book reviews that combine the characteristics of high-school book reports and publishers' hype releases. So far, I have two � on trailing cougar in the northern Rockies and identifying game birds. Again, I'll happily consider your requests, suggestions, recommendations.

The magazine will be a readers' magazine, so the emphasis will be on good reading, not good shopping.

.

Top 10 Techniques for Getting Permission to Hunt on Private Land.

dear ken:

i am a newspaper editor - and a weekly columnist. so i will approach your question first as a writer, then as an editor.

writer's view: i would love to write a do-it-yourself hunting column and/or do-it-yourself hunting articles. two reasons: 1) hunting glamour game is evermore an expensive proposition. by glamour game, i mean any game not found within a half day's drive of one's home state or region. for an alabamian like myself, tied to home by family, work and financial commitments, pheasant in kansas is glamour game. same for caribou in alaska, bear in maine, elk in montana, or even wild pigs in tennessee. putting together and executing a glamour game hunt on a joe blow budget seems an endlessly fascinating topic. oh, the stories that would result from putting together the hunt to the hunt itself. 2) even the common whitetail deer can be a glamour animal in one's own state or region because of hunt club/lease costs. alabama, for example, is rich in whitetail but trophies are hard to come by on public land. a 10-point buck scoring in the 180s is relatively easy to come by when plinked from a greenfield during the rut on a high dollar, well-managed lease - or a paid "hunt" on a deer plantation. what about the joe blows who have to hunt public land? I would love to write how-to and success stories on public land hunts.

editor's view: i would love to edit stories that live and die in the field - not in a high-fenced yard. show me - don't tell me - what it was like. give me a fact in every sentence, not an opinion - or a cliche - anywhere in the piece. of course, what applies for me as an editor goes for me as a reader.

if you need any help with this endeavor that can be done via e-mail, i would be happy to help - gratis.

Interesting second point fish.

2 things I have never seen in my life are a game fence and a tree stand.

Everything I ever killed, was inhibited by not more than a normal cattle fence and was taken on shanks pony after a stalk.

I would feel "dirty" if I killed an animal behind a fence, the practice being considered abhorrent downunder and I know "me" well enough to know I could never sit in a stand and call myself a "hunter". Kind of the equivalent of spotlighting deer and claiming it fair chase or getting your guide to shoot it from a chopper with a shotgun, land and take the pictures with your rifle leaning against the "trophy".

I have to live with me and I am very hard on myself when it comes to credability.

I have been a major high profile hunting club president and I have seen enough with trophy awards applications that I will never join another one. I like solitude, wild animals and a nice rifle to weigh me down.

The ones you lose make the wins worthwhile. Being there is the reason you go in the first place. Everything else is cream.

AGW

Ray -

Havilah Babcock Papers, 1920-1964 - Manuscripts Division - South Caroliniana Library - University Libraries - USC
Extent: 2 cartons. Location: Annex. Materials stored offsite; advance notice required. ... Medical LibrarySpecial Library Collections Other USC campus Libraries. Havilah Babcock Papers, 1920-1964 ... Educator, author, and outdoorsman, Havilah Babcock was born on March 6, 1898 ...

http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/mnscrpts/babcockh.html

agw:
can't say i haven't used a treestand. such is just slap necessary for a lot of whitetail hunting in the southeast with its temperate jungles, especially on public land.
stalking can get you shot by a drunk redneck on some public lands.
'sides, most "hunting" from a treestand is done when scouting out the spot to place the stand. the actual waiting for a shot is mere aftermath keyed to patience - if one has "hunted" well.
but the older i get, the less a treestand interests me. i cannot act the monkey like i could 20 years ago. balance, flexibility just are not there.
so, back to the stalk and a compressed foam rumble seat ...

Thanks, Lee

Try saying that after you hunt the Western Oregon Coastal rainforest. . . . . . <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Nothing personal, but here food, cover, and water are everywhere. That is not an exageration. There simply is no gathering point like a water hole, a food source, or trail leading to a patch of cover.

Here, the brush is quite thick and 30 yards is a wide field of view. Long shots happen, but are often accidental encounters across a draw or a clear cut. There just ain't no spot and stalk hunting here.

Thus, the trick is to scout, scout, scout and figure out where the deer will be based upon wind direction. The wind is everything here. The deer cannot see much either, so they rely heavily on their nose.

A tree stand allows the hunter to get his scent above the ground. The hunter then stakes out a small gap that he expects a deer to cross. The quarters are often quite close (under 20 yards). No way a hunter wins if his scent is on the ground.

The real hunting takes place in 2 parts: (1) scouting; and (2) getting in place without leaving a "scent trail."

A tree stand, while the refuge of the lazy hunter in some locales, is different here.

Good Shooting,

BMT

You blokes are perfectly correct about the hunting scenarios you outline and I was never intending to slander the practice of tree stands nor did I, but I was intending to slander myself, if I gave into a practice I was unfamiliar with, culturally.

I am a deer stalker and have been for many years. Every deer I ever shot, I hunted free range, honorably and either got lucky or earned the buck.

I put an old fallow buck on the cover of my first book that was so old, he was toothless on the top and had 4 stumps remaining on the lower jaw. Fallow can live a dozen years or so inthe old country as the preditors are not there, as they are here.

That was a trophy hunt in my mind because I stalked a ridge line following tracks, rubs, scrapes and urine tracks until I disrurbed him in his bed.

I first spotted him on the neighboring property just after dawn with another shootable buck and about 15 does and took a punt that he would cross the river into our hunting place. He did.

He was so old he gave me the impression his vision was impared, either that, or he was as arrogant as hell at the intruder into his pine decorated bedroom because, he stood, pulled his head back in defiance as if to say " what are you doing on my hill" as I sent a 180 grain Failsafe into his shoulder.

I'll never forget him. He was so large a fallow, that the taxidermist had to open his largest form 2 inches to accommodate the headskin.

I earned him by out-smarting him and lacing my day with luck not owed me. I paid him homage with a shoulder mount and a book cover.

For me, and this is no slander on anyone else, or their method of hunting, for me, if I sat on my ass and assassinated a deer that walked under my tree, I would feel personally like I did not earn it. My rules, for me.

I am not living in the land of Oz anymore and the hunting is regulated here, where once I could kill several hundred or even more animals a year wearing gun barrels out and trying every buillet made on game in the field.

On that basis alone, I may haev to change my ideas on hunting or miss out on the opportunities, but for now, I am content to stick to the old ways. For now!

Enjoy your hunt, because it is your life's experience, no-one can share it, no-one can take it from you or dilute it in any way. Your life's experiences are what you are and as a hunter, I would rate you all as fine breeding stock on that basis alone.

Now, how to get the wives to agree on all this?

AGW

And with that, you point out the differences in terrain and hunting style. What works for you isn't a consideration for me. I would expect that those differences can make things difficult for an editor.

For example, much of the big game hunting in Ontario, Canada is done in close, in moderate to heavy cover. To write an article about the virtues of a 280, wouldn't mean much to a deer hunter here, or in Europe or Vermont for that matter.

This is the centre of the "which bullet to use, which gun is enough or the best" discussions. I think that most of us know the short answer is none. They're simply tools, and to be successful, you choose the ones most appropriate for your unique situation.

A properly developed discussion on how to choose the correct bullet or cartridge/rifle type/sighting system for that matter would be a massive undertaking, given the myriad of hunting locales and animals. Add the hunting technique into the mix and oh my!

Glad I ain't pickin'! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Well put, Gentlemen. BMT

I've never hunted deer with dogs, but it was a practice used by some (in some areas) and condemned by others (in other areas) a good number of years ago. What I remember as notable to a hunter (me) on the sidelines watching and listening is that (a) those who condemned it judged it on the basis of their knowledge of hunting in their areas, and (b) many were quick converts when they tried to hunt deer their way in the parts of the country where locals used hounds. They quickly saw that the significant differences in terrain and cover made their earlier judgements irrelevant because they were fatally biased.

It seems to me that tree stands and possibly other local practices make a lot more sense than hunters in other areas are capable of understanding and judging.

I've long been sick of meat-hunters condemning trophy hunters and vice versa, and of fly-fishermen scorning other fishermen, for example. It seems to me that there's usually some good reason justifying hunting practices and methods that have evolved in some areas but remain unknown and unnecessary in others.

Jesus of Nazareth is the only One, IMHO, Who can rightly say "My way is the only way."

.

Ken.
All true, the distinction however, is the rules you set for yourself, not the condemnation of others who choose alternate methods.

eg: I am extremely uncomfortable with the ccncept of shooting a mountain lion out of a tree, irrespective of the hunting method to get it there.

I do however, accept that it may be the only way to get the opportunity. I also balance that with the con aspect of hunting. A good example of that wopuld be the hunting of blackbuck antelope and the common descriptions on the difficulty of the hunt afterwards.

When you learn about the animals you hunt, and it is a reasonably good idea if you have never hunted a particular species, you learn about the habits of animals. Therefore if you learn that a blackbuck has a tendency to crap on the same pile every day in exactly the same location for obvious reasons, apart from the fact that 99.9% of all blackbuck are taken behind wire, it therefore negates any hunting skill whatsoever if you stand guard over the dung and wait. Funny how you never read about that part in the blackbuck stories recited.

Now that, I won't do, nor would I condemn others as I already stated, hunting is a life's experience. Each man is entitled to follow his own judgement calls.

AGW

absolutely no slander taken, agw. things be different from place to place. here in 'bama, the country just is not big enough for spot and stalk except in very, very limited ways, and generally only on leased land.
now, there are oddities. i knew a young man who would sneak only, but only on his father's leased property. he couldn't stand tree stands. didn't wear camouflage. he wore muted colors, and wrapped his waist with a light, soft wool blanket so he could ease through briars and other underbrush. in this rig, he would silently slip through young pine plantations, hunting whitetail with a colt 1911 in 45 acp. now THAT's hunting.

fish, I gotta try that... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Mr. Howell, please let us know how we can get on the subscribers list for that new magazine when you can. Count me in.

You'll get the word here, and � believe me � you'll know it when you see it. I hope that you'll really like it (it's going to be different).

.

get 'em, ken.

Post deleted by Ken Howell

please,oh please have a humorist(s)!!!!

I would write about sharing this sport of ours: about the people who use our little (well, long but narrow) range out on the ranch, about my daughter and son, teenagers, driving for hours and hours to see if they even like hunting. How they fought in the truck while we dealt with snow and mountain lions and the death of elk.

I like stories that relate hunting and guns to people and places and gestures.


I would write about four kids getting the stupidest Brant that ever landed too close to a group of boys with guns, and how my cousin Tom and I got three geese with one shot from a 410: Hint, it paid for us to be on the track team at the time.

On the technical side, how do we REALLY derrive loads at the loading bench, when we can't find Reloader 22 or Retumbo, but HAVE to settle for 4350. I would write about loving my T/C carbines even thought they are , well you know, inconsistent, yea that is it, inconsistent. About the friendship I am working on with Mike Bellm hoping to end up with an honest to god minute of angle T/C rifle that weighs 3.5 pounds and is powerful enough for elk at 250. Knowing it will never be as fine as the friendship itself.

I would write the elk truth, that cows and spikes are hard won trophies and darn good eating. That seeing them TOOOO far away for even those nuts with the 50BMG's is still enough for a hunt to be successful. I would write about them running away throught the snow, and about their legs under pine thickets as they hide their heads so I can't shoot.

I would write about the way my addiction to my 416 lead me to buy mass quantities of 416 bullets. Most boxes missing 2 or 3 bullets for some unfathonable (recoil) reason. About how my 416 is taking me to Africa, not on a hunting trip, but a scouting trip: where I will observe Kenya and Tanzania from the highest point I can, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and how I already know I will be back in Africa with my 416, and my 300.

I would write about the way my 7X57 looks lying on the ground in autumn leaves while I loaf in the woods, eating, waiting for the ripples of a mans walking to die away, waiting for deer to come and feed me.

I would write about the dream of an animals death I often have the night before a successful hunt.

I would write about 5000 words a month, so I can hunt more, teach my children by example, and meet more of the great people who share the instinct of the hunter, and embrace their gun loving nature.

Put me in coach.

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Maybe one responsible person cuts out the last 20 posts of this to the point of uselessness frayed thread?

RD

reply by Ken Howell � added here to avoid sending this thread to the top again:

"Good idea!" I thought when I read your post. But when I'd deleted a number of excellent but divergent and distracting posts (including some of my own and yours), a long and tedious process, I saw that I hadn't shortened this thread by much. So I'm afraid that I've offended a bunch of good friends without improving things by much. Sorry 'bout that!

.

all this post deletion would be fine if the deleted posts completely disappeared ...

Here's a question I'm putting here because I can't find the way to start a post ! (Feel like an idiot!)
I have tried to get a magazine to publish a story I have written about the making of the last Superlative Class Ithaca Clasic Double shotgun. Has quality photos,too.I think it's a good read; but I've told several editors to edit it as they deem necessary and that I don't want any payment for it. So far, zero. How's a guy to do to"get-r-done"? Charles

1. Rabbit hunting. I think that we all grew up chasing bunnies but you rarely see anything written on it.

2. hunting cow elk. In a perfect world there would be a 6X6 bul lbehind every tree but that's not the case. But if you read the magazines they are every where out west.

3. Hunting with a milsurp rifle. I love reading stories about hunting with a 60+ year old battle rifle like PaulDaisy's K31 that he got his bull elk with this year.

Send it to me � kenhowell1931@earthlink.net � for "editorial judgement" that may get it into print. I often find the best pieces among other Editors' rejects. For one thing, I don't give a damn whether we sell Ithaca any ad space. If the piece is good enough to please our readers, that's my concern, my criterion.

.

Back up. Go back to the list of threads on this forum. At the top, above the list of threads, you'll see a "button" marked Post. Click on that, and go from there.

.

If I could write an article it would be about my experiences hunting with a Sharps rifle. It would include the mistakes and learning it took to become competent with lead bullets and black powder. I would include an in-depth look at what it takes to hunt day in-day out with a BPCR including being able to come home empty handed when I could have killed a lot more with a high-powered rifle.

The second thing I would dearly love to see written on extensively is Brent D.'s load testing method. It requires a shift in thinking but it is the best idea I've seen in a long time. Its on this website:

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Stats/Testing%20loads.htm

Take care,

SS

Well, Duuuhhh! I knew I had to be overlooking it. Many thanks to you, Mr. Howell. You sound like a mighty fine person. Sorry we haven't met. Charles

That is how we seperate the wheat from the chaff, we figure if you can figure it out, then you will be worth listening to. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
If you don't figure it out then we won't have to listen to you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I would write about Husqvarna commercial firearms - my passion.

Since we're talking no new toys, I'd write about wringing the guts out of the old ones. Except maybe a Model 70 first-round pre-64.
There is so much you can do with power tools and judicious chicanery...

The articles I would like to write would not have a very broad appeal, I am afraid.
Since my main interest is in experiencing new wild places, I would write as though as I was speaking to those people that seem to share my interests; namely Phil Shoemaker, Ron Spomer, Mule Deer and Keith McCafferty to name a few.
I would try to find hunts that are moderately priced, both guided and self guided. I would write to those people that make hunting a part of their year round life style by eating wild game a great deal, by spending a lot of time outdoors, because they seem to have a yearning to do so, by keeping informed on political issues that affect hunters, and by passing on the hunting tradition to younsters.
These people measure their net worth not by their bank balance, but by the wild places they have seen during the year.
I would write a lot about wood skills and hunting ethics, and a smattering about equipment, but only to identify what is essential and what works.
Sucessful Hunter published an article by Phil Shoemaker about a helicopter trip he made down the Aluetian Chain to hunt feral cattle. He never laid eyes on one, and no "normal" hunting magazine would have ever published the story. If I ever got to the point that I could write an article that was that interesting and that compelling, I would consider myself a sucessful writer, even if the only place I could get it published was the now defunct Vermont Sportsman.
What made the article compelling to me was that is was about a unique destination, the animal being hunted is not normally thought of as a game animal. therefor there was no talk of B&C scores, the setting was wild and rich with history.
Many of these wild places are available to the average hunter- Hunting black bears in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, archery hunting for elk in some of the Rocky Mountain ranges where four wheelers can't go.
I guess Townsend Whelen did this years ago, and people like him and John Jobson and Gordon Eastman have been influential in shaping my attitudes.
Good hunting every one.

Royce

I skipped to page 7 after reading to page 3. My apologies if I repeat something that was written between pages 3 and 7.

First, I'd write about the history of "gun writing", and how it has influenced the firearms industry and community in the United States.

Second, I'd "take on" several of today's self-proclaimed 'expert' writers, challenging only their own written, published words. The drivel being spewed today is reaching a crescendo, and if somebody doesn't quiet this cacophony, I fear for the future of TRUE Hunting in the U.S. In my opinion, we are dangerously close to a precipice which drops us into an abyss the likes of which England now finds itself. Too many "gun writers", aided and abetted by the likes of the NAHC, DU, department's of Fish and Game and other "respectable" organizations are self-servingly herding us headlong to this precipice.... and we go merrily along with silly smiles on our faces, and telling each other how great we are.

We need less "back-slapping", and more "spade-calling".

I am more than willing, and prepared to address 'prickly' issues within the ranks of the hunters of the U.S.

Since you stated that actually getting published wasn't to be a concern, let me state clearly that I would not pander to the mentality that we are "oppressed" by anti-hunters. This is precisely the kind of shameless pandering that politicians and tel-evangelists use to scare their 'consituents' into over-looking their looting and indiscretions. It's a crippling "us or them" attitude that both blinds, and sucks the life out of its believers.

I would take on all the self-proclaimed "ethicists" (ptooey!). Truly, they are no slaves to logic. The lack of logic exhibited by most published "ethicists" is embarrassing. The truth is, most of it is simply "Do it my way or you're wrong" self-righteousness. "Group Think" is being beaten into our young hunters... and again, it's the likes of DU, NAHC, B&C, SCI, etc. that are doing it.

I acknowledge that we are inundated with doom and gloom too, too much these days, and many of the posts in this thread point to a desire to have a little peace in our reading. Well, I submit that there's plenty of that writing available right now. I'm proposing to stand up on my hind legs and state in a firm, clear voice, that "The Emperor has no clothes on."

Just ol' easy-to-get-along-with,
Paul

With respect to the numerous national hunting organizations and Fish & Game management entities that are herding us to the "precipice"......you have a conspicuous lack of specificity.

Could you elaborate?

GV

I would like to see two very different kinds of writing come back into vogue...
Good fiction, like the Lower Forty...with characters like ourselves, who contribute to this thread..shooters and down to earth fellows and gals...
then, reflections--truthful ones, which might focus on a favorite model firearm and its origin, or upon a personality, who used it. for instance, your opening remarks about Bill Jordan were most appreciated by this writer.
I would avidly consume more articles about the good older firearms that kept my ancestors alive...or put dinner on the table...there is a good deal more difference between the shooter and his/her ability than in the modern rifles that are coming out in stainless steel and fiberglass stocks. that difference is interesting, to some of us. Tell me more about Karamojo Bell and the 6.5mmx54, and less about the newest .17 caliber whatever, for example. I would very much like to know more about Col. Townsend Whelen, in whose home I was a guest a few times, but was too young and dumb to realize who he was.

blueridge

No...

Because: 1) This specific thread's subject is the topics we would choose to write about, not the articles themselves. 2) This thread has already once been apparently "edited" for brevity's sake. 3) I tend to be the type to adhere to clear, well-defined 'social contracts'. That being the case, I'm dis-inclined to 'highjack' this thread to start an inevitable "rumble" on an entirely different subject. Doing so would violate the 'social contract' I have with 24-hour Campfire regarding staying "on topic". And finally: Really now, do I seem that easy to bait?

Hugs and kisses,
Paul

i'd read your stuff, gitano, as i have already elsewhere ...

Good to 'see' you fish. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

That's very kind.

Paul

Hmmmm.......

Yes.

In fact, I believe you're wishin' and hopin' for it.

GV

man, talk about a thread hijacking ...

I quit buying outdoor mags a few years ago because they seemed to be written to support the advertisers. I understand economics, but they seemed to be nothing more than info-mercials. I am not sure how to balance the need to please the manufacturers and keep readership up, but the last mags I bought were Rifle and Handloader, mostly for Ross's articles on obsolete stuff. ( I saw the posts about him and understand that he is not well liked) No real ideas on what to write about, just one former mag buyers perspective about gun mags.
I still read precision shooting, but that's about it.
No offence meant, just one man's .02 worth, (probably overvalued at that)

I;'d write my story of grizzly hunting, by the seat of the pants, in a completely wild area, with no humans around, and no guide.

Or maybe my first attempt at sheep hunting, which had me hunting for 19 days, and on the last hour , of the last day...Missing the ram I had been chasing...

Hey, tommag....which Ross are you referring to? I always enjoyed John Ross...have shot with him many a time. His first gun article was in Handloader, way on back, as I recall...

Blueridge

My topic would be about the old timers who did it and do it without the new technology.The ones that do it for food to feed there families,not sport like the article Brian Pierce wrote on Sourdough Ed with duct tape on his .375 H&H to his personal experience on Bears.It is nice to here opinions sometimes from people who don't get paid for there opinion which might make some wonder if it is really there truthfull opinion.
http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/article.cfm?tocid=1532&magid=104

And this is just my opinion.

Jayco

Look at Rick's announcement on the "Hunter's Campfire" forum, and you'll see what all of this has been leading up to.

If anything there doesn't encourage or delight you, let me know at [email protected], by 'phone (505-773-4324), or at Box 28; Quemado, NM 87829. Or come see me at 17 Church Street in Quemado.

We want everybody to be pleased and will endeavor to make any reasonable effort to convert the displeased.

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Ken,
With your background and personal knowledge of those writers that aren't with us anymore, but helped shape our traditions, would a column dedicated to a writer of significance each month (or whatever the publish time is) be a valid request?

Also, a pure political column with current events and 2nd Amendment/hunting concerns would be interesting. Everything from proposed firearms legislation to Conservation battles would help us all stay informed of one another's plights.

Magnum, the South Africa hunting/firearms magazine, as a great column "Life at Riley's". More of a campfire, barstool, rememberance of the old days or some obtuse happening among friends, would be very interesting.

Of course, reader submission articles seem to be everyone's foremost request and I'm no different. Real stories about real hunts from real hunters.

Humbly submitted,
DPhillips

Two of my innovations are features with the eyebrows "Lore from Yore" and "Book-Tasters." I have a lot of material on hand for each of these. I hope to have one of each in each issue of Smokelore.

Depending on getting reprint permissions where I need 'em, "Lore from Yore" will be excerpts � some as long as entire chapters or complete articles � from old books and magazines. I have a wealth of material by Colonel Whelen, Bob Hagel, Robert Ruark, Jim Corbett, Theodore Roosevelt, Ken Waters, my cherished master of the craft Archibald Rutledge, and other earlier writers of great stature and skill. Criteria for each will be their readability and their reader value.

Instead of the usual book reviews that combine the traits of high-school book reports and publishers' puff sheets, "Book-Tasters" will be a near-clone of "Lore from Yore" � long, carefully selected excerpts from new and recent books, some as long as entire chapters � so that you can (a) enjoy the piece for its own sake and (b) have a better idea whether you want to get the book, too.

Smokelore will include material on the gun-rights issue as often as I can get good material in this category.

One distinguished writer said that the only thing that he didn't like about "Lore from Yore" was that he hadn't thought of it himself. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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A word to the wise, to whom it may concern, etc �

Your submissions arrive under a cloud when you send 'em as submissions to "Smokepole."

I wonder whether spelling, inattention, or whatever is your only problem � but either way, I have a bit less incentive or inspiration to even read stuff that's sent to "Smokepole."

Neither do I feel terribly warmly disposed toward criticism or disparagement of writers � especially gun writers � especially specific gun writers, including those who may deserve it.

Both high quality and positive, constructive material define and describe the goal of Smokelore.

When even the announcement alone evokes frowny faces, inane comments, and disparagement before the first issue arrives on-line, the need for material of the highest possible positive quality is already obvious. Smokelore won't appeal to everybody, won't please everybody, may not please anybody all the time, but we're going to try to get as close to that ideal of perfection as we can. Please be patient with the new child that Smokelore is going to be for some time. (Heck, it's still gestating � let's not consider abortion or even punishment for its sins yet.)

.

... another good thing to keep in mind is the old pros' principle � unknown to or ignored by many younger writers whom I've gotten otherwise good material from � that the less the Editor has to massage your material to make it publishable, the more likely he is to like it. This applies equally to (a) what he has to do to get it in the first place, and to (b) what he has to do to it once he has his eyes on it.

I'm getting links to unknown (to me) web sites, where I guess the idea is that I'll get good Smokelore material there, with absolutely no hint or clue what to look for or expect to find there. Such indirect "submissions" are not encouraging or inspiring.

Attached Microsoft Word files are good. So are WordPerfect files. Or you can copy your Whatever files and paste 'em right into your e-mail.

Just editing the typical submission is enough of a chore, given the poor spelling and grammar of so many good writers (you should see how rough some of them are!) � having to find it and pull it out from under the hay stack, club it into submission, hammer it flat, and nail it down makes it less than appealing.

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Good posts! With advice like this, writers can do a lot of editing by themselves prior to ever worrying about a refusal because of having no clue as to what's of interest. Clarity has much about it to recommend itself. A clear outline of what's likely to be of interest, along with what isn't, is a big step forward in getting people to respond.

This whole thing gets better by the minute.

I'm no kind of "X spurt" on smoking food, and wouldn't think of playing one on TV or patio, so I've been collecting books and other guides to the process and special cook books of smoker recipes.

� which leads to a few questions �

� Should Smokelore include such material, occasionally? (A regular feature on smoking food would seem, at first blush, to be overkill.)

� If so, should such coverage treat how to do it (and how not to do it), or recipes, or both?

� Do we have any expert smoker chefs among us who'd send me good articles and-or recipes from time to time? Or should I occasionally share material that I've gleaned from this special sublibrary� of mine?

� ... which also includes books on grilling and deep-frying, FWTW2U

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Years ago, for other outdoor magazines that I helped to get started, I put together a writers' guide that ran to a lot more than the single page that I set out to write. I sent copies to about fifty writers, and it was well received. I don't have a word-processor copy any longer, alas. If I can lay my hands on the single hard copy that I hope that I still have, I'll post it at the 'fire or publish it in Smokelore. I get the shudderin' heebie-jeebies just thinking of trying to do it over from scratch. IIRC, it ran to about eighteen pages.

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Ken,

I am no writer. I have wanted to be published, but have never really endeavored to try. I also don't believe that I have any depth of knowledge about anything, other than law, to back up what I might put in print. And who but lawyers care about law?

I completely agree with your take on always being a shill for the manufacturers. I understand you have to be willing to do that in your line of work, and often its done well, sometimes you don't even know it�s an "advertisement".

What I'd like to read: a treatise on how the gun writers of note and popularity shaped and effected the masses shooting desires, and how that ultimately shaped the commercial end of manufacturing. Including some "what might have been's...like would we really love or even know the .270 had Jack O' never been born?" "What effect did WWI and WWII have on sporting gun development and why?"

You could make this a series of articles, and treat it like a Seinfeld episode where you have 2 or 3 different totally independent themes working, that all merge or at least relate in the final chapter.

I don't think I have ever had an original thought, so this may have been done to some extent or other. I just thought I'd put my word in.

Ken,

As for the smoking/grilling question...I love the smoker and the grill and would be glad to relate any knowledge I have, though it be garnered from online or cookbooks.

I would write about handloading. I have been doing it for almost 40 years now and it is my favorite past-time. I buy old rifles in wierd calibers just so I can load for them. I wish I could write like Ken Waters and be as prolific as he was. I enjoy trying as many different combinations as possible and I can afford to see what works best. My only downside is once I find the magic combination for a given handgun/rifle, I stick to it forever until I get bored and want to try newer powders/bullets. But handloading is my passion and I get so relaxed in my little room I can stay there for hours.

I would write about hunting trips. I just got back from a Mexico Coues hunt I conducted and I must say from a hunters view it was great. The comradery, new friendships, practical jokes, and events were worth writing about itself. Add the great hunting the 4 bucks killed and you build a better story. To top it off you include the scenery, sunsets, smell of the campfire and all in between, you have a memory for a lifetime.
It is hunts like this that make me keep hunting. The only thing better would be having my dad there.
Stories like this and trips like this are worth gold.

Enrique

That'd be an interesting article to do the reasearch for and to read.

I've had an idea about tracking rolling around in my head for the last couple of years. Problem is I'm a [bleep] tracker! Maybe at the end of it I could close with "Now do exactly opposite of what I did".

Primers-----a real study from an engineering point to dispell or concur with "Are some primers Harder than others" Keep seeing on many reloading forums how CCI primers are so much harder than others and no one using them anymore because of this fact ?? Have loaded thousands of CCI and never had a problem.......

I'm new here at this fire and I like what I see here and plan to spend more time. I 've spent too much time writing and reading politics in place of guns, so I think I would like to write about guns. Specifically, old guns I have known. From years back, those old feel good guns that I have owned or used or guns my dad used to shoot. Guns like a turn of the century model 94 in 38-55 or that old model 30S that I really learned to shoot or my hard won model 720 Remington. Yeah, that's it old guns. Good shootin'.

Murphy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I like ballistics. I'd write comparisons of cartridges of similar types both rifle and handgun. I just read Combat Handgun. Some articles had charts with only group size. That's only part of the story. Without velocity and energy the story is not complete. Couldn't they rent or borrow a chronograph? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I would write hounds. A collection of stories from those who had really good hounds. Knowledge of this, will soon be gone.

There are a few topics which seem to be rather obviously passed over in deference to others which play as virtual re-runs. One I can think of is an article on pressure variations (or not) between identical as well as differing rifles of the same caliber using published loads as exactly identical to published stuff save for the lot numbers. An extension of that, perhaps a multi-part article, could be loading these rifles to the published velocities using whatever it takes - safely of course- to get there and showing the pressures that are needed.

It would be fun for me, perhaps not very interesting to most, to see an article on how guns behave in deep cold - not just cold ammo or guns which are taken from a freezer and fired but shooting guns and loads which have been "soaked" in the cold for periods of time and fired. I'm talking -20 to -40 F temps and pressure testing and chronographinging a variety of loads.

An article on the velocity loss of varying projectiles as they pass through various types and thicknesses of materials.......

Just a couple off the top of my head.

I would have two monthly articles:
ARTICLE 1 - it would be 'classic guns" and I know there are some similair, but it would basically go over the various types of known and not so well known guns, like the Savage 20, The Lee-navy, the recent Raptor, etc.
ARTICLE 2 - I would have collections of sotires from both writers and readers concerning thier guntrades, particularly the strange or spectacular ones. i must have enough to fill an article myslef!

How about the trials and tribulations of being a small gunshop owner?

How about some interviews with uniformed and undercover police officers and federal agents regarding their jobs and the types of procedures and gear they favor?

Or a story about attending or selling at a gunshow? Limitless opportunities for humor abound!

How about doing MYTHBUSTERS? Try and blow up a .40 Glock with its unsupported chamber! Buy 50 Kel-tec handguns and test them for reliability.

And last but not least: How about organizing your readers and commissioning some special run guns that the manufacturers are hesitant to build for general distribution: 10mm pistols, left-handed rifles in less-common calibers, SIG p239 in 7.62x25, you get the idea...).

Ken, I have been thinking about this for some time ,as I have been working on a article or story for about six months. One of those never ending projects that seems to get set aside when a new project comes along, I have been trying to finish reading this one particular book for at least ten years. Any way I would do a story/article on a hunt that I did this past season. I used almost all the same equipment my father or grandfather would have used in 1957-59 or so. Winchester 94, 30-30. Filson jacket and canvas pants wool socks and shirt. Redwing boots. Case knife, and other period gear that my dad or grand dad would have carried or used. Still a work in progress. my writing skills need some polishing up but it has been fun to do the research so far.

Bullwnkl.

I'd write the sort of things that I like to read. For me, hunting is nigh on the be-all, end-all. If I can't be out hunting, I like to read about tales of hunting trips. If I don't learn from it, or laugh a bit with the writer about what s/he didn't know, it can still be an ejoyable read. On rare occasion I'm able to find an old magazine, and I like those articles. They aren't full of "I used this equipment" stuff. They are about the land and the animals and the hunting of them.

I recently completed my first "guided" hunt in NW Saskatchewan.After 40 years of hunting NY,NJ,and Pa....this was my first experience outside the area.I took a lot of notes and surprised even myself with some of my observations.
On top of all that , I hunted with a rifle that once belonged to the great Phil Sharpe ,and was written about by him and others all those years ago.Something like "Phil's Rifle,Still Sharpe After All These Years!"

I am so getting tired of hyping of new products and how they are the latest and greatest things. How did we ever kill anything without a "cough silencer" and "Walkers Game ear" . Its just like all the hunting shows on tv. I have watched enough whitetail deer , wild turkey , duck and canned hunts to last me a lifetime . Doesn't anyone else feel this way? Doesn't anyone do anything different? Tell me about a moose hunt , sheep hunt, Goat hunt, red stag , musk ox, polar bear , Kamchatka brown bear . There are so many thing to write about and to hunt for why does the same crap get written and shown over and over agian.Isn't there anyone left willing to walk on the edge or have they all just jumped on the money train and are waiting for it to stop. I would like for someone to do something different instead of catering to the masses.

wildone---agree with you. It reminds me of when I am standing in the checkpout line at the grocery store and I look at the cover of the mags in the rack: They all profess to have inside: the BEST sex tips....ever. All show you the BEST way to lose weight.... ever. They all have the BEST way to look and feel younger. ...ever.

I always snicker and say, "You have to have been born last night to read this regurgitated BS." ...Yes, it seems the current hunting fad is all about the same stuff, BEST accuracy, or the BIGGEST BADEST round or gun! ever. And yet the yardstick seems to always be the same: shooting a deer at a zillion yards with a magnum bolt action with a big bad scope. ...Sorry, I find THAT tiring. (And yes I own 4 bolts with scopes, but I have other guns too and other hunting methods & goals). I most often prefer to get close and shoot close. And yea seeing some dangerous game hunts would be so much more exciting than those canned deer, turkey, duck hunts. Why not dangerous game hunting in the US, from boars to gators to charging moose? Give the hunters muzzle loaders, no scope... Or better yet double barrel smooth bore shotguns, again no scopes. Let the GAMES and the writing BEGIN! ...Go against the grain! Just please, no more deer footage or articles! (hahaha)

I guess I'd re-hash about old calibers. IMHO, the 7mm-08 has been the beneficiary of this for about a year now, and I'm glad because I'm a newly-found adherent of this cartridge.

You know I subscribe and read different magazines but there really isn't
anything that really makes you want to hunt or makes you expel beer through your nose in the hunting mags.

Just a thought! Most of the readers can just dream about dangerous game and big bore guns. Wouldn't it be cool if a writer decided to
compare the accuracy of a rogue river double rifle with a pedersoli
Kodiak double rifle in 45/70 with leverevolution ammo on large appliances like old refrigerators and washing machines?

I think that every body who is into guns looks at them beyond just being
tools. Instead we have a "samurai" attitude that their is a fraction of spirit in our guns gathers as the gun climbs mountains and is carried through forests. There is something intangible in guns that can be
developed.

270 Jack or Uncle Elmer both got that entertaining skill on guns.
They didn't specifically sell a brand of gun.
No they tried to get us into the culture of guns.
They would get readers to want to hunt and not just get the older
hunters to buy more guns.

We also become like little boys and girls when we find articles that are
interesting yet are also kind of like setting off cherry bombs under coffee cans. We like the shock and awe.

Why can't writers jump on that tack.

Ken, I truly hope you can find this as I am sure it would be extremely beneficial to a lot of us aspiring writers. Administering my own website/e-zine and receiving some very crude literary pieces (that's putting it nicely), I can tell you first hand that such a document is sorely needed.

I currently has a small set of guidelines listed on my site to assist those interested in assembling an article, but it is far from complete and primarily deals with structure and organizing content.

I enjoy reading well researched and documented articles on firearms and ammunition development, e.g., the development of the Mauser from the 1871 Commission Rifle to the Model 98, or the development and incorporation of better metallurgy in firearms, or articles on ammunition development. Articles on the development of the Savage 99 or the Remington 700 / 7 / 40X series of rifles would be welcome. How about publishing articles on the development and refinement of stocks, from walnut to composite?

It's on Smokelore now � see "Writing for Smokelore" under "Editor's Desk."

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