Yep, Brian sure seems to be the real thing. As an advanced Gun Reader
I wasn't too sure what of make of him when he first burst onto the scene. I was afraid he might be all color and no substance, all hat and no saddle. But I've assigned him to my absolute trust category of gun writers.
A lot of writers are primarily entertaining. Some of the entertaining writers are pretty knowledgeable in terms of broad experience and keen skills of observation.
But there are only a handful that I will just take their every word at face value due to their because they obviously high regard for accuracy coupled with a broad range of experience and the intelligence and diligence to ensure that every word they write is relevant and correct. These are my "absolute trust" category.
As I became familiar with Brian's writing I immediately found that he had the bona fides and life experience to make for very entertaining reading. When I read his article on the three pressure levels of .45 Colt loading, I was blown away! For me his intellect and diligence were certified by that article.
Anyone can write for or against loading up the .45 Colt (and many have), but the new-to-me information on how the safety limits of firearms are actually quantified in laboratory settings brought the debate to a whole new level. On my chart that article put Brian beyond entertaining, beyond trust but verify, squarely into trust absolutely.
There are very few writers I hold in that category. JB is another one, Phil S. is another. And I'm not knocking all the rest of the gun writers - all the rest of you! Reading your articles is my life and there is scarcely a writer out there that I don't enjoy, but there are differences. JB's recent article on Grouse of the West (?) in American Rifleman struck me as an example of a scholarly piece. There was so much absolute detail that I just knew he had turned to some research resources to get it all right - as opposed to just dashing off what he could remember. I don't doubt that he already knew every word he wrote, but you could still sense that he had verified that every single word was dead nuts reliable information and not just color or impression.
Anyway, I'm glad to hear confirmation that Brian is the man I take him to be.
Now I've got to go home and digest the latest issue of Fur-Fish-Game, a title I've never seen mentioned around here.
