One heart-breaking regret that lingers from those days is my failure to get my pal Bill Jordan to send me articles that his Editor wouldn't let him do for their magazine. Bill had absolutely no hobby interest in handguns, which had a plethora of unpleasant memories for him, but he loved hunting big game, varmints, and birds with rifles and shotguns. Too bad that his Editor's narrow vision (which wouldn't let him write about those interests) and his death have lost the rest of us so much good Jordan material.
We were lucky enough to have Bill join us at the ranch for the opening weekend of whitetail season for almost the last twenty years of his life. KenH probably has a lot more Bill stories than I, but here are a pair of my favorites regarding handguns.
For many years Bill brought a 454 Casull along. He'd usually find some shooter anxious to try a cylinder full. Bill would just cheer them on and grin. Finally Bill showed up without the Casull. When asked why, he deadpanned, "I finally sent that gun back. It hurt to shoot it. Maybe they can send it to someone with more experience than I have."
As KenH said, Bill was hindered by the fact that he was known for expertise with a handgun. His own observations were to the effect of "Yeah, I'm known for using a handgun, but there is nothing you can do with a handgun that you can't do better with a rifle or shotgun. A handgun is just like the pair of slip-joint pliers in a farmer's pocket. It's not the best tool for the job, but it's what you have with you when something goes wrong. Just figgured I'd better learn how to use it."
We really miss Bill in that big rocking chair by the stove. He was one of the truly fine gentlemen of this world.
