Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Am I the only one to read a Dave Scovill article.

I too am glad that I'm not the only one that does not "get" Scovill and that O'Connor article came off (to me) as, others have said here, a petty rant saying that he should have been as famous as O'Connor because of all the experience that HE had. He may very well have the experience but I'll never know cause as soon as I see his name on an article I skip it......probably petty on my part but I can't stand narcissists!

PennDog

I greatly enjoy Scovill. Sorry to see him retire and I also like Sefried.
I have learned a lot from both. O'Connor not so much. But what
do I know, uneducated and old, all was another time frame.

Respectfully
Rob

Has he retired??

Scovill's articles, or anyway, some of the opinions expressed therein, have been getting on my nerves in the last year or so.
I have to agree with pappy348, though, Scovill does know his stuff.

Having said that, Scovill's O'Connor article didn't bother me. I've felt for some time that O'Connor's reputation was a bit over-inflated, and I'd say the same about the reputation of at least a couple other gone-but-not-forgotten gunwriters. I'm kinda tired of seeing their(often out of context)in-print opinions frequently quoted (as near-Gospel)to support arguments in present day controversies. Yeah, O'Connor and his contemporaries knew their stuff(mostly)and there's something we can learn from their writings years later. But come on, they haven't pulled a trigger in how many years? Time to start doing our own homework rather than recycling O'Connor quotes in support of our unfounded opinions on some theoretical(to us) point.

Newest magazines list Lee J. Hoots as Editor in Chief and Dave Scovill as Editor Emeritus.

Scovill is still writing his columns.

Well, O'Connor has been gone for quite some time now, so Ploughman's right that he hasn't pulled a trigger in many years. That being said, as a writer, Scovill couldn't carry O'Connor's jock strap! I can read JOC's stuff even today and be completely entertained as well as learn a thing or two. I could never say that about Scovill's writing. I'm sure Scovill is a smart man and he may be a hell of an inventer and know a ton about guns, but how he ever became a writer or an editor is beyond me.

I always read his articles-- then wonder what the hell I just read--

test1328,

Dave Scovill became a gun writer because when casting bullets wasnn't very popular he did a considerable amount of work investigating the techniques and science of casting. That was his original specialty, and the reason he became a staff writer for Wolfe, back when it was a small specialty magazine. He had a science background, thanks to his Navy career, which involved not just being a cargo pilot during the Vietnam era but taking classes at Annapolis in computer science.

He was chosen as editor when Al Miller retired, because Scovill had studied the technical aspects of handloading far more than than anybody else available. And at that time the two Wolfe magazines were far more technical than most gun magazines.

But he also was one of the major reasons Rifle and Handloader became mainstream gun magazines. When he became editor the circulation of both wasn't much over 10,000 per issue. He and the new owner decided to start running color photos, and pay enough to attract more professional writers. (Before then a lot of the articles were written by readers. Some were good and some not.)

This was around 1990, as I recall, and I was one of the first professionals who got involved. I was in the early stages of "gun writing" back then, having previously made my living writing hunting and fishing articles for magazines as diverse as Gray's Sporting Journal, Sports Illustrated, Fly Fisherman and what were then called the Big Three, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield, among others.

But even then it was becoming apparent that Sports Illustrated wasn't going to be running "blood sport" articles much longer, and the general hunting/fishing/camping/boating magazines were shrinking, due to competition from specialty magazines, such as Rifle and Handloader. So I contacted Wolfe and proposed a couple of articles.

Scovill replied, rather testily, saying he doubted some of the stuff I said. I came back with facts and he assigned me a couple of articles. We didn't always see eye to eye, but he was a good editor, because he knew his technical stuff and recognized which of the staff writers would be best for certain assignments. And he recognized good writing, even if he wasn't as good a writer as Jack O'Connor. He was also flexible enough to let me write an article titled "I Did Read Jack O'Connor" after his column appeared.

Yeah, he wanders a lot, something he often does in conversations as well. But that's not because he doesn't know his stuff, and his years as editor of Rifle and Handloader are one of the major reasons they became major gun magazines.

Everything I've read of Scovill's sounded like he doubted everything anybody did; he was about 20 years behind everyone else with the 45 Colt and revolvers that had been around for 45 years, about ten years behind Barsness on loading concentric ammo and it seemed every writer he was an editor for had loaded and shot a wider variety of cartridges than he had.

The only thing worse could be LJ Hoots or Jack O'Connor....

There is no way I could come up with a steady stream of well researched, well written articles which held the interest of anyone but my mom. Truth is, I am pushing the edge of my literary talent in writing a personal check and, given the level of literacy put on display on this site, I am not alone in this.

Kind of sad to see how many folks here are quick to condemn anyone who dares put pen to paper. I seriously doubt most of those whiners could do a better job.

I suspect he writes about stuff he's interested in, lever guns, regular sixguns, cast bullets, etc., and as the editor, he could do what he wanted and assigned the other stuff to the regular staff writers. I think he appreciates the traditional roles of cartridges like the .45 Colt and .44 and .38 WCFs and isn't much into trying to supersize them into something more. Things like black rifles, hi-cap auto pistols, and tactical-anything just don't float his boat apparently and those things got limited coverage in the magazines and none in his column. I hope the new guy stays the course and doesn't go changing a bunch of stuff trying to make his mark.

Not condemning just stating fact that when I get done with one of his articles Im not sure what I just read. I am sure he is a class guy and knows a lot but he wanders a lot in his writings.

+1 on that....I do not like his style and I do not have to enjoy reading something that someone writes just because they write it. I appreciate the information that JB brought forth and for that I am greatful for Scovill because there are NO better magazines for the rifleman and handloader and Scovill does have to get credit for retaining the services of the likes of Brian Pearce, John Barness, Mike Venterino, John Haviland, and others for their expertise. I will read the articles of Handloader and Rifle for as long as they are published and I am able to - with the exception of Scovill's (but hey that is just me!!).

PennDog

p.s. Jack O'Connor was not THE RIFLE GOD but as close to it as a kid in the late sixties and seventies had who was a rifle nut in the making and really only had access to Outdoorlife

Maybe you're no writer, but you did a good job of writing that.

Yeah, Hoots is a real hoot, NOT.


I'll echo Dave's comment, I never read Jack O'Lantern either. Yes a did read a little of his stuff back in the day, just enough to know I didn't like JOC. I don't care what JOC shot, what is favorite rifle was or if he took it in the backside from Mexican guides.

I started reading and subscribing to Rifle and Handloader back in the day, not long after they first came out. They were really just gun nut magazines...highly technical, no gloss... When Scovill took the helm and the character of the magazines began to change, as JB mentioned, I took him to task with a letter of complaint. (This was still the pre-email days.) I was surprised to get a quick and reasoned explanation, almost by return mail. We corresponded a little after that, infrequently. I usually liked his editor's column ramblings, generally found them interesting, not always. Today it's a moot point. I seldom read paper magazines any more...I find it more rewarding to have open ended discussions here...you find out in short order who know's a bit about this stuff, who thinks they know a bit about this stuff, and....well, you get the picture.

I think the last I read was the one where he was describing his 375 Scovill cartridge. It sounded like something I'd have liked. It was a good article, in my opinion.

I enjoy Dave Scovill’s writing. Dave writes about things I am interested in. In a box somewhere I still have the first Scovill article I read. It is in a 1970’s vintage obscure magazine and is on the difference between neck sizing and full length resizing of cartridge cases. The article is well written and at the time I thought, I would like to read more from this guy.

I have worked with many “Old Cranks” and I have learned a lot from them. Open minded Skeptics are rare, we do not have to agree with them, but the skeptics make us think.

We all see things from a different perspective. I never thought of JOC as “The Rifle God” but rather as a hunting writer. JOC’s writing always left me wanting more detail on loads, bullets, sights etc. For me there was never enough detail in O’Connor’s articles. In late 1950’s gun writing Townsend Whelen was still the Rifleman’s writer but a new generation was rising.

MD, I appreciate you taking the time to provide some perspective on why Scovill got to where he is. I figured he must be a good editor or he would not have held the job for as long as he did. I have no personal animosity toward the guy, he's just not a writer I prefer, even though I do read his column every time since I try to keep an open mind and may learn something in the process. I also don't think JOC is a god, either, but as an outdoor/hunting/gun writer, I can certainly recognize his talent over others. By the way, I do remember reading your story "I Did Read JOC" and I smirked when I read the title since I knew you were doing it because of Scovill. You're right. The guy does deserve credit for allowing it.

This really funny.