Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Writers that influenced you the most.

O'Connor & Carmichael

I totally concur about J B's contribution to US via Campfire.


We have others who contribute much as well. 10+ years ago I'd NEVER thot I/we'd have the OPPORTUNITIES to have DIRECT conversations with these guys.

I sincerely consider myself PRIVILEGED to participate here.

THANKS GUYS! ! !


jerry

Seriously.

I know you guys are going to laugh, but I am serious. I got my hands on a book when I was in highschooland it was what sparked my interest in the shooting sports. If I remember correctly the name of the book was 50 popular sporting rifle cartridges, and the author's name was (BLUSH) Clay Harvey.

His Podcasts are very interesting. I really enjoy his books and his show as well.


For me, I'd say that O'Connor, Keith and Barsness have been influential. O'Connor is probably the most influential, because my Grandfather was greatly influenced by him and he was my mentor for hunting.

I grew up watching Curt Gowdy on The American Sportsman and reading Jack O Conner, while spending nights in the non-reservation line to get a duck blind on Sauvies Island. Fred Asbell taught me to shoot and love recurve bows. Worth Mathewson helped me fall in love with waterfowl hunting in his book "Big December Canvasback". My father taught me to reload shotguns and big game rifles the family took deer and elk hunting.

Today, my favorite resource is the Campfire. Having John Barsness and Eileen Clarke, as well as many other great Gun writers, and members, share their wealth of knowledge for hunting and reloading is invaluable. Many threads and articles are bookmarked "Collectable" on my computer, and will be cherished for years to come.

I don't know about Louis Lamour.

However, Zane Grey wrote articles for several outdoor recreation magazines, including the "Big 3": Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield. Much of his material involved fishing, both freshwater and saltwater, but there were hunting stories also.

I have a 1935 issue of Sports Afield with an article by Zane Grey titled "Lever Action Rifles".

A hundred years ago, the outdoor sporting magazines had editorial policies and readership preferences that differed greatly from current magazines. For example, Grey's best-known novel, Riders of the Purple Sage, appeared first as a serial beginning in January 1912 in Field & Stream.

--Bob

Back in the day, it was Skeeter Skelton. He was one of the more entertaining gun writers out there, I thought and I always enjoyed anything he wrote. I was definitely more handgun oriented many years ago.

These days, I like our very own John Barsness the best. His style is entertaining and informative, and I really appreciate his more scientific and intellectually honest approach to things. There are several others who are very good, I just happen to like Mule Deer the best.

I have lots of folks that I consider influences, these have stood the test of time;

GONE; FINN AAGAARD, KEN WATERS,ELMER KEITH, JACK O'CONNOR, BOB HAGEL, P.O. ACKLEY, DON HEATH [GANYANA],

THESE DAYS; JOHN BARSNESS, BRIAN PIERCE, WAYNE VAN ZWOLL, ROSS SEYFRIED, PHIL SHOEMAKER,

Aagaard and Barnsness both hit chords with me because of their styles.

Bob Milek

Brian Pearce, Wooters, Dr Howell, Skeeter, Carmichael, Hagel, Elmer Keith, Skelton, Al Miller, Bob Milek, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Sam Falada, and John Barsness

Sure I'm missing one (PH hunter in Africa, moved to Texas, Scandinavian - aargh), but memory is an issue. I can remember articles written by him...

I would have thought anyone that had read the Bible would have realized Paul, far and away, had the greatest revelation... since he wrote 2/3 rd's of the New Testament, and without his letters one can't really even understand the Old Testament.

Solomon... interesting.

Finn Aagaard

Steve Timm always offered good, solid information in his articles.

Bob Milek was good as was Aagard.

John Barsness and Phil shoemaker of course.

Rick Jamison, despite what I think was a very wrong knee jerk reaction by many over the WSM issue, always had good stuff in his articles.

Of the old time writers I always liked Whelen, Keith, Hagel, Page, Jobson, and Ackley.

When I was a boy, my family used to marvel at my capacity for dwelling on the minister's sermon. We'd be eating Sunday dinner together and they'd see me stewing over something. When called to answer for my discomfort, I'd launch into a diatribe about what the minister had said, sometimes bringing up sermons from several weeks previous. It was what convinced them all that some day I'd make a good Methodist minister. Yikes.

I was thinking about my Clay Harvey diatribe, and I've been reading what y'all have written. Have you ever thought of yourselves as being a major influence? I don't mean to dispute our beloved M. MuleDeer's pre-eminence. However, I look back on the past 35+ years of shooting and what came before, and I realize that at least in aggregate the folks at shooters.com and 24hourcampfire.com have done more to influence my shooting habits, gun choices, etc. than any other source.

I'm looking now at my bookshelf, and I've got a good 15% filled with rifle and shooting books. I can't say I ever bought a rifle on the say-so of O'Connor or Carmichael or even Clay Harvey. However, I've got a dedicated room filled with firearms that were in large part acquired under the influence of Shooters and 'Campers. I don't mean to sound slavish about it. I certainly have my share of impulse buying. I still don't own a Remington 700 or anything in 270 WIN. I can say safely, however, that all my favorite pieces purchased since 1997 have come from online recommendations and endorsements.

This is the magic of the Internet. Singly, we're just another pudknocker on the WWW. However, we're each able to put in our vote and express an opinion. An individual outdoor writer whose main goal is to feed himself and his family may lead us astray, but his voice will be clear. The Web is a cacophany, but if you make careful study of what you are reading, patterns emerge. It ends up being a lot like scouting deer. You see signs, and if you stand back from it all, you see a picture.








































Sorry, I just had to do that.

Gene Hill. I could read any of his work and feel like I was a part of it. He welcomed one in like a good fire crackling in the fireplace on a cold winter's eve.

For sheer bust a gut fun it had to be Patrick McManus. I defy anyone to read McManus and not bust a gut laughing. The Night The Bear Ate Goombaw is pure classic comedic writing at it's very best.

Classic outdoor writers? Corey Ford and Finn Aagard top my list.

True. And, if I'm not mistaken, he was a dentist by trade and played pro or semi-pro baseball. He was quite the character.

Bob Milek, Sheriff Jim Wilson, Brian Pearce and John Barsness.

Havllah Babcok, Jack O'Connor, Robert Ruark, Warren Page and Bob Hagel.

That said, over the last 15 years or so, John Barsness has probably contributed more to my fumbling around with firearms than anyone else, but I don't hold him responsible for my unspectacular results.

Very good.