Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Terry Wieland - gunwriter

I was reading the recent edition of Rifle last night while reading an article by Terry Wieland it occurred to me that prior to seeing his articles in Rifle I had never read anything by him.
I only subscribe to Rifle but I do thumb through some of the other magazines and I cannot recall ever seeing anything by him. He does have an interesting writing style and I am just curious as to his background. I have never seen him referred to on here or any other forum as far as I can recall - anyone have any information.

drover

He used to write a bunch on fine shotguns & bird hunting. He’s been around a long time but probably just wrote about a different niche than you’re used to reading. I like his writing.

He's an excellent writer. Also written in many magazines. You should get his book, it is a first class read. I believe tiled: Dangerous game rifles."

He has a background as a journalist and it shows in his writing style. Usually has nice photos too.

Thanks for the information. You are correct about his writing for a different niche then I generally read about.
I will try to find his book on dangerous game rifles - I suspect it will be interesting.

I thank you all and wish you and yours a Happy and Prosperous New Year.



drover

It’s an excellent book. I believe he has also moved to the States, seemingly Missouri or Arkansas.

Terry has lived in a suburb of St. Louis for many years now; his wife is an American citizen.

He's also the shooting columnist for Gray's Sporting Journal. I first met Terry when I edited Gray's in the late 1990's, a couple years after he started that job.

During his news journalism days, before he starting to write much about hunting and shooting, he spent quite a bit of time covering stories in northern Africa, one of his early connections with that continent.

One thing he wrote that I always remembered was that, because of its versatility, the 30-06 makes the perfect backup rifle. I had never thought of that but so true.

Wow! He can't be a Fire contributor...



He's a good writer, wrote a book, Spanish Best, the Fine Shotguns of Spain. He spent time in Spain researching these fine guns and the cottage industry that produces them.

DF

Always enjoyed his writing. Knowledgeable and experienced. There have been one or two that I've disagreed with, but that doesn't change my appreciation of his work. He's shot a lot more than I have.

I've "caught" him in a couple of very minor factual errors (unlike our boy JB), but like his stuff very much. Seems like a very practical and traditionally-minded sort, a commodity in very short supply in these tacticool times. I also like his stuff that prominently features Bob Haley, the Texas wizard of obsolete ammunition. Those stories are always good reads.

Terry wrote a piece on my friend, James Flynn, gunmaker. James restores vintage Purdey, Boss, H&H and other fine shotguns, does metal and wood work. It appears that Terry is more of a shotgun man, and thus hooked up with James.

James did build him a .250-3000 on a Dakota model 10 single shot action that was outstanding. I saw it in his shop as it was progressing. Terry mentions it in this piece. I have pictures of the J. W. Tolley .470 double rifle that he restored.

http://www.terrywieland.com/James-Flynn-bio.htm

DF

Spanish Best, although it may be a bit outdated now, is highly regarded by Spanish shotgun aficionados.

Though I have never read any of his books, I have always enjoyed Wieland's work in Rifle magazine.

I have a copy and it is a great book, lots of time and research went into putting it together. And it's very well written. Terry has the reader right there with him at AYA and the others.

Here's more on the Dakota .250-3000 that James built for Terry.

http://www.terrywieland.com/Midas.htm

DF

Terry's been around for awhile and I've always enjoyed his work. Have seen his name around even before his current gigs and even saw him on TV once. I forgot how many years ago that I was channel surfing on the cable stations and came across an outdoor show that had three guys antelope hunting. One of them was Terry Wieland and I can't even recall who the other two guys were.

I like his work in the various magazine articles I have read over the years, as noted he stands out from the crowd and writes about interesting stuff.

In the late 90's he was kind enough to offer his knowledge and advice (via phone and email) on a Spanish sidelock I was considering buying.

I've never met him, but James Flynn thinks highly of him. And, that says a lot.

James don't suffer fools gracefully...

And like masters of their craft, they work hard to get where they are and don't tolerate much slack or B.S.

We have some like that here on the Fire...

You reckon...?

DF

I enjoy his work. Chatted with him briefly some years ago, when my wife and I, and he and his lady, were on the same flight to Johannesburg. Seemed like a pretty nice guy.

Jeff

He was the impetus to my acquiring a AYA 28, though the more pedestrian but still classy 4/53, not the much dressier, side lock No. 2.

Johnny Buffalo was the first gunny writer who introduced me to Terry Wieland.

It's pretty easy for a seasoned hunter to smell bullshit and Terry had not a whiff of a stink

Over the years since, I have totally enjoyed Terry Wieland's articles in Gray's Sporting Journal and in a few other publications

(I long ago cancelled my subscriptions to Wolfe Publications ... since they were trying to screw-over my buddy Johnny Buffalo and it pissed me off).

Anyway, Terry Wieland is the real deal ... a hunter and a stone killer ... and a true lover of all things gunny.

God Bless,

Steve

Terry hunted deer and antelope with us several times in the '90s. At one point I skipped school for a couple days to go bird hunting with him and a friend when they brought dogs, and Wieland did an article in Gray's about the hunt.

I forget what he used for a shotgun but I do recall it was much nicer than mine! I recall him bringing a Dakota Model 10 on a big game hunt. Anyway, I got along with Wieland just fine, but he was pretty full of himself.

If you're interested in African history, and Robt Ruark in particular, I highly recommend "A View From a Tall Hill".

Do you recall what round that Dakota 10 was chambered for? Terry evidently likes that gun.

See the link I posted on the Dakota 10, .250-3000 James Flynn built for him.

DF

He is not the only gunwriter that has suffered from that malady.

Those are nice. I had a Garbi, very nice, but I couldn’t hit very well with it. Something about the way it fit. So, I traded it.

Those Spanish guns are a lot of quality for what they cost. Prices do seem to be catching up

DF

He's typical as a gun writer...closed minded pushing what he gets for FREE on his FREE HUNTS....quit my subscriptions of Rifle and Handloader mainly because of him...

Perhaps the other side of the bed would be an option for arising tomorrow.

I hold Wieland in high regard from what I've read of his work and accounts of those who actually know him.

He puts a lot of effort and research in his work. And, he's a skilled writer.

Can't fault that. Or shouldn't fault that, IMO.

Being self assured isn't a bad thing, especially if one can back it up.

DF

Agreed. I know many people like that, but still get along well with them because they treat others well.

coyotewacker,

Dunno what Terry has spent on hunts and guns over the years, but know that my wife and I have spent close to $100,000 on hunts alone, and probably more on guns.

As has been mentioned by others his writing is top notch. I especially like his book on dangerous game rifles and have referred to it often as i plan my first safari. His book on Robert Ruark as also mentioned is good.

I have always admired his writing. I may not always agree with him, but we both come at most subjects from a different set of experiences and different points of view.

Yeah John, but we all KNOW you get your hunting clothes and ammo for free!

Geno

PS, maybe all those nice scopes and binocs you write about too.

I don't recall. It wasn't the rifle from the article, as Weiland mentions he had that rifle put together in 2007, and this hunt was in the Early to Mid-90s.

I had concluded they were different guns. Was wondering if that one was .250-3000, also.

DF

Terry Wieland is an excellent writer and I've read his works for years. The three finest writers (in my opinion) are Terry Wieland, John Barsness and Mike Venturino; I enjoy their writing and learn from their experiences.

😛

Well played.

IIRC, I saw that gun for sale; I think it was at Puglisi Gun Emporium http://puglisiguns.cloudapp.net .

I can see Terry commissioning such a gun, using it, writing about it, moving it to fund another project. Seems they were asking around $15K or so, which isn't unreasonable for such a piece. I don't see it listed, assume they sold it.

DF

Dirtfarmer,

Gun writers all work differently, but all I know became established as gun writers because they'd long been buying and using guns for quite a while. Like most businesses, you don't instantly become a gun writer (and get all those "free" hunts and guns) just by standing around hoping it might happen.

Once you do become established, occasionally somebody will give a writer a gun, but it's far less common than many people believe. More commonly the writer will be offered a discounted price, either for a factory or custom gun. For factory guns this is normally wholesale, because the gun company makes the same amount of money whether they sell it to a distributor or a gun writer.

I've bought quite a few guns this way, including a shotgun I paid $4000 for, after finding myself not being happy about sending it back after the company loaned it for an article. Right now I'm wrestling with whether I want to spend $1200 on a test rifle, or send it back. Of course in either case, the gun in question is a business expense, but it still costs money to buy business equipment, as any business owner knows. The question is whether buying the equipment will pay off in the long run. Gun writers are normally just as obsessive about guns as many Campfire members--or perhaps more so, the reason they became gun writers in the first place.

All of this is why its often just as sensible to buy used but newer guns for testing, then sell them later if you decide there aren't enough reasons to keep them. I've picked up a bunch of used rifles on the Campfire Classifieds for about the same discount price the manufacturer would have sold one to me. Some I keep, but most I write all I can about, then sell them for about the same price I bought 'em.

I've had a Heym .300 Winchester Magnum for a number of years now, and never hunted with it, but shot it a lot. I keep it primarily as a scope test rifle, because it's superbly accurate, and kicks enough to test the recoil-ruggedness of scopes. I bought it used from a friend, and could probably sell it for enough to buy at least a couple other rifles, but keep it for testing purposes.

But a lot of rifles lose their business usefulness pretty quickly. You can take them hunting a couple of times, or work up some new loads, but eventually editors grow weary of hearing about them, because most readers feel the same way. Or the gun company introduces a new model, and writing about a discontinued model isn't very useful, especially since several other gun writers wrote about the old one when it first appeared. So unless attached to a rifle for some reason--which happens--it makes more sense to send it down the road, and use the money to invest in new "business equipment." (There are a exceptions. I know one gun writer who claims to never have sold a gun in his life. I'd like to visit his safes sometime.)

All of this applies to scopes to a certain extent. Sometimes a company will give you a scope, but more often any scope worth the trouble is offered at the same sort of wholesale discount. One of the reasons I'm wrestling with whether to buy that test-rifle is there's also a recent test-scope I want to buy. To buy both I'll probably have to sell some other stuff. Will the sales/investment be worth it?

One of the unfortunate aspects of the gun writing business is, with rare exceptions, nobody gives gun writers nifty older rifles, and some magazines do like gun writers to look at "classic" rifles. I also have a collection of "obsolete" rifles, only two free because I inherited them from friends and family. I purchased all the others at prices up to several thousand dollars, partly to write about and partly because I wanted them. Some may turn out to be bad investments, because the market for writing about older guns seems to be shrinking--partly because the shooters who like older guns are dying off. My modest firearms collection is probably at least a third old guns, not just rifles but shotguns and a few handguns.

I know Terry Wieland buys old guns as well, because I've read about some, but also talked with him about latest purchase a few times, when he was super-excited over finding, say, an old Savage 99 in .38-55 in excellent condition.

One thing's for sure: Unless gun writers get really lucky in some deal for an older firearm (I know one who found an unfired Winchester lever-action made before 1890 in the rafters of an old general store in Arizona still in the box), the only way most make money is writing about guns, not selling them, because they spend too much money buying guns.

For crying out loud John, there you go posting facts again!

Jeff

Jeff, you have all the attributes!
Except maybe a little too smart!

Well Phil, that's the first time it's been suggested I have that attribute!

Jeff

He's also a good writer on shotguns. I found an interesting article, " Increasing The Bag By Decreasing The Odds", he wrote for Gray's Sporting Journal a few years back on the effectiveness of lighter loads and more open chokes. One example he gave was a wild bird pheasant hunt he was on in South Dakota using mostly the cylinder bore barrel of an older gun with Damascus barrels and 2&1/2" chambers. He's probably a lot better than average shot but it was still a good read.

You are assuming I think gunwriters are smart ?

Ummmmh. I’ve mostly liked Wieland’s scribbling but that article could just as well be entitled, “Decreasing the Bag by Increasing the Odds.”

As with all shotgunning, it depends.

The same suggestion has been made for decades by other writers, and it works a lot better for the "average" wingshot, which means they shoot very little. A wider pattern will indeed hit more birds. Whether it kills them is another question--and whether they end up in the shooter's hand depends a lot on his dog. If he has one.

JB - I sure enjoyed reading your referenced post - I always thought it would be a GREAT retirement job to work in a gun shop and get first choice on any "new" pre-owned rifles and pistols. but then, reality set in and I realized that I just couldn't afford the job.

Remember the high school algebra problem in which 5 gallons of water are going into a 10,000 gallon swimming pool and 7 gallons an hour are leaking out. How long does it take for the pool to empty?

Ha!

Yeah, I've seen that happen in other jobs. An ex sister-in-law got a job at a women's clothing store and slowly went broke in less than a year....

I've applied for the gun counter at Cabelas, Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, and our local Shyda's Gun Shop. I've never even got so much as an interview. I guess it's just as well. I'd just buy too many guns!