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I assume we all have our own "Gunwriter Mt Rushmores" which likely is made up the writers we grew up with. I never grew up reading Kieth, Skelton, O'Connor etc.

Read snippets here and there.

Curious - who are on your mountain and more importantly, name one book of theirs you think everyone should read, and why.

(I wanna build an Amazon wishlist)

Finn Aagaard, Bob Milek, John Wooters, Jim Carmichael, Rick Jamison, Clay Harvey, Ed Matunas, and Bob Hagel to name a few.

Bob Hagel - Game Loads and Practical Ballistics for the American Hunter
Finn Aagard - Hunting Rifles and Cartridges
Both authors worked as guides and saw more game shot than most of us dream of. Neither saw the bullet technological revolution that we have to day, but they sure were fun and interesting to read. And they were both pragmatists.

Can't even list all of my books.....but these are two of my favorites.

AT my age it's hard to remember them all, so I went in and consulted the "shelf of honor" among the wall of the other titles and authors. The envelope, please:

Pete Brown, Warren Page, Bob Nichols, Jack O'Connor, Bob Brister, Elmer Keith, Clyde Ormond, Havilah Babcock, John Wooters, Robert Ruark, Frances Sell, "Skeeter" Skelton, Bob Hagel, Finn Aagard, and John Jobson.

I am probably missing one or two, whose book(s) got loaned out and never returned.

Dean Grennell - The ABC's of Reloading
Finn Aagard - Hunting Rifles and Cartridges
Mr. Barsness - Obsessions of a Rifle Loony

I've read them all and I hate them all.
Grandad never read gun scribes and he had one hunting rifle. Dad never read them and he had one hunting rifle. I read every article of theirs I could beg, steal, or borrow and I've owned around a hundred freaking deer rifles! I just want to be normal!

Mike, it's too late !!


Guys, there are more than I can remember and I DON'T want to neglect any.

E K was mostly done by the time I got into gun lore but I have "Hell I Was There", anyway.

I never knew Bob Hagel BEFORE I got his "Game Loads and Practical Ballistics...." from O L Book Club.
IIRC (?) it was $ 8.00 AiN'T for sale.

Tip of the Hat to Skeeter, Jordan, Howell, Carmichael, Sundra and OF COURSE..... J B !!

Thanks Guys.

Excellent List!

I would add Archibald Rutledge, Gene Hill, and Jim Corbett.

I will second Archibald Rutledge who was the Poet Laureate of South Carolina and his book "The Woods and Wild Things I Remember" is my favorite. I also like all things JB has written...articles, books, etc.

Hagel’a hunting North American big game is good as well. Bob Brister only published 2-3 books and some of those are fiction but all are really good

Both were favorites of mine as well and both were big fans of Nosler Partition and Bitteroot bonded core bullets and Finn wrote extensively about testing Trophy Bonded , Nosler Partitions, Barnes X, Swift A frames, Speer Grand Slams and even European RWS H-Mantels,

Sucks to be you. Sucks to be me, too.

I read some of Elmer's stuff early on. Maybe that's why I've never owned a 270 of any flavor & lean toward big holes in the end of my muzzles. Even more influential for me were Ken Waters, Bob Hagel, Finn Aagard, & Jim Carmichael. Not really a gunwriter but that McMannis guy is fun to read.

The Rifle by Jim Carmicheal is pretty freaking good. Elmer Keith's Big Game Hunting is also a good book. Sheep and Sheep Hunting by Jack O'Connor is a good book. Those are three books that are good to start with.

Best I can remember Keith was one I read a lot of . Funny thing is I've always had a .270 and still do. I read Keith but mainly for the entertainment. I didn't emulate him and went my own way. I did read Warren Page but he was like Keith in the magazines. What I did read of Page where I really learned from him was some very good bench rest stuff. He had some technical papers he wrote for bench rest shooting that were very informative. I remember Wooters and liked him for his technical knowledge too. Never read Brister, just watched him on TV I really loved his show on Houston TV. Aagard was probably my favorite entertainment wise but when I read his stuff he was already here in Texas and mostly wrote about hunting on his ranch in the Hill Country. I didn't read many books on guns. However, I did read some of Cap Stick and a couple other African writer Including Aagard because I always liked to read of the African adventure.

Bob Hagel and recommend Game Loads and Practical Ballistics for the American Hunter. His hunting experience and insistence on wringing the best out of a rifle/cartridge impressed me.

Warren Page and recommend The Accurate rifle. A statement he said always stuck with me. 'Only accurate rifles are interesting'

Don Zutz and recommend Handloading For Hunters. Zutz was a Wisconsin native and wrote intensely about shotguns and rifles I reloaded for.

Ross Seyfreid.

Living favorite is John Barsness. Deceased favorite is Jack O'Connor. Lots of good writers in between these two men. Both have different styles but both are/were the real deal IMO.

That is actually a Col Townsend Whelen Quote.

I have all the usual suspects...

J.O. ..Sheep and Sheep hunting, it is still the reference guide for the Sheep hunter . I liked Page's ,The Accurate Rifle. No smiley faces needed. Both were aces.

I'm glad someone else had the stones to mention Clay Harvey first. They'll pelt you instead of me.

Yes, a lot of his stuff was apocryphal. Yes, he generated a lot of personal bad blood on here. However, I kept a copy of The Hunter's Rifle next to the bed for over a decade. A lot of the rifles he touted are now on my rack, and I have to agree with him. The Hunter's Rifle did a great job of slicing up the myriad of what was out there at the time and giving a framework for what to chose when.

Yes, he stole ideas. Yes, he stole rifles. Yes, he claimed experience where he did not have it. However, before I found this place, I used The Hunter's Rifle quite a bit as a primary reference and it did not fail me.

So far, there is not a name mentioned I would dispute.

John Wooters is problematic in my mind, but then all the men on Rushmore are as well. He was a great writer, no doubt about that. However, he championed the idea of culling to improve trophy quality. This led to a generation of men wandering about the woods shooting gimpy-looking bucks and thinking they were doing the world a favor.

It would be fitting if you stole your copy.

My favorite gun writer was Jack O'Connor. The others were a distant second, although I regularly read John Jobson, John Wooters, Pete Brown, Warren Page, as well as some of the others of that time period.

My favorite outdoor writer was Archibald Rutledge. I consider him to be one of the best writers ever, and I've read everything by him I could get my hands on, in addition to visiting Hampton Plantation. Others that wrote for the magazines during that time period were also good......Babcock, Corey Ford, Ruark, Whelen, and others who's names I can't remember. The 1950's and 60's were my favorite times.

Also, I really liked the stories that Erwin Bauer wrote for Outdoor Life during that time period as well.

Actually, I got it as part of the NAHC book club. North American Hunting Club-- now there's a dark stain on the history of the Outdoors! I made the mistake of signing up and after the first few lousy books and some cheesy medallions, I told them I was opting out. The books kept coming. I finally got tired of dealing with them and stopped returning the books and stopped paying the bills. After a few more books, they sent me a nastygram and that was it. They folded shortly thereafter. Harvey's tome showed up somewhere in the middle of all that. I never asked for it, and I wasn't going to pay to return it.

So, yes, in a way, I probably did steal my copy.

The difference between then and now is the old writers could tell stories. Many of the new ones can just recite data. For stories, you can't beat Skeeter's Good Friends, Good Guns, Good Whiskey.

A few comments:

First, thanks to those who mentioned me.

Second, this may or may not matter to the original poster (teal) but quite a few of the writers mentioned so far were NOT gun writers. Instead they were hunting writers.

Those are not mutually exclusive occupations, but a gun AND hunting writer is still a gun writer. A hunting writer may mention guns in passing, but is generally not as technically oriented as somebody more interested in hunting guns.

A few years ago I wrote an article on books essential to understanding the history of hunting rifles--then expanded it a little in a chapter for GUN GACK II. This isn't necessarily a list of the most entertaining hunting-gun books, since some are pretty technical, and for more immediately practical than historical books I would certainly include a couple already mentioned, Bob Hagel's GAME LOADS AND PRACTICAL BALLISTICS FOR THE AMERICAN HUNTER and Finn Aagaard's HUNTING RIFLES AND CARTRIDGES. (My originally new copies of both eventually started falling apart. I replaced Hagel's with a new reprint, but Finn's book is held together with at least two kinds of tape.)

Here's a list of the historical works, listed in the alphabetical order of the author's last name:

Craig Boddington: SAFARI RIFLES IIGen. Julian S. Hatcher: HATCHER'S NOTEBOOK
Elmer Keith: RIFLES FOR LARGE GAME
Larry Koller: SHOTS AT WHITETAILS
Bryan Litz: APPLIED BALLISTICS FOR LONG-RANGE SHOOTING
Charles Landis: HUNTING WITH THE TWENTY-TWO
Jack O'Connor: THE HUNTING RIFLE
Stuart Otteson: THE BOLT ACTION, A DESIGN ANALYSIS
Philip Sharpe: THE RIFLE IN AMERICA
John Taylor: AFRICAN RIFLES AND CARTRIDGES
Harold Vaughan: RIFLE ACCURACY FACTS
Townsend Whelen: THE HUNTING RIFLE

The Litz book is included not to encourage long-range hunting, but it because it corrects many ballistic myths believed by many if not most hunters.

For wingshooting I would pick Bob Brister's SHOTGUNNING: THE ART AND SCIENCE. For handguns, a combination of Keith and Skelton.

There would be a different list for HUNTING books.

Thanks John

Always nice when someone of knowledge and who shares in a nice manner
and format posts here.

Rifles and Hunting- Finn Aagaard, Jack O'Conner. Elmer Keith, Bob Milek. Bob Hagel, Col Towsend Whelan, Francis Sell, Jim Carmichel, Craig Boddington, John Barsness, Russel Annabel, Peter Capstick, Larry Koeller, Warren Page
Handguns- Skeeter Skelton, Elmer Keith, Col Jeff Cooper, Rex Applegate, Ed McGivern, Col Charles Askins, Bob Milek, John Taffin, George Nonte, Lee Jurass
Shotguns/bird hunting- Bob Brister, Gordan MacQuarre, Gene Hill, Francess Sell,

more to add as I remember

The best thing about 24 hour campfire is the writers feedback.
It is quite amazing and I hope it continues.
Keep up the good work JB and others, and thanks for chiming in .

I always enjoyed G. Sitton and Ross Seyfried.

As did I.

M D said above ^^^

"Those are not mutually exclusive occupations, but a gun AND hunting writer is still a gun writer. A hunting writer may mention guns in passing, but is generally not as technically oriented as somebody more interested in hunting guns."

When I started reading the mags (rags), I was more interested in the hunting + what they used.
I still like the 'hunting stories' but always want to know what rifle and ammo they used.

Then there are Xs I want more info on the Gun OR the Bullet used.

I HAD shelf after shelf of Hunting, Shooting, Rifle, Handgun, mags but in 2007 when I moved there was TOO much weight so I had to reduce.

These are my FAVs and kept close for reference and FUN reading!
There are more mags than Skeeter On Handguns but it's Cherry.



Mule Deer's books are even easier to get to near my loading bench.

In my earlier post I FAILED (sorry) to mention the Writers and former Writers who participate here on the 'fire'.
THANKS, I really appreciate it. I've been 'honored' to have 1 on 1 discussions with some I knew from the past and
NEVER THOT I'D BE PRIVILEGED to actually talk to/with.


Jerry

Lots of good reference here. I'll just add Rifles for Africa by Gregor Woods.
Amazing how many of the previously mentioned books are on my shelf.

Thanks all - really looking for the book lists. I'm only 42 and I didn't grow up reading outdoor writers a lot. Found them when I found the internet. I did have a library card and spent most of my time with a very early Nosler reloading manual. That did enough for me back than.

Now I have a list of books to order/read. Appreciate it.

I read a lot of this stuff as a little kid and the storytellers attracted me. And that means Elmer Keith, the delight he felt spinning a yarn leaped off the page and I was delighted right along with him. Col. Charles Askins was another tale teller but I felt he was a severe man. A little scary. Some things I've read since say I may have been right.

You think!?

Wooters started the whole QDM trophy hunting craze that is ruining the sport of deer hunting. Driving up prices through outrageous lease fee's and pricing many out of the sport is nothing to be proud of. Also encouraged the whole "raise your very own trophy" bullshyt that has everyone feeding deer, planting food plots, putting game cams everywhere etc. etc. until most folks have turned into deer farmers rather than deer hunters. The man should be dug up and kicked in the ass.

+1 Ross Seyfried

3dtestify,

I've always regretted that Ross never published a book. Of course, writing one is kind of a hassle, but it's relatively easy to collect selected magazine articles into one volume. I have a lot of his stuff in my library, maybe even most of it, but it's inside copies of GUNS & AMMO, RIFLE, HANDLOADER, SUCCESSFUL HUNTER and DOUBLE GUN AND SINGLE-SHOT JOURNAL. It would be nice to have it in a book or two, especially the stuff Ross considers his best work.

As a more general comment, the problem with a lack of hunting stories in magazines these days was caused not by lack of story-tellers but by television and then the Internet.

Magazine hunting stories were going strong through the 1980s and into the early 90s. I know this because at one time I made more than half my living writing them--along with some fishing stories--for magazines including FIELD & STREAM, GRAY'S SPORTING JOURNAL, SPORTS AFIELD and even SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, back when SI ran "blood sports" stuff. In fact, my very first magazine sale was to SI 45 years ago, what the magazines then called a "mood piece" on flyfishing in the winter in Wyoming. Sold my second story a few months later to GRAY'S, then a brand-new magazine.

But as more hunting (and fishing) shows took over TV, and then the Internet, more magazines quit running stories, because most hunters and anglers apparently preferred watching over reading.. I quit publishing fishing stories in the mid-90s, because the pay rates really started going downhill. That was also about the time the amount of my gun writing started really rising, partly because editors wanted more technical info than hunting stories.

I still get to write a few hunting stories for SPORTS AFIELD, but gave up FIELD & STREAM YEARS ago, because it started going to "sound bites" rather than stories of any length. The latest news in the business is F&S just went from published six times a year to quarterly. (GRAY'S never was much of a market for professional writers, something I learned during a stint as the editor in the mid-90s. The only way they could afford to keep going was to mostly run stories by people who did something else for a living, who will generally accept lower pay.)

But there's also been a general decline in reading for pleasure--not information--in all magazines. While it's still a pretty strong industry (contrary to what some people think) it's mostly turned into an information market, like the gun and hunting magazines.

I have quit subscribing to every gun magazine except for receiving my American Rifleman every month. I grew up reading JOC stories in my early teens, got hooked on Skeeter sometime in the 60s and discovered JB in the 70s. Now in my 7th decade I stopped watching the TV hunting shows years ago. If I ever have to hear Jackie Bushman clicking that Model 700 safety so loud again I think I will go nuts. As for archery, I will never again watch Tom Miranda piss his pants when he arrows a deer. I really liked Rifle and Hand Loader but they kept screwing up my subscriptions so much that I finally gave up. It wasn't the magazine content but the way it was ran IMO.

I like to think that even Wootters would believe it's been taken too far. He had some ground breaking ideas for his time and there's a lot of value there, but people have pushed his ideas to the point that they don't sound just real fun anymore. Part of the fun of hunting to me is the anticipation of not knowing what's going to happen. finding a track that looks like a big deer and try to figure out a pattern and stand site, etc . I refuse to use a game camera, as if I know a certain deer is going to be using a certain trail between 5 and 6 pm sitting up waiting on him doesn't sound just real fun.

Kind of like with music, usually just listened without paying much attention to who the artist was. Magazines were usually just waiting in some office or the other, not paying much attention to the writer. A few of the books I have And, not really surprised to not see any of them mentioned here by Vaughn, Madis, and Howell. among others.

Phil

I never took Wooters the way he’s been portrayed here. If I recall correctly he never did food plots or had a hit list. He chose eventually to hunt mature deer but I don’t recall him condemning meat hunting. He wrote about how to trophy hunt if you want to go that way. He was proud that he hunted wild deer in the brush without mineral supplements etc.

Do other people see him that way? I could be wrong

shouldershot,

Yep, and since I knew John a little, I also knew he was less enchanted with "score" as he got older, and tended to prefer looking for simply old bucks, or meat animals--which are not mutually exclusive.

Greyghost,

Dunno which books you are specifically referring to, but have Madis's Winchester book, which is useful but not essential. If the "Vaughn" you are referring to is Harold, then it's in my "essential" list.

I knew Ken Howell, and while he was a fine guy and a clear writer, never found his books essential, partly because he had some ballistic misconceptions. Dunno if it matters, but also never found he had enough hunting experience to compare with the likes of Aagaard, Hagel, Keith, O'Connor or several others.

I certainly did NOT know J Wooters but he was a very active writer when I really got involved with Deer hunting & guns.
I read him up until he retired or died - don't remember which.

At first I disagreed with him but as I LEARNED I changed my mind on some things.

I agree with your take on his objective on WT. IMO he doesn't deserve some of the 'credit' given in this thread.

He was NOT my fav writer but others I could name were FAR below him on the list.

Jerry

Not to get into names, but all of those mentioned here are writers that I have enjoyed. To put outdoor writers, whether gun, hunting, fishing, or what have you, into two camps, I have found the most important aspect to me is the ability to pass on knowledge in a way that is interesting to read. I have stopped reading many an article because it took me back to the days of reading a statistics textbook.

As I grew in handloading I found Mr. Ken Howell very helpful to me. IIRC he was the handloading 'editor' or scribe with Shooting Times. I always looked forward to his articles and learned from him.

Surprise ! Surprise ! I was privileged to have one on one ' discussionS ' with him AFTER I joined the 'fire' in 2010.
He was always pleasant and courteous to me. ONE time I referred to him as "Sir Ken".. He replied that he had NOT been knighted yet..

I don't guess I ever thot about his "hunting' experience since MOST of what I got from him was on handloading.

I also know that others did not have the same attitude toward him. Well... he was helpful to me until the end.

Jerry

Were any changes made to Brister's Shotgunning book in the second edition? I have a couple copies of the first edition and bought the second edition for any changes. With a close reading it still looks like a straight reprint.

Probably closer to hunting books but I have a special fondness for Clyde Ormond and especially Game and the Gunner half game and half gunner from Pulling for local, for western values of local, associations. The same is true of Keith and Hagel but they each have sustained a wider than local appeal.

I mourn the days when what was called Winchester Press published a variety of books from one hit wonders in addition to such as the edited Keith. I liked the edited Keith more than I like the Petersen Press Hell I Was There.

I grew up reading O'Connor, then enjoyed G. Sitton's words, but have to say JB tops my list.....

Gary Sitton wrote a great piece about the difference between a hunter and a guy that hunts. There was also an article written I don’t remember by who, but he interviewed a bunch of other writers. The only one I recall is wooters talked about having a ruger blackhawk.357 and having to quick draw on a charging hog. I’d like to reread both articles

Great lists. Some I like not mentioned so far -- Wayne Van Zwoll, Phil Shoemaker, Terry Weiland,

I had a subscription to Outdoor Life as a youngster, and I really liked Jim Carmichael. Nowadays, I really enjoy reading old Jack O’Connor stuff. The article entitled “Santiago and the Lady” is one of the best pieces of writing I have read. Google it and thank me later.

In current day, I really enjoy John Barsness. And I really enjoy Eileen’s cookbooks!

HCDH66,

"Santiago and the Lady" is a great piece of writing--and also a great example of how a hunting story does NOT need to be all about the hunting.

In fact, Eileen and I teach a monthly writing course for the local high school's adult-education program. (This pays less in a year than my average article, but keeps us fired-up and thinking--along with meeting a lot of great people.) Many of the guys who take the class want to publish in hunting/gun magazines, and I have used "Santiago and the Lady" as an example of a great story--even though most magazines wouldn't publish it these days.

Glad you like our stuff!

That, and "We Shot the Tamales" are two of O'Connor's best

At one time or another, I've read something by most of the better known guns & hunting writers mentioned on the last several pages.

As for favorites & who I've enjoyed & learned the most from, that's really easy; Bob Hagel & then John Barsness when he came along.

Hagel was handicapped by the limitations of electronic measuring equipment & ballistic technology of the time he was active; John is more scientifically oriented & has had the benefit ofmuch more advanced ballistic technology & equipment.

I started reading John when he was writing the back inside cover stories for Rifle, maybe in the early to mid '90's & long before I joined The "Fire............those were entertaining but illustrative of a much stronger talent...............as he wrote more, it just became better & to the point that I think John will eventually be acknowledged as the very best gun, shooting & hunting writer ever, or at least to date.

All the books listed are good..............just different types of reading & some just flat don't apply anymore. Times have changed dramatically for both hunting & shooting.

Other great writers I respect are Jim Carmichael & Warren Page & both great shooters; O'Connor was a story teller as was a Keith & his needs (of the time) never had much alignment with mine, but I think he was a phenomenal outdoorsman, maybe the best.

Always enjoyed Wayne Von Zwoll; little use for Boddington; Aagard was always informative. Seyfreid I just read to be reading.

MM

Brain washed by Keith at a early age when I was a young lad in Iowa. Have maybe three of his original books laying around the house I have two of Hagel's books and at the time they were scripture to me when it came to bullets and working up loads. Elmer did him a dirty deed when he called him lazy in one of his books, about a time when him and Hagel and his Dad were out hunting. My old neighbor in Spenard, Alaska back in the 60's guided Hagel and Johnny Porter said Hagel was the finest rifle shot he ever saw. There is a picture of Hagle and a good caribou he took with a fast 7mm of some type. For sure he had lots of trigger time in the game fields.

Sharing a campfire with Elmer and Hagle would be a treat.

Finn Aagaard, I liked his down to earth practical style based on opinions formed from a life time of big game hunting and bullet testing. Would liked to have shared a campfire with him.

Skeeter and Jordan they wrote interesting stuff and I would loved to of shared a camp fire with them. I have and autographed copy of Jordan's "No Second Place Winner".

I liked some of the stuff Ross Seyfreid wrote. He did not like lever action repeaters and boat tail bullets and bore scopes. But, rumor has it he could shoot.

I have come to like Terry Wieland's articles, he has a unique style.

The Campfires very own Mule Deer, John Barsness, in many ways he is probably the over all best I have read when it comes to learning about rifles, barrels, bullets, shooting, powders, etc. I mean he is a walking encyclopedia for sure and his Gack books and others should be on every ones shelf.

Phil Shoemaker "458 Win.", writes very well, but not nearly enough. He wrote an article on triggers years ago that probably didn't make him very popular. But, as a brown bear guide he has first hand knowledge of how important a reliable trigger is. I wish I could find the article again, as I personally believe the trigger is the most important part of a rifle. If it does not work as intended then it gets interesting in a hurry.

That's about it, I admit to not reading a lot of gun mags.

When I think back Jack O'Conner, Rick Jamison and JB are the writers that have had the most influence on me.

I have some of JOC's books, but his biggest impression came in the boxes of old Outdoor Life magazines my Dad had saved. When I was young, I could not get enough of hunting and guns. I read all of his saved copies. I think it took me a couple of winters to finish the stacks.

Did not help that we had a Herter's store in MItchell, SD where I grew up. Also the local grocer had been to Africa and his African mounts were in the Corn Palace and his grocery store.

Rick Jamison was writing for Shooting Times when I really started getting into reloading. I looked forward to his articles every month.

JB needs no explanation, I still reference his books, and they are the only ones besides reloading manuals on my bench.

The little I have read of Aagaard, I wish I would have discovered him earlier. He would have been a positive influence on a younger mind.

Finn Aagaard
Jack O’CONNOR
John Barsness
Wayne Van Zwoll
Peter Capstick(Just Kidding)

I wish you could find the article also as I don't remember ever writing a piece on triggers. Maybe that was why it written so poorly.
But as a former competitive target shooter I certainly agree with you on the singular importance of a good trigger !

1) Frank De Haas.....He took guns apart to analyze them. So do I, but he was better.
2) Parker Ackley....He did controlled destructive test on guns. So do I, but he was better.
3) Jerry Kuhnhausen.... His books on Colts were so good and his Mauser book so bad... I am just guessing why
4) Frank C Barnes.... I wish I consulted the bible as often as Cartridges of the World.

I'm a fair hand at taking guns apart. It's putting them back together where I come up lacking.

Yes sir, you spoke to having clients that had those hi tech triggers with enclosed trigger housings freezing up on hunts and I think a big bear was getting away and maybe the client was handed another rifle. I was raised on the old Mod. 70 and Springfield 03A3 triggers. I still prefer them for hunting here in Alaska and have never had an issue with them. But, I have seen a few trigger issues on other guns with enclosed triggers and super light pull weights.

I will keep looking for the article. I hope my old memory is not messed up again. Any way, I enjoy what you write and wish you could do more of it. Just a book on your brown bear stories would be a good read. Spring is almost here and I am sure it is time to get the camps ready and I hope the darn virus does not interfere with your season. Best wishes.

P.S. When you write that bear book sign a copy for me please.

1Akshooter,

A number of people have been encouraging Phil to get that damn book done!

How come I'm the only one that ever double posts. Darn back button,,,,,,,

There's a delete button.

Patrick F. McManus was more of a life coach than a gun scribe, but I have to add him.

At least this damned virus shutdown is giving me time to work on it. I have already made the editorial corrections my son pointed out this week.

And yes I have railed on about hunters, especially bear hunters, who seem to think that delicate, fragile target triggers will help them on an Alaskan hunt. And will continue to as I have witnessed some spectacular, and often dangerous, failures.

Phil,

Am not surprised--both about the getting writing done, and the triggers! (In fact I may be the reason some remember you doing an article on triggers, since I've mentioned your comments to me here and there.)

Have been cranking away of GUN GACK III the past 10 days or so, though the basics were already in the computer. Eileen has been putting them into the publishing program--which may seem the hard part is over. Not so! Still have to get everything arranged to her standards--which means I get grilled about writing, photos, and that nebulous "other stuff"....

Clark,

Have all of those (along with the Kuhnhausen S&W revolver book). While De Haas is a great adjunct to Otteson, if I had to choose one it would be Otteson. But together they provide a great overview.

Ackley's books also contain some interesting stuff, but contain some errors, due his assumptions about pressure. He was not an engineer like Otteson.

Have several editions of COTW. In recent editions, so many editors have gone over it that a few mistakes have appeared--often not actually their fault but mistakes in other references they consulted. One thing I have noticed is that some recent editors eliminated historic information that was far more interesting to some of us than the "trendy" info they substituted. Consequently, the edition I keep handy for lookin' stuff up is my oldest.

Frank De Haas lived only a couple blocks from me in my small hometown. By the time I recognized his work for what it was — maybe early’80’s, he was a quiet, old man and almost completely blind.

"Phil Shoemaker "458 Win.", writes very well, but not nearly enough. He wrote an article on triggers years ago that probably didn't make him very popular. But, as a brown bear guide he has first hand knowledge of how important a reliable trigger is. I wish I could find the article again, as I personally believe the trigger is the most important part of a rifle. If it does not work as intended then it gets interesting in a hurry."


Per 458Win
I wish you could find the article also as I don't remember ever writing a piece on triggers. Maybe that was why it written so poorly. But as a former competitive target shooter I certainly agree with you on the singular importance of a good trigger !

Dang Phil,

I have searched high and low for the trigger info I convinced myself you wrote. Maybe it was not a complete article, but tossed in with another article. At 69 my total recall is probably lacking, but I still believe it was you.

John "Pondoro" Taylor and his book, "African Rifles and Cartridges."

I believe Taylor's book was already prominently mentioned, but it sure deserves to be mentioned again.

Most of the writers in Precision Shooting Magazine...........

John Amber’s thoughts on guns are enjoyed.