Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Bob Milek

Was a bore to me though a bit more than John Haviland.

As a kid back in the 70s/early 80s, I was soaking up every word Bob Milek wrote. He was the reason I got into XPs and Contenders, and my very first custom build was an XP in 6mm-.223 -- soon followed by a Contender in 6mm-.223 and another XP in .250 Savage. His writing style was unlike any other, and his photos of the terrain permanently painted a picture of Wyoming in my mind.

One of my favorite stories of Bob's was about the .25-06--which he introduced by saying he was going elk hunting, and the only rifle in his rack he knew was sighted-in was a .25-06--with handloads featuring the 120-grain Speer Hot-Cor. So he went out and killed an elk with it, quite handily, despite the cartridge and bullet not being consider anywhere near adequate by most today.

I too read about anything I could find written by him. He’s to blame for my contenders, an xp100, 25-06, going prairie dog hunting and more. I always enjoyed his articles..... I recently started playing with my old 30-30 again.... I remember him writing an article about the” thutty-thutty”..... I’d love to read that one again.

I grew up less than an hour from Milek's home. Always hoped I'd run into him somewhere but did not get that privilege. I'm blessed to still hunt in some of the areas he wrote about. I suppose he should get some of the credit/blame for my affinity to Contenders and the 25-06. There was always a stack of gun magazines in the bunkhouse, cow camp, or sheep wagon and Bob's articles were usually the first ones read.

a great writer, one of my favorites

My first introduction to his writing was a rimfire book I believe under GunsandAmmo. Sort of an extra thick magazine. Read and re read that.
It is up in the attic, need to dig it out again.

I remember one of his articles pertaining to the use of a .338 WM or a similar performance cartridge for “non-resident” elk hunters......provided they were very confident with the firearm. He related a situation where he observed a hunter shooting/killing an elk farther than he was comfortable with the rifle he was carrying at the time. If I recall correctly......he suggested that those with limited time to hunt, could be well-served with a cartridge offering higher performance at extended ranges, and the ability to shoot the larger game at less than perfect angles. memtb

I read that book so much the binding gave out and it wouldnt stay together.

Always enjoyed Bob's writing. as with all the best writers, he wrote from a vast trove of experience.

Bob did use the .243 a lot too. It was a Winchester pre-64 fwt. Only a looney would remember that.

I remember him fondly too. I don't remember skipping any of his articles.

Being an 'entrenched 270' user I never had a 25-06. NOT one thing against it.

Afterall.... There's a 25-06 IN every 270 Win.

Several years ago I told a great friend that who had a 25-06 and he said,
"OOh that's cold!" Sorry to say I lost him 3 yrs ago this month.

Jerry

As a kid in the 80’s Bob Milek’s column in Guns and Ammo was always one of the first sections that I read.

I might have if I'd encountered his writing when I was less experienced. As it was, I'd been around the block a couple times and found that many of his opinions were merely that, not fact. I still found his writing interesting and worthwhile but it had to be balanced with a considerable grain of salt gained elsewhere.

Tom

Agree, liked his writings..

One of the greats! And he's the one that had me checking out the 35 Whelen .....which I purchased in M700 Classic. I saved a lot of his articles and consult his hand loads to this day

I recall reading Bob's article's on his use of the 25-06 not knowing I would have my own 25-06 fifteen years later. My new 25-06 replaced a run of 270's and wanted something with as little recoil as possible ( for my young son) yet as effective as the .270......the 25-06 does both.

Could not help but notice the 25-06 does kill a little quicker....like dead right there than my .270 experience. Actually, the difference between the two cartridges on deer size game is quite negligible.

Yep, I drive by that range every fall on the looooong trip from Tucson to my friends' place in Montana.
Like many who have posted here, Mr. Milek inspired me to build a 25-06 back in '91. I read his words that a 25-06 bolt action with a fixed 6X scope was the perfect pronghorn rig, and I used mine to kill my first "goat" that fall in Wyoming. I drew an AZ antelope tag (20 bonus points!) this year and broke out the Milek-inspired 25-06 for the hunt. It didn't fail me.

Cheers,
Rex

Driving through Therm brought back good memories of his writing. He was gone by then.

I started my 25-year subscription to Guns & Ammo in January 1982, and Bob was always one of my favorite writers. Was sorry to see Bob pass on in 1993 at the young age of 59. I read and re-read his stories dozens--maybe hundreds--of times when I was young. Always wanted a Remington XP100 but the fad passed before I could afford one.

That magazine was loaded with talent in those days, at least compared to today. As far as I know, Jan Libourel is retired but still alive, and then there is Jon Sundra, Craig Boddington, Mike Venturino, Phil Spangenberger, Rick Hacker, Garry James and Ross Seyfried. G&A writers that I can remember from that era that have passed on include, of course, Bob Milek, Elmer Keith, John Wooters, Dave Hetzler, and Robert Shimek. There are probably others I know well, especially if I include sister publications Peterson's Hunting and Handguns, but presently escape my 50-year-old memory.

For those who might be interested, I found the obituary of Bob's wife Dorothy, who passed in 2018.

https://www.thermopir.com/story/2018/12/06/obituaries/dorothy-grace-milek/7093.html