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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,781 Likes: 9
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 33,781 Likes: 9 |
Was a bore to me though a bit more than John Haviland.
Conduct is the best proof of character.
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Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 4,397 Likes: 3
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 4,397 Likes: 3 |
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.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,195 Likes: 24
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,195 Likes: 24 |
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.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1,078
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 1,078 |
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.
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 637 Likes: 2
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 637 Likes: 2 |
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.
ttpoz
in silvam ne ligna feras (don't carry logs into the forest)
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 459
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 459 |
a great writer, one of my favorites
Benefactor Life Member NRA, Arizona Hunter Education Instructor
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 570
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 570 |
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.
�Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him had better take a closer look at the American Indian.� - Henry Ford
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,027 Likes: 4
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,027 Likes: 4 |
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
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 5,499
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 5,499 |
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 read that book so much the binding gave out and it wouldnt stay together.
There is no way to coexist no matter how many bumper stickers there are on Subaru bumpers!
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,452
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,452 |
Always enjoyed Bob's writing. as with all the best writers, he wrote from a vast trove of experience.
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing." Robert E. Howard
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,748 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,748 Likes: 1 |
Bob did use the .243 a lot too. It was a Winchester pre-64 fwt. Only a looney would remember that.
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 19,179
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 19,179 |
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
jwall- *** 3100 guy***
A Flat Trajectory is Never a Handicap
Speed is Trajectory's Friend !!
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Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 10,212 Likes: 6
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 10,212 Likes: 6 |
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.
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,471 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,471 Likes: 2 |
When I started reloading if bob said it I considered it golden. My first reloading manual is a Lyman and he wrote about reloading for hunting and thanks to Bob I FL size my hunting ammo. 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
Anyone who thinks there's two sides to everything hasn't met a M�bius strip.
Here be dragons ...
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 11,803 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 11,803 Likes: 1 |
Agree, liked his writings..
NRA Patron
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Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 287
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Aug 2018
Posts: 287 |
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
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 8,761
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 8,761 |
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.
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 2,531 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 2,531 Likes: 1 |
North of Thermop next to the highway is a range dedicated to Bob Milek. I guess it’s on owl creek 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
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 19,496
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 19,496 |
Driving through Therm brought back good memories of his writing. He was gone by then.
Retired cat herder.
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Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 588
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 588 |
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
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