Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters RIP Double Gun Journal

Sadly, just got a notice that The Double Gun Journal is going the way of the dinosaur. "Due to inflated material and labor costs, and diminishing interest in classic guns...." I hate it, but I guess we could all see it coming. "Black Guns" and plastic guns are all the current generation of shooters cares about.

Haven't had a copy in forever - local places just don't carry it but sad to see it go. Loved reading it back in the day.

That's a shame. Truly a passion project that had some great writing and photography in it over the years. I subscribed off and on but still get too many magazines (sorry MD!)

I used to buy one or two issues each year when they were stocked on magazine racks at book and grocery stores. Usually when Ross Seyfried was resurrecting a classic.

When they went to subscription only it fell off my radar.

Earlier this year I bought all 30 years worth of the DGJ. Great reference material for shotgunners and insuring good reading material for my retirement years.

All good here.

I have every issue (Volume 1, Issue 1 is the reprint) and both Index and Reader volumes. I'll buy the third I&R when it comes out. DGJ was the best shooting publication I've ever encountered in over 55 years of reading shooting publications. I'm deeply saddened that it's gone.

On the bright side, it will take me a long, long time to start over with Volume 1, Issue 1 and work my way through them again.

One of my favorite articles (don't remember the year) was the one where Seyfried used an ancient Purdey .50 Cal Pinfire double rifle to kill a massive whitetail....think it was called 'The Pinfire Buck". His methods for crafting ammunition for some of these antiques is brilliant.

I truly am going miss reading Ross.

I subscribed for decades but I hit my breaking point in 2015 when it went over $10 an issue/$40 per year. That was as high as a cheapskate like me could go.

As far as I know DGJ was the only magazine Ross wrote for over the last decade or more. It would seem to be a good idea for him (or somebody else) to publish book-collections of his articles, especially books on certain subjects, such as shotguns or rifles.

Sad, but I guess not surprising. I too, have every issue from volume 1, number 1, to now.
As a note to John B., I also have all of Game Country. Anyone remember that?
I have seen a steep decline in double gun interest for some time. Everyone wants the latest tactical whiz bang and not a Winchester 21 or a Parker.

Darn shame. Learned a lot about double guns over the years reading the excellent writers that were featured in DGJ over the years.

Sorry to hear this.

I've enjoyed the DGJ, think it's one of the highest quality publications of his kind. The binding, paper, etc. were all first class.

Check out the Winter 2013 issue, pg 91, article by Walt Snyder concerning Major Charles Askins, Sr's, Ithaca Flues Model, Gr 4 ejector gun.

I ended up with The Major's 1933 Superposed, did a lot of research on the Askins clan and that gun, published a lot of info on the Shotgunworld site: www.shotgunworld.com/threads/1933-superposed.124719/.

During that time, I was in contact with Bill Askins in San Antonio, the Col's son, Major's grandson. Bill eventually offered me this Ithaca, but I thought it belonged with someone qualified to publish an article, so I put Bill in touch with Walt, who IMO is the preeminent Ithaca scholar. He's written books on the subject, has the original New York Ithaca factory records. Walt bought the Ithaca from Bill, which is better than it languishing in the back of my gun safe.

The Major's Superposed was recently passed onto someone qualified, like Walt, to do a DGJ article on that gun. Well, now I guess it won't happen. Sad.

DF

I only read it occasionally and haven’t seen it in years but I’m sad to see it gone. It filled a cool niche with great photography and cool guns. I’ve mentioned before but Ross was my favorite author going to back to when I was kid.

Indeed.

Such a distillation would be a real gem

Sad news!

In the early 90's I worked at a printing plant in Midland, MI and we printed the DGJ for a while. It was a laborious publication with all of its metallic inks (mostly page borders), PMS inks (Pantone Matching System, non-standard colors) and many layered film layouts.

It was always a treat for a gun nut like me to get to work on this publication because we were not only expected to do our part in production, but also to be part of the proofing system, meaning we were encouraged to read the magazines we worked on, and I was always eager to do my part on DGJ, and also VHA (Varmint Hunters Association), which we also produced for a while.

I'm sad to see it go, but with being aware of all that went into such a publication, I'm not surprised to read that costs eventually ate the passion.

Super idea.

It has been a great publication.

I remember an article where he acquired a Westley-Richards Fauneta, a SxS in 20ga (smooth bore with rifled choke) and fabricated new cone-shaped slug ammunition for it in his home shop that would regulate in both barrels at 50 yards. I can only imagine the hours he invested in that project.