Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Whatever happened to John Barsness?

Me too and it's great. I only work with existing clients and referrals.
Someone mentioned redundancy in an earlier post. I just received my last issue of Petersens Hunting. Joseph Von Benedikt article on the 7PRC has a picture of his wife and kids with a black bear. This is the same picture that was in another publication regarding the 7 PRC. There's an article on hunting Axis deer in Hawaii and within in the last month in another publication was Axis hunting in Hawaii. I don't know if it's from the same author or not as I recently recycled a bunch of magazines.
Repetition is why I'm cutting back on publications.

Poppers on a flyrod for bass is the best of fishing. Good memories. Like some of the others I'll be subscribing to RLN - it's been in my shopping cart for a few days now with some Gun Gacks and a couple of Eileen's. As others have said, we're all glad for the "semi-" part of "semi-retired"!

Andy

I grew into a hunter reading Bob Milek and Ross Seigfried, Milek is partly responsible for me living in central Wyoming now. JB has always be interesting and informative, with out The old school Keith / Oconnor I am right because I said so attitude. Jb has envolved with the times and branched off in many areas of interest. If interested ,whenever it was possible I would like to share a pot of coffee and pick John's brain in person. Not something I desire to do with any of the other gun rag poets.

Looks like the Adirondacks that I grew up in. Makes me homesick.

It is. Winslow Homer. He's got some really amazing Adirondack stuff. He stayed at a hunting camp near Minerva in the mid-late 1800's. Looks like a great place to grow up!

Big congrats John...

Hoping you can continue with only projects you enjoy. Because that’s not work. Thanks for all the incredible information you have provided here. Prayers for health, wealth, and happiness on you and Eileen.

shootem,

That's the plan! Though part of the reason I'll continue working for Sports Afield is not only do I enjoy it, but they pay better than the other magazines I've been writing for in the last decade. (One of the general trends in the business has been pay dropping for the past 25-30 years, which is why GSPfan, in his above post, has noticed the same photos and hunts appearing in more than one magazine. Lower pay means you have to write up the same material in various places to make ends meet.)

I also enjoy writing for Rifle Loony News. When Eileen and I started it 14 years ago, I mostly wrote articles I'd proposed to conventional magazines, and none of 'em wanted. This was because either the editor didn't get the concept, or there weren't going to be enough mentions of advertisers--and mentioning advertisers frequently in magazines has been another major trend during the same period. But RLN doesn't take advertising, and Eileen is the editor, who after living with me for 40 years "gets" even my strangest suggestions for articles!

Have always looked forward to to your articles in Rifle and Handloader and will miss them. Best wishes and enjoy your retiring years.

<It is. Winslow Homer. He's got some really amazing Adirondack stuff. He stayed at a hunting camp near Minerva in the mid-late 1800's. Looks like a great place to grow up![/quote]

I'm gonna sign up for RLN. Congrats MD.

OneEyedMule, I know Minerva. Another one of my passions is motorcycle riding. There's a really cool family friendly biker bar/restaurant in Minerva called Sporty's Iron Duke Saloon. Yea, a great place to grow up. My dad used to take me hiking, fishing and camping once a month in the Adks. Him driving me up to the high peaks was more exciting than Christmas morning. Probably one of the best things a dad can do with a son.

You forgot Jack O"Connor's The Last Book. My favorite quote in there being about 'the big bore boys.' Nuff said.

Congrads John, won't be the same mag without you. When I was a young man I believe I took 6-7 different magazines all hunting fishing shooting it seems like after the the old rider started retiring and dying off less and less interest I currently don't take any anymore occasionally I'll buy rifle or reloader every now and then but it's got to be something that catches my eye or an article by JB enjoy retirement!

Thanks!

It still seems a little unbelievable to me that I was a "staff writer" for Wolfe for 30 years.

When I started Dave Scovill was the editor, and after I wrote a few articles he phoned me and asked, "So what are you going to write for the next issue?" Which was my first real hint that it might be a steady gig--always important to "freelance" writers.....

That's a shame. I might have to think about my subscription. I've been subscribing to Rifle and Handloader for over 20 years but the past five years or so I only read one or two articles. The mags have changed over time and I don't really like the direction they have taken. A lot of the articles (AR15 and handguns) have limited application here in Australia. All good things must come to an end I suppose.

Good luck with the semi-retirement John. I hope it does remain only semi though. You're too good a writer to just stop.

Sad thing to hear of

I'll need to find another copy of the magazine
with the " Anything but bolts " article.
Mine started out new, but it's passed through
many hands and it getting fairly ragged

I had a couple of Al Miller's articles I used to
share around, but those got permanently loaned
without my permission

Ranger99,

I might have an extra copy with that article in it. Will check and see. When was your ragged copy published?

John - Ever consider asking other retired writers to occasionally contribute to RLN?

No, because it doesn't make enough profit to pay anybody but me and Eileen--and we wouldn't ask professionals (even if retired) to write for free.

However, we have paid a non-retired writer a little to do something. Not long after we started RLN, we paid Phil Shoemaker to a piece on 'Ol Ugly," the self-customized .458 Winchester Magnum he's been using as his favorite brown bear back-up rifle for many years.

Well sir, that's a good question.
Been looking through my stacks of different magazines,
Backwoodsman through the late 90's, some very old
Popular Mechanics, a good many years of Tactical
Knives, etc.
I still have a few G&A and Shtg. Times, and fewer O L
and F&S and Louisiana Sportsman, copies I kept for
reference for whatever reason.
The particular magazine in question is elusive.
I still have a good many to paw through when I'm
not so bleary eyed . Did find Efficient Cartridges and
the High Wall black powder testing. I'm sure the
one I'm seeking is a Rifle and not a Handloader.
It should be here somewhere

If you can find it and determine the date, that would certainly help. Over the decades I probably wrote over 500 articles for Rifle, since for a while I was working exclusively for Wolfe--and writing at least a technical column, a feature and the back page for each issue of the magazine.