Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer- Questions on your predilections.

Dear John,

You pretty much have written on most everything and have easily earned retired writer status. Just wondering about a couple of things:
1) Book on Optics- You wrote the book on optics and even if it is a swiftly tilting commercialized blob of new products and technologies, have you thought about up dating it with more info on ragefinders, Big Eyes, IS binos, and accessories that optimise performance.
2) I would love your version of the Last Book- You have worked with some complete [bleep](some above ground and some below). Sure would like your views on them as you are nice but are truthful and really don't "sugar coat" stuff like but tell it like it is.
3) I have noticed that Pre-64s and other nice classic guns keep following you home. Is there a hope or maybe a prayer that you might pick up writing the Classics of the American Rifle Culture and do something that should be done?
4) Do you find yourself shooting birds more and big game less or the other way around?
5) What is your view of the new model of Outdoor Life as a online magazine? I just think it is stupid.
6) Joseph Van Bs twin brother?

Hmm....

I'll give it a try:

1) Dunno if I "wrote the book on optics," but did publish one of the first on hunting optics, which Safari Press asked me to do, titled Optics for the Hunter, published in 1999. By then I'd served as the optics columnist for Petersen's Hunting for almost a decade, and had gathered a bunch of info from various companies, including their engineers--as well as my own tests and other experience.

But that was also around the time many hunting optics had started really changing, due to laser rangefinders. Consequently I published a second book in 2014, Modern Hunting Optics, which included information on all those changes--including most of what you mention.

2) I may or may not do a Last Book. Right now am starting to cut down my writing to our quarterly on-line "magazine" Rifle Loony News.

3) All sorts of hunting guns still follow me home, from "classic" to modern. I like 'em all, and will probably continue to buy, shoot and write about a wide range--partly because I remain fascinated by the history of hunting firearms.

4) Yeah, I like to hunt birds more than big game these days--but always loved upland bird hunting. Which is why I've published a couple books about both bird hunting and shotguns. Am mostly a meat-hunter as far as big game goes anymore, partly because there are more than enough hides, heads and horns hanging on the walls (or lying on the floor) in our house and garage. (Many people have noted that "you can't eat horns," which is true--and why the place is full of 'em. In the meantime the freezers keep needing refilling, thanks in large part to Eileen continuing to experiment with recipes.)

5) The business has changed a lot since I started publishing articles and books in the 1970s. One of the things Eileen and I recognized 20+ years ago that the traditional magazine/book market had become only part of the deal, which is why we started to go directly to readers via the Internet, rather than depending on the old system. I only read some of the stuff on OL, and its fine for the modern "sound bite" articles. But will also note that I was asked to write for them a year or two ago, and as soon as I started asking about pay-rates never heard from them again--which was OK.

6) I don't like a LOT of what big-game hunting has apparently become in the 21st century.

John

Thank you for your response. It was a bit better than the crazy stuff on the campfire sub forum.

John is straight up a great guy. I enjoy all his info sharing.
Things change and we change, but sometimes need to take a moment to
reflect to realize how much we personally have changed slowly over time.

We are fortunate indeed to have JB in our midst.

+1

+1

Thanks for answering koboku68's questions, John.

Rifle Loony News continues to be excellent.

Your answers about bringing rifles home partly because of your interest in the history of hunting firearms and your thoughts about The Last Book that we're all hoping for, made me think of Chris Kyle's American Gun, A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms. Good book. I say you steal his idea, American Hunting, A History of Americans Pursuing Game in 10 Cartridges or Gun Rag, A History of the Sporting Industry in Ten Rifles or some such. Of course, if you stop writing tomorrow, we readers have nothing to complain about.

Hope your November's everything it should be!

Andy

JB, I too would love to see your writings on American Classic Firearms and Culture, even “Random Thoughts”, I’m in!

John, I sure hope you don't quit writing for Sports Afield. It's a class act magazine, with many class act writers, so you're in good company. Wayne vanZwoll's last page article in the latest issue is on par with your best. You both "get it" about hunting.

I am not going to quit writing for Sports Afield, but am going to slow down. Will turn 71 on the 1st of December, and due to some good investments Eileen and I have made over the years don't really have to work anymore. But have always enjoyed writing, so probably won't ever totally retire.

Started as a staff writer for SA a decade ago after the previous rifle columnist, my long-time friend Chub Eastman, passed away. My deal was to write both the column and a feature article for each issue, but am a little tired of doing both. Had a talk a couple weeks ago with Diana Rupp, the editor, and am going to continue the rifle column through 2024, which will give her time to search for the next columnist. (One of the problems with such jobs is that normally whoever writes them doesn't get hired until they're old enough to have considerable experience with lots of different rifles and hunting. But they also need to be young enough to write for a while!)

I will still write feature articles, but fewer, even after leaving as rifle columnist. Some will no doubt be on rifles, with others will be on hunting.

Will also mention that Diana is one of the best editors I've worked for over my decades in the business, partly because she's also a rifle loony, and an avid and experienced hunter. Just this fall, in fact, she got a great bighorn ram in Colorado, where she and her husband Scott live, after being lucky enough to draw a tag! (Scott is the editor of RifleShooter magazine, and I've also done a number of articles for him over the years, since he's also great to work for!)

Sounds like you two applied the same sound reasoning to your finances as you do to your shooting and reloading articles. Glad you plan to keep writing a bit!

Actually it was mostly Eileen. When we met 40 years ago I was starting to make a decent living as a writer, which impressed her.

She was less impressed at how quickly I spent that money! This was partly due to my first wife, who consistently spent more money than we earned--which resulted in me buying stuff I needed/wanted for my career, before she could spend it.

But was ready to change that, and did, thanks to Eileen. She's continued to make many of our major financial investments since then, always with good results.

He only calls out the best of the best: Elmer Keith. In my opinion, it's a cowardly dick-move to attempt to discredit a true legend, who's long since passed away, who can't defend himself. Kind of like dodging the Vietnam draft......

Gotta laugh, or cry !!! We must be on the same path !! My current wife handles money very well !!