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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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The major was a writer for Outdoor Life, O'Connor took over that position. The Col. never forgave O'Connor. I liked the Col. the world be be a lot better place today if we were able to follow his example.
Molon Labe
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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It may not have been the Major, but I seem to remember that he was on a troop ship when it was strafed and being on the receiving end of those 8mm bullets, he was impressed with their vicious impacts. That was Al Miller. He recounted the story in Nosler #3 in his intro to the load data for the 8x57. Col Askins did write the intro to the 8 rem mag on the next page, though. How on Earth could the Colonel believe that the 8mm Magnum had any merit when God Himself had dismissed its introduction with "What good is it?"?
Last edited by 5sdad; 02/20/24.
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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5, probably for that reason!!!!
Molon Labe
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I was at the 1970 NRA Convention in New Orleans, saw Elmer, JOC and the Col.
I was at the entrance of the Hilton, which was the NRA Headquarters, saw the Col leaving the hotel, walking towards the French Quarter, alone at night. My thought, don't think I'd want to do that. Had I been closer, I'd have warned him, but he was too far ahead and I wasn't gonna run after him.
After learning more about him, reading "Unrepentant Sinner", I think he was OK. If the ghetto thugs wanted to get him, I think he'd have had them windrowed, lined up for the NOPD to sort out and toe tag. Don't ya know he was packing.
The area between the Quarter and the Hilton was dark, wasn't a good place to be walking at night, especially alone, unless you were Col. Askins. In that case, it would be more than OK.
DF
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Campfire Outfitter
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I read a lot of the colonel’s writings. It was a competitive field back then and Colonel Askins and Keith were both pretty much bitter sounding at times. I’d surely love to have that superposed O/U. Sadly Gary Chatham has dementia now but he was the head of the Browning Collectors Association for years and very knowledgeable.
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Campfire Regular
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OP
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If you check the SGW link, you’ll see photos of the Major as a very old man, apparently still with all his fingers.
So pictorial evidence is against the allegations in that article.
DF I noticed that, too, when I read "My Old Man Was A Pistol" a few days ago.
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Campfire Regular
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OP
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Details are a bit fuzzy now, but I think Major Askins was the gun editor for Field and Stream for more than twenty years. He was succeeded by Jack O'Connor. There's a very good article written by Colonel Askins in an old GUN DIGEST about the Major and Son titled something like "My Pappy Was a Pistol". Though Dubiel was mentioned in that article, no gun blow ups or accidents were, oddly enough.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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A good man? An awful lot of print about a cold blooded killer, in the words of Ayoob and others. When one answers the question, "How many have you killed?" And he answers something like, "Twenty seven, not counting niqqers and Mexicans.". A good man? Um.. different time and place possibly? I don't know. But people spoke differently then. speak differently now too.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I read a lot of the colonel’s writings. It was a competitive field back then and Colonel Askins and Keith were both pretty much bitter sounding at times. I’d surely love to have that superposed O/U. Sadly Gary Chatham has dementia now but he was the head of the Browning Collectors Association for years and very knowledgeable. The guy who ended up custodian of that historical gun is a firearms collector and historian. He's a great writer and did an article for the Double Gun Journal. But, the DGJ closed shop. I did get the Major's Ithaca double from Bill Askins to Walt Snyder who did a great article in the DGJ on that one. Bill offered me the gun, but I wanted it in the hands of someone who could do it justice, thus Walt. Walt has written books on Ithaca's, has the New York Ithaca factory records. So, it was the right thing to do, getting that gun in his hands. I'll get that DGJ issue and post, just don't have it at my finger tips. DF
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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A good man? An awful lot of print about a cold blooded killer, in the words of Ayoob and others. When one answers the question, "How many have you killed?" And he answers something like, "Twenty seven, not counting niqqers and Mexicans.". A good man? Um.. different time and place possibly? I don't know. But people spoke differently then. speak differently now too. He had been a Border Patrol officer. I suspect his take on the job isn't the same as what passes for such these days.
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" I came home one time and the Old Man had put together a loading that was a mite too hot. The rifle had blown up. He was in a state of shock, had bits of metal in his face and hands and it was plain that he'd lost considerable blood. . . . . In an attempt to get some improved velocities he had simply poured in too much DuPont #17 1/2 and the gun had parted at the seams. . . "
" It wasn't the first time he'd had a shooting iron come to pieces. A year or two before he'd been reloading for an old 10 gauge lever action pump gun and the breechbolt did a double flip, the receiver bulged and cracked, the stock split and my Old Man suffered a concussion and took the usual profusion of brass and steel in his whiskers. "
Colonel Charles Askins Jr. Writing about Major Askins Sr. from Unrepentant Sinner From "My Old Man" by Col. Charles Askins: He called me late one night while I, was away at school. He could not hear very well; deafness grew on him with the years, and ordinarily he could not be persuaded to talk over the phone. I knew this call must be important.
"I'm not feeling so good," he said. "I think you had better come home." I drove like a demon the rest of the night; got there at four in the morning. He had blown up a .276 wildcat which he and John Dubiel had made up. His face was full of brass and steel, and one hand was mangled. He was in a' state of shock by that time, and he had lost a lot of blood. My Old Man ,and Dubiel had tamped in a couple of hat- fulls too much propellant and the .275 H&H case in the old Mauser action had let go.
It wasn't the first time he'd had a shooting iron come to pieces. A year or two before, he'd been reloading for an old 10 gauge lever-action repeater and the breechlock had flipped ends. The receiver ~ bulged and cracked, the stock split, and my Old Man suffered a concussion and took the usual profusion of brass and steel through his whiskers.https://gunsmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/G0461.pdf
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The major was a writer for Outdoor Life, O'Connor took over that position. The Col. never forgave O'Connor. I liked the Col. the world be be a lot better place today if we were able to follow his example. Thank you for the correction on the magazine. I guess I should look up the article and re-read.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Here's a picture of the Major, looks like in his old age, sitting on the running board of his Studebaker. He appears to have all his fingers. BTW, the Superposed he's holding is the one I ended up with. DF
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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A good man? An awful lot of print about a cold blooded killer, in the words of Ayoob and others. When one answers the question, "How many have you killed?" And he answers something like, "Twenty seven, not counting niqqers and Mexicans.". A good man? Um.. different time and place possibly? I don't know. But people spoke differently then. speak differently now too. He had been a Border Patrol officer. I suspect his take on the job isn't the same as what passes for such these days. No way. The Col wasn't too P.C. In fact he'd have been canned for any number of the events he records. Even if only a percentage were true, would be way more than enough to can him in todays Border Patrol, maybe even put him in jail. DF
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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The Major never had that kind of accident. He was a rough ol cobb, but very astute. He was a good hunter. He was a good soldier and good man. He was abrupt and did not suffer fools very well, ha. I never understood his affinity for the 8mm, but he loved them! He had no use for the 30-06 as I remember. He used the new 7mm Rem Mag on a Polar bear with the 175 Clkt factory load. ( it may have been some of that first batch, they were hot) anyhow, he said he didn't understand why Remington both the 150 and the 175, that "everyone knew the 7mm caliber balances with the 160". His words. Correction: I was speaking of the "Col", Askins Jr. I don't know anything about the Major, his Dad. Sorry about that.
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. Askins passed away in 1999, leaving a legacy few will ever match. Skeeter Skelton, a close friend of Askins, once said, “If Charley Askins had been born 100 years earlier, he would have been a mountain man, an Indian scout, a buffalo hunter, or a horse soldier. As it is, close to the end of the 20th century, he has lived the kind of life boys think they’re going to live and that most old men wish they had.”
B L M - Bureau of Land Management
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Campfire Outfitter
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Well since the Colonel is figuring so prominently in this thread I will say the two most interesting books ever penned by gunwriters are "The Unrepentant Sinner" and "Hell, I Was There" by Askins Jr and Keith. They lived amazing lives
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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. Askins passed away in 1999, leaving a legacy few will ever match. Skeeter Skelton, a close friend of Askins, once said, “If Charley Askins had been born 100 years earlier, he would have been a mountain man, an Indian scout, a buffalo hunter, or a horse soldier. As it is, close to the end of the 20th century, he has lived the kind of life boys think they’re going to live and that most old men wish they had.” Skeeter was right, of course. Back in the day of which he speaks, ole Charley would have been a hero. In our woke present, a pariah. That was back when men were men, not some amorphous pronoun. Charley lived at the twilight of that era, glad he doesn't have to witness what we have today. DF
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Well since the Colonel is figuring so prominently in this thread I will say the two most interesting books ever penned by gunwriters are "The Unrepentant Sinner" and "Hell, I Was There" by Askins Jr and Keith. They lived amazing lives Neither one of them let the truth get in the way of a good story. . Askins passed away in 1999, leaving a legacy few will ever match. Skeeter Skelton, a close friend of Askins, once said, “If Charley Askins had been born 100 years earlier, he would have been a mountain man, an Indian scout, a buffalo hunter, or a horse soldier. As it is, close to the end of the 20th century, he has lived the kind of life boys think they’re going to live and that most old men wish they had.” Skeeter was right, of course. Back in the day of which he speaks, ole Charley would have been a hero. In our woke present, a pariah. That was back when men were men, not some amorphous pronoun. Charley lived at the twilight of that era, glad he doesn't have to witness what we have today. DF The dude was a murderer. The fewer of his types we have in the world, the better.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Askins Jr was a tuff man doing a tuff job.
I got banned on another web site for a debate that happened on this site. That's a first
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