Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters JB: Why did Gary Sitton disappear from Handloader in 1999?

Gary Sitton wrote several articles for Handloader in the 1990s. In the Oct 1999 issue (#201), Scovill introduced him as a new staff member and Sitton wrote the first installment of what was to be his new backpage column titled the "The Last Word".
After that issue, Gary Sitton never appeared in Handloader again.

JB, you were writing for Handloader back then, do you know why Gary left?

IIRC,Gary passed away a few years ago.It's a shame-he was one of my favorite writers.

WB

he was great. I had heard that substance abuse was involved but that is only heresay,

Then why say it? That's one of the ways heresay get's started.

Battue

Exactly.....

Regardless of his vices, Gary Sitton was an excellent writer, top-notch. NO offense meant to any of the other writers, JB I really enjoy your writing as well.
Gary quit writing for Peterson's Hunting about that same time. His back page article was the first thing I read every month.
He was my all time favorite writer.

Bill

Come on man, why do you think I said it, use your head. I was answering the question, and read it in Petersen's hunting.

Heresay and fact are two different things. My heads perfectly clear regarding the distinction.

Battue

I read the same thing in Peterson's Hunting and I don't ever recall it saying ANYTHING about substance abuse BEING the reason he quit writing. Yes, they said Gary had some demons he had to deal with, but Boddington also said Sitton could out write him all day long despite that.
He's sure as hell not the first famous writer who drank a little in excess.

Bill

I took that article and others as an explanation as to why there were periods of time when he was not writing. That's all I could get from it.

From David E Petzal of F&S ;

http://fieldandstream.blogs.com/gunnut/2006/04/so_long_to_the_.html


Mike

What the hell, it's only a man's reputation were talking about on a public forum.

Battue

I remember that last piece--it shook me up a little. I showed it to my wife and said, "this guy is either getting divorced or going into rehab, or both!" Like most of you, I loved his writing. However, when I finally met him, I found that I didn't like him very much--but that didn't stop me from reading everything that he wrote.

I thought the Petzal article was very complimentary. Everyone seems to have liked Gary Sitton, so no one is bad mouthing the man. Most people just miss his writing is all.

I shot next to him a few times at the now defunct Tucson Rod and Gun Club. He was a reserved quiet guy. I made small talk with him a few times. I enjoyed reading his articles.

Well lots of people some well known and some known but to God have, have had problem with the bottle or drugs. Some over come it and others never do. What ever Gary's problem or problem's was is only known to those that knew him or his Maker. This dose not take away the great writing talent that he had. We all have our short comings, lord knows I have a few, while I never had any problems with booze or drugs, I can understand how one can get trapped in that escape. Either way its a sad thing.

I enjoyed his writing and seem to recall that he died of cancer. But then, if I had cancer, substance abuse might ease the pain.

Gary Sitton was a personal friend of mine when he lived in Tucson. Like AZshooter, I first met him at the Tucson Rod and Gun Club, met him several timewhen he was at Jensens Custom Ammo. More than once did we have a couple of drinks together but I never knew Gary to do "drugs" Once you got past the "outer shell" Gary was a fun guy to be around. As posted he died from Cancer which I don't think you get from a little booze.
I guess without some definate proof, I hate to hear stories his death was from anything other than Cancer.

Gary Sitton was one of the best, ever. Sure wish someone would publish a collection of his works as I'd be the first one to line up to buy my copy!

6mm250, thanks for posting that link it was a great read! Truly enjoyed it!

I take Petzal's column as being a complemtary story about a friend. I makes me wish I had read his stuff and met him.

"Sick" was what I immediately thought. Sadly I was right. Always enjoyed his writing and hoped I would see him come back some day.

Maybe someone will take the time for an anthology of his work. I'd be in line for a copy.

All I know is he had time enough to have lunch with this boy when he 30 years old and gave me his address and phone number. I was only around him a few hours but he was very gracious and funny.

I too would read his back page articles first each month. I saved a lot of them and take them out and read them once in a while still. His writing was amazing, he could craft a sentence with the best writers I've ever read. JB produced the same type product in his book "The Life of the Hunt". I can count on one hand the outdoor writers who can write as well as JB and Gary Sitton...and I may still have three fingers left.

I hang on to many of my old G. Sitton stories, they are just so very good!

He is surely missed.

Does anyone have the Backpage story he wrote about a used Model 70 Winchester? I have tried to find my copy several times but must have lost it somewhere along the way. It was an ode to a used Model 70 and the man who owned it previously. If anyone has a copy I would love a scan or Xerox. Odessa

I seem to recall an article he did (on the back page) where he was paring down his collection of guns and moving to Texas. You could always count on good advice in his writings, like JB.

Paul

Too many writers need alcohol like machines need oil. I truly miss him and his work.

Odessa,

I went through my collection of his works and couldn't find the one you're asking about. I'll look around, I thought I had some more of his articles stashed away.

Jeff M.

Too many are defending him from what is not even an attack on his character. As pointed out, there are a number of writers who have their bottle troubles. Gary, a very talented writer, and who seemed to emulate Jack O'Connor (look at the way he dressed and his glasses for one thing) obviously had his troubles but that still doesn't answer the original question! I have no opinion of him as a man, but he was a fine scribe nonetheless.

Ditto.

I can't even BEGIN to guess the interest in WHY he left Handloader. It sure as hell ain't any of my business, nor do I care to know why a dead man left a job 9 years ago.

I talked to him once after he divorced and moved to Texas,invited him to come hunting but he never did. He seemed like a sad soul,but his writing was genius.

He is one of a handful of 20th century gun scribes who could really write as well as anyone has. The others are Robert Ruark,Jack O'Connor,John Hunter,and John Barsness.

Britt

Every time I see this topic come up the first thing I post, is that I'd buy a copy of his collected works in a heart beat if they were ever published.....

+1 the man had soul......

Gary Sitton was not a writer, he was a word artist. The stuff he wrote for Peterson's under pen name Jacob Bowers was some of his finest. His reloading and gun articles were second to none. Would love to have a book containing his works.

GreggH

At a Las Vegas gun show I admired but passed on a Springfield 7mm with a Sukalle barrel. A few weeks later I was in funds again, got hold of the seller, who told me he had sold the rifle to Gary Sitton. I had met GS at a bird hunting lodge a year or two before that so I wrote him and said that if he tired of the rifle to sell it to me. We went back and forth about it for another couple years but never made a deal, then he passed on and where the rifle is today I don't know.

All I guess can be said is Godspeed

A dead mans reputation.

Old writers who died old leave us short-handed and grieving.

Old writers who died young leave us short-handed and grieving.

New writers who don't come along leave us short-handed and grieving over the old ones whom we've lost. We should also grieve (I do) that so few good new ones are coming along.

I also grieve when good ones just quit writing.

And boy! am I grateful that we still have so many good ones!

Ken, you have to wonder why anyone would want to be a writer. I know I tried to get started when I was a teenager, but rejection notices sort of quenched the fire for me. I realize that what I wrote probably wasn't very good, but a little encouragement would have gone a long way.

Now, many times I refrain from making contributions to this forum because I don't want to subject myself to un-warranted (or even warranted) criticism by strangers. Why would I care? Who knows? Maybe it is the idea of casting pearls before swine. Or, maybe I really have nothing to say (sus Minervam docet). Anyway, I have to think: why bother? Why put up with the hassle?

As an artist soon realizes, everybody is a critic, and everybody has a better vision of what you are trying to accomplish than you do. A gunsmith has the same experience. A writer experiences it in spades!

(Banduwallah, you sound like you might be a gunsmith or an artist or something, besides having tried some writing. I hope you're a teacher of something, too. Nice to hear someone advocating encouragement for those starting out. I think too often folks just look for the prodigy and forget folks can LEARN. I suspicion most writers had an early mentor that gave 'em a boost and kept them penning. Wonder who Gary Sitton's was.... Ella)

Very perceptive. Yes, you are correct on most counts, except that I am not a teacher. That is one area in which I am not gifted.

Interesting thoughts here.

I have had 3 rejections in my career spanning nearly 25 years, 1 in Australia when a new editor thought he was an apprentice "GOD" and wanted everyone to bow down,(he didn't last long) and 2 here in the US, 1 from an editor who only supported the good old boys in his stable, rejecting new or unfamiliar writers, and a second justifiably, because I did not follow the brief provided, though I got a reprieve and mentoring, on how to get it right.

The editor you deal with has a huge influence on your potential success as a writer. I believe everyone has a good story to tell or a unique way of presenting their thoughts. Some may be more prolific than others, but that can change as experience opens your mind to topics you can cover.

I would suggest writing in a style that follows your way of conversing so it has natural flow to it. Then, leave it to gather a little dust.

Come back to it a read it as though you are reading to learn from it. Note your grammar, phrasing, detail and the areas you spend excessive time pondering, as well as the places you can offer a little more, to enhance the information.

If you are describing a hunt, think hard about the terrain and weather conditions and ensure that is included in the content.

Please, Please, Please do not commit the world wide criticism that most US writers get. You use a rifle, a load, a scope, and something happened after you pulled the trigger. WHAT?????

I cannot tell you the amount of criticism I have heard some well known writers receive "as they seem to go out of their way not to tell you what they used on the hunt". Infuriating.

I had an editor tell me once, "nobody gives a S--- how many flat tires you had or how long you got screwed around at the airport". "What did you hunt?" "What did you carry and what load?" "What happened after the shot?" The end.

I think you can elaborate a little more than that, but I too am infuriated as a reader when the author does not tell you about his rifle and load.

Most readers are looking for confirmation that they have already bought the perfect hunting rifle and you can cover that obligation or, inspire them to purchase something they really were interested in already, but gain that little extra inspiration they needed to take the financial step after reading your prose.

Write. Failure is for quitters, so send it elswhere but never send it to 2 or more editors at the same time as you run the risk of 2 acceptances and that is your end to a writing career.

As for Gary Sitton, he was one of the best of the last generation taking you to wonderfula nd beautiful places and he always shared his rifles and loads with his readers. If you want to be a gun writer, writing about guns is a good idea.

JW

That's the best capsule summary of gun magazines I've seen on this forum. It perfectly describes what I've been thinking the past few days reading every article by JB on the 7x57, and particularly the 7x57 Ruger No. 1. I'm going to buy the rifle, I just need a little moral support...

,

You cannot go wrong with a Ruger 7x57.

.

I had forgotten we lost G. Sitton in 2006....didn't we lose Capstick about the same time?

Like Ken said, there's a generation shift going on. In writing as in other fields. Hate to see it sometime....

Ella

I sometimes wonder if the Gun Mags should have a "page" (near the back) for "new" writers (beginners so to speak). I think would find it interesting at least if reasonably well written. Something other than the same old same old. Of course, that is probably why I am NOT an editor of any magazine.
Of course, if someone hadn't invented "spell check" I would be speechless...

"I sometimes wonder if the Gun Mags should have a "page" (near the back) for "new" writers (beginners so to speak). I think would find it interesting at least if reasonably well written. Something other than the same old same old."

Wouldn't that be refreshing! That's a darn fine idea.

(I'd venture there's a lot more to good writing than spelling. Some sensible substance would be high on my list.)

I used to get some of our best stuff from the one-time writers among our readers. Should be so now. Should be encouraged.

One of my greatest pleasures as Editor � and the source of much of my lasting pleasure, memories, and pride � was "discovering" and encouraging new writers (several of whom are world-renowned and well respected today).

Ken,

I have been reading Handloader and Rifle since the early '80's. And I have acquired most of the back issues. I always enjoyed reading some of the "unknowns". In fact, I planned to do the same when I retired. Been retired now for two years, but you talked me out of going into the writing game. I do wish new writers were encouraged as in the days when you were at the helm.

Every time my subscriptions are up for renewal, I agonize over whether to renew or not. So far I have, but increasingly I just leaf thru it and toss it on the pile. I can't believe I've learned all there is about shooting and reloading, but there is just not much there to hold my interest any more. I could count on one hand all the complete articles that I have read straight thru. Usually I think I'll come back to it later, but I rarely do...

Grasshopper

Now that JB is back, TTT.

You've got to be kidding...

I too liked Sitton's writing. Nothin' much to do with this discussion, but every now and then Sitton "pops up" on some of the older History Channel programs about firearms, when they repeat. Always a joy to see and hear him again.

Been lucky enough to have met a few true wizards in my 60+ plus years. Very few of them came with indiscernible demons.

I am glad to see this thread of my friend hasn't died yet. I sure wish there was a way of compiling his works and publishing them too. I would spend my own (limited) money, just to see it done and available..Thats the problem with Copyrights LOL..

I am cuting back on magazine subscriptions; I just don't seem to have time to read them all. BUT, Handloader and Rifle are always renewed - great publications!

Wow time flies looks like I posted this 15 years ago.... Gary was a gifted writer. Still hoping for a collected works publication.

I spent a lot of my years editing outdoor and gun magazines. I saw the works of many writers. Most were ok. Some were surprisingly bad and clear evidence that editors had been correcting and rewriting their work for years. A very few, like Sitton, were truly gifted.

Not Gary, but I remember one guy who kept sending me manuscripts that I rejected. This was in the brief time I was editor of Handloader and Rifle (that's a story for another day). He grew frustrated at the rejections and explained that he owned and had read more than 100 books on guns, ballistics, and shooting.

"That's great," I said. "But how many books do you own on writing? I'm not publishing your knowledge. I'm buying your writing."

I suggested a half-dozen books on writing. To his credit, he bought and read them, incorporated what he learned into his writing, and I started using his work.

All the way back to when he was at the NSSF, Gary stood out as a wonderful writer. One thing I enjoyed was that he didn't try to make it complicated. No Hemingway-type never-ending sentences. It's still hard to beat the simple, declarative sentence.

I was thinking the same things just recently while re-reading the back pages of Peterson's Hunting I have stashed away. The year 1997 was one of his best years in the role of the final word of the magazine. As an English major I truly appreciate his writing and as I get older his viewpoint is one I seem to favour more and more.

Sorry I never met him person, or chanced upon him by a campfire, black coffee in hand.

Now that my old friend Tom Gresham has posted on this thread, I'll mention the reasons why a book collection of Gary's columns probably won't appear. First, he isn't around to put one together, and hasn't been for a while--long enough that many of today's younger hunters never heard of him--and are often more tuned in to hunting videos than reading.

Second, for some of the same reasons hunting stories, no matter how well-written, haven't sold as well in either magazines or books. I was discussing this with another old friend, Craig Boddington, a year or two ago, and we've both seen far more emphasis (and hence publishing success) on the technical side of hunting--especially rifles, cartridges and handloading.

Sadly, on both counts, our loss.

What is the "story for another day" regarding being editor of HANDLOADER and RIFLE? Sounds like an interesting job.

"Never let your lips say what you did not see with your own eyes."

In many instances, hearsay and rumor could be greatly lessened by the providing of facts.

Sitton was a brilliant writer. He would write an entire story about emptying the pockets of his hunting jacket at the end of the season and it was captivating reading. He also wrote columns under the name Jacob Bowers. He is missed.

Great to have you stop by Tom.

Interesting take on the current state of shooting sports writing.

When we were growing up, JOC's work was more hunting oriented than technically oriented, while, IIRC, Warren Paige's work was significantly more technically oriented than hunting oriented. JOC was the primary shooting sports writer at Outdoor Life and WP was the primary shooting sports writer at Field & Stream. I liked JOC, while my Father, being more technically oriented, preferred WP. Neither of us were fans of John Jobson at Sports Afield, but I can't remember exactly why, maybe just because 2 magazine subscriptions was felt to be enough.

In his most recent podcast, Ron Spomer answered a question about how to break in to the outdoor writing field. It's interesting to listen to and read different perspectives on the same.

Gary Sitton was certainly one of the very best shooting and hunting writers. I would say that most people who write about guns and hunting are only passable as writers. They may know a lot about the subject, but few have high level writing skills. Gary Sitton was one of the few who could really write. I would include Mule Deer on that relatively short list.

Clay Harvey could really write. I realize he had other issues but he was a master of the written word

Oh was he now?

I've been a member of DU for as long as I can remember, even though I haven't hunted ducks in years, and I discovered Gordon MacQuarrie when I was in high school. I've lost count of the number of times I've read the Willow Creek Press collection of his writings. For my nickel he was one of the best "hunting story" scribes who ever pecked on a typewriter. As JB said, the technical articles may be more popular now, but I find the stories to be equally enjoyable. It's one of the reasons Sports Afield is at the top of my list as far as print hunting/shooting periodicals is concerned: it has a decent balance of both.

I do miss reading Tom McIntyre's back page though...but we've been through that on a different thread.

Just my $02.

N.B. The most recent issue of Ducks Unlimited arrived in the mail today, and lo and behold there's an article about MacQuarrie. That one will be a keeper.

I think Petersen's Hunting had a pretty good line up mid 80's early 90's. Sitton, Milek, Boddington, and Wooters, pretty easy to go cover to cover. I have 5-6 of JB's books, but my all time favorite is Jim Carmichael. One writer that I don't hear much about is Hugh Birnbaum. Hugh wrote for the American Rifleman for a while and shortly before he passed, he was the optics editor for Shooting Times. Hugh had a pretty dry sence of humor that cracked me up.

John Jobson was NOT the shooting/hunting columnist at Sports Afield. Instead he was the camping columnist, back when each of the so-called Big Three outdoor magazines--Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield--all had camping columns, along with fishing, boating, etc. This was before the so-called "vertical" magazines started appearing which specialized in certain subjects. Handloader and Rifle were a couple of examples, but for a while there was also a magazine totally devoted to crappie fishing, believe it or not.

I liked John Jobson's firearms and hunting stuff a lot--and never could understand why he wasn't the "shooting" columnist at SA. The guy who was in those years, Pete Brown, had a lot of technical knowledge--much of it acquired during his military career--but his writing was flat and boring. I suspect Jobson might not have wanted to be the shooting columnist, because a lot of what SA ran back then, via Brown, was results of major competitive shotgun events. (Plus, I don't recall anything by Jobson about shotgunning or bird-hunting.) Which was part of the reason SA was a rather distant 3rd place in circulation behind F&S and OL.

A "master of the written word?" We're going to have to completely disagree on that.

I thought Clay Harvey's writing sucked. He was one of those who used too many words, and too many big words (something called "over-writing" by many), which got in the way of the story-line, whether it was technical or a hunting tale.

But that's a matter of taste--though it also tended to obscure how little actual experience he actually had. I had a copy of his book Popular Sporting Rifle Cartridges for a while, but after reading it a couple times realized he'd never hunted with about half of the rounds he wrote chapters on--and maybe never even fired a rifle chambered in some of 'em.

That's aside from him selling a bunch of guns loaned to him by various manufacturers, and some of his "adventures" in the hunting fields. On one of my safaris I was guided by a PH who'd guided Harvey, and when he found out I was a gun and hunting writer his eyes narrowed. The stuff he told me about Harvey is too long to list here, but let's just say Mr. Clay was roundly despised not only by my PH but the rest of the safari camp staff who'd been on that hunt.

As a more general comment, it would be very difficult to find a publisher willing to put together a collection of Gary Sitton's writing. Aside from the reasons already mentioned, publishing actual books is pretty expensive, even paperbacks, which both Tom Gresham and I know about personally--and it's based on how many they might sell.

I know a few people on this thread say they'd buy one, but it takes more than a handful to make a book profitable, especially a book actually printed rather than a cyberspace edition. But even a e-book would require somebody to put it together, which requires finding the printed articles and stories, then turning them into a suitable computer form--which would take considerable work and even expense, whether for scanning the words or actually having somebody type them into a computer. Even then breaking even might be doubtful. A PDF version of the actual original articles might be easiest, but also tends to be easily "pirated."

If somebody wants to take all that on, there are ways to do it. But Eileen and I have been teaching a monthly adult-education class for around 15 years to people who want to get paid for their writing, and these days a lot of the class is about self-publishing, whether on an Internet website or as a printed book. It can definitely work, and we can provide advice to somebody who might want to put together a collection of Gary's stuff. But it would be a real long-shot, given the realities of today's market.

I think of Faulkner as the king of run on sentences and Hemingway as using very short descriptive sentence structure?

Anyway thanks for posting. It's been a long time since I read either author. Faulkner's The Bear is probably the work of outdoor literature I was most impressed with ever.

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/The-Bear-by-William-Faulkner-F3JAVJ23TJ

William Faulkner’s novella “The Bear” from his collection of works, Go Down Moses, is a symbolic exploration of the relationship between man and nature in the eyes of a young boy. The heart of the issue, the warped idea of the ownership of land, is revealed thought the clash of man and nature in a wild chase that ends only in blood and death. The prey is nature itself, represented by a bear, while the hunters are men, full of greed and destructive possessiveness, pursuing that which they do not understand. Ike’s idea of the bear, presented in section 1 of the novella, expresses the idea of symbolism in relation to the bear and to the hunters and what the battle between the two represents. The bear itself, Old Ben, is a symbol for…show more content…
Upon his first encounter with the woods, Ike is lost in wonder, it has been his dream for as long as he could remember to join the men on the hunt and explore the beauty of the big woods. What sets Ike apart from the other men, however, is his wonder of the wilderness, not just of its size, but of what mysteries it contains. When he arrives he feels the need “to earn for himself from the wilderness the name and state of hunter provided he in his term were humble and enduring enough.” (192) Ike doesn’t desire the approval of any of the other hunter, his cousin, or even his wise mentor Sam Fathers. Instead he knows that the right to claim the name of hunter lies in earning the approval “from the wilderness” and to do so he must be “humble and enduring.” (192) Those words do not seem to fit with the violent acts of the other hunters; to them the ability to shoot and kill is all that really matters, hence the disrespect for Boon and the position of Walter Ewell as a senior hunter. By using gentle words Faulkner states that there is more to “hunting” than killing, what Ike desires and seeks to prove himself worthy of is belonging to nature, to feel its beauty and strength running through him. Without this sense of approval and belonging from the woods, Ike feels he is unworthy to take the life of an animal and to use what he has gained from death to

I don't remember Pete Brown at all, just Jobson, but we didn't have a subscription to SA so the only time that I saw a copy of SA was at the barber shop every 6 weeks.

I do remember that my Father was also a fan of a guy name Pete Kuhlhoff who wrote for Argosy. Kuhlhoff was a serious 'chuck hunter and they had mutual friends in that northeastern hunting circle, so maybe that is why he liked him.

I have a number of Hunting Horizons magazines. Excellent magazines that featured a fair bit of Sitton's work.

Perhaps of no interest to anyone other than me, but I think Dad and I may have been the only father-son duo to write monthly columns for a national outdoor magazine. Could be wrong.

He was Shooting Editor of Sports Afield for 27 years. I was Arms and Ammo editor for a half dozen of those years. We worked out of the same office and I did much of the photography for his columns. It was a fun time.

I enjoyed the writings of you and your father!

I spent way too much on a copy of "The Best of John Jobson." It was worth every penny.

I agree. One of the best books in my library.

I would love to read a collection of Gary Sitton's articles.

At one point in time I had decades worth of Petersen's Hunting magazines which included all of Sitton's columns under his name and his "pen name" Jacob Bowers. Sadly, I threw them all out to make room for other things. Sure wish I didn't.

I went the other direction and bought all the Back Pages from someone who wanted to get rid of his stash of PH magazines. Then I traded for the missing pages with another Sitton fan.

The pages make for an interesting study in the arc of the great writer.

Well I'm not saying he's in Big Sticks league but he was pretty well spoken

Thinking about Ken's comment on "one time" writers ...

When I was editor of Alaska Magazine I told the staff that we really wanted submissions from those living in 'The Bush,' because those were authentic. It required more work on the editing side, but if we could get a manuscript written in crayon on cut up paper grocery bags, that was perfect!

One time I published the article PLUS the cover letter which came with it.

This was about 1985. Pretty much pre-internet. The story was from a man who worked on a tugboat in Valdez. The cover letter told as much about living on the tugs which moved the tankers as the story did.

He explained: "We couldn't find a dictionary on any of the boats, so we all got together and voted on the hard words."

You just gotta love that.

I do remember once asking Dave Scovill , when he was still editing Wolfe Publishing, about Gary and his comment was something to the effect that he personally had finally got rid of him !

Although one of Dave’s favorite evening pastimes seemed to be bragging about all the writers he had fired !

Me too. I had lots of magazines that had columns I miss. I gave them all to my local gun club when I retired and moved from Kalifornia to the USA.

Doesn't sound like Scovill was a very nice guy

Dave's writing always gave the impression that he was pretty impressed with Dave.

Phil, thanks for telling it like it is !!!

I was a big fan of Jobson's monthly camping articles back in the late 1960's-early 70's when I was a kid, especially an article about the Whelen lean-to tent.
I couldn't afford one, but did improvise one by rigging up a tarp and building a fire in front of it to warm it during my fall/ winter camping "adventures".
That was real camping to me back then.

Interesting story! Although Gary Sitton might have been a great writer, perhaps he was not easy to work with for an editor.

Or perhaps Dave wasn't so easy to work with either.

For those of us on the outside of the business, we can only guess.

I did a little Googling and found this collection of comments about Gary from various people who knew him:

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Gary+Sitton%3A+1944-2005.-a0141170872

I found the comment on his being a magazine editor interesting, because he was the editor of Petersen's Hunting when I sold my first article to the magazine in 1977.

Like EdM, I have some copies of the relatively short-lived Wolfe publication Hunting Horizons, because it appeared shortly after I started writing for Wolfe in the early 1990s. (My article about canoe-hunting the Missouri Breaks for mule deer appeared in the first issue.) According to the masthead listings, Gary served as the "managing" editor for at least one edition--which in the business is generally the role of whoever actually deals with the day-to-day assigning of specific articles, along with deadlines. The head editor is usually the person in charge of the overall "flavor" of the magazine.

Don't know why the link posted doesn't work just by clicking on it--but it does if you copy and paste it.

Thanks for supplying those comments John. Although I never met Gary Sitton, the comments don't surprise me based on reading a bunch of his articles. Sounds like he was a bit of a character, which is not uncommon for gifted people.

I did basically the same thing--especially after synthetic 2-sided tarps with a "silver" reflecting side appeared. It was pretty comfortable!

Plus, the tarps are very light, which is why I always have one even in hunting daypack, just in case I have to spend a night in the local mountains....

I recall your piece on lightweight rifles (Gentry 280 IIRC) that kind of sent me down that road.