Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ross Seyfried

Shoemakers critical (yet not derogatory) eye serves him well at Gun Tests.

Seyfreid in Fall Blackpowder Hunting. Light but OK.

I enjoyed the first and hope to enjoy the second just as much (although I'm not a black powder person myself).

... or like a Montana rancher, which he is?

This remark reminds me of when I got stuck Back East, working for Westinghouse Ordnance, and local Baltimorons at the office gave me a hard time for wearing black Wellingtons and a black string tie with the local uniform of white dress shirt and black suit. Total strangers lit into me angrily.

Man, I am bummed...

There are 2 main reasons I've been subscribing to all 3 Wolfe publications the last few years, and they are Seyfried and Barsnes...

Ross wrote about stuff that almost nobody else did. I'm not particularly interested in ever owning some obscure black powder wingnut gun, but the articles were interesting, to say the least...

He wrote about all sorts of impratical stuff, including a "super small bore" article last year, the complete opposite of a blackpowder boom cannon..

it's an interesting read. I already KNOW that a 30-06 with good bullets can kill everything in NA, so why shouldn't we read abotu the weird stuff?

I like that he didn't really specialize in any particular thing. I'd open up Handloader and he could be talking abotu old rifles, shotguns, revolvers or pistols..

That Ross was opinionated made him all the better to me..I guess that a writer that use abit of humour (Like our friend Mule Deer) to call BS are easier for the general public to take than a more in your face approach, which is closer to Ross's style...

but I guess I'm a bit ornery, myself.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I'll miss him on the Wolfe roster.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

On Brian Pearce...

The first articles I read by him ( I think in G&A or Hunting) I remmeber saying "Who is this dumb mook that thinks he'sa tall Elmer Keith???

Nowadays, I really enjoy his writing, and I hope that he doesn't get pigeonholed as strictly a bigbore handgun guy. I think he's got alot more to offer..

I think that he reminds me a bit of when I first started reading JB's work..

They both remind me of cowboys who started fiddling wiht guns and came to the realization that they actually knew alot about guns and hunting, and hey- maybe I'm good at this [bleep]!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

No offense intended, MD, I mean it as a compliment <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Hey, Gatehouse, thanks!

Actually, I was a professional writer for a long time before I ever got into guns. But I always was a gun nut, in particular a rifle loony. Did a few articles about them, starting in the late 70's, but it wasn't until about 10 years ago that more editors for various magazines started asking me for gun stuff. It just kind of happened. Now it's about 2/3 of what I write about....

MD

Venturino may indeed be a montana rancher I'll take your word for it. And believe me Ken I'm not putting down western attire I wear it myself and happen to live on a large cattle ranch. And I probably unfairly pigeon holed the guy, but the image I have of him in my mind is wearing a buckskin outfit that no ranchers from Montana or anywhere else for that matter wear, at least that I've seen.



What I was trying to say was that guys complain about Ross' writing about stuff they never use, well I never use guns that Mike usually writes about. Bottom line is Seyfried, liked or not, wrote dang good, interesting articles, even if I don't have access to the same guns he does. I've just never seen that from Mike.

There's very few gunwriters that I dislike, all of em have contributed something towards the sport. Mule Deer is definitely my favorite and his book on optics is unsurpassed. Some gunwriters may write controversial articles once in awhile but that helps stimulate thoughts and ideas whether one agrees with it or not. As for Ross, I've learned alot from his writings over the years and he wrote how he felt no doubt. Bob Hagel is another favorite of mine, never tire of his books.

MtnHtr

Yeah, I knew that about your writing career...

I still have my "impressions" though.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

And you always struck me as a guy that woke up one day and said "Hey!! I know more about this stuff than those guys do!! I should write a book!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I know it's not that easy, like "Hey Farmer John is in trouble, let's put on a show!!!" BS.. But you know...We all have our opinions, rigth or wrong <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Anyways, I still like your writing, no matter how you got there. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I am very sorry to hear that Ross Seyfried will no longer write for the Wolfe magazines as my major reason for buying a three yr. subscription some time ago was his presence. He is not as skilled or polished a writer as JB or Phil Shoemaker and doesn't have the same level of real North American wilderness experience as Phil does, but, he is a unique, knowledgable and gifted man and I always read his writing first in any journal he is published in.



Ross has an real appreciation of animals, nature and what hunting is all about; he also is both respectful and laudatory toward the giants of our sport such as Elmer Keith, Ken Waters, Morris Talifson and Jim Corbett. He has absolutely exquisite taste in guns and even when he is wrong, he is well worth re-reading and he ain't wrong too often.



I have great respect for Phil Shoemaker whose prose is as supple and sure as his bushcraft is real and John Barsness will, a generation from now, be the J'OC of his time and this is not an idle compliment, but, I think that they are making a grave mistake letting Ross go.



Brian Pearce has always struck me as a nice guy whose taste in rifles is much like my own, but, he has always seemed to be an imitation of Seyfried. I think that he well deserves the popularity that JB mentions, but, his material does not have the authenticity that Ross's did--maybe it's an age thing as Ross and I are about the same age.



I know serious and capable shooters here who have met Ross and told me that he can be very opinionated and seems a bit arrogant---well, almost every good bushman I have ever met was like that and the "reclusivness" alluded to also gives one an idea of the idealism-perfectionism and underlying shyness that this behaviour frequently masks; this is very common among bush people.



So, I am going to reconsider my subscription when it comes to re-newal time as Ross was important to me as an enjoyable "companion", just as Bob Hagel and Elmer were for many years.

kutenay,
Superbly said once again...

Mule Deer,
Superb Article on the .416 Rigby. Really enjoyed that to no end...

If I renew my subscription to Rifle and Handloader it will be due solely to your work and that of Phil Shoemaker. I do, however, deeply regret that Mr. Seyfried will no longer be on staff...

Regards, Matt.

Ditto Matt on both Kutenay's points and MD's .416 article. The Rigby is my most favorite caliber I don't own, but I'm cogitating on it.

Kutenay and Matt--

Thanks to both of you for the kind words. I would also like to point out to anybody here who has expressed regret on Ross's departure that everybody at Wolfe regretted it as well.

But I must also point out that the powers at Wolfe thought it was the correct decision, and I believe they were right.

As noted before in this thread, I can't provide any real details of what happened, but will note that any magazine would be crazy to let one of their best writers go without good reason. You'll just have to take my word that there was good reason--and not just one.

MD

Ross wrote on some interesting topics. I noted he was not above disagreeing with another staff writer about a choice of bullet. Similarily, he pooh poohed the use of a shooting aid as being a nuisance to carry. That aid seems to be a pet of the editor however. Conclusion: not a team player. Perhaps that's not what the real problem was but he was quite opinionated.

Mule Deer I enjoyed your latest Handloads That work article as it confirmed many of the powder/charge choices I have made in several cartridges. My 257 AI Rbts. just loves the 4350's and 115 Partition combination. Ken Waters frequently nailed the best powder choices down for a given cartridge and although his work has become a bit dated I still approach a lot of load development by seeing what Ken had to say.

We get pretty good info from the Rifles group although I must admit to being Doug Turnbulled and Fred Zeglined to death (not a criticism of their workmanship) and recently note some new product reviews that read like they were written by the factory rather than an independent reviewer.

I look forward to each new edition.

About 6 months after some of you do not renew your subscription, you will find out that in the interim-before you subscribe again <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> been there myself- that there were issues that contained articles you sorely wish you had.

Slasher brings up an excellent point. In my stack of Rifle and Handloader back issues there is a plethoria of writers who are either no longer around or just no longer at Wolfe Publishing. I do miss some, but if I had decided to terminate my subscription, because they left for one reason or another, I would have missed a lot of articles that were well worth reading.

I get two other magazines at present, both of them free I might add because of Life memberships in an organization, and neither is in the class of Rifle or Handloader and still wouldn't be even if Ross or some other very well known writer started to write for them. In fact, if adding Ross was the only change in either of them I doubt I would pay to have them brought to my door. But, I will have to say that the magazines from Wolfe Publishing have pretty nearly always been worth my time and money to be brought to my door and read.

One writer does not make an entire magazine now, and I doubt it ever really did. I don't think even Jack OcConnor could have carried Outdoor life by himself, at least not well enough for me to want to buy the magazine then. Yes, Ross is evidently gone from Wolfe Publishing. But so is Ken Waters pretty much. Also Bob Hagel's name no longer graces the pages of these magazines. These are just a couple more of the really great ones I remember, but there have been replacements that keep me buying Rifle and Handloader on a consistant basis. I really can't think of another magazine I can say the same about over the years.

I'll keep subscribing. Too much interesting stuff in those mags...

Besides, one of my favorite things to do in the summer is sit on the patio with a cold beer and read my new "Rifle" or "Handloader" magazine. Even if I'll never own 90% of the guns/carridges discussed.

PS In the winter, I do the same thing, except it is in front of the fire, with a whiskey! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I too will keep subscribing though I will miss Mr.Seyfried's articles. I will never be able to afford most of the arms that he writes about, but it does give me something to dream about during the the tedium of day to day life. I have enjoyed his articles for along time,and i hope to find out who he will be writing for in the future. I always liked the way he countered so much conventional rifle wisdom.Without his example I would still be using pure lead balls and overly tight loads in my muzzleloader, and would have no idea how effective and easy these rifles can be.

Well, with all of the laudatory comments about Seyfried and sadness at his departure, one would think he'd passed on to the happy hunting ground, rather than to (probably) another magazine.

I didn't care for his writing, but my impressions had nothing to do with his opinions, whether or not they were based in fact, but with his lack of clarity as a writer. I searched in vain for a reason in the article in which he deplored boat-tail bullets for game. Okay - they don't work - but why, or why did he think so? In this forum we discussed at length his dislike of the 458, but I couldn't find in his article any reasons for this dislike. After a couple of those issues, I just stopped reading his work - he wasn't teaching me anything, and I got tired of searching the article for something I might have missed, but did not.

Jaywalker