Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Jack O'Connor wrote about the 7x57

Not amazing at all, they were simply using the best available at the time.

Of course. Those old scopes were pretty good, beat the heck out of irons, even a good peep sight.

But, compared to today’s glass, even Chinese glass, those old scopes don’t fare so well.

We’re spoiled.

DF

The old scopes left a lot to be desired.

Anyone remember what brand of camo the O’Connors plugged?

I always here about Jack O'Connor since I got my first computer back in 2002.

I even met him at the NRA convention when I was a a teenager, (for about 5 minutes) but I have never read much of what he wrote. I do remember a few articles in (I think it was ) Outdoor Life. All the reloading manuals credit him with bringing the 270 Winchester out before the public to the largest degree that any writer did, and I know that he was able to hunt in many places in the world and that he had a passion for sheep hunting.

That's about all I know about him.

Did he ever publish a book? Or books?

What I read posted about him seems Hot vs. Cold. Many people liked his writings, and many hated them. What made him so polarized?

I am a pretty old man, and I have been a "gun-guy" all my life, and yet I know next to nothing about Jack O'Connor, and I feel a bit "outside, looking in" when I read posts about his articles. Having not read much of his writing myself, I can't have a valid opinion.

What do you guys think?

When did lack of information ever affect opinions here on the Fire...?



DF

well.......................that's a good point and hard to argue with.

Not much of what he wrote is really all that controversial (medium cartridges put in the right spot, etc), but I think its due to the fact that from what I've heard he could be distant so people projected onto him the characteristics they wanted him to have. Most of the critics have some variation of him being born with a silver spoon, being well off financially, hunting with custom rifles, and needing a guide. From what I've read his life wasn't always all that easy, he just didn't talk about the bad parts as much as other writers of his period. The guy was born in Arizona less than 20 years after the end of the Apache wars, was from a divorced home when those things just didn't happen without scandal, so I'm sure his childhood wasn't always that easy. And "having money" in early Arizona was probably a lot different than being rich.

Looking at the bio the Jack O'Connor center put together, at times as a kid he lived in a tent, market hunted to feed a sawmill crew, and lied about his age to join the WWI army at 15 before being discharged due to tuberculosis which was often a terminal illness back then. If some other gun writers of his period had those experiences they would've mentioned them in every article. If O'Connor mentioned them at all it was just in passing and even then only partially.


Most of the stuff people fault him for such as guided international hunts and Biesen rifles was from the late 1940s on, when he was over 50. Seems that he worked multiple jobs to that point (teaching, outdoor life, and writing non-hunting stuff for other magazines) and he seems to have figured out early on that the money from publishing books was a lot better than magazine articles (write once and cash a royalty check every time it sells rather than pay check to paycheck of articles). I think he talks about this in his last book of how the monthly articles were his paycheck and the books were for his nest egg. So he was probably doing a lot better financially at that stage of his life than some other writers of the period that are held up as the "common man" but I don't think its necessarily because he was handed anything but rather just good old fashioned smart decisions.

What made him so polarized?

To all other monkeys, their view of the top monkey....

To all but the lead dog, the view is the same.

JOC was lead dog, top monkey. All the others could see was his posterior...

Seriously, he was pretty sure of himself, wrote with authority. So he became a big target. But all that controversy, real and contrived, sold copy, put money in his pocket.

For sure EK and Askins, Jr. did a bunch of the same, selling more and more copy.

I read that JOC became an expert marksman on moving targets, shooting jackrabbits as a youngster.

DF

Jack O’Connor’s writing has stood the test of time and is as realivent today as when he wrote it.

I'd love to know the contour on her 7x57. JOC said that the last one he had put together by Winchester/Biesen had the barrel turned down, I assume to FWT contour. Her's looks like a solid Sporter. That must be the one she fed a steady diet of 160-grain bullets.

Steve, he did write books. I have 8 of them.

Used to work at the Popular Science/Outdoor Life book club mailing center in the late 60's and early '70's. Thousands upon thousands of Jack O'Connor's books were sent out....

Round Oak please tell us more about Elenor's rifles. Your name doesn't happen to be Bradford does it?

Eleanor may have used the 25s more state side but the 7x57 was her safari rifle for plains game and the 30-06 was reserved for Lion, Tiger and other specialized uses. She shot an impressive number of trophies with it and could have filled her own museum. I only have heard of her needing to track anything once in Namibia on a ranch I had the pleasure of hunting. I liked to have a night cap in the same chair Jack did.

True. O'Connor was IMO the best gun writer of his time, and for that matter maybe of all time. Though most people connect him to the 270, he used many other cartridges, and wrote about them as well. I really don't see where he was "controversial," or why was "hated," or anything of the like. He was just good at what he did, and that rubs some people the wrong way.

I thoroughly enjoy reading anything written by JOC. Growing up, I read everything I could get my hands on that concerned hunting and fishing. I dreamed of someday going to exotic locales and spending my days and nights in pursuit of all kinds of animals. Then, along came O'Connor, and I was converted into a gun nut. I have been one ever since and the hunting part became secondary to owning, and shooting, as many kinds of firearms as I could lay my hands on.

Jack, I think, was responsible for more members of my generation taking an interest in guns than any other writer. He wrote in a clear, concise manner and explained things in a way even a 16 year old kid could understand. He, along with Havilah Babcock, Robert Ruark and Jim Kjelgaard sparked,in a dumb country boy, an interest in reading that continues to this day.

Quite a few. There's a list here: https://www.outdoorlife.com/articles/-editors/2007/09/books-jack-oconnor

I have several of them, and have always enjoyed his writing.

Sorry, I am not Bradford and I can not offer information on Eleanor's rifles. I received the pictures from a gun-nut friend of mine who lives in Boise, Idaho.

Some of his books are out of print and bring some pretty hefty prices on the used market. I don’t know who holds the copyright but I wonder if it would be possible to have them reprinted. I used to own The Hunting Rifle but somehow it got away from me. I’d like to read the chapter on the 7x57 again.

Rev,

Chapter 8 "Big Punch in Little Case". 9 pages. I can scan it and send. Let me know.

Wayne