Looking for something to read the other day I pulled out "The Hunting Rifle" by Jack O'Connor and read it for the 3rd or 4th time. Published in 1970 and containing some material previously published in Outdoor Life it's an interesting glimpse of things 50 years ago. While Jack is forever linked to the 270Win, in the book he spends some time on it but says repeatedly that it is no better than any number of other cartridges and that the 30-06 is probably the best all around NA cartridge. He was also quite fond of the 7x57 which Eleanor used to great effect and says the 375H&H is the world's most useful cartridge.
In the book he also states that double rifles are dead and that the 257 Rob, 9.3x62, 250-3000, 300H&H are all obsolete or close to it. Jack didn't anticipate that modern CNC equipment would make manufacturing less popular calibers almost as simple as calling up a program or the nostalgia of us rifle loonies.
Some of the info on scopes and bullets is dated but the balance of the book is quite informative and JOC is always entertaining with the many hunting anecdotes used to make his points.

I also enjoy rereading his books on a continual basis. His wit and wisdom are evident, if dated, and I just enjoy his writing style, to an extent not unlike our own John Barsness. What I really enjoy is reading the hunting stories over and over again. Just thinking about taking 30 days on horseback just to get to their hunting area - what a concept in today's hurry up world. i think that he will still be relevant in another hundred years (if we are still around).

I have copies of "The Hunting Rifle" and "The Rifle Book" and there's no telling how many times I've read them. I pick them up every couple of years and go through them again. Always enjoyable.

I drank the Kool-Aid and have hunted exclusively with a 270 and 4X Leupold for the last 48 years. Worked at Popular Science Publishing in the early 70’s and remember sending out many thousands of JOC’s books to Outdoor Life Book Club members.
A lifetime ago.

His work has stood the test of time. Still much relevance, even with the way our hunting has changed. And the stories just read so well.

My theory is if it was good enough for Jack it's good enough for me. My favorite cartridge is the 7x57.

By way of introduction the first time I talked to him on the phone I told him I had read and own eleven of his books. He response was “That shows you’re not very bright”.
I believe his real message was that bullet placement was the the most important aspect in successful hunting. He wrote that the 7x57, 270, 280, 284, 30-06 were all excellent, take your pick, put a quality bullet in the right place and bingo good things would happen.

I've driven the Alcan several dozen times and I always think of JOC when I drive by the Prophet River Bench and the Kluane country
where he hunted with the Jacquot Brothers out of Burwash Landing. That must have been great times just after WWII.

Jack O'Connor Quote
On his favorite cartridges...."The .30-06, the .270, the .375, and the .416. Now you're going to ask me 'In what order?' In that order."~Jack O'Connor~

I well remember that quote having read it numerous times. I have several of his works and have used the 270 W more than any other cartridge since 1975 or 76

Jerry.

His ability to write and communicate his interests, passions and knowledge set him apart.

A skeet-shooter friend who was an editor at OL knew JOC. He told me the same about Jack's preferences re. '06 and .270, and it surprised me.

Must not have read everything he wrote, b/c have not seen it in print. Can you give a source for that quote?

I have many outdoor books on my shelf, and also enjoy re-reading them. O'Connor was once asked which round he favored over the other - 270 vs. 30-06. He said he had three 270s and three 30-06s, and that's how he felt, in other words, he liked them about the same.

One book I have re-read many times is the collection of articles Finn Aagaard wrote for American Rifleman on different cartridges and other hunting topics. Most of the articles in that paperback were reprinted in a hardbound book years later.

O’Conner was a big influence on me as a kid. When I was 13, I saved up my lawn mowing money to buy a “big” rifle and was lucky enough to find a nearly new Remington 700 in .270. My dad couldn’t understand why I wanted a bolt action rather than a pump or semiautomatic I don’t recall exactly what I told him but am sure it wasn’t “because that’s what Jack O’Conner uses.”

That rifle has been my go to since that time. I rebarreled it and added a McMillan stock in the mid-90s and have no idea how many deer have fallen to it but the number is well north of 100. Maybe O’Conner knew what he was talking about?

We must also remember,when Jack did most of his hunting and writings,a lot of things have changed since then.A whole new line up of cartridges,powders and bullets have been developed since his time.The cartridges he liked back then are even better today than when he used them and who knows what he would choose as his favorite if he had today's choices.When I look at some of my old reloading manuals from the 1960's I think to myself,"That's It?"It was a lot easier to make choices back then.

JOC was directly responsible for my choosing the first rifle I ever got to acquire. It was a college graduation present from my parents and grandmother (who lived with us - mom was the only one of her three children to survive). There were a plethora of rifles on the dealer's shelf but the only one I considered was the Sako L61R in .270. Ten years of Outdoor Life columns by JOC made the decision for me.

45 years later, I still have that rifle and it gets taken deer hunting most years. I carry a Savage 99F in .300 if I'm going to be walking, but if I'm hunting from a tree stand, that Sako is likely sitting in my lap.

A master's degree in Journalism didn't hurt. He was the first Journalism professor, Univ of AZ.

He did have a lot to say, lots of experiences to report, but those literary skills helped him put it together.

I saw him at the 1970 NRA Convention in New Orleans. He had quite a presence about him, dry sense of humor.

He left his mark.

DF

I doubt his preference would have changed any. He tried the 7MMS mag and felt it recoiled more than the 270 for about the same effect on game. He owned a custom 458 win mag but preferred the 416
Not much h as s changed just more over lap

When you read his hunting stories, His descriptions of where he was and the surroundings and terrain made you feel like you were there with him. He was way beyond technical reporting he was an accomplished author and story teller.

I recently came across a compilation of 45 stories written by JOC that that was published in 2010. I didn't recall having seen before and the copy in the used book store wasn't great, so I put it on 24-hour hold and checked the 'net for other options. I ended up buying a new edition for less than the used edition and am looking forward to receiving it next week.

My favorite JOC book is Horse And Buggy West. I have read that he took a lot of flack for having written it in a manner that wasn't flattering to some people's ancestors.

It would have been nice if the correspondence between JOC and John Jobson had been publish completely, not as a hardcover catalog to tease people into buying the individual letters.

My people are split in two different hunting regions. Paternal side of the family are Midwest hunters and Maternal side are western state hunters. It wasn't until I went to Montana to hunt with the relatives there did I learn much about O'Connor. That Western clan were big fans of O'Connor and the .270 Winchester. A Great Uncle hoarded Outdoor Life magazines going back to the late 1930s and had several of O'Connor's books in his library. I expressed a lot of interest in his collection and he sent me back to Wisconsin with a 1961 edition of COMPLETE BOOK OF RIFLES AND SHOTGUNS. Several years later, before he passed away, he gave me any of the books or magazines I wanted.

The only cartridge O'Connor influence on me was the 7x57 mm.

A couple of years ago I took a Ruger M77 .270 Win and some bullets, cases and dies in on a sale. Never loaded for it and sold it after the very wise members of the 24hr Campfire declared it gay. I thought I got rid of all the .270 Win. items, but while cleaning out a cupboard the other day I came across some stuff.

Jeff,

Is the collection you mentioned The Lost Classics of Jack O'Connor? Unfortunately, a couple of the older stories in there were NOT written by the Jack O'Connor many of us grew up reading, but another guy with the same name. The one I remember for sure is about hunting Dall sheep in Alaska--and the "real" Jack O'Connor never hunted sheep in Alaska. It's pretty easy to tell the style is different as well.

He and my brother is why I ended up with a 270, the first was a parker hale, the next was the early browning BBR, with the 9 locking lugs, heck for stout, it has taken some stout loads, now i had refined my loads down a bit, but was interesting to see how hard it could be pushed.
Have not hunted with it for years, but maybe one day i will get it back in the rotation and see how she goes.
It wears a 3x9 bushnell Banner scope

Yes, maybe he did. I have one .270 and two 30-06s. But as I tell people, the .270 is so perfect you only need one, LOL!
To tell the truth, I loved that rifle so much I just never thought about replacing it. But recently I got a wild hair and was going to build a long range .270 and I found an old Model 721 Remington .30-06 in a pawn shop and bought it with the intentions of rebarreling it to .270 but I haven't shot it yet. I figured it's 70 years old and if t doesn't shoot good I'll do that. But if it shoots good I'm not touching it. I'll just look for another one.

I have read every JOC book, most more than once. He is without a doubt my favorite outdoor writer, he is easy to read, his writing has the capability to make me feel that I am seeing things as he saw them.

My favorite is Sheep and Sheep Hunting, I suppose because I have spent some time in the same part of BC where many of his stories were centered.
My second most favorite is Confessions of A Gun Editor - great behind the scenes insights about his career and insights into some interactions with his contemporaries.

drover

It is titled "Classic O'Connor, 45 World Wide Hunting Adventures". Edited by Jim Cassady (sp?) ISBN: 9781935342090.

It has illustrations of JOC on both the front and back covers, so it looks "real".

It doesn't appear to be the same as the Lost Classics book, but it was published by the same people, Skyhorse Publishing.

I assume that it is just a compilation of stories that JOC published in OL magazine.

Tell you a secret, I never heard of him until he was dead.
Guns and Ammo put out a special edition in January 1978 which I bought, He died the year before.
Never new anything more until I came here and saw you blokes speaking of him.

IIRC, the most influential U.S. gun writers of the 1960's might have ben JOC at Outdoor Life, Warren Page at Field & Stream, and Pete Brown at Sports Afield.

I liked JOC, while my Father liked Warren Page better, neither of us cared much for anything about Sports Afield.

The important thing about the writings of all of these guys; they were very readable. They all told a story while imparting some knowledge as well. O'connor's successor, Jim Carmicheal, for whom I planned to feel nothing but disdain, fit right in and was a great writer. I didn't like Elmer Keith and Charles Askins nearly as much but have come to realize, they all had something to tell me if I cared to pay attention (this goes for current writers as well). Lately, I've been reading some issues of Outdoor Life from the late fifties and early sixties. While the stories aren't quite as magical as when I read them as a kid, they are still pretty entertaining and real. GD

I was one of the kids that waited for the next issue of Outdoor Life- Jack's latest . I have nearly all of his books now and " Sheep and Sheep Hunting" is and was my reference material on this subject. I hunt sheep every year . I love it for the same reason he did, the country is awe inspiring. Wild sheep are the greatest game animal, imo. Once you have this bug , it only gets worse in time.

I have that book also. The thing that stood out to me was him writing about multiple shots on game that would make most modern hunters choke before either denouncing him or explaining it away as he was a product of his times. All in all it is a great book.

When JOC made that quote putting his favorite .270 in 2nd place, he was probably old enough to have dimentia moments.

A lot of Jack's hunting was done with iron sights or the optics of the day which were very crude by comparison to what we have available. Also as MD has written, rangefinding was pure guestimation. He mentions a few shots at 300 yards or more which is a darned long ways with irons or a 2 1/2 Lyman Alaskan. BTDT myself so I think it's forgivable Have you read TR's "African Game Trails"? Now there is some spraying and praying..

I think his great skills may have been honed by his generation and his elders growing up before radio broadcasts were available. These generations were highly skilled in relaying information that painted word pictures and feelings into their attention-holding storytelling. It was common to go into a barbershop in the '50s and even early '60s to have several elder storytellers who were just hanging around sharing their experiences in a way that would pull you into listening. With that plus JOC's talent and journalism training, we were going to be pulled in!

Maybe so, I don't have a reference as to when he said or wrote it.

ATST I have 270s and one 06 at present and can't count the total of both that I've had.
That being said, from a practical perspective, TODAY I'd agree the 30-06 is more versatile than the 270 W.
I really don't think I need to xplain that to you. (not being smart)

YET for myself I prefer the 270 W.

Jerry

There is no doubt that his skills helped a lot, he could write a story and create the scene with a minimum amount of words and "fluff". One thing I have noticed in his writings is that he could create the story without making himself the centerpiece of it, most of his stories were more about the country, the guides, animals, or the feel of the hunt. That is a talent that few writers have, outdoor or otherwise.

drover

I have most his books and never tire of them, a great story teller for sure
.I suspect we can't overestimate how helpful shooting a lot of rabbits is when it comes to off hand rifle work.

For all you O'Connor faithful.....


https://sportingclassicsdaily.com/the-most-embarrassing-mistake-in-the-history-of-gunmaking/

Interesting; and thanks for posting. I began reading Mr. O'Connor at a very young age. Had never fired a gun and didn't understand most of what I was reading. But it was so neat and interesting that I, too, was drawn in by that cool, "old" ( to me at the time), guy with those "big" rifles who did all sorts of fantastic stuff that I had no knowledge of.

I think I've read nearly everything JOC wrote. I have about all of his books I think. My most recent acquisition being 45 Worldwide Hunting Adventures, #718 from a limited edition of 1000 and came in a nice slip case.

My favorite firearms writers:

Living: John Barsness

Deceased: Jack O'Connor and Gary Sitton.

Also rans (IMO) Pete Brown of Sports Afield. I thought Warren Page was as dry as dust.

The 6.5 Creedmoor would probably have made JOC’s leg tingle a bit.....

This alone sets O'Connor in a class by himself. Most writers actually write about themselves.


Okie John

https://jack-oconnor.org/

A great place to visit, and really get a feel for Jack O’Connor, his life and family, and of course his guns. He continues to move people, and many do this as visitors turned supporters of the center. It should be open again soon.

I hadn't considered that angle so much. Interesting.

I guess Col. Charles Askins, Jr. would definitely be the notable main character in all his writings....

Elmer, although an excellent story teller, his work reportedly needed some editing... Although JOC and Elmer weren't that far apart in age, both great story tellers, seems to me Elmer was more like Col. Askins in that regard. JOC could spin a tale with enough technical stuff to satisfy the Loonies, enough great story telling to draw the reader into the hunt, experience the surrouindings and life at the hunting camp.

I don't think the Col. or Elmer were in his class as master of the written word. JOC was a polished word smith and a great story teller. I doubt his stuff needed major editing...

DF

Jack O'Connor knew more about editing than some of his editors, especially later in his careers when some of the editors were half his age.

John,
I have always thought that it would be almost biblical if you could work with Lee Hoots Jr. on how to write a magazine column well. There is nobody in the business that has the strength of structure and texture when it comes to mixing technical writing and storytelling than you. Is there any chance that it could happen?

You nailed it. Askins was the Commander McBragg of gunwriters.

You must be an older fellow if you cite Commander McBragg!

For sure. Imagine many forum members never heard of Jr's exploits, nor read any of his pieces. His bio was far more interesting than his writing.

That's a good post JWP & I agree, I don't think he would have changed his mind either.

I grew up reading JOC. My first rifle was a 30-40 Krag; my second was a Parker Hale 270, probably in part because of the notariety & good press from JOC.

That gun went down the road in favor of a Browning 308 & then several rifles followed that in '06, 338, 45-70.

It wasn't until several years later that I got another 270, a Sako Fiberclass in a McM stock. Took that rifle everywhere & killed everything up to & including moose. Still have it many years later, although it's now more or less retired.............killed more with that single gun than all else combined.

As for someone's comment about JOC getting a tingle from a 6.5 Creed..............maybe, if he was in his prime today, buy not during his lifetime as there wouldn't have been much for bullets or rifles.

Other than a little less recoil & a shorter action, the 270 will do all & more, than the 6.5, as will a 7-08.

6.5 is good.............other stuff is just as good unless you are able to look through a keyhole with both eyes.

MM

O'Connor is probably one of the few gunwriters that wrote enough mainstream stuff to have made a living at it. Some of the stuff he did like short storeis for The Saturday EVening Post and Esquire was pretty mainstream.
Seems most of the other gun writers of his generation had done other things whether it be the military, guiding, etc and more fell into writing later in life than actually setting out to be a writer.

I suspect O'Connor would have really liked the 6.5 Creedmoor, and here's why: He had a great feel for the "average hunter." In fact he wrote about this specifically in The Last Book: Confessions of a Gun Editor"--though he applied it primarily to the head editors of the various magazines he worked for.

Which is exactly why he liked the .270 Winchester (though not as much as the .30-06). He firmly believed the average hunter shot more accurately with a lighter-recoiling rifle, which was even more true then than it is today--because back then most commercial hunting rifles had steel or hard plastic/rubber buttplates.

Her also knew, from long experience, that bullet PLACEMENT is by far the most important factor in "killing power" on big game--as long as the bullet penetrates and expands sufficiently. He grasped the virtues of the Nosler Partition almost immediately after it appear in 1948, when other gun writers (especially Elmer Keith) never really did--evidenced by Elmer using really poor bullets in his .333 OKH on his first African safari m in 1958, 300-grain steel-jacketed softpoints that sometimes didn't even exit from 50-pound Thompson gazelles. As a result, Keith ended up using solid 300-grain .333s for the rest of the safari--which did not kill quickly on anything, which is largely where the myth of African plains game being super-tough became common in America. Keith would have done much better by using 180-grain Partitions in the .30-06.

I was given the same advice about writing for the average guy by one of my writing mentors, another very successful outdoor writer, who didn't write about guns but fishing and all-around hunting. I found him to be absolutely right--which is why I suspect Jack O'Connor would have liked the 6.5 Creedmoor: The light recoil allows the average hunter to place bullets well, and factory ammo is not only very accurate but available in a wide variety of excellent hunting bullets--and O'Connor also knew the average guy did not handload.

Whether he would have liked the available 6.5 Creedmoor factory rifles is another question, but my first 6.5 Creedmoor was a walnut-stocked Ruger Hawkeye that fit right in with hisideas of a classic rifle. I suspect he would have also liked the 3-position safety, controlled-feed action, and simple trigger as well.

But the major point is that Jack O'Connor, unlike Elmer Keith or Charles Askins Jr. or many other "experts" of the same period, could empathize with the average hunter, and thus write far more appealing hunting stories or technical articles. In fact Charles Askins Sr. had the same gift, which is why I enjoy reading his writing far more than his son's.

Obviously, O'Connor's education as a writer helped a lot, partly because he also taught writing. The major factor in teaching other people to write is not correcting spelling or grammar, but improving the ability to self-edit, increasing the ability of how any writer communicates with readers.

While all writers need editors to correct typos and other mistakes, the ability to self-edit helps enormously, one reason Jack O'Connor stood out from his contemporaries.

Definitely the professor. He could have taught those youngsters in his college classes. If they paid attention, they would have learned something.

He sorta looked and dressed like the professor, was wearing a tweed sports jacket when I saw him in New Orleans. There was an air of distinction about him. Reserved but with a presence. Unforgetable gentleman. And, here we are, still talking about him...

DF

I agree.

The Major was the highest paid gunwriter during that era, had a different temperment than his son. Charlie in his autobiography, Unrepentant Sinner, said his Mom was a cantankerous Irish woman,. Athough he adored his Dad, was estranged from his Mom, seems to me he took more after her..

I learned a lot about the Major when I ended up with his personal Browning Superposed. I worked with the Col's son, Bill Askins in San Antonio. I enjoyed doing that research; Bill was very helpful. I was able to help him sell the Major's Ithaca double. Bill is into horses, the fancy kind, as in dressage, not so much into shooting and guns. He sells real estate and airplanes in San Antonio.

DF

O'Connor did not make a living writing more mainstream stuff. In fact, he confesses in The Last Book that he did not have real "feel" for the mainstream short-story genre, as other stories he submitted were rejected. But it was worth a try! Those magazines paid a LOT back in those days.

In fact Dorothy Johnson, the Montana fiction author who among other things wrote the story "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," was able to buy a house in Missoula, Montana for cash with the pay from four short stories in the The Saturday Evening Post. She was paid $3000 for each story, a LOT of money at the time.

But back then print writing paid better than many other kinds of writing--except, perhaps, for screen writing, the reason many fiction writers (including William Faulkner) wrote screenplays for Hollywood movies.

O'Connor eventually ended up as a gun and hunting writer because it paid more consistently than short stories or novels. Quite a few gun writers have written for mainstream markets, including me. Among others I did an article for National Geographic in the 1990s, when writing for a wide variety of magazines.

But you're right about many gun writers starting out in other careers--and not just of O'Connor's generation. That's still the primary path today.

I've enjoyed all the comments and agree with nearly all. I am probably repeating myself, but my first Outdoor Life issue was the September 1955 copy. I was just 12.
I was more enthralled with the Lee Yeager article on squirrel hunting-"Waiting Them Out" as I was a squirrel hunter at that age. The writer used a Model 61 Winchester. Later, I realized that my favorite O'Connor story was in the same issue. "We Shot the Tamales". A great read as it has all the facets that have been mentioned here. Next favorite is"Santiago and the Lady Hunter".
Was able to attend the O'Connor shindig in Lewiston last June and was looking forward to this year. The virus thing cancelled it.
The highlight of my Ruger No.1 collecting endeavors was acquiring O'Connor's "21 Club" Ruger No.1 from Kathy in 1988.
And yes, I have all his books, etc.. Can tell you that the hardest item to obtain is the pamphlet "Hunting with a Binocular" from about 1947! I've been offered ridiculous $$ for it, bit have only seen one other!
ENU

I've only read one of Sr's books but thought it was very good.

I've enjoyed this thread. When I was 9, in 1969, the barber in the closest town of Lindsay, MT found out I was interested in guns and hunting. He got the "big three" and started dropping off the month old issues in our mailbox for me. What a thrill....seeing his little green car pull up and going out to the mailbox and having three month old magazines at once...all smelling slightly of cigar smoke. Though I liked all the writers, O'Connor stood out for me. When I read Hail and Farewell in the summer of 1972, it was a serious blow. Like Greydog,, I at first didn't give Jim Carmichael much of a chance. Darn upstart! But I learned to appreciate his teachings and writing as well....had I have been 9 when I started reading him, I'd have seen his expertise sooner. I think he was worthy successor, and he made his own way, in his own style. I think he was shooting editor for OL longer than O'Connor was. That said, I still read O'Connor regularly...I have most of his books. I don't read them anymore for the info, I've assimilated that over the past 50 years. I read him because reading Jack O'Connor is a pure pleasure, and a glimpse into a time when the world was simpler and a 30 day pack trip into the Yukon was still a possibility..

My father subscribed to Outdoor Life when I was growing up in the late 50's and early to mid 60's time period. JOC was by far and away my favorite writer, and the only one that I've ever followed. To a boy who was limited to hunting small game, as we had no deer season here back then, the stories of hunting all over the world for big game was absolutely fascinating. It was because of O'Connor that I bought a Remington 700 Classic in 270, and for a good many years it was my only deer rifle. I also used his favorite load of 60 grains of H4831 with a 130 grain bullet to kill several truckloads of whitetails.

I've always been an avid reader, and over the years have build up a nice collection of books by those writers that I like. I've got most every book that O'Connor wrote, and those wrote about him, and I never get tired of reading them. At the age of 70, I still find his hunting stories as riveting to read now, as I did at age 12. Some things never get old, and JOC is one of them.

I'm sure he would have liked the Creedmoor after all O'Conner liked the 7X57 and the 257 Robert's

I’ve always been a big fan and even wear an Eddie Bauer 1936 Skyliner down jacket similar to the one JOC is wearing in that iconic pic on the mountainside with the trophy Stone ram.

We own one of the two Zeiss Contax cameras Jack O'Connor used. Eileen bought it during the fund-raiser auction at the Jack O'Connor Hunting Heritage & Education Center a few years ago. It came with a B&W photo of him with the camera hanging around his neck, on a hunt somewhere..

One thing is for sure, if O'Connor was still with us and happened by 24 Hr Campfire, many of the posts would have him in stitches. There is a lot of inspiration here.

And this is a picture of a monkey riding a chipmunk.

Cool deal MD. I loved reading JOC's stuff growing up, and his adventures made me feel like I was there with him.

Being a gun guy he most assuredly would have found value in the ways the rifle and cartridges have advanced....His mountain hunts were often month long adventures, and I doubt he would think the in and out we often have today was anything to get excited about....Re hunting, in most ways he had us beat....

Too add to my previous post, I suspect there are some young gun and hunting enthusiasts who read Mule Deer, and hang onto his every word as I did with O'Connor 50 years ago, and who are doomed to be saddened when Mule Deer announces his retirement someday! But they will keep him in reloading supplies and beans by buying his books.

Opinions about the "best cartridge" is like asking what is the "best handload", "best ice cream", or "best car". Everybody is apt to have their own opinion and experiences.

"Behind every great man is a great woman". I have always been impressed with what Eleanor O'Connor did with a 7x57 mm and a 160 grain bullet @2,660 fps.

It was interesting, the times were so different.
For a long time I didn't know he was all that well known, it seemed like he was writing to me, for me.
I was 12 when I discovered him, already had a .270 and was a hunter . I casually mentioned him to my uncle and
found he was a big Jack fan, a seasoned Handloader and old school mountain hunter.
I then realized Jack was rather famous in the hunting and shooting circles and he was a sheep hunter....my life took a turn that way.
Albert Einstein, Bobby Orr, Mickey Mantle and Jack O'connor were on my hero's list....to this day

One the comment about Jack actually liking the 30-06 over the .270, at the time of his retirement, he gave an interview with Jim Carmichel. Carmichel asked him id he was limited to one cartridge to hunt all of North America, what would he choose? O'Connor replied immediately, "The 30-06." I still have that copy of Outdoor Life someplace in a huge stack of gun and hunting magazines.
Paul B.

Yeah, I was always impressed with Eleanor. She reportedly was an excellent shot and was able to keep up with Jack on numerous hunts across the globe....

Quite a woman, for sure.

DF

My wife was always there too. 38 years of being there...

"You know the wind is blowing from right to left! Why didn't you aim off more??"

"It's getting dark. Why didn't you take the shot sooner? You're going to be field dressing in the dark!"

"I expected a heart for supper. What's taking so long?"

"It's pretty scrawny. What's your excuse this time?"

The great white hunter got skunked again! You better produce by the end of the week!"

"Remember what I said? Take the one with the smaller rack. Did you listen?"

"It's minus 10. And you're surprised you missed?"

"Who was supposed to pack the spare set of ATV keys?"

"I should be able to to provide something for the diocese, father. What are you going to tell Fr. Bob now?"

John,

I received the book today and it is a compilation of articles that JOC wrote. I believe that it was put together by the same guy, Jim Casada, who did the Lost Classics book.

There is a short piece written by Bradford O'Connor and another written by a guy who I never heard of by the name of John Madson, plus some pictures that I'd never seen before. Probably worth the $33 that I paid for it.

https://throughahunterseyes.com/favorite-quotes/john-madson/

Thanks! This quote on whitetails is gold: “Whitetails aren’t often hunted in real wilderness. They are often hunted in the tamest of farmlands. But even in a horse-weed patch at the edge of a cornfield, a deer lends special wildness to the land so that wherever the deer is found, it is truly a wild place. Deer carry wilderness entangled in their antlers; their hoofprints put the stamp of wildness on tame country”.

I loved his humor, dry & witty. Elmer would rarely, it seemed to me, try to be humorous, but he could.

Yep. A few years back, when Eddie Bauer resurrected the Skyliner, I bought the first one I could get my hands on. Jack actually had a hand in it’s design.

So you are good deliberately ass-shooting bighorns and mulies if that is the only shot offered?? That kinda put me off on Jack. Honesty counts, tho. I guess....

Sheep and Sheep Hunting", IIRC. , Which I read after my first Dall hunt. Good info on sheep distributions and some other stuff, but technique-wise he didn't tell me anything I hadn't already learned. And more than was in the book. Until then, I was an avid fan.

Oh, well - it's still worth reading. Damned good writer.