Was a gunwriter who really got me going as a kid and young man on rifles and hunting. He had some interesting articles and remembered him using an xp 100 a good bit. No offense to any gunwriter or gun magazines that are current but if you want to sell some magazines maybe you need to take a look back Just my opinion. Not that it matters to any one else but me

I enjoyed him too. Cowboy hat and aviator style shooting glasses, and if I remember right, quite a few articles on varmint hunting. Usually good photography to accompany the article.

He was the main inspiration of my XP-100 addiction......

Bob had a huge effect on my father, starting him on a decades-long love of all things Contender. I confess I have also been significantly altered in my shooting and hunting drives by the writings of Mr. Milek.

In some of Bob's hunting articles he was using 25-06 and 7x57 Mausers. So I bought a 25-06 and discovered they were lots of fun.

I loved the sound of "Thermopolis".

He was one of the best.

When I started reloading if bob said it I considered it golden. My first reloading manual is a Lyman and he wrote about reloading for hunting and thanks to Bob I FL size my hunting ammo.

He is the primary reason for my fondness for the 25’s.
GreggH

I remember a lot of chucks and pronghorn pics and yes on the varmiting and the 220 swift and 25-06

I read everything he wrote at least twice. Truly one of my first heroes.

North of Thermop next to the highway is a range dedicated to Bob Milek. I guess it’s on owl creek

I liked him so much as a writer, and wanted to meet him, that on one summer vacation, I drove from Wi. through "Ten Sleeps Pass" down into Thermoplis to one of his favorite hang outs, just miss him by 15 minutes..

I really like him as well, this thread brings back memories when I was first getting into guns as a teenager and reading Milek's articles. I still have one of the thick magazines published with a compilation of his articles, "Rifle and Cartridges for North American Game", which I read over and over when I was young (and am going to pull out tonight to start reading again).

I really liked the articles written by Mr. Millek, and had the opportunity to visit with him twice! He had quite the reloading room! memtb

I remember Bob speaking of "the wicked bark of the 25-06" that he hunted with a lot. He was also a handgun hunter and a fan of the 35 Whelen but when I think of Bob Milek I think of the 25-06. It took me many years but I did finally get one and just recently had the honor to give it to my grandson.

Here's an old thread about Bob Milek. Many good memories from Ken Howell.
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...66/what-happened-to-bob-milek#Post500866

I was driving thru Thermopolis many years ago and a small pickup pulled in behind me and the driver wearing a crunched cowboy hat had a familiar looking silhouette I'd seen in some hunting magazines.
Just outside town north toward Owl Creek he pulled in a driveway and I took note of the location.
My next trip by some weeks later I saw a name scrawled on the mailbox.
"Milek"

Liked him as well. I remember reading many of the other writers at the time pushing the magnum craze, then opening a magazine to find Milek hunting mule deer with an xp-100 in 250 Savage. Successfully.

Have seen that mailbox several times.

Always enjoyed reading Bob's articles, and in fact stopped him at the very first SHOT Show I attended in 1988 to tell him so. We have a great conversation, and talked about getting together some time, since we lived less than a day's drive apart. Unfortunately, he passed away, too young, before we could.

But did get to know his son, Bob Jr., pretty well during the early 2000s on several "industry" shoots, when he was also writing for various gun magazines. He looked, talked and wrote a LOT like his dad!

Was a bore to me though a bit more than John Haviland.

As a kid back in the 70s/early 80s, I was soaking up every word Bob Milek wrote. He was the reason I got into XPs and Contenders, and my very first custom build was an XP in 6mm-.223 -- soon followed by a Contender in 6mm-.223 and another XP in .250 Savage. His writing style was unlike any other, and his photos of the terrain permanently painted a picture of Wyoming in my mind.

One of my favorite stories of Bob's was about the .25-06--which he introduced by saying he was going elk hunting, and the only rifle in his rack he knew was sighted-in was a .25-06--with handloads featuring the 120-grain Speer Hot-Cor. So he went out and killed an elk with it, quite handily, despite the cartridge and bullet not being consider anywhere near adequate by most today.

I too read about anything I could find written by him. He’s to blame for my contenders, an xp100, 25-06, going prairie dog hunting and more. I always enjoyed his articles..... I recently started playing with my old 30-30 again.... I remember him writing an article about the” thutty-thutty”..... I’d love to read that one again.

I grew up less than an hour from Milek's home. Always hoped I'd run into him somewhere but did not get that privilege. I'm blessed to still hunt in some of the areas he wrote about. I suppose he should get some of the credit/blame for my affinity to Contenders and the 25-06. There was always a stack of gun magazines in the bunkhouse, cow camp, or sheep wagon and Bob's articles were usually the first ones read.

a great writer, one of my favorites

My first introduction to his writing was a rimfire book I believe under GunsandAmmo. Sort of an extra thick magazine. Read and re read that.
It is up in the attic, need to dig it out again.

I remember one of his articles pertaining to the use of a .338 WM or a similar performance cartridge for “non-resident” elk hunters......provided they were very confident with the firearm. He related a situation where he observed a hunter shooting/killing an elk farther than he was comfortable with the rifle he was carrying at the time. If I recall correctly......he suggested that those with limited time to hunt, could be well-served with a cartridge offering higher performance at extended ranges, and the ability to shoot the larger game at less than perfect angles. memtb

I read that book so much the binding gave out and it wouldnt stay together.

Always enjoyed Bob's writing. as with all the best writers, he wrote from a vast trove of experience.

Bob did use the .243 a lot too. It was a Winchester pre-64 fwt. Only a looney would remember that.

I remember him fondly too. I don't remember skipping any of his articles.

Being an 'entrenched 270' user I never had a 25-06. NOT one thing against it.

Afterall.... There's a 25-06 IN every 270 Win.

Several years ago I told a great friend that who had a 25-06 and he said,
"OOh that's cold!" Sorry to say I lost him 3 yrs ago this month.

Jerry

As a kid in the 80’s Bob Milek’s column in Guns and Ammo was always one of the first sections that I read.

I might have if I'd encountered his writing when I was less experienced. As it was, I'd been around the block a couple times and found that many of his opinions were merely that, not fact. I still found his writing interesting and worthwhile but it had to be balanced with a considerable grain of salt gained elsewhere.

Tom

Agree, liked his writings..

One of the greats! And he's the one that had me checking out the 35 Whelen .....which I purchased in M700 Classic. I saved a lot of his articles and consult his hand loads to this day

I recall reading Bob's article's on his use of the 25-06 not knowing I would have my own 25-06 fifteen years later. My new 25-06 replaced a run of 270's and wanted something with as little recoil as possible ( for my young son) yet as effective as the .270......the 25-06 does both.

Could not help but notice the 25-06 does kill a little quicker....like dead right there than my .270 experience. Actually, the difference between the two cartridges on deer size game is quite negligible.

Yep, I drive by that range every fall on the looooong trip from Tucson to my friends' place in Montana.
Like many who have posted here, Mr. Milek inspired me to build a 25-06 back in '91. I read his words that a 25-06 bolt action with a fixed 6X scope was the perfect pronghorn rig, and I used mine to kill my first "goat" that fall in Wyoming. I drew an AZ antelope tag (20 bonus points!) this year and broke out the Milek-inspired 25-06 for the hunt. It didn't fail me.

Cheers,
Rex

Driving through Therm brought back good memories of his writing. He was gone by then.

I started my 25-year subscription to Guns & Ammo in January 1982, and Bob was always one of my favorite writers. Was sorry to see Bob pass on in 1993 at the young age of 59. I read and re-read his stories dozens--maybe hundreds--of times when I was young. Always wanted a Remington XP100 but the fad passed before I could afford one.

That magazine was loaded with talent in those days, at least compared to today. As far as I know, Jan Libourel is retired but still alive, and then there is Jon Sundra, Craig Boddington, Mike Venturino, Phil Spangenberger, Rick Hacker, Garry James and Ross Seyfried. G&A writers that I can remember from that era that have passed on include, of course, Bob Milek, Elmer Keith, John Wooters, Dave Hetzler, and Robert Shimek. There are probably others I know well, especially if I include sister publications Peterson's Hunting and Handguns, but presently escape my 50-year-old memory.

For those who might be interested, I found the obituary of Bob's wife Dorothy, who passed in 2018.

https://www.thermopir.com/story/2018/12/06/obituaries/dorothy-grace-milek/7093.html

Milek and G. Sitton were my favorites.

Yes, G. Sitton could really write, especially his back page columns. He, too, has passed on.

always enjoyed Milek's writings... kept my attention for sure...

no one mentioned it, but his writing in the Nosler manual on the 6mm Remington, it what caused my attention to that cartridge.
especially on a long action.....

the 6mm Rem and the 6,5 x 57 because my most favorite two cartridges....

and still to this day...

He was great and I miss his writings. Seafire caused me to dig out my oldest Nosler manual, #3, copyright 1989, and peruse Bob's words on the 6mm Remington. Back in his writing heyday, I clipped out some of his articles and put them in plastic sleeves for 3 ring binders. I think some of those binders are still here. In the Nosler manual 6mm Remington article he even admits using it on elk. " I've taken elk with the 6mm Remington, but I certainly don't recommend its use on such big animals". Bob's also another reason that I've owned a .25-06 since 1997. Took it to Wyoming on a successful pronghorn hunt in 2003. Thought about Bob a lot on that hunt. I could never pronghorn hunt in that environment with a .25-06 in my hands and not think of Bob Milek.

The very first image that comes in head when I hear his name is him with a Wyoming pronghorn and a 25-06.

You folks can thank me for enjoying Bob as long as we did. Years before his death, but while a writer I knew of, I was driving a truck through Thermopolis, Wyoming early one Sunday morning. Just as I was pulling out of a fueling station Bob staggered out from behind a sign, standing directly in front of my 63,000 pound rig. I slid it to a stop just inches from him. He looked up and didn't even nod, but staggered away. I was sure at the time then and now that he was inebriated.


This wasn't the first time something like this happened. Around 1975 I was driving my Plymouth Scamp through the crowded streets of Aspen, Colorado. From out of nowhere a tall lanky guy ran out directly in front of me chasing after an errantly thrown frisbee. I locked up the brakes and slid to a stop just feet front the English movie actor Michael York. His eyes got as wide as saucers at the close call. He then got a huge grin on his face, waved an apology wave to me, and off he went to finish his frisbee game.

i remember a story where his brother shot a cow elk with 257 Roberts, he was a super story teller

Read tons of Bob and many others in that era. On that 25-06, I was at a SHOT show at the Sako booth and struck up a conversation with a passerby from Canada. He had a 25-06 and told me about dumping a large Moose. The range I won’t post, but suffice to say it was quite effective and impressive!

Bob probably was one of the big reasons why I got into TC’s and other handguns long ago. Like Bobby T. - I was a big fan. Many other great writers in that era, many passed. Glad we still have some quality writers who are very knowledgeable and straightforward.

My appreciation for his writing is why I had to have a 25-06 and a 41 Magnum and probably helped form my early affection for Wyoming.

I had a 243 as a teenager and remember an article of his about hunting elk with a 243. I thought, “wow, I could go elk hunting with the rifle I have”.

Yep, liked his writings, have a 25/06 for over 35 years now.