The latest issue of Handloader has someone taking over the Reloader's Press column so I gave it a read. Turns out its some early 20's kid related to the publisher. They charge for this crap? A waste of paper except for Barsness and Pearce.

Yep, Jeremiah is the son of the owner/publisher of Wolfe. While I haven't seen Jeremiah for quite a while, do know that he's a real rifle loony, perhaps even more than his father. I found the column interesting, partly because of his obvious loonyism--more so than some older writers who previously wrote the column--who often repeated what they'd written before, sometimes more than once.

We need "young blood" in gun writing, and NONE of the older writers started out knowing nearly as much as they do now. The industry needs more younger writers, especially those willing to keep learning.

Glad you liked the articles from me and Brian, but I find the wide array of interests and experience in HANDLOADER writers provides an interesting mix. As an example, Randy Bimson spent years with SAAMI before starting to write his column, which as a result provides far more insight into the more technical aspects of handloading. There are also Terry Wieland's adventures with really old cartridges and rifles, which I always enjoy, even though my interests in older stuff don't coincide with Terry's very often, and Rick Jamison's fine piece on the new Oehler technology, which will interest OTHER readers.

The HANDLOADER magazine of today isn't the same one I started writing for 30 years ago, but it still provides something for a wide variety of readers. Which is why I started sending articles to the magazine in the first place: Had been reading it for years already, and always enjoyed the wide array of subjects and writers.

Well if he’s gonna go over with me he needs to lose the cowboy hat while indoors. WTF?

Where did you see that?

The Handloader/Rifle TV series (Youtube) he does with Mike Venturino. Which I enjoy watching.

The indoor hat, yeah that's really a BFD. GMAFB.

Mule Deer has a point. As my favorite writers retire, or worse, we need some young writers developing. I thought it was a well written piece, and look forward to more.

+1

Everybody was a rookie once.

Agree with JB. Good first column.

It's hard to accept many of the ones around my own (52) age.
Not sure if it's my prejudice or their lack of gravitas.
Probably both.

Plus, the format doesn't encourage worthwhile articles that actually
give enough detail to be worthwhile. Thats not on the author,
but a factor of our times.

Go find a Handloader the first years Ross Seyfried was there, and look at the other writers there then. I'm glad I have those old issues.

Btw, look at the length of articles in gun mags from pre-1950. They make current columns look like they were written by a 7yr. old with ADD.

Sorry, but I hate wearing hats myself, only wear them when it’s necessary, and never find it necessary indoors. Looks silly to me.

I miss Haviland.

If some wants to wear a hat indoors, that's fine by me. Why that bothers anyone is beyond me

Originally Posted by jwp475

If some wants to wear a hat indoors, that's fine by me. Why that bothers anyone is beyond me

Some prejudices simply die hard with some folks

One thing you can always be sure of on the campfire....Old guys will be beetching about something. Never fails....

Funny, I really enjoyed the piece. Probably due in part because my first rifle dad bought me was a Ruger M77 chambered in 260 Rem. While I realize he is on the young side, it seems like he is pretty knowledgeable, and hope to see more pieces written by him!

Do you smoke a pipe?

My Grand Pa wore a hat indoors when it was cold, said that it kept his head warm. They were cheap and kept the house pretty cool in the Winter. They of course came from a time where the Wood stove in the kitchen provided heat, then the living room had a wood/coal stove, rest of the house was shut off from heat.

Okay, so I’m a hat bigot. Maybe if I recite the Man Prayer enough times I can get past it.

Read the article that started all this and liked it. The young man writes clearly and with nary a trace of Gunwriter-ese.

The new guy is way better than Lee J. Hoots.

Hey, I never said anything about your Grand Pa!

I’ll bet it wasn’t a cowboy hat.

I have an Orvis fishing hat, guess you’d call it a Fedora. Tried wearing it while actually fishing to keep the sun off my cancer-prone face and neck, but just couldn’t stand it. Have to get one of those Foreign Legion jobs for that I guess.

ANYONE is better than Hoots. I always thought Scovill was arrogant and condescending, but everything he wrote was worth reading. Kinda miss him too.

You could see he was nervous.

I think he should have lost the hat, or whoever shot the video should have lit them better. The big brim shaded his face.

Yeah, his delivery is pretty stiff. Venturino on the other hand, seems quite natural and at ease. He’ll get better, I expect. His writing is fine.

I wish the young man well, I sincerely hope he can keep the wheels on the wagon at Wolfe Publishing. It must be a tough business (I know nutting as Sgt Schultz would say), advertising pays the bills I suppose, advertisers want positive reviews for their product...but you have to maintain creds and numbers with your audience, and I doubt there is a much harder audience than the gun crowd. A tight rope walk for sure.
In my many years in logging and construction, I have noticed that nepotism and political hires seldom work out well. But, that is a different orange from publishing, in construction if you don't get X amount of yards moved, there is no way to fake it...in logging, if you don't get X number of board feet to town, you can't fake it. Learning curves for the young are very steep, and if they don't have the 'fire in the belly' motivation, they don't last long.
But Polacek has a good stable of writers, advertisers, audience...so if the Brandon inflation spiral doesn't wreck the discretionary spending of the audience, he should do just fine, I sincerely hope so.

Have a friend who met Scovill in person, said the same thing about him. I don't miss him.

I think he’s a very able and accomplished guy, with a lot to be proud of, but he could tone it down a little.

Handloader and Fur-Fish-Game are the only two magazines I still read anymore.

Haven’t gotten my issue yet.

I have not read the article.

But judging someone simply upon their last name or age instead of what they produce ain’t wise.

A young man I helped mentor years ago is now one of my mentors. He just put more time and effort into learning than I did, he’s now far better informed than I am. I judge his advice based upon its value not the age of the man giving it.

Just my two cents worth.

Is that socially unacceptable where CB hats are common?

Don’t know. Don’t see many here. I was mostly just being a smarty pants and riled up the pro-hatters. I’m gonna try to be a better person from now on….

I’m a man,
But I can change,
If I have to,
I guess….

You quoted a great Canadian. We'd be better off with him for prime minister than what we have now.

Those two alone make it worth the money to me. Anything else is lagniappe.


RS

Elmer never gave up his hat.

I miss Harvey Donaldson, Wooters, Zutz, Waters and O'Connor.. Sadly, they don't write any articles any more. I remember some new kids that needed some more experience before they got to be regular contributors, some characters named Barsness and Venturino., come to mind. My favorite getting a little long in the tooth.
It will be good to see some new, younger faces.
And yeah, I wear a hat in the house.
Bfly

It's a manners thing (where manners are practiced) to remove one's hat when you enter a room. You'll see it without fail with military personnel and lots of old cowboys.

+100!

Hoots has definitely hurt the quality of the brand. I have to be really bored to read his stuff. I generally find his work to be a waste of paper and ink.

Yep. You're assessment of Scovill is spot on and I miss his writings a bit as well,.
Long live Barsness! May he bless us with his knowledge and witty writing forever....Pearce too.

In the traditional Western ranching culture hat etiquette has always been around. As we have become more mobile it has become less so but it is still considered good manners in many places. When you enter someone's home, knock on a door, or speak to an older female (someone's mom/folks), taking your hat off is a sign of respect. This is where the term "Hat in Hand" actually means something.

Many people who own horses but may not necessarily be in the out-west ranching community may not be as in tune with it, but if you go to a place like Jordan Valley Oregon or a ranch in very rural Northern Nevada/Southern Idaho/Owyhee County ID to one of the ranches there, it is more normal, even if half the people are wearing ball caps these days.

Thanks for the mention! I didn't even start regularly writing about hunting guns (whether rifled or smoothbore) until about 40--which is apparently when I decided my knowledge and experience was adequate. Before then had made my living writing for over a decade, but about a wider range of subjects. But somehow I suddenly got so many assignments from guys like Scovill that eventually gun-writing became most of my income.

Know a lot more than I did back when submitting my first gun articles in the late 80s and early 90s, but thankfully gun-writing is one profession where you're allowed to learn on the job. (In fact that's generally true about professional writing on any subject.)

Which is exactly why I thought Jeremiah's article was pretty good. As somebody else mentioned, he didn't lapse into "gunwriterese," and clearly explained not only why he likes the .260, but how his knowledge about it has grown, both in handloading and the field. Have known quite a few gun writers who never did learn much, despite the opportunities the profession provides, including one who wrote about rifle cartridges he'd never even fired, much less used in the field. He was quite successful for a while, but eventually various readers and people in the industry caught on, and he's now gone.

But my main point, again, is that gun-writing is exactly like many other professions: Older professionals will continue to retire, and younger ones will eventually take their place.

You could say you earned your stripes so to speak. You didn’t start out writing a regular column for the foremost handloading journal in the USA.

Thanks for the replies. I don't generally wear a hat in a house but will in a store. Never at a table when eating. I see the "unchurched" wear hats in church now. That one makes me cringe.

I grew up somewhat in the Western ranching culture, going back to my paternal grandparents homesteading in central Montana, when a homestead was a half-section instead of a quarter. They didn't know each other until they took up adjoining 320s alongside one of the few year-round (but small) streams in the area, but after getting married had an entire square mile, which they eventually proved up, unlike most homesteaders.

My first full-time job after high-school was as a ranch-hand, long before most cowboys started wearing ball-caps. And yes, it was indeed traditional good manners to take hats off indoors, or in the presence of women. Some guys even took them off (as well as work-gloves) when meeting some other guy for the first time, and shaking hands.

Remember that starting to change in the 1990s, especially when (as somebody noted around then) that "most working cowboys wear ball caps and running shoes anymore. The Californians who move here wear big hats and 'cowboy boots,' especially when they go to a trendy restaurant."

In fact, my grandmother (who homestead by herself in 1919) always wore a dress, even when she went hunting--and she was an avid hunter and the best shot in the family. She regularly used a .22 pump to wingshoot gamebirds--which may or may not be due to knowing Ed McGivern, who also lived in Lewistown. She eventually became superintendent of schools in the county, and had Ed give shooting demonstrations at the high school. It was definitely a different time....

^^^Thanks, me likum old family stories^^^

Hat etiquette is practiced all around our community, that being The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.

I prefer not to wear a hat, but I do need to keep the sun off somewhat. I do not where a hat indoors. (Three steps either way.) No one wears a hat at my dinner table. In the past, when the boys have had friends leave a hat on in the house I correct them (nicely.) Adults I don't bother with but few around us would wear a hat inside anyway.

Out in public.... yes, I've seen baseball caps in church a few times....amazing. I was always taught that uncovering at the table was a measure of respect for the food and the person who prepared it.

We have certain social conventions intended to show respect, good manners and good upbringing. I guess in a sense, these conventions are an unspoken assurance to the people you interact with that you are a decent, non-threatening person.

Just a surface indication that much of the fabric of our society is coming unravelled.

To be fair, it was a video made for public consumption. They weren't actually sitting down for a visit or a meal. Both of them were wearing hats and it might be thought of as set dressing.

My only issue with his hat was it shadowed his face. And were his shooting glasses hanging off his belt when he went live?

Whoa! That last paragraph is a book waiting. I have Mcgivern's book and am amazed at what he could do.

I have McGivern's book as well--which is of course great.

But also have memories of my father (then in high school) telling me about McGivern's shooting demonstration on if I recall correctly, the football field of the high school--which was then on edge of Lewistown. Ed put marbles between the fingers of his hand, threw them all up in the air, then shattered every one with his revolver. Would have loved to have seen that!

When I was in grade school in Circle Montana, we had an assembly in the gymnasium where a fellow and his wife and young sons put on a quick draw show, shooting balloons with blanks among other things. That was in the early 1970s. I've since wondered if I got to see Bob Munden in his early years.

And Mule Deer, the first article of yours I ever read was in the 1989 Gun Digest, I believe, on hunting in the west.

John, my great grandmother sounds like yours. Homesteaded a place near Glendive, wore dresses always - even when riding and roping. Side-saddle naturally. Lived in a sod house, later put up wood walls but still a dirt floor when my grandma was growing up.

Good shot per her son's - and they were very good themselves. I think it was Mike Venturino that had a picture in an article from that area and era of an unnamed woman I wondered if it was her. I'm the only one left who has seen her and I was only a year old at the time and what few pictures we had for a comparison disappeared after my grandmother's death.

Woodmaster, I'm from Glendive, grew up on the divide between Lindsay and Circle.

Huh. Can't think of her maiden name off hand but she married a Shakk. Her husband's claim to fame was having the first motorcar in the area. And having written a book. At least that is the story regarding the car though grandma was a little off about the details of her father in law shooting another man. Now that I think of it, I don't recall my great uncles ever mentioning the car. I know about the book as I have seen a copy of it.

Interesting! Not familuar with the Shakk name. I've lived here all my life, but there were a lot of homesteaders who left in the 30s.

I'll have to ask my dad's cousin for more information as she is still alive and only 15 minutes from me. She did a genealogy on the Shakk side but I don't know how much from great grandma's side is known. She was a force to contend with as she kept her boys walking the straight and narrow - mostly. Those boys were real characters; coming of age in the 20s, working construction through the Depression, WWII in the Pacific and Europe, and a lifetime hunting and fishing. I received a bunch of equipment from one and a fear of joining the Marines from the other!

Let me know if you find any other names. I've got a book put together in the 1980s that is a collection of Dawson County family histories. But Shakk wasn't in the index.

Well said, J.B..... I have already been through that stage of older age and the "who the hell is this kid and what is he doing here?" syndrome. Over the years I now let new writers do their thing and more often than not I discover that they are worth reading and enjoying. Hell; I only have about 3 years on you and can recall when I first started seeing seeing articles by some guy named Barsness that I'd never heard of.

LIKE

You know, I made that hat crack just because it was there, if you know what I mean. I don’t think the man’s being rude, it just seems like the hat is a prop or an affectation, not what he wears ordinarily when he loads. That’s reenforced by him wearing a ball cap when he’s outside shooting in the other videos, where a wide brim might be really useful. At any rate, I wish him well in his new position, and based on the piece just read he’ll do just fine, even without the family connection. Nothing wrong with putting your child in a job if you can either, especially when he’s able.

They have to have something to complain about during the times when a clerk isn't counting their change back to them.

I think that I am like a lot of people in that it takes me some time to warm to folks, whether in person or in writing. I have actually matured to the point where I recognize this and allow for it. I don't always wind up liking the person, but I have also become more tolerant of those with whom I don't click. (It might actually be more my fault than theirs.)

As to JB's mention of the Jamison article on the new Oehler, it is reminiscent of the very early issues of Handloader where many an article left me scratching my head in verification of how lacking I am in technical ability/understanding.

Just bought Handloader off the rack to read Jeremias piece. +1 for him not using the "aplomb" word.

Bet he has access to great loading equipment and didn't start off with Lee stuff. Wish him well.

I only buy Handloader off the rack as I can quickly page through to see if there is content interesting for my purposes. Takes just a moment to evaluate as the magazine has abbreviated articles for the most part.

A couple months or so ago JB commented about magazine editors limiting length or word count due the industries data suggesting that modern readers have a limited attention span and tend to not like longer reads if I recall the discussion correctly.

I get that, but............ I did thank JB as his work is fairly deep, covering technical topics well and crafted to be attractive wordsmithing.

If the world were mine to construct as I wish I'd suggest JB coach new guy Jeremia to politely ignore article word count and abbreviation therefore providing a complete article.

Mr Too Dogs,

While I appreciate your nice comments on my writing, word-count cannot be "ignored" by any magazine writer these days--unless they want real trouble from the magazine's editor and owner. And in this instance the magazine's owner also happens to be Jeremiah's father.

Along with writing close to 3000 articles for various magazines over the decades, I have also spent several years as the head editor for three magazines. Had several writers try to whip out articles for all three, going long over my requested word-count--and justified it by suggesting that it was "the editor's job" to cut them down to size. I assured the first guy who tried this was NOT the editor's job, for a couple of reasons:

First, I'd written for several magazines by then, and found that the more finished my submissions were (including word-count) the more money I was paid. Second, a magazine editor's main job is to provide an array of articles in each issue, appealing to a variety of readers. This involves reading a LOT of submissions, which is far more important than editing some lazy writer's too-long article.

The guy who insisted it was my job to edit/cut down articles sent in 5000 words, which very few magazines published even back then--and I'd asked for 2000. It was actually relatively easy to cut it down to 2000, by eliminating entire pages that essentially repeated the same information as other pages. But it also took over an hour, which I could have used for reading at least 2-3 other submissions. That writer never got another assignment from me.

I miss Scovill, probably learned something from damn near every column he wrote. That being said, I think Jeremiah's first effort was fine & I'm looking forward to seeing where he goes with it. As has been said already, new blood is good (and I was dreading Hoots taking it over - he's nearly as bad as Claire Rees...)

Exactly. Hats at a table are taboo and never a hat on the bed.

Hats at the table= bad manners

Hats on the bed, makes me cringe, and that's= bad manners. Rio7

Just once more to be clear, I wasn’t ragging on the man about his manners; it is after all a video set, not a home or public accommodation. I think it looks phony, and silly, and IMO it’s both unless that’s what he wears when he’s loading and the camera’s not running. In that case, it’s just “quirky” and we all have those; goodness knows I do……..

We also have to consider the possibility that it’s not his idea to wear it at all, but that of the production folks. I’m going with that.

That’s “high praise”!

Because it's a sign of disrespect in another's house, and a sign of mental deficiency in your own?

What's a hat for, and do those conditions exist indoors?




GR

Guys I worked with had ball caps on all the time to cover the bald spot they were sensitive about displaying.

Whatever.

A hat can be for looks and that goes in or out of doors. The so called disrespect is an old BS tradition that is often ignored today.

That's a reason

We were taught to take our shoes off in the house. I suppose that we could have declared anyone who didn't do so (at any place) as disrespectful if we chose to do so. It wouldn't matter that they intended no disrespect, but since it was a "rule" that we (well, really Momma) made up, we would have had the right to brand them as such.

Fashion - applies to women.

That's why hats are acceptable for them to wear indoors.

... like makeup.




GR

That's your opinion, never saw a Western where the cowboy all took there hat off insideca salone

Musta been gay cowboys...

8>)




GR

I can't speak to the articles as I no longer subscribe to any print magazines.

But I have watched the Handloader TV series on YouTube, and I like this concept and format. I think Jeremiah does a pretty good job, although he could use some coaching on public speaking. This isn't to say I feel his presentation is bad or unwatchable, just that he's clearly very new to presenting to a camera, and it's pretty clear he's not yet comfortable in this presentation format.

As to the hat, it never even crossed my mind to have an opinion on his choice of headwear.

Always thought traditions and beliefs should have a real reason to exist. I'm not much on doing schit because we always do it that way.

Lots of stupid traditions or rules out there like not putting a hat on a bed, that are just ridiculous and have no basis in fact.

Hell I even got in the shower with a ball cap on once. Wore it so much I forgot I had it on. Maybe we should make that a rule too?

Was wearing a "cowboy" hat many years ago during a fly-fishing trip with several other writers, mostly because there was some chance of rain, and a wide-brimmed hat kept raindrops off my glasses. (Used to write about fishing a lot too, in fact one of my old books is all about the subject.)

When we got back to the lodge where we were staying, and I took my hat off and threw it on the bed. One of the other guys immediately almost shouted, "You never put a cowboy hat on a bed!" There may even been a comment about it being bad luck, but in any case I had NEVER heard that before, despite growing up in Montana, and working on more than one ranch. The other writer had grown up in upstate New York....

It sounds like something that the Darling family on Andy Griffith would champion.

Hell, I don't even move the dishes when I piss in the sink.

Lol thanks for the early morning wakeup still laughing. Don't feel bad if I never invite you over for a beer though ok?

I know right. Just look at the way people struggled with their prejudices when people started kneeling for the National Anthem.

It’s the bike helmets that bother me. It just screams, ‘flaming liberal’.

"The tradition of men removing their hats indoors is thought to date back to the practice of medieval knights removing their helmets when entering a building as a signal of friendly intent."

Seems a bit outdated.

At 54 pages it only lasts one chit in the Library.

Picked up a copy of the issue of Handloader in question and read the article that offended the op. It was well wrote. Much better than the first article Lee J hooter wrote when he came on insinuating the 270 wasn't mule deer capable. J Polacek is the future of Handloader and Rifle magazines he is the son of Don and the Associate Publisher of the magazines . Far as I'm concerned the O P can go fug himself. I been reading Rifle and Handloader for damn near 50 years. JAC43 take a hike....mb