quote:

Thank God almighty for the internet and AR where no one exaggerates their tales of daring and trophies harvested. Now, whose reputation can we besmirch next with innuendo and fourth hand rumors... all to make us feel much more important than we really are.

That sums it all up as best can be done. Thank You Sir.

Jack O'Connor certainly hunted brown and black bears in Alaska. I remember the title was something like 'Bears in the Rain' or some such thing.

He was certainly one of my all time heroes as a kid and I actually drove down to Idaho to visit him. He was in Africa but his one time secretary gave us a tour of his lovely home and wonderful trophies ..

A couple of friends hosted him here in Alberta on bird hunts back in the day.

My personal hang up .. (and I do not have it with O'Connor) is that hunting has always meant so much to me ... and when people lie about their accomplishments ... it really annoys me ...

Gates got to hunt magnificent areas and animals .. A high achiever and good on him .... so why make up stories .. his real life was incredible enough .. Sheesh ....

But like I said ... it is my hang up ...

quote:

Originally posted by scruffy:
Jack O'Connor certainly hunted brown and black bears in Alaska. I remember the title was something like 'Bears in the Rain' or some such thing.

He was certainly one of my all time heroes as a kid and I actually drove down to Idaho to visit him. He was in Africa but his one time secretary gave us a tour of his lovely home and wonderful trophies ..

A couple of friends hosted him here in Alberta on bird hunts back in the day.

My personal hang up .. (and I do not have it with O'Connor) is that hunting has always meant so much to me ... and when people lie about their accomplishments ... it really annoys me ...

Gates got to hunt magnificent areas and animals .. A high achiever and good on him .... so why make up stories .. his real life was incredible enough .. Sheesh ....

But like I said ... it is my hang up ...

You coming to Luangwa mate?

It would be a fantastic trip, I have no doubt. And since I did not go to Africa in 2017 I have been a miserable wretch to all around me ... Nothing in words or action, of course .. just that bloody thousand yard stare ...

I do not have a puku or a civet ... doesn't sound really enthralling to go to Zambia and hunt a puku .. although they are pretty ... I am seriously pondering, Andrew ..

JOC most certainly did hunt in Alaska. He hunted coastal bears with Ralph Young.

I have met a couple people that met O'Connor and none of them really liked him.

I don't know anyone that met Keith that didn't like him.

Craig Boddington was nice to me, his daughter is probably one of the most down to earth Super-Model looking women I have ever talked to.

If I would have been a 10 years younger when I met her I would have made an attempt at marriage. She was just wonderful.

Chub Eastman... I am not sure if I caught him on a bad day or not but.....

Gordon Eastman was nice to me when I was a little kid, his son Mike was nice to me when I met him in my 30's. His grandsons I did not have the same luck with. I don't know how they at or if it was just a busy show.

Kai Uwe Denker can suck it, I didn't think he was a nice guy at all.

Coenraad Vermak was a true gentlemen and so was Peter Flack.

I don't think I met any other fairly famous hunters. Just those ones at conventions, gun shows, and store openings.

Guys

I don't know if Elgin Gates embellished or made up stories. I really don't care as I read his books for entertainment and they were entertaining. I always questioned his taking of the elephant with a 300 WBY and a 200 gr Nosler Partition but I'm not in a position to call foul and I really don't give a shit. The guy obviously lived an exciting life and good for him.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Guys

I don't know if Elgin Gates embellished or made up stories. I really don't care as I read his books for entertainment and they were entertaining. I always questioned his taking of the elephant with a 300 WBY and a 200 gr Nosler Partition but I'm not in a position to call foul and I really don't give a shit. The guy obviously lived an exciting life and good for him.

Mark

+1.

quote:

I don't know if Elgin Gates embellished or made up stories. I really don't care as I read his books for entertainment and they were entertaining. I always questioned his taking of the elephant with a 300 WBY and a 200 gr Nosler Partition but I'm not in a position to call foul and I really don't give a shit. The guy obviously lived an exciting life and good for him.

And that should be good enough for all of us!

Why do we, Hunters, as a group, insist on attacking the reputations of people that were able to hunt under conditions np longer available to the rest of us?

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Guys

I don't know if Elgin Gates embellished or made up stories. I really don't care as I read his books for entertainment and they were entertaining. I always questioned his taking of the elephant with a 300 WBY and a 200 gr Nosler Partition but I'm not in a position to call foul and I really don't give a shit. The guy obviously lived an exciting life and good for him.

Mark

Elgin was far from the only one to take an elephant with a .300 Weatherby.

never read his book, but for sure trophy photo of Sable, Kudu and Bongo I have see around are done with mounted heads.

I read a lot of his writings about hunting animals I was interested in, and his writing was very well done. The only thing that I didn't like about him was his choice of rifle brand being those gaudy Weatherby rifles. Like the Winslow rifles just too PIMPed up for my taste!

That is simply a personal dislike, that wasn't enough for me to not read about the game he hunted!
........................................................................

quote:

I read a lot of his writings about hunting animals I was interested in, and his writing was very well done. The only thing that I didn't like about him was his choice of rifle brand being those gaudy Weatherby rifles. Like the Winslow rifles just too PIMPed up for my taste!

That is simply a personal dislike, that wasn't enough for me to not read about the game he hunted!
........................................................................

My personal dislike was the purple prose Gates wrote.

I've often thought about submitting one of his paragraphs to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest that honors authors who (with tongue in cheek) work in an ornate and overdone melodramatic style.

If you are unaware of that contest, for rules and some past winning entries go to
bulwer-lytton.com

Bill Quimby

There's no doubt that some of the writing was a bit much and Elgin himself always struck me as being a bit in your face aggressive at times, but guys like him pioneered the way for many of the hunting opertunities in far off lands that many here enjoy today. Without his kind documenting what they did hunting literature would be a pretty boring read.

I see no class in trashing a mans reputation with cheap Hearsay, that he said she said bull shit, If you know for a fact then say so, if not don't turn this thread into a cheap gossip session is my take on the subject...

As to Jack O'Connor he was not a sham artist,nor was he a liar, he was a good man, tended to be cranky, and I thought the world of him, guided him for Coues Mule deer, and if he told me the sun wasn't coming up tomarrow morning Id get out my latern..

I don't know elgin Gates, never met the man, read a lot about him and I know he hunted all over the world and shot a hell of a lot game. I have no reason to doubt or bad mouth him, none at all..