I just found out some very sad news. Bob Brister passed away. I know many on this board are from the houston area and will certainly remember reading him in the Chronicle Outdoors section for many years. He was also shooting writer for Field & Stream as well as the author of several books. Another of the great gunwriters of our time has passed on. God speed Mr Brister and thanks for making an impact on our lives.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/deaths/3226119

Yes, I have read many of his articles and enjoyed every one of them. Thanks for the notice.

Having grown up in Big H during the 50's and 60's, his column was a must read. He was a heck of a writer and one hell of a shooter. You at least knew when he said something it was from experience, not an overnight stay in a Holiday Inn Express. We all must go sometime, but the loss of those who are honest and real tends to hurt deeply, simply because they don't seem to make em that way as often as they used to.

He was a must read for me as hunting season got close. The old timers had field experence. They are missed.

I have spoken to a number of writers who knew Bob Brister. He was the quinessential gentleman.

BB's classic "Shotgunning: The Art and the Science" is a shotgunning must read.

I am a bit worried about another famous writer from Houston - John Wooters. The nicest guy you would ever want to talk to.

I attended Optometry school at The University of Houston from 1980-85 and remember Bob Brister from that time.Both his writing and also from time to time on radio and Television.I remember him as a pleasant sort of guy, a straight shooter.

God Bless him and his family.

To me, Bob Brister was one of the all-time greatest gunwriters, and a very classy gentleman. For some reason, he never quite got his full due and recognition, but in my estimate he was right up there with all the greats. He was a double-threat expert; an absolute master with shotgun or rifle, and he had worlds of experience in the hunting fields of the world, as well as in competition.

Like Bob Hagel, Bob Brister was a true common-sense, practical man of honest experience who I could really relate to, but I will say his handload info was more "manageable" than Hagel's !

Four rifle articles of Brister's from the 1970s really standout in my mind: "The Elephants of Charisa", "The Deer Don't Care", "Six Mighty Millimeters", plus another one on the fine 358 Norma Magnum that was truly the straight-dope/magnum opus work on that cartridge. Bob was good at breaking new ground, and he was great about revealing sometimes ugly truths and practical realities that other writers didn't have the experience or intestinal fortitude to touch.

He did 'Field & Stream' proud for many years, and to compare one of his stupendous efforts from that era to one of Dave Petzel's current anemic, sophmoric, acerbic F&S articles from today ( I know, "editoral policy" is part of the problem) is a joke.

I hope some great editor like Jim Casada assembles a comprehensive collection of Brister articles for book publication. Bob left behind a true legacy...........

AD

I didn't know Mr. Brister personally, we ran into each other once in the hotel bar/restaurant in Lewiston, Montana and exchanged a few pleasantries one time while we were both up there hun and pheasant hunting. As an aside that was the only time I ever saw a "migration" of huns......literally hundreds of them flew over us one day......we were already limited out. He was a Texas gentleman. Is there any other kind?

His shotgunning work was seminal and he wrote some books that are worth reading as well. I was just re-reading an article of his the other night and, as often happened when I read his stuff about shotgunning, found out something that I didn't know......and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about smooth bores. To wit, full chokes shot velocities are FASTER than improved cylinder.

We are diminished. I don't believe in an afterlife, but if there is one, I hope he is gunning mallards with his favorite lab or shooting quail over a great pointer right now.

Bob was a true gentleman, and will be missed. His "Shotgunning: The Art and the Science" is a superb book, and shows the results of many hours of painstaking research on shot strings and many other facets of shotgunning. In addition, his "Moss, Mallards, and Mules" is a fun read, especially for those of us from Texas since he wrote a lot about this part of the country.

I ran into, and up against, Bob several times at flyer shoots here and there. Super nice guy, and he could shoot.

I too grew up reading Bob Brister's column in the newspaper. Next to my Dad, he was the single biggest contributor to my hunger for both knowledge and true stories of hunting and fishing. As a youngster reading his columns over and over, I thought he was a "giant". I still do.

Like many here, I grew up reading Mr. Brister's column in F&S. I miss it.

I will ask, and hope it is not inappropriate in this thread, has anyone a copy of his article on the 358 Norma? I have been trying to find a copy of it for years.

Bob Brister was a class act all the way. I had the pleasure of meeting him.