My favorite these days is John Taffin. I really like his books on big bore handguns. His latest one is on the .44 magnum.

I like Walt Prothero. He writes about hunts and adventure that I enjoy and prefer to partake in.

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
I like Walt Prothero. He writes about hunts and adventure that I enjoy and prefer to partake in.

I like Walt Prothero as well, it's a good writer. I had almost forgot about him.

I have been doing a lot of reading due to being laid up with a knee replacement.I am saying there is probably no living gun writers(Exception Ken Howell) who can touch Townsend Whelen in the gun writing dept.

One of the comments that I have seen concerning Whelen and his writing, was that Whelen, did not have all that much experience as a hunter.

Lots of knowledge about ballistics and work at the range, but little actual field knowledge shooting animals.

Most of the guys mentioned were not gun writers.
Most were hunting writers.
I consider P.O. Ackley a gun writer. He actually wrote some techinical content that was worth remembering.
Of the rest Ken Waters and Bob Hagle were pretty good reloading writers.

I consider O'Connor the best writer and Skeeter Skelton the most entertaining.

Keith and Cooper were crabby old women.

Terry Wieland and Bob Hutton wrote some of the most bogus stuff I have written. I don't think either had/have reasonable judgment.

The current editor of Handloader and Rifle Magazines Dave Scovill has to be one of the most revolting writers ever.

A lot of the rest just talk about shooting critters. Anyone with a rifle and a box of ammo can do that.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:

A lot of the rest just talk about shooting critters. Anyone with a rifle and a box of ammo can do that.

And on the flipside, anyone can sit on a bench with a rifle and a box of ammo and plink away and write about that too.

Personally, I'd prefer to watch paint drying on a wall than to have to suffer through reading that "genre" of writing.

I guess since we're splitting hairs here, the OP did ask about best "gun writers" and not hunting authors/writers.

Scotty the point is "gun" writers. Firearms are chemical mechanical device. Very few of the writers have any technical background. That is why they try to write for a living. They talk the talk but cannot walk the walk beyond "I once shot a white tail".

quote:

Originally posted by MOA TACTICAL:
I wasn't offended, I just didn't care for his writing.

I'm with you on Cooper. All I remember him talking about was the death ray 45 ACP and his scout rifle concept being the perfect all around rifle platform.

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
I like Walt Prothero. He writes about hunts and adventure that I enjoy and prefer to partake in.

Walt Prothero wrote one of the most ridiculous articles I've ever read a number of years back. I wish I could find it but it was so bad I actually sent a letter to the editor about it

How about this concept, "Gun Writers" mean different things to different people and no one can change that!!!!!!!!!

Some of us are more interested in a caliber's or type or manufacturer's equipment and it's perfomance on game, anything wrong with that?

Some of us are more interested in the technical aspects of a firearm such as its realiability and its performance off the bench!

Some writers are going to address those issues differently or better than others, anything wrong with that?

It's funny how you remember certain things .When I was kid the paper we got had regular articles by Robert Ruark and I think those articles got me interested in hunting more than anything else as none in my family were real hunters.
On the other side when I became serious about handgun hunting I read one of Bob Milek's articles about handgun hunting . He had tested many bullets and highly praised one bullet --but never mentioned what it was !!
I don't think I ever read another of his articles.I read them to learn and save me the time and money of doing extensive testing myself especially bullet performance on actual game.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
One of the comments that I have seen concerning Whelen and his writing, was that Whelen, did not have all that much experience as a hunter.

Lots of knowledge about ballistics and work at the range, but little actual field knowledge shooting animals.

Yeah, being in charge of a Armory,testing rifles and ammo. Hunting in Alaska, Canada,Africa.What knowledge could he possibly have???

quote:

What knowledge could he possibly have???

Please point out just Exactly Where I SAID that Col. Whelen did not have any knowledge?

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
One of the comments that I have seen concerning Whelen and his writing, was that Whelen, did not have all that much experience as a hunter.

Lots of knowledge about ballistics and work at the range, but little actual field knowledge shooting animals.

All I remember from the article, and it was in one of the gun/outdoor magazines from 20 or 30 years ago and the article was in the same topic area as this discussion.

Someone and I forget who all was being quoted questioned Whelen's credentials simply because he had not done as much hunting or killed as much game as the like of Keith or O'Connor.

quote:

1. Ross Seyfreid-- got me intrested in big bores and fine rifles--still to this day I love the look of a fine hammergun and unique firearms.

2.Bob Milek-- loved his candor, Good solid writer that did alot of hunting and gave sound advice. The reason I bought a 25-06 as my first deer rifle--and still love it to this day.

+10

Ross understood the romance and history of the sport and appreciates a fine gun. He can expound on some esoteric point of gun design and make it not only understandable but down right interesting. He also thinks big, which I like. He got me into reading Baker, Selous, Greener, Forsythe, and the African pioneers and I fell down the slippery slope to double rifles, bore guns, and some more crazy pursuits. I always check the table of contents and then flip straight to anything he's written when I read a new copy of DGJ at the post office.

On the other hand, if my wife had any idea at all of how much money I spent on guns and ideas sparked by his articles she'd shoot him on sight! His other big fault is that he calls it good or bad as he sees it and most of the excellent guns he write about are made by long past firms that can't buy favorable copy with their ad money. Personally I think that is a virtue, but some editors don't.

Bob M. was my second favorite writer as a teenager as he could make a praire dog hunt seem as exciting as any African safari. I had to see WY after reading his articles for years and bought my first 220 Swift as a result.

Bob

quote:

Some writers INCLUDE gun info (rifles, loads, findings), within a story, and capture you. These really take me away to a different place.

This is the point that I tried to make in my earlier post. It's a skill tht has largely been lost by today's writers, who tend to focus too much on the gear and too little about why we're out there in the first place.

I'll probably get beat up for this post, but I'm gonna do it anyway...

IMO, the era of excellent storytellers is a thing of the past...

It seems to me, that almost every article I read in a U.S. publication, is nothing more than a wordy plug for the products of the advertisers in that particular magazine.

I haven't bought a U.S. gunrag in years, but still pick them up from time to time at the gunclub recycling table, and I am consistently disappointed. "This wonderful new rifle.... That wonderful new ammunition... bla, bla, bla....

The only magazine I still read cover to cover and sometimes read twice, is African Outfitter. Their writers haven't yet become whores to their advertisers.

quote:

I'll probably get beat up for this post, but I'm gonna do it anyway...

I ain't gonna beat you up for just telling the plain truth.

I guess the difference today, and it keeps rearing its ugly head is that todays sportsmen/hunters are more geared to the technical aspects and ways/methods/equipment that will increase their odds of being successful because their time is more limited. They have heard our War Stories about times long gone and they don't have the actual memories of how things were 30 and 40 years ago.

Hank Jr., in my opinion states it best for the over 55 crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imNRmIujsPk

It was the stories that dealt more with the hunt and less with the terchnical aspects that fueled my desire to hunt. I feel that I am not alone in that. For those old farts amongst the ranks of hunters, if we wanted technical information we had the Lyman #45 handbook or if we were more advanced or adventuresome there was Parker Ackley and his Ackley Improved cartridges. Warren Page was another that provided technical information for many of us.

I still take a couple of magazines, but basically all the articles, have become infomercials. It is what todays hunters want. They are facing a whole different set of circumstances and attitudes about hunting than us dinosaurs did. I guess in many ways they have the right to blame us for some of the mess hunting is in. Maybe that is true, maybe not.

All I know is that the future I envision for those coming after us is not real rosy looking. JMO.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:

quote:

I'll probably get beat up for this post, but I'm gonna do it anyway...

I ain't gonna beat you up for just telling the plain truth.

I guess the difference today, and it keeps rearing its ugly head is that todays sportsmen/hunters are more geared to the technical aspects and ways/methods/equipment that will increase their odds of being successful because their time is more limited. They have heard our War Stories about times long gone and they don't have the actual memories of how things were 30 and 40 years ago.

Hank Jr., in my opinion states it best for the over 55 crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imNRmIujsPk

It was the stories that dealt more with the hunt and less with the terchnical aspects that fueled my desire to hunt. I feel that I am not alone in that. For those old farts amongst the ranks of hunters, if we wanted technical information we had the Lyman #45 handbook or if we were more advanced or adventuresome there was Parker Ackley and his Ackley Improved cartridges. Warren Page was another that provided technical information for many of us.

I still take a couple of magazines, but basically all the articles, have become infomercials. It is what todays hunters want. They are facing a whole different set of circumstances and attitudes about hunting than us dinosaurs did. I guess in many ways they have the right to blame us for some of the mess hunting is in. Maybe that is true, maybe not.

All I know is that the future I envision for those coming after us is not real rosy looking. JMO.

I'm 68 & grew up with Outdoor Life & Jack O'conner. At the time Warren Page was at Field & stream. I did't like page but his style has become the modern gun writer style.. O'conner never wrote about owing a 1" capable rifle or wildcats although I remembered a 22-250 Highwall. O'Conner wrote about the romance of rifles & what made the proper rifle for the conditions. Page wrote about the tech features of riflen & a little about their hunting use.

At mid age my favorites were G. Sitton,John Wooters & Finn Aagaard. Wotters was my favorite, as I remember he once wrote a story about the "perfect deer rifle" & in the first paragraph listed every centerfire larger than 22-250.

Now I ocasionally read Rifle, & don't even bother with the gunrags. As a writer friend says how many ways can you write/read the 270 is better than the 30'06. Of the current writers I think Boddington is O'Conner & John Barsness is Warren Page.

Pat McManus is the best outdoor writer ever

One thing I get tired of is writers bringing their wives into the story time and again, esp when they have documented being married four times and they are new to hunting. Give me a break. Seems one in particular wants his wife to be Eleanor O'Connor. Well, there was only one of her. Thank God Jack didn't drag us through four marriages.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
One thing I get tired of is writers bringing their wives into the story time and again, esp when they have documented being married four times and they are new to hunting. Give me a break. Seems one in particular wants his wife to be Eleanor O'Connor. Well, there was only one of her. Thank God Jack didn't drag us through four marriages.

You know Craig is a member too right?

quote:

Originally posted by tom ga hunter:
I'm 68 & grew up with Outdoor Life & Jack O'conner. At the time Warren Page was at Field & stream. I did't like page but his style has become the modern gun writer style.. O'conner never wrote about owing a 1" capable rifle or wildcats although I remembered a 22-250 Highwall. O'Conner wrote about the romance of rifles & what made the proper rifle for the conditions. Page wrote about the tech features of riflen & a little about their hunting use.

At mid age my favorites were G. Sitton,John Wooters & Finn Aagaard. Wotters was my favorite, as I remember he once wrote a story about the "perfect deer rifle" & in the first paragraph listed every centerfire larger than 22-250.

Now I ocasionally read Rifle, & don't even bother with the gunrags. As a writer friend says how many ways can you write/read the 270 is better than the 30'06. Of the current writers I think Boddington is O'Conner & John Barsness is Warren Page.

I would say that Boddington probably is O'Conner, though he's not the elitist snob that O'Connor was.

Barness might be Page, as he is kind of a gun smith like Page was. Then again there are quite a few like that now.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MOA TACTICAL:
though he's not the elitist snob that O'Connor was.
QUOTE]

Would you please enlighten me as to how Jack O'Connor was a elitist snob?
I admit to not having read everything he ever wrote but I have read a couple of his books. I never once saw any indication of snobbery much less elitism but rather honest reporting of experiences with firearms.

I do not remember O'Connor or Keith being elitists. I do remember both of them being opinionated.

One of the things IMO that our modern society has lost and will never get back, is understanding that just because a person is opinionated it does not mean they are an elitist.

Our country has not always been PC. Gun writers/outdoor writers were not under the constraints of selling products to keep their employer in business.

They spoke their mind and were not intimidated by anyone in doing so.

Too often in our modern society, people that are not worried about what others think of them, are looked down on to a certain degree.

Anderson's book on O'Connor, and the DVD done by Safari Press both paint the same picture. O'Connor was far from being the "everyman" that Keith was.

O'Connor was the kind of guy, that looked for validation in his life through praise and acceptance of his writings and friends in high places. Like the Shah of Iran, Elgin Gates, CJ McKelroy, and quite a few others. He lived a caviar and champagne lifestyle, while Keith was still a cowboy, even as an older man.

I never said Keith was a snob, I have enver seen a single page written about him that said anything like that.

I like O'Connor's writings, in fact I like them a lot. He was a heck of a story teller. His technical knowledge was lacking though.

I like Keith a lot more, and I tend to follow the Keith thought of more bullet, means more dead.

MOA:

It just isn't CB that does this. Carmichel (who like Boddington I hold in high esteem as a writer) wrote about his first wife quite a bit in his book "The Modern Rifle" but after he bailed on her there is obviously no mention of her. After that, he barely mentions his second wife. I also wonder what happened to his son. Since the odds of divorce increase with each marriage, maybe he figured he was better off remaining mum.

Some writers actually have wives that are very accomplished in the field. Doug Stange (In-
Fisherman)and Scott Rupp are two that come to mind, yet I don't recall them ever mentioning their wives in their writing.

If a writer marries someone like Kim Rhode, by all means quote her and write about her. But otherwise, I wish writers would leave them out, lest we still love them after they don't.

quote:

Anderson's book on O'Connor, and the DVD done by Safari Press both paint the same picture. O'Connor was far from being the "everyman" that Keith was

I like both Keith and O'Connor with Keith being my favorite, but having read a lot of O'Connor's stuff along with Keith's I do not view either of them as being the "everyman" as far as hunting and shooting are concerned. They each had their niche in the overall scheme of things. I just happened to be more of a Keith fan.

I rarely put much stock in what one writer has to say about another writer, simply because their estimation of another writer is rarely fair or unbiased. Keith and O'Connor did not get along at all. Those of us that were there to read ther monthly columns read that first hand. Their personalities and beliefs as far as hunting arms were concerned were never going to mesh.

Another vote for Don Lewis. He wrote regularly for PA Game News and later for Fur,Fish,Game -- a great little magazine. It appears to me that too many present day writers are , either overtly or covertly, endorsing products.
On another note, I never cared for Jim Carmichel.

quote:

Originally posted by MOA TACTICAL:

quote:

Originally posted by dawaba:
MDA, you put John Wootters on the deceased list. He is still alive and living in the Texas Hill Country. Still doing a little writing too.....

Thanks I thought he was in the arms of the Lord a long time ago.

He is now; died on Jan 29. I had no idea. The most ethical writer with whom I have ever spoken.

God bless you John.

Overall I think I liked Finn Aagard the best of gun writers from the past. I basically read everything I could get my hands on that he wrote when I first got interested in Africa. He knew guns and hunting from practical experience in the field.

I just don't buy gun or hunting mags anymore. They are just too expensive to read about the same subjects rehashed for the 100th time.

Mark

Thank god AR is free, it makes the rehashing a great deal easier to take.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
I have read all of the above. I have never cared for Jack O or E Keith - just not my style or taste.


On your list, I would rate Wooters the highest as I like what he says and his style.

Thanks for leaving Terry Wieland off the list. I read one and only one of his books and avoid his columns in SCI stuff.

My all time favorite is Gene Hill..

quote:

Originally posted by drummondlindsey:
Pat McManus is the best outdoor writer ever

I do not know about the "best" but he was easily the funniest I have ever read. He was super.

quote:

Originally posted by drummondlindsey:

quote:

Originally posted by Scottyboy:
I like Walt Prothero. He writes about hunts and adventure that I enjoy and prefer to partake in.

Walt Prothero wrote one of the most ridiculous articles I've ever read a number of years back. I wish I could find it but it was so bad I actually sent a letter to the editor about it

I struggle with Walt sometimes, not my favorite and I think he tries too hard to sell his articles rather than writing from the heart.

I enjoyed shooting/hunting writers the most. They lived the life they wrote about.

Elmer Keith has to stand at the top. He cowboyed, guided, hunted, and even qualified at the highest level of High Power, Camp Perry. His articles began to be seen in the American Rifleman in the late 1920's. He designed wildcat hunting cartridges, was the man responsible for S&W bringing out the 44 Magnum in the mid-fifties, and the 41 Magnum in the early sixties. He was the unanimous choice for the initial American Handgunner award.

My first trip to his home in Salmon was in the summer of 1972. I had read about the two keys to becoming a welcome guest. Bring a little Chevas, and your NRA membership card.

I knocked on his door, and he answered it. I introduced myself, and he did likewise. Then he asked me if I were a member of the NRA. I said "Life", and he turned away to tell his wife "Mother, we have company, would you make us a pot of coffee?"

You cannot imagine, unless you have had the same experience, what a gracious and down to earth gentleman he was to sit and visit with.

I drove to Lewiston a couple days later, and knocked on Jack O'Connor's front door. He answered, and I introduced myself. He just looked at me and asked me what I wanted. It went downhill from there.

Elmer Keith made me instantly feel wanted, like I was somebody. O'Connor had the opposite effect on me.

We are what we are. That same trip I visited John Buhmiller in Montana, and dropped down to SLC and spent half a day in Ackley's shop. Both were gracious hosts to a 22 year old, and made me feel at home. I bought a rifle from Buhmiller, and must have asked Ackley a thousand questions. He was chambering a rifle barrel, and explained the process to me.

Today we have a good group of writers, but they seem generally more technical in nature, and less involved in the building.

My top three:

Elmer Keith
Ross Seyfried
Craig Boddington

I think Jim Carmichel was one of the best. It seems odd that he has barely gotten a mention here. His retirement has left a huge hole at Outdoor Life!

quote:

Originally posted by hunt99:
I think Jim Carmichel was one of the best. It seems odd that he has barely gotten a mention here. His retirement has left a huge hole at Outdoor Life!

I agree hunt99.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
Then he asked me if I were a member of the NRA. I said "Life", and he turned away to tell his wife "Mother, we have company, would you make us a pot of coffee?"

You cannot imagine, unless you have had the same experience, what a gracious and down to earth gentleman he was to sit and visit with.

I drove to Lewiston a couple days later, and knocked on Jack O'Connor's front door. He answered, and I introduced myself. He just looked at me and asked me what I wanted. It went downhill from there.

Elmer Keith made me instantly feel wanted, like I was somebody. O'Connor had the opposite effect on me.

While I'm a huge O'Connor fan, there's no more important lesson for a person to learn than what I.S. points out. Maybe Jack was having a bad day, or maybe already had had 5 people knock earlier that afternoon, or maybe he was just an introvert who didn't like to be bothered on a Sunday afternoon.

But whatever the reason, it costs me nothing but a moment or two of my time to say, politely, "I'm sorry, but now really is not a good time to chat. Thanks for stopping by - I really appreciate it."

Trust me, I have to do it all the time

friar