I've been on Accurate for several years but just today noticed the "Books and Videos" forum.

Anyway, here are some of the gun and outdoor books and articles that made a lasting impression on me.

-- Biography of barrelmaker Harry Pope (it has a title but I can't remember it and it's in storage at the moment). Harry was a unique individual, to say the least.

-- The Bullet's Path (or something like that) by Dr. Mann. It's dry as oatmeal and seemingly dated, but Mann did more than any other single civilian to advance the understanding of rifle accuracy. Every time I re-read it, I learn something and my admiration for Mann increases.

-- Hatcher's notebook. A lot of it is dated but I still admire his logical and factual approach.

-- Ridge Runner, a true story about a guy who decided to go live in the Idaho woods. Not about hunting or shooting but definitely outdoors. He was a local legend.

-- The Last of the Mountain Men, a biography of Sylvan Hart, another guy who decided to go live in the Idaho woods. He made his own guns from scratch, so it's kind of gun-related.

-- Rifle Accuracy Facts, also qualifies as one of my most despised books because the author is pompous, quick to jump to wrong conclusions, doesn't back up his bold claims with data, and reminds us on every other page that he is a rocket scientist, yet despite all that, it's a good read because it makes you think.

-- Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting (or something like that) by Ed McGivern. It's mostly about speed shooting, which I have no interest in, but McGivern also documents some impressive long range pistol shooting, before anyone had heard of Elmer Keith.

-- Any factual biography of Annie Oakley. I compare all women to Annie Oakley, and there is no comparison.

-- biography of Beaver Dick (might be titled "The Honor and the Heartbreak"), an Idaho squaw man. It's got hunting, history, guns, and a heart-tugging personal story.

-- autobiography of George Goodheart (another Idaho squaw man, and another title that I can't remember). Lots of hunting and a heart-tugging personal story.

-- Silence of the North, autobiography of Olive Fredrickson, a woman struggling to survive in the wilderness. Hunting, outdoors, and another inspiring personal story.

-- anything by Ted Trueblood. Idaho hunting.

-- The Ben Lilly Legend. Bear hunting and a very unique character.

-- any shooting article by Denton Bramwell. Denton used to be an AR regular until the name-callers drove him away. We need more shooters with a logical and scientific approach to shooting like Denton's.

-- any article by Ross Seyfried. Regardless of what you think of Ross as a person, the guy knows guns.

-- any article by Finn Aagard (sp?). Modest, unassuming, no BS, and the guy knew his stuff. One of the few gun writers who has stood the test of time.

-- anything by Charlie Sisk. Actually, he's not a writer, but he posts on the 24 hr. campfire sometimes, and he's helped Barsness with a couple of articles. Like Aagard, Charlie is modest, unassuming, no BS, and knows his stuff. I like people like that.

Here are some that I think are, not necessarily bad, but just highly over rated.

-- Elmer Keith. I enjoy his outdoor stories, but his understanding of guns was quite shallow and his thinking was not logical or scientific.

-- Rifle Accuracy Facts. Easy to fault because the author makes exceptionally cocky claims while providing little data.

-- The Lyman Cast Bullet Manual. I call it the "Lyman Lies". Actually, it has some good material in it, but it also has a lot of old wives tales.

-- The NRA Cast Bullet Manual. This contains some first rate articles by Dennis Marshall, but most of the book was written by a narrow minded fellow named Harrison who repeated old wives tales and made bold claims without providing data.

-- the current American Rifleman, which has degenerated into just another shallow info-mercial mag.

-- Hodgdon's 357 data for Lil Gun. The Hodgdon manual used to be my favorite. Now I have lost all confidence in Hodgdon data because anyone who would publish that doesn't know what they are doing.

-- Ken Waters Pet Loads. Most uninteresting gun articles I have ever read, and his loads were never pressure tested. Yet even today, people still ask for his loads.

-- Layne Simpson's 7mm STW. Oh, I like Layne's articles in general, but he blew it on the STW. It was the most overhyped cartridge in history, based totally on data that was never pressure tested.

-- The IHMSA book on Silhouette Shooting (another title that I can't remember). Some of the scariest load data ever published, especially the JD Jones data. Of course, it was never pressure tested.

Any favorite hunting authors?

I totally agree about Elmer Keith. As a sidenote, I was director of publications for SCI for many years before I retired. Soon after ol' Elmer was fired from one publication or another, he sent me several letters announcing that it would be my honor to have him join my staff in exchange for his writing payback articles for his free hunts. I was shocked to see how illiterate that man was. His letters were filled with misspellings, syntax errors, and just plain bad writing. He obviously had worked for some very good editors.

Bill

Oops! I owe a huge apology to the ghost of Mr. Keith. Don't ask me how I did it because I don't know, but I confused a guy named Askins with the Hon. Elmer Keith.

BillQ

billrquimby,
Interesting take on Askins. I don't doubt what you say, but I still enjoyed his hunting stories, though they didn't stand out in any way.

I've heard the same type of comments about Keith's literacy, even from some of his admirers like Boddington.

At least when Keith and Askins wrote for American Rifleman, it was a decent mag, with meaningful hunting and technical articles, instead of the shallow info-mercials of today's AR.

Funny thing about Askins...

I have "Asian Jungle African Bush" (at least I think that was the title). Reading the Asian part of the book was painful. Way too much bravado and machismo for me. I'm not sure if it was because he was in Vietnam as a military advisor (was there before the U.S. full scale "police action") or what, but was tough to get through. The African part of the book was much more reflective and the bravado was absent for the most part. Actually, the African portion was a very enjoyable read. Both were interesting and I recommend the book, especially to those that really liked Askins.

"Funny thing about Askins... I have "Asian Jungle African Bush" (at least I think that was the title). Reading the Asian part of the book was painful. Way too much bravado and machismo for me. I'm not sure if it was because he was in Vietnam as a military advisor (was there before the U.S. full scale "police action") or what, but was tough to get through. The African part of the book was much more reflective and the bravado was absent for the most part. Actually, the African portion was a very enjoyable read. Both were interesting and I recommend the book, especially to those that really liked Askins."

DPhillips:

If you come across the book, please PM the title to me.

One of his hunting buddies was the late George Parker, a good friend of mine. I've seen the trophies George brought back from his hunts in Southeast Asia with Askins, and they're not likely to be duplicated by anyone. If Askins wrote about their hunts together I'd like to get the book.

BillQ

Bill,
I don't recall if Parker's hunts with Askins were mentioned in the Asian part of the book, they must have been, I guess. But, seems like he accompanied Askins to Africa as well. I think there was a picture of Parker's Giant Sable in the book, along with a few other pictures of Parker. If I remember right, they hunted in Kenya and Angola.

I'm certain the title is "Asian Jungle African Bush". I found a copy of it on eBay. Certainly not in collector condition due to the dust jacket being a bit worn and faded, but the pages and binding were in excellent condition.

Askins was testing the 338 Win Mag for Winchester in Africa, just before its release. In Asia, I believe he was using a 450 Alaskan on a Winchester M71.

Here's a review I wrote on another gun website:

quote:

Asian Jungle - African Bush was written by Col. Charles Askins in the the mid 1950's through 1959. The first half of the book deals with his hunts in Vietnam, after the French left and before the U.S. committed fighting forces. Col Askins was sent as a military advisor to the South Vietnamese Army and, of course, took along his favorite hunting rifles. During the year he spent training the SVA, he hunted tiger, leopard, black panther, guar (seladang), banteng, kuprey, one-horned rhino, water buffalo, elephant, Sambar and Barasingha deer, wild boar, and did a lot of wingshooting. He carried a Savage 99 in 358 Win, a Winchester M71 he had converted to 450 Alaskan (which he promptly claimed was not enough gun for guar or banteng), a Winchester M88 in 243 Win, a Win M70 in 375 H&H and a few others. Ever opinionated and full of bravado and machismo, Col. Askins waded through leech filled swamps, and 300" per year rainfall jungles pursuing his hunting passions.

His safari in Africa was conducted by Tony Dyer in Kenya. Askins went after a full bag including the Big Four (elephant, cape buffalo, lion, and rhino), and all plainsgame he could hunt. He didn't get his lion, but did well on the rest of the game. His battery was the then new 458 Win Mag, the yet to be introduced 338 Win Mag (which he considered the most ideal rifle/cartridge combination for everything in Africa aside from Cape Buffalo, Rhino, and Elephant), and his trusty M88 in 243. He also did quite a bit of wingshooting. The safari was a month long affair, from one end of Kenya to the other.

His writings about Africa did not contain the bravado like his Asian writings. I don't know if it was because he was a few years older, was in such awe of Africa, or it was because his main reason for being "in-country" in Vietnam was for military reasons, but he seemed to be much more relaxed and content in Africa. I guess stomping through the rain and jungles in Vietnam pursuing ill tempered tigers and the world's largest bovine (gaur) could keep you on edge.

Very good book and I highly recommend it.

Published by Stackpole Books, 1959.

quote:

If you come across the book, please PM the title to me.

One of his hunting buddies was the late George Parker, a good friend of mine. I've seen the trophies George brought back from his hunts in Southeast Asia with Askins, and they're not likely to be duplicated by anyone. If Askins wrote about their hunts together I'd like to get the book.

BillQ

Safari Press has a copy
http://www.safaripress.com/pages.php?pageid=6&xid=81bab...dc71e6dba5325d6a3195

Another here
http://www.antiqbook.com/boox/nort/312a0206.shtml

Thanks, DPhillips. I am ordering the reader copy.

Bill