A quick retrospective on Skeeter Skelton

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

IIRC Skeeter stayed with Shooting Times for his whole writing career, the others-Jordan, I know,often moved from magazine to magazine.

 

[Old_Cop]

I have a copy of Skeeter Skelton on Handguns, I think that I will dig it out and reread it.

 

[BigMuddy]

He was the first writer I “latched onto” when I first got into handgun ownership. Every once in awhile I have a “Day with Skeeter”. I go out and shoot my:

5” Model 27
4” Model 624
5 1/2” Colt SAA 44 Special
7 1/2” Ruger Flattop 44 Mag

Makes me smile. Maybe he does too.

Dan

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Skeeter had a good sense of humor, in his article on "The Mama Mia Caper" he wrote:
"Mighty hunter in magazine articles, dripping dud in wet forest".
He also captured many aspects of his life and times. In one article he wrote of underage, out of season hunting:
"If that sounds unethical, let me remind you that store bought meat was a seldom thing during the Depression."

 

[Doug M.]

Saw this video yesterday, right after one on the same channel about Bill Jordan's fast draw skills. Jordan's hands dwarfed that first of the Combat Magnums; made it look almost like a .22 kit gun. Took me back to my first reading exposure to the two of them, and others like Askins and Keith.

 

[Mule Packer]

He died young, at 60. Anyone know the circumstances of his passing?

I've heard a couple things. Not sure which is true. One source said he may have died from pancreatic cancer. A couple other sources say it was due to complications from his gall bladder surgery. I knew he had his gall bladder removed, but didn't know that was the cause.

Bottom line...he and Bart both died way too young.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I recall the announcement in Shooting Times of his passing referred to a "series of strokes".
George C. Nonte was another who died too young.

 

[6string]

I recall the announcement in Shooting Times of his passing referred to a "series of strokes".
George C. Nonte was another who died too young.

George Nonte was another of the more colorful gun writers. He was smart and witty. Even if you disagreed with something he wrote, it still made for thoughtful and/or entertaining reading.

His book on “Pistolsmithing” is a perfect example. There’s a lot of things he recommends that I would never do. But, the overall content and attitude is positive.

 

[loc n load]

Skeeter

I read everything he wrote in Shooting Times and he was a great influencer in my early handgun experiences. I followed his recommendations on model 19's, 28's, 1911's, BHP's, Charter arms bulldog's, etc.
357 magnums, 41 magnums, 44 specials and 45 LC's all became part of my shooting & reloading experiences due primarily to Skeeter.
His articles on bullet casting, especially with the 357 led me into that activity in the 70's up till this day.
I read all the other author's of that time period, but Skeeter was my favorite.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Skeeter wrote that his father died when he was 12, so he grew up in somewhat straitened circumstances. He also wrote of a firearm of his family that was "on loan" to the sheriff who made like he was going to keep it, his mother asserted herself to get it back.