Charles Askins on the .44 Magnum

[Quiet Man]

While reminiscing today in an old Shooter's Bible, No. 61 1970 Edition, I came across an article; "Shooting Game with the Handgun" by Col. Charles Askins. In it he wrote "The S&W .44 Magnum and the .41 Magnum, both kick too much to be any pleasure to shoot. The .44 has as much recoil as the .30-06. The rifle is held in both hands and supported by the shoulder. It develops 18.50 ft. lb. of recoil. So does the .44 Magnum. Why any handgunner in his right mind would willing undergo this kind of punishment and call it sport is beyond my understanding."

This made me recall another article I had read by Askins and after a little looking I found a 1957 Gun Digest with the article; "A Man's Sixgun, A Field Report on the Ruger and S&W 44 Magnum" by Col. Charles Askins. In it he wrote "This Magnum is a man's gun. It aint for boys. Word reaches me that some joe's, probably with lace on their panties, are putting gloves on to shoot it. I hear that after a few shots your hands feel like you have been swinging at some fast balls with a cracked bat. How soft can you get? I shot the big .44 all afternoon and found the recoil nothing more than stimulating." He goes on to say "The .44 Magnum is a hunters gun for sure. I wondered what it would do at 100 yards and maybe out as far as 200."

It made me smile to reminisce about the older gun articles and the various responses to the new .44 Magnum. I guess maybe Askins finally decided the Magnum kicked more than he originally let on or maybe like me, his memory was not as good as he got older....

 

[rockquarry]

Askins wrote some good stuff, but "slipped a few under the wire" as an AMERICAN RIFLEMAN editor put it years ago. I read his articles for many years beginning in the early '60s, but I'm not sure I would call myself an Askins fan. However, I'm sure he had quite a following. The man could shoot a handgun probably much better than about 98% of us.

 

[cowboy4evr]

The bottom line , it's just one mans opinion . Mr Keith didn't find it too difficult to shoot . I'm not as good a shot as either but I enjoy shooting the 41 and the 44 mag and yes , sometimes I load them " wild " . I have never felt it was " too much " recoil , once I learned how to shoot them . Regards, Paul

 

[tops]

The bottom line is that Askins was getting paid to write articles. Larry

 

[El Biblioitecario]

The bottom line is that Askins was getting paid to write articles. Larry

Absolutely. He routinely made extreme claims because the furor of reader responses demonstrated to his editor that his material was being read--I think Askins may have actually admitted that in print.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Charles Askin wrote about a time he shot a Vietnam cong for shooting at him with an old musket. He shot the guy with a 44 Mag.

 

[Onomea]

I’ve read his book. Got it somewhere.

Don’t like him.

But, he’s long gone.

I’ll let it be.

 

[rockquarry]

Absolutely. He routinely made extreme claims because the furor of reader responses demonstrated to his editor that his material was being read--I think Askins may have actually admitted that in print.

I don't know about extreme claims - that may be true, but he would take an adverse stance on just about any subject and do an article on it because it would draw the ire of many readers. One example was a feature length GUNS & AMMO article about the .30-06 being obsolete. This was probably about 1963. He may have actually believed that as he seldom hunted with non-magnum cartridges in his later years, but he knew the topic would be controversial.

 

[old bear]

The two pieces were written 13 years apart. I’m sure 13 years of hard living made a difference in Askins ability to handle the recoil.

 

[Jack Flash]

I'm not an Askins fan, but …

How many times do we hear of a .44 Mag that someone bought in "almost unfired" condition with a box of ammo that is only missing six cartridges? Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to publish a note of caution.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Askins bonged a Cong.
Elmer shot an outhouse.
I shot at a coyote. (Missed)

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I'm not an Askins fan, but …

How many times do we hear of a .44 Mag that someone bought in "almost unfired" condition with a box of ammo that is only missing six cartridges? Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to publish a note of caution.

Total BS on the above........Repeat a lie long enough and it becomes the truth. Atkins and B. Jordon were "enemies" on paper. But friends in real life. Read "Unrepentant Sinner" by Askins jr. man was a cold blooded killer. I didn't like Sr or Jr.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I posted about my old CO buddy who saw Elmer shoot an Eagle.
Elmer pulled , shot, re-holstered so fast my Buddy didn’t get a good look at the gun.
He said it was a 4 inch N Frame.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

The two pieces were written 13 years apart. I’m sure 13 years of hard living made a difference in Askins ability to handle the recoil.

I agree. 13 years provides a lot of experience to influence one's opinion.

I have owned and used .44 magnum revolvers for about 40 years. I am reasonably certain that I have not purchased any .44 magnum ammunition in at least 20 years, and I know that I have none on hand now. I use nothing but stout .44 special ammo, which is more than enough for any use of the handgun; it will completely penetrate a 200 lb. Colorado mule deer side-to-side, it will splinter 4X4 posts, and it will punch through car doors or body panels easily. The .44 magnum will do the same thing at 100 yards or more, but only with a huge increase in muzzle blast, muzzle flash, and punishing recoil.

Enough is enough. Too much can be way too much.

 

[Texas Star]

Absolutely. He routinely made extreme claims because the furor of reader responses demonstrated to his editor that his material was being read--I think Askins may have actually admitted that in print.

He admitted it to me in person.

That's why he wrote that article claiming the .30-06 was obsolete. He knew it'd draw hate mail, and the editor would know he was being read.

 

[Texas Star]

Charles Askin wrote about a time he shot a Vietnam cong for shooting at him with an old musket. He shot the guy with a 44 Mag.

Did a good job of stalking him, too.I think at that time they were still called Viet Minh, as when they fought the French.

That fellow may have been the first man killed with a M-29 or with any .44 Magnum. And good riddance, too, I think.

 

[ralph7]

He used to talk about someone shooting "standing on their hind legs."
I asked him in a letter to the gun magazine did he call a man's arms, forelegs, as well.
He never answered.

 

[rockquarry]

Askins was not my favorite gun writer, but he was a better one than many of his contemporaries and far better than many we have today.

One interesting article he wrote for GUN DIGEST "My Pappy Was A Pistol" (or something very close to that wording) is worth reading whether you like Askins or not. It's much more of a human interest piece than a gun article.

I don't remember when this was published, but my guess is that it was among his last articles, probably in the '80s. Whether or not these are available online, I don't know.

 

[El Biblioitecario]

Askins was not my favorite gun writer, but he was a better one than many of his contemporaries and far better than many we have today.

One interesting article he wrote for GUN DIGEST "My Pappy Was A Pistol" (or something very close to that wording) is worth reading whether you like Askins or not. It's much more of a human interest piece than a gun article...

The Colonel was definitely a piece of work, but I agree he was far more entertaining than the current crop of "jazzbos." As for "My Pappy was a Pistol," I would have preferred a piece explaining his relationship with she whom he always referred to as "the woman who claimed to be my mother."

 

[Texas Star]

One thing I liked about Askins was that his writing was always full of vitamins, to the point, and said what he thought, to a degree no longer possible in our present PC world.

He had considerably more experience shooting both men and horses than any other gun writer. He could tell his readers what worked without referring to gelatin block performance.

As far as I know, the men he shot pretty much had it coming and the world was better off without them. He did useful field testing of some new cartridges on game, too.

He could be indiscreet. At the Ruger 30th Anniversary luncheon in 1979 in San Antonio, he boasted that he'd run guns into Rhodesia, despite the ban by nations that included the USA. This is not hearsay: I was standing beside him when he said that. I think most of the gun writers present agreed with the idea of an independent Rhodesia, which I can't discuss here without encountering the ban on politics. But to make such an offer in public, where he did, could have had consequences had the mainstream media been present.

Overall, I preferred the witty, polished writing style of Jack O'Connor, who Askins hated for replacing his dad at, "Outdoor Life." And I liked reading Jeff Cooper's material, which Skeeter Skelton drolly referred to as being "positively written." But Jeff taught us a lot, and like O'Connor, was an educated man who used the English language well. And I liked John Wootters, Jr., an absolute wordsmith who was also brilliant with a camera. Elmer Keith was the real article, much as he presented himself.

It's trendy now to say that Askins wasn't PC and that he did some fairly brutal things. But he was one of my favorite writers of his day and I did learn from him. He certainly had some adventures that most writers didn't. I didn't want him as a pal, but he was a character worth knowing.