I was musing today after going through the thread on Skeeter Skelton, that there just don't seem to be any modern gun writers that can hold a candle to the old timers. I'm talking style, wisdom, experience, honesty and accuracy in what they wrote.
In more or less chronological order, some of the old timers are:
Major Charles Askins, Sr.
Col. Townsend Whelen
W.H.B. Smith
E.C. Crossman
Phil Sharpe
Jack O'Connor
Elmer Keith
John Amber
Fred Datig
Major George Nonte
Bill Jordan
Col. Charles Askins, Jr.
Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper
Skeeter Skelton
I'm sure I've omitted a few from this list, but you get my drift. These guys talked from hard experience, and you could take what they wrote to the bank. In most cases, their wood still had the bark on it - their writings reflected honest fact and opinion, not trimmed, modified, watered down and smoothed out so as not to offend one of the magazine's big-money advertisers. They were not above writing just to stir things up (Charlie Askins, Jr. was notorious for this), but there was always authenticity behind their chuckles.
By and large, these were guys who had been there and done that, from the battlefields to the hunting fields, to the target lines. Their hands were not smooth but gnarled, and you could almost see, feel and smell in your mind the things they wrote about.
And they influenced us. From Skeeter's .44 specials to Cooper's .45 autos and Elmer's .44 maggies, we not only bought their logic, we bought their guns, loaded their loads, and packed their packs.
Who was the best of the best? I'll give you my opinion, and you may have yours.
I'll go with Jeff Cooper. He mixed experience, writing ability, historical knowledge, honesty, wisdom and class all in one package. In spite of his somewhat elitist approach to writing, he was actually a really down-to-earth guy. I treasure a letter he wrote to me when I sent him one of my early articles for critique. I think I've collected almost all of his books, and I remember reading a whole bunch of his articles in Guns & Ammo starting in the early '60s. He was one of the Real McCoys, but he had his faults. He could be a tad racist (along with Charlie Askins Jr.), and that poked through in his writings now and then. By the same token, he judged men by their actions. He hated political correctness, and was always quick to offer well-reasoned salty observations on the national scene. You couldn't help but want to applaud what he wrote. Much of it is still true today.
Once again, I don't think there is any modern writer who can measure up to the average stature of this bunch of guys. Agree or disagree?
John
In more or less chronological order, some of the old timers are:
Major Charles Askins, Sr.
Col. Townsend Whelen
W.H.B. Smith
E.C. Crossman
Phil Sharpe
Jack O'Connor
Elmer Keith
John Amber
Fred Datig
Major George Nonte
Bill Jordan
Col. Charles Askins, Jr.
Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper
Skeeter Skelton
I'm sure I've omitted a few from this list, but you get my drift. These guys talked from hard experience, and you could take what they wrote to the bank. In most cases, their wood still had the bark on it - their writings reflected honest fact and opinion, not trimmed, modified, watered down and smoothed out so as not to offend one of the magazine's big-money advertisers. They were not above writing just to stir things up (Charlie Askins, Jr. was notorious for this), but there was always authenticity behind their chuckles.
By and large, these were guys who had been there and done that, from the battlefields to the hunting fields, to the target lines. Their hands were not smooth but gnarled, and you could almost see, feel and smell in your mind the things they wrote about.
And they influenced us. From Skeeter's .44 specials to Cooper's .45 autos and Elmer's .44 maggies, we not only bought their logic, we bought their guns, loaded their loads, and packed their packs.
Who was the best of the best? I'll give you my opinion, and you may have yours.
I'll go with Jeff Cooper. He mixed experience, writing ability, historical knowledge, honesty, wisdom and class all in one package. In spite of his somewhat elitist approach to writing, he was actually a really down-to-earth guy. I treasure a letter he wrote to me when I sent him one of my early articles for critique. I think I've collected almost all of his books, and I remember reading a whole bunch of his articles in Guns & Ammo starting in the early '60s. He was one of the Real McCoys, but he had his faults. He could be a tad racist (along with Charlie Askins Jr.), and that poked through in his writings now and then. By the same token, he judged men by their actions. He hated political correctness, and was always quick to offer well-reasoned salty observations on the national scene. You couldn't help but want to applaud what he wrote. Much of it is still true today.
Once again, I don't think there is any modern writer who can measure up to the average stature of this bunch of guys. Agree or disagree?
John
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