Skeeter Skelton's very first article

[mm6mm6]

In the 1980 Shooting Times compilation, "Skeeter Skelton on Handguns," our favorite author noted that "It all started with the 9mm" and that "...his first column assignment in 1966 on the 9mm opened the door."

I've always wanted to score a copy of that original issue with Skeeter's very first article. I searched for it often on Ebay. I didn't actually know which particular monthly issue contained Skeeter's 9mm story. Eventually, I put together a list of which issues did not contain the elusive initial writing of the .44 Special aficionado.

Then, about a week and a half ago, I found an Ebay auction for all twelve issues of Shooting Times from 1966. I won the auction for $13.51 and the magazines arrived yesterday in excellent condition. So many thanks to whoever kept them so nice for the last 44 years (isn't THAT a coincidence?)!

The cover of the July 1966 issue showcases a gorgeous pair of Colt double action revolvers, a Python and a Diamondback. This is the issue with Skeeter Skelton's very first published article.

"Handguns by Skeeter Skelton" is on page 6 where Skeeter starts off mentioning his Uncle's Luger.

Interestingly, the very next issue (August 1966) is Skeeter's very first published article on the the .44 Special (titled "The .44 Special, A Reappraisal" and the byline is Charles A. Skelton).

Of course, there are many classic articles by Jordan, Askins, and many others from the old days. Not a bad score for under $15.

I feel almost complete by having added these original magazines to my collection of publications by my all time favorite gun writer....

-Steve

 

[michael thornton]

i have that one, didnt the mail man shoot some geese out the window of his car? how times have changed! im guessing those swc are sitting on top of 7.5 gr of unique?

 

[spricks]

Wow, I think you almost stole the whole year at that price. Way to go!
spricks

 

[dennis40x]

That was his first article for Shooting Times. Smith&Wesson Revolutionary Stainless Steel Revolver by Charles A Skelton (February/March 1966 GunSport) is the first article that I have written by him. There maybe older articles than that.

 

[crsides]

he was the best.

The only guy I ever wrote to for an answer to a now silly question. It was a test of his character that he even answered. WAY before the internet. I still have his reply ... somewhere.

 

[danski]

One of the best "Skeeter" magazines was Shooting Times October 1980 edition of "Skeeter Skelton on Handguns." It features 33 articles and stories by him including the one about the 9 mm tests.

Some of the stories are about himself and "Joe," "Jug" and "Dobe Grant."

 

[michael thornton]

the one about the 357 was found after his death, i like that one, i was just a kid reading his storys knew nothing about realoading, but i still enjoyed it, now i go back and read them again after many times, still love them! dobe grant, jug, great stuff.

 

[Sebago Son]

Skeeter shot lotsa stuff....

i have that one, didnt the mail man shoot some geese out the window of his car? how times have changed! im guessing those swc are sitting on top of 7.5 gr of unique?

My favorite is of a young Charles Skelton with a photo of him posing with well shot hawk taken at some Gawd Awful range with his 5" 27, a gun he championed... but I was rather thinking that it was earlier than 1966... I'll have to look.

Drew

 

[P&R Fan]

I can remember reading his stories in the '70s when I was a kid in my Dad's gun magazines. Dad's been gone several years now and I have all of his old magazines, plus several hundred of mine, I still read them. Skeeters articles are available in book form if, you can find them. I have "Good Friends, Good Guns and Good Whiskey", "Hoglegs, Hipshots and Jalapenos" and a newer soft cover compilation "I remember Skeeter". I bought the Shooting times Oct. 1980 edition mentioned earlier about 8 or 9 years ago at a gun show for $15. I thought at the time that was an outrageous price. I've seen that issue on E-bay for $125. He was a fascinating individual and a great writer.

 

[Texas Star]

That may be Skeeter's first article in ST, but his FIRST article was in, "Guns", in 1958. It had to do with the drawing technique for a Detective Special worn upside down in a coat pocket. He grasped the barrel to draw the gun.

I asked him about that, and I'm almost sure that he confirmed it as his first article. I thought it was in 1959, but he said '58, and was quick with that answer.

Readers of his work would know the gun he used, a nickled Colt .38 with an amputated hammer spur. I think he may have also had a Chief's Special in the story, but can't recall.

Skeeter in person struck me as a very sharp fellow, very alert, although in later days, he suffered considerably from a throat obstruction. Failed surgery on it caused his death.

"Gunsport" was mentioned above. I may have been their only writer who was paid off when that magazine ceased publication. They stiffed several writers. It's a shame, for they were a good place for a new gun writer to begin, and they ran some very practical stories.

Skeeter did a good article on the .357 for, "Gun World", asserting that if he could have just one gun, it'd be a five-inch M-27. He pointed out the versatility, and said that he could wander the wilderness, and collect about all animals in the Southwest with either .38 or .357 ammo. "Gun World" was a better magazine then, as were most of the shooting titles. Today, advertiser support seems the main focus of most articles.

Skeeter later also became very fond of the S&W M-19. He found that it held up well with his handloads, giving about 1200 FPS with his cast bullets. (Lyman 358156 or the Keith-Thompson equivalent, weighing about 150-158 grains, depending on the exact alloy.) He seldom needed a hotter .357 load. He was very fond of the .44 Magnum, for hunting. He did not think the big .44 was a good general purpose gun, and that's true, unless one handloads most of his ammo to warm .44 Special power levels. Even then, the gun is pretty bulky for daily wear.

Good score on those magazines!

T-Star

 

[nicky4968]

My favorite article of his was on great "misses". He defined a miss as, A, missing what you were shooting at, or, B, hitting something you didn't mean to hit. He, or one of his friends (I don't remember which) put a .38 special round through the chief's new uniform. The chief, fortunately, wasn't in it at the time. What was done to cover up the "crime" was classic writing in my opinion.

 

[mm6mm6]

Nicky, that "misses" article was hilarious! Skeeter sure had a way with words....

 

[BUFF]

I started reading Skeeter in 1974, in SHOOTING TIMES. He really shaped my interest in shooting in general and handguns in particular. I ended up building my own ersatz Model 1950 Target in .44 Special with a M-28 after reading his writings in that effort. I ended up with a .44 Special Colt New Frontier 4-3/4 inch (still saving for ivory stocks) and a real 4 inch 1950 Target. Between the first and last, I rounded up a 5 inch Model 27, Colt SAA's in .45 Colt, and cheered when I could buy the Model 24-3's and 624's after he got S&W to make them. From a Remington Model 12 .22 pump rifle to a Colt Government Model, I never found his favorite guns to be anything less than great choices for myself. The only Skeeter favorites I never warmed up to were Ruger Blackhawks.

I got to speak with him for about an hour at an NRA annual convention in Salt Lake City in, I think, 1976. That was a highlight of my shooting interest.

The man sure could tell a story. I found other writers of his generation to be informative but no one else to be as entertaining.

 

[m657]

....I'm still scouting around for a campsite at the Turkey Trot....

 

[Homie]

That may be Skeeter's first article in ST, but his FIRST article was in, "Guns", in 1958. It had to do with the drawing technique for a Detective Special worn upside down in a coat pocket. He grasped the barrel to draw the gun.

I asked him about that, and I'm almost sure that he confirmed it as his first article. I thought it was in 1959, but he said '58, and was quick with that answer.

Readers of his work would know the gun he used, a nickled Colt .38 with an amputated hammer spur. I think he may have also had a Chief's Special in the story, but can't recall.

Skeeter in person struck me as a very sharp fellow, very alert, although in later days, he suffered considerably from a throat obstruction. Failed surgery on it caused his death.

"Gunsport" was mentioned above. I may have been their only writer who was paid off when that magazine ceased publication. They stiffed several writers. It's a shame, for they were a good place for a new gun writer to begin, and they ran some very practical stories.

Skeeter did a good article on the .357 for, "Gun World", asserting that if he could have just one gun, it'd be a five-inch M-27. He pointed out the versatility, and said that he could wander the wilderness, and collect about all animals in the Southwest with either .38 or .357 ammo. "Gun World" was a better magazine then, as were most of the shooting titles. Today, advertiser support seems the main focus of most articles.

Skeeter later also became very fond of the S&W M-19. He found that it held up well with his handloads, giving about 1200 FPS with his cast bullets. (Lyman 358156 or the Keith-Thompson equivalent, weighing about 150-158 grains, depending on the exact alloy.) He seldom needed a hotter .357 load. He was very fond of the .44 Magnum, for hunting. He did not think the big .44 was a good general purpose gun, and that's true, unless one handloads most of his ammo to warm .44 Special power levels. Even then, the gun is pretty bulky for daily wear.

Good score on those magazines!

T-Star

Tex,

Sally Skelton also mentioned in her book that Skeeter didn't get paid-presumably by "GUNsport" -as well. I'm curious though as to why he, or Charlie Askins, etc. wrote columns and articles for 5 years if they weren't getting paid?

BTW, the article you mention in GUN WORLD was excellent, but Skeeter's best work on the .357 was in HANDLOADER'S DIGEST.

TIA, and good shooting.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I recall (dangerous word) it was Bill Jordan who told of the young Border Patrolman who put a bullet through the Senior's uniform.
Skeeter-and Bill Jordan-had the ability to pike fun at themselves. I recall article by Skeeter entitled "The Mama Mia Mishap" in which he goes an expedition in the country to test a new Italian "handgun". Everything goes wrong of course. It contains the line "Mighty hunter in magazine articles; dripping dud in wet forest." Try Dark Canyon

 

[Texas Star]

Tex,

Sally Skeleton also mentioned in her book that Skeeter didn't get paid-presumably by "GUNsport" -as well. I'm curious though as to why he, or Charlie Askins, etc. wrote columns and articles for 5 years if they weren't getting paid?

BTW, the article you mention in GUN WORLD was excellent, but Skeeter's best work on the .357 was in HANDLOADER'S DIGEST.

TIA, and good shooting.

I didn't know that his widow had a book. But I wondered why those guys wrote without getting their checks. I had to repeatedly dun, "Gunsport." When they went out of business, the editor at that time went to some womens' magazine.

I know another of their writers well. He used to be their Shotgun Editor. I'm not sure if he was paid off or not when they went under.

All I can figure is that some men were sending material to, "Gunsport" that wouldn't fit the demands of other magazines, or they needed to publish something about a gun that they wanted to buy at the writer's price, and needed to get something into print on it. Or, they just trusted editors more than I do. I needed the money, so I kept after them, and finally got my checks. But I limited what I sent to them, because I was always afraid that I wouldn't get paid.

However, having been published there established me as a writer, and perhaps made it easier to later sell a few stories at, "Guns" and,"American Handgunner."

One of the knife magazines also paid very slowly. That editor is now at another knife title, which a buddy says also pays very slowly, if at all. He's concerned, as he has several articles awaiting publication there. I won't write for that editor. Writing is hard work, and they want photos, too, and they have to be good ones. The pay at gun magazines really isn't in line with what it ought to be, although some staff writers with big names may be making much more than their basic pay. I got to the point at two magazines where I was doing quite a bit better than when I began, but it was still less than it should be.

Books don't pay too well, either, unless one gets on the bestseller list and has a huge demand for his work. I suspect that Jack Higgins and the late Robert B. Parker have done well. But a guy who writes good books that sell pretty well told me that I can probably expect a three-book deal for no more than about $50,000 to start. After the agent gets his 10%, that's about $15,000 per book, and that isn't easy writing. Still, writing is a tough market to crack. It's about like an actor going to Hollywood and hoping to become a star.

However, seeing one's writing in print is enormously satisfying, and if readers mention liking it, that's the icing on the cake.

T-Star

 

[Homie]

Tex,

Thanks for the reply. I have a few shooting friends who have written articles and they said basically the same thing. Roy Dunlap once told me that it even cost him money to write the gunsmithing articles for Wolfe in the early days of "Rifle".

The book is "I Remember Skeeter" by Sally Jim Skelton, coincidentally from Wolfe.

Another article by Skeeter in Gun World was on the .44 Mag - do you have that one?

Good shooting.

 

[SG-688]

So far, two early articles by Skelton have shown up on the Guns magazine 50 year anniversary downloads, with the byline Allan / Allen Skelton. Both spellings are used. "Pistols for Plainclothesmen" was in the September, 1959 issue; the current March, 1960 download has an article on varmit pistols.