Who is your favourite gun writer?

[DHH45]

Gents,
Apart from frequent discussions on reccomended books, on this forum, let me ask following:

1. Who is your favourite gun writer today?

2. Who is your favourite gun writer in history?

For me, in order of prefernce:

1. Modern:

Dave Petzal (Field and stream), with fantastic style of writing, and good american sense of humor, which makes him different from all the rest. Being technically oriented - the gun writing buisness, it is hard to keep there literary value and style, within the tecnical subjects of guns, shooting, or hunting. Besides the factual knowledge and experience, this quality makes him my number 1.

Terry Wieland, expert on firearm history, then guns, hunting, etc - nuomerous books and articles.

Craig Boddington - most prolific gun writer today, books, magazines, but most important of all, producing most updated contemporary information about African safari today.

2. Historical:

Robert Ruark
John Pondoro Taylor
Ernest Hemingway (except, he is not gun writer by proffesion, but writer, short story writer, journalist, big game fisherman, boxer, nobel prize winner, passionate shotgunner, BUT qualifies well in this subject, too )

And, all these three are most quoted authors even today. I enjoy reading them

Gents,
Apart from frequent discussions on reccomended books, on this forum, let me ask following:

1. Who is your favourite gun writer today?

2. Who is your favourite gun writer in history?

For me, in order of prefernce:

1. Modern:

Dave Petzal (Field and stream), with fantastic style of writing, and good american sense of humor, which makes him different from all the rest. Being technically oriented - the gun writing buisness, it is hard to keep there literary value and style, within the tecnical subjects of guns, shooting, or hunting. Besides the factual knowledge and experience, this quality makes him my number 1.

Terry Wieland, expert on firearm history, then guns, hunting, etc - nuomerous books and articles.

Craig Boddington - most prolific gun writer today, books, magazines, but most important of all, producing most updated contemporary information about African safari today.

2. Historical:

Robert Ruark
John Pondoro Taylor
Ernest Hemingway (except, he is not gun writer by proffesion, but writer, short story writer, journalist, big game fisherman, boxer, nobel prize winner, passionate shotgunner, BUT qualifies well in this subject, too )

And, all these three are most quoted authors even today. I enjoy reading them.

For me it's:
Boddington
Wieland.
Carmichael
Corey Ford (The Back 40)
I'm an old guy

 

[fourfive8]

The lines between gun writer and hunting/outdoor writer commonly get blurred for good reason. I haven't read any author I really hated. But many are so-so and will not re-read those. Some, like Boddington, are pure information mills pumping out books and articles to sell. Not bad info at all. But for me he lacks that something... the writing skill or talent that pulls the reader into the story. On the opposite end of the scale is Hemingway. I firmly believe writers like Ruark and Capstick viewed Hemingway as their mentor- consciuosly or not. Their use of the metaphor is so much like Hemingway it is hard to ignore the possibility. Hemingway was sketchy for pure information and data. But that is not what he was attempting to do in his writing. He was attempting to convey deep feelings and subtle understandings. Some have confided that he was often depressed because he felt he hadn't accomplished that goal to his satisfaction. He tried all manner of techniques including the sometimes humorous drama of personal interrelationships and a minimalistic style of quirky dialogue to draw you into the story. He was a master of that technique. While he received the Pulitzer for his journalistic skill, he received the Nobel prize because of his talent to use the narrative and quirky dialogue to suck the reader in. I swear, after reading Hemingway, I've been to places in Africa and gotten deja vu. I'm certain a result of the vicarious feelings he instilled in me about the subtleties of life that go tiny and unnoticed in Africa. Sometimes I've just wanted to stop time, keep that feeling and study it for as long as possible. For detailed accounts of the journey that can also instill a connection to Africa, it's hard to beat Selous and Bell. Both were extraordinary writers.

 

[Longwalker]

Others have mentioned nearly all of my favourites already, and I've enjoyed the comments. I will add only one, and he's an outdoor writer not really a gun writer. He wrote some of his short articles with such an evocative style that he drew me right into the feelings and experience of the hunt. Gene Hill. There are some gems in his collections "A Hunters Fireside Book" "A Listening Walk" and "Mostly Tail Feathers"

 

[IvW]

Tony Sanchez Arino without a doubt....

 

[IvW]

375 H&H Magnum Overrated? — Ron Spomer Outdoors

Is the 375 H&H Magnum overrated? Questionable performance on gam elarge and small suggests the 375 H&H might not be ideal.

www.ronspomeroutdoors.com

This one is an idiot.....

 

[Tgood1]

I have and and currently enjoyed writings from @IvW And encourage more

 

[Red Leg]

375 H&H Magnum Overrated? — Ron Spomer Outdoors

Is the 375 H&H Magnum overrated? Questionable performance on gam elarge and small suggests the 375 H&H might not be ideal.

www.ronspomeroutdoors.com

This one is an idiot.....

Even with what he admits about his anecdotal evidence, my conclusion is that he and his buddy need to shoot a little better.

 

[IvW]

Even with what he admits about his anecdotal evidence, my conclusion is that he and his buddy need to shoot a little better.

I would think a lot better....a bad workman always blames his tools.....

 

[Newboomer]

Sounds like he's trying to cover up a case of operator error. The 375HH has proven itself innumerable times for over 100 years.

 

[Longwalker]

A quote from Gene Hill ... the shooter knows three grades of gun. Perfect, More Perfect, and Somebody Else’s ...

 

[Longwalker]

Another Hill quote —“Soak it up, go into it softly and thoughtfully, with love and understanding, for another year must pass before you can come this way again”—

 

[1dirthawker]

my favorites....

recent: Finn Agaard and Don Heath (Ganyana)

honorable mention: Boddington

Older:

Robert Raurk, Peter Captstick and Ponder Taylor

if you have not read "the old man and the boy" you are missing out

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

A quote from Gene Hill ... the shooter knows three grades of gun. Perfect, More Perfect, and Somebody Else’s ...

@Longwalker
I to know 3 grades of rifles.
Accurate ones

Accurate ones with nice wood that you will still hunt with

Pieces of crap I have no interest in

As long as the first two are in a caliber that is appropriate for the game you hunt. That can be either a fast 25 or the 35 Whelen or bigger if needed.
Bob

 

[jpr9954]

My favorite gun writer - Terry Wieland.

I just started reading his "A View from a Tall Hill: Robert Ruark in Africa". I usually will skip the Preface and Introduction of a book. Wieland's intro and preface would make great standalone pieces they are so good.

 

[Ike85123]

As far as informative writing?
Terry Wieland,john tayor,elmer keith. And the rowland ward record books also have great info on firearms.
General knowledge and entertainment has to be for, capstick,boddington,caputo,patterson and hemmingway.
Heck, I like just about every book with an africa theme.
I could read a book about making an african hunting spear and be quite happy !

 

[Nevada Mike]

Finn Aagard, Clair Kofoed, Douglas Tate, and G. T. Garwood (aka Gough Thomas). Bob Hagel didn;t write all that well, but knew his stuff. For pure writing Thomas McIntyre. Capt, Peter Hawker and Ned Roberts for older stuff, Mixed reviews on Wieland and Boddington. Jack O'Connor and Townsend Whelen for stuff I read as a youth. I also like David Brown as a hunter/conservationist writer... solid stuff.

 

[baxterb]

I just started reading his "A View from a Tall Hill: Robert Ruark in Africa". I usually will skip the Preface and Introduction of a book. Wieland's intro and preface would make great standalone pieces they are so good.

In the new preface for the reprint of that book Terry mentions me ;-)

 

[Tundra Tiger]

First and last, in a broader sense, McManus. For entertainment no one did it better.

Older: Capstick
Contemporary: Petzal. I don't always agree but he says things in a way I understand and I appreciate his humor.

A newer one: Will Brantley. If you haven't read his story about hunting with buddies, you owe it to yourself to find and read it. I was freaking rolling.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

My bad... It's what to say after a miss.

What to Say to Your Hunting Buddy After Missing an Easy Shot

Instead of offering tips and field techniques to avoid missed shots while hunting, hunting editor Will Brantley offers his advice for how to deal with missing and how to console a companion who might have missed and is having a meltdown in the field.

www.fieldandstream.com

 

[Fenstar]

G Sitton was tops, in my opinion, too. I got to know him fairly well before he passed away. He would come hunt doves at my family’s dairy farm. Funny thing, that when he would show up for a few day’s shoot, his spare time was spent talking books and the proper use of the English vocabulary.. with my mom- a collegiate English major. He had a different cadence for sure, but he could tell a story, and reel you in, feeding you details you didn’t even know you were being fed, until his writing stopped. Rich writing, indeed! I miss that type of writing. I miss Gary.