Stumbled on some very old magazines, including 'Petersen's Handguns', 'American Handgunner', 'Combat Handguns', 'Shooting Times', 'Gun World' and 'Guns', started to remember some of the articles that made my eyes roll back then. If you're old enough, you remember crap like:

• 9mm vs. 45? Which is the Best Manstopper?
• Point Shooting vs. Aimed Fire! Which Will Keep You Alive?
• Revolver vs. Auto? Which is More Reliable?
• 1911 vs. Glock? Which is Superior?
• Weaver or Isosceles ? How to Win the Fight!
• Hollowpoints or Ball? Which Puts 'Em Down the Fastest? (yeah, that was actually a debate at one point).

In going back, some gun writers were clearly 'in on the joke' and just making a living, like Jerry Ahern. He was always mugging for a photo, but had a great deal of knowledge. Personally, I always did like Mas Ayoob and thought his articles provided a lot of insight. Dean Speir (aka Waldo Lydecker) was usually good for a laugh, didn't take it all to seriously. Leroy Thompson's 'James Bond' wannabe articles on international protection were usually an enjoyable read, as well.

Guys I couldn't stand? Dick Metcalf and his "I shoot 5.75 million rounds a year and know it all" nonsense. Likewise, Chuck Taylor and Jim Wilson both came off way too self-important and usually dressed like they were actually trying to cosplay an Army Colonel or a Sheriff, more than being the real thing. Oh, and Bradley Steiner, throwing insults at anyone who disagreed with his point shooting thesis... didn't care for him at all.

Any other greybeards out there that remember those old writers?

I don't recall many writers I truly disagreed with or didn't care to read. Instead recall the good ones like Skeeter Skelton.

I always found Ayoob tough to believe. He was handing out experience and he was on a very rural 4 or 5 man Department in IIRC New Hampshire! Seemed he drew most of his stories from other Departments shooting incidents.

Stopped reading most of the gun rags in the 90's when they started IMHO to go down hill. Never a bad review even on something that was known to be junk.

I doo recall the arrival of my Guns & Ammo magazines in the 70's and early 80's and reading the Elmer Keith Gun Notes pages religiously.

quote:

Originally posted by TexasRaider:
• Point Shooting vs. Aimed Fire! Which Will Keep You Alive?

I recall some guy showing up on the forum many years ago and immediately launching several threads about how point shooting was the be-all and end-all of gunfighting. He proceeded to argue vigorously with anyone who questioned that.

IIRC, he had a website about point shooting that he was shilling for.

He even advocated pulling the trigger with your middle finger while pointing at the target with your index finger.

I must have seen a hundred or more articles on .45 vs .9mm, the wondernines versus 1911s and I'd rather have 7 man stoppers than 15 spray and pray poodle shooters. Mostly though, the articles were advertisements without a negative word said. I liked Mas Ayoob and Leroy Thompson was okay.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the raging battle between the 'jello junkies' and the 'morgue monsters'. Just like today, tribes like to fight over essentially non-vital issues.

Enjoyed:
Elmer Keith, Bob Milek, Garry James, John Wooters, Peter Capstick (loved his books), and Ross Seyfried.

About the only one I frequently disagreed with was Jeff Cooper. Not that he couldn't shoot, no question of that, just so stereotypically opinionated. Tiresome.

Grew up on Masaad Ayoob; always seemed to learn something fun from John Taffin and his buddy Paco; always liked Jan Libourel, Jim Wilson and Mike Venturino; was perfectly happy to see Duane Thomas drift off into obscurity; never realized who Jim Zumbo was until he FUDDed out in a ball of flame.

Yep, I recall the Zumbo narrative. And Field & Stream has referred to Dave Petzal as "Godlike". Ummm.... Ok!
At one point, I subscribed to most of the gun rags in the vain hope that I could glean meaningful info about buying decent guns. Nope. Mainly just fluff pieces.
And all the articles on Safaris to exotic locales to hunt big game, how cool that 5K 1911 is and how great that hand built high $$$ bolt action performs make my butt tired.
Join us in the real world, fellas!

Skeeter, Elmer, and Bill Jordan were always worth reading.

Enjoyed most of them. Had problems with a few.

For all the reverence Skeeter Skelton enjoys, I always felt he was in the pocket of the manufacturers. This was reinforced by an article he once wrote about the then new, American- made Walther PPK/S. He gushed about how it was every bit the equal in accuracy, fit and finish of the European model. It was not. I had both versions. My European PPK/S wore a deep gloss blue finish and was dead on accurate. My American version was a dull blue and shot 12 inches high at 50 feet. In those days and perhaps still, you didn't want to be too critical, lest you not be invited back to the annual moose hunt.

Col. Charles Askins was a bit too proud of how many poor Mexicans he had killed, while serving with the Border Patrol. Most of his bragging turned me off.

As for Jeff Cooper, admired the man but after reading a page of his musings in the back of Guns and Ammo, I often came away thinking, "What the hell was that all about?"

Remember Finn Aagard (sp?) He was in a lot of American Rifleman articles about guns and safaris in Africa. Enjoyable and entertaining. I believe he died years ago.

Great thread.

When I was in the process of relocating from VA to NC (Sept 2017) I finally threw a lot of the magazines out that are mentioned in this thread.

I always liked Mas Ayoob, Jim Wilson, Chuck Taylor, Jim Cirillo.

I would say my favorite then and to this day is Leroy Thompson. Whether it was foreign or domestic he always picked the "neatest" weapon to write about each month. They were always fun articles and I always picked up a scrap of knowledge from them.

For some reason I think the magazines and articles have been in a real decline the last few years. It is not the fact that many are digital only, it is the content, or the way the articles are written.

One I don't see mentioned here that I enjoyed was William “Terry” Murbach. He passed away last December at age 74.

Aside from enjoying his writing, he was very helpful to me when Peter Pi first introduced the .400 Cor-Bon in 1997. Terry worked for Peter at the time in Sturgis.

quote:

Originally posted by urbanwarrior238:
Remember Finn Aagard (sp?) He was in a lot of American Rifleman articles about guns and safaris in Africa. Enjoyable and entertaining. I believe he died years ago.

He was another of my favs. Couldn't remember on my own apparently.
Thanks.

The non-stop Epicness of 45ACP "ONE SHOT STOPS"!!! A Nineteen-Eleben with 8rd was SO much better than the Gawdawful Beretta M9-Debbil.

Then I recall some fool talking about the SIG P210 and what a great pistol it is (which is fine), but then he dovetailed that into the work he did in South American and that he'd be fine with his P210 vs the locals with AK47s...

I remember a great article about the FN FNC and had wanted one ever since - missed the boat on that one of course, but the SCAR 16/17 fill the niche for me.

Haven't read a gun rag in decades.

I always enjoyed Ayoob, have read a lot of his stuff over the years.

I haven't read a gun mag in a long time, "The Ultimate 1911" on every cover.

I don't like reading Roy Huntington article's at all, he gets way , way to wordy . problem is he picks good subjects to write about.
I wish he'd find another couple of writer's to cover for him.

https://muckrack.com/roy-huntington/articles


I usually have to read Ayoob's article;s , two or three times to get it all absorbed, but he does way better than average, in my book.

( it's not his fault , I am dense.

Skeeter Skelton was probably my favorite as far as prose, both his real articles and his satirical/fictional ones such as the Dobe Grant stories.

Mas Ayoob was one of the first to talk about self defense, concealed carry, and appropriate weapons from the perspective that he did. Over time, his stuff has pretty much been substantiated as reasonable and prudent.

Last but not least, Jeff Cooper. Yes he was opinionated, but his opinions were based on a lot of experience. Again, much of his teaching has stood the test of time. When I was young, some of the Cooper's Corner stuff did seem opinionated and arrogant. But as you read more of his stuff and put it in context, it wasn't arrogance but reasoned conclusions based on his understanding and experience, and once he thus settled a matter in his mind, he was consistent. He would always lean toward that which was proven.

I can't say I agreed with everything the Colonel has written, but I do agree with most. Obviously, .45 hardball is not a 95% one shot stopper, and there are more handguns than just the 1911. But on the other hand, if you can manage a 1911 in .45, that will work. He was slow to change, again, depending on things that were proven. But he would change. Toward the end of his life, he was coming around to the Glock for instance.

Any serious student of the shooting life needs to read "The Art of the Rifle", and "To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth". Again, you may not agree with everything in them, but your knowledge will be increased.

Wow has this put me on memory lane. Anymore I'm buying a gun magazine for the pictures, not the articles.

Thanks for bringing me back, guys.