Gun writer statements that are no longer applicable or you don't agree with.

[SilverbulletMAG]

Pretty much anything "The Real Gunsmith" has to say. It's more so "how" he says it I guess that rubs me the wrong way.

 

[DJ Fergus]

Pretty much anything "The Real Gunsmith" has to say. It's more so "how" he says it I guess that rubs me the wrong way.

I get a kick out of his videos, I really don't know why but it's just kind of comical to me. I think the fellow may have been a decent gunsmith of his time but he's got way behind times. I agree with a small portion of what he's said but don't agree with a larger portion of it. He's set in his ways, but not hardly as bad set in his ways as petzal. I had some questions about his video of him chambering a barrel on his lathe using that steady rest like he did. He probably made some good shooting rifles & I may be missing something but I don't see many folks are doing it like that anymore.

 

[idcwby]

The most recent one I read that I thought the writer should be fired because it was all bs. The writer was showing how the 6.5 Creedmoor out performed the 264 Win Mag. His reasoning was the faster twist in the Creedmoor could stabilize the 140gr bullets and the 1:9 in the 264 could only stabilize 130gr flat base bullet. Every time I think about it, it gets under my skin.
idcwby

 

[idcwby]

idcwby

 

[Wilderness Blacktail]

I truly get annoyed when people do apples to oranges comparisons to show how cartridge they're writing about is ballistically superior to X.
I'm talkin comparing a ho hum factory load with a 150gr Corelokt in a 30 cal, any of em! To a warm handload in a 6.5 or 7mm etc with a heavy, super high BC bullet out of a longer barrel.
And then saying, "look its ballistically superior in every way!
Spomer is particularly fond of doing this but others do too.

 

[Indian7953]

Yes, Outdoor Life! thanks, although I seem to recall he did write occasionally in field and stream.

Hadn't thought of him in a long time, funniest I've ever read for sure. Brings back a smile

. Good ol Patrick Mc. I sure miss reading his stories. Never learn much about shooting but I sure got a jelly belly laughing at his stories, Still do. The night the bear ate gumba is one of my favorites

 

[Scott E Ames]

This ... cartridge kills well because it doesnt kick and therefore allows shooters to place their shots effectively.


Not to mention that the statement just confirms that they don't really hunt. My 416 Rigby doesn't kick as much as a 22 rimfire when I am shooting at a cape buffalo!

 

[littlebighorn]

I think we forget these guys are human and are as full of sh!t some times as the next guy, they just write well. Jack O'Connor was one of my favorites and I have a fondness of the 270 win because of him I'm sure. Things have changed in the 40 plus years since Jack passed , As good a hunter and writer as Jack was I think he failed us by not acknowledging the 280 rem or the 7mags , they were better then the 270 win he knew it but was so locked in to his own writing that he wouldn't back off. All these guys have their opinions , the bests are flexible the rest just arrogant . Quite honestly I read this forum and the contributors much more than I read anything written by gun writers anymore. Trust me it wasn't always this way but I get real time up to date information everyday from guys getting it done in the field on their own dime!
That's probably the biggest change for me , are there any gun experts writing anymore for all of us? Truth is I only know Petzal because of the F&S forum that has just 15 or so contributors. We all have access to data, product reviews , chronographs ,members input etc! We all know Immediately when we are being given bogus information or getting pumped up numbers. I look at this forum as a Co op between members, someone out there with hands on experience sharing their observation of what's going on. The day of the gun writers god like opinion is over! They cannot survive in this instant access world we all live in. I believe in some ways those guys stunted us as shooters and I see it on other forums , Petzal says you can't so........ ! I have said this a couple times , I'm glad for this LRH forum and it's members, it has upped my game and it gets better everyday! The day of the know it all gun writers is dead !

The funny thing about having an opinion that differs from someone else is, you can sometimes be accused of being arrogant, if you stick with what you believe. We all have our own biases, mostly fed by our personal experience. Obviously Jack had great success and experience with his beloved 270, and thus he stuck by it. I've also read enough of his writing to know that he gave every caliber it's due good press, and he gave the 280 and 7mags plenty of credit and praise for their strengths.
Unlike us, those writers of old didn't have access to the chronographs, data, and thousands of self proclaimed experts to bounce their ideas off of, and so they wrote what they knew from what they had.
It would be ludicrous to not acknowledge that we are light years ahead of "the old geezers" when it comes to our readily accessible understanding of the shooting game, but I for one am not willing to discredit the value of the experience and understanding of their day.
I 100% agree that most of us find more value in these forums, than we do from a one man opinion on any page, anywhere. But I'm not willing to throw "gun writers" (especially the old ones) under the bus for not trying their best to give us good information.

 

[D-mon]

I just re read the first chapters of the first part of " the hunting rifle " by O'Connor, titled pick your expert.
There are still plenty of relevant things in that chapter that still apply nowadays.

 

[Wilderness Blacktail]

I just re read the first chapters of the first part of " the hunting rifle " by O'Connor, titled pick your expert.
There are still plenty of relevant things in that chapter that still apply nowadays.

I have books by both Jack and Elmer and there are plenty of good things in both authors books.
Elmer had a bent for long range and long barreled rifles shooting long heavy sleek (for the time) bullets.
A quote I always remember from him, "anytime you have 3200' or even 3000 fps you are better off with more bullet weight ..." and goes on to talk about ballistics, energy, sectional density, etc. The same conversation happens here daily.

 

[Web1350]

I truly get annoyed when people do apples to oranges comparisons to show how cartridge they're writing about is ballistically superior to X.
I'm talkin comparing a ho hum factory load with a 150gr Corelokt in a 30 cal, any of em! To a warm handload in a 6.5 or 7mm etc with a heavy, super high BC bullet out of a longer barrel.
And then saying, "look its ballistically superior in every way!
Spomer is particularly fond of doing this but others do too.

Exactly! I pretty much quit watching any video of Spomer or read what he has to say. I'm glad someone else has seen his style too.

 

[osok-1k]

They all work for the magazine as do most of the online gurus selling the latest anything that a manufacturer will pay them to tout. It's all marketing of some type. My grandfather was born in northern Minnesota in 1890, bought a Winchester 94 30-30 in 1900 and fed a lot of families with moose, bear and deer using that rifle. He taught me to hunt when I was around twelve when he was seventy using the same Winchester 94. I never saw him miss and the animal fell pretty much where it stood. In his day one learned to read the earth and its effects on shooting, how to read sign and stalk to a reasonable range. He never owned a single piece of camo anything and was the most successful hunter I'd ever known. He never bragged and was the most honest and humble man I've known in my 66 years. All of that to say that one can be a very successful hunter by learning to use the tools you have and how to read your environment.

 

[Taco John]

for all the gun writer gaffs.........there were 10's of thousands of readers that repeated them like the gospel.



the information super highway has changed the world.

 

[Pmacc60]

The funny thing about having an opinion that differs from someone else is, you can sometimes be accused of being arrogant, if you stick with what you believe. We all have our own biases, mostly fed by our personal experience. Obviously Jack had great success and experience with his beloved 270, and thus he stuck by it. I've also read enough of his writing to know that he gave every caliber it's due good press, and he gave the 280 and 7mags plenty of credit and praise for their strengths.
Unlike us, those writers of old didn't have access to the chronographs, data, and thousands of self proclaimed experts to bounce their ideas off of, and so they wrote what they knew from what they had.
It would be ludicrous to not acknowledge that we are light years ahead of "the old geezers" when it comes to our readily accessible understanding of the shooting game, but I for one am not willing to discredit the value of the experience and understanding of their day.
I 100% agree that most of us find more value in these forums, than we do from a one man opinion on any page, anywhere. But I'm not willing to throw "gun writers" (especially the old ones) under the bus for not trying their best to give us good information.

I also read everything I could get my hands on that Jack wrote. I read things that was wrote about him. I was in the Jack O'Connor camp, one of the finest writers of all time. Jack was the good guy Elmer the bad guy. Lol Both ( and understand this) were extremely arrogant ) and they had reason to be. They were there! They got it done , all over the world. More experience and opportunity then I could ever dream . They both were bias !
Those days they did and were just the few who had the data , the access to chronographs the keys to the industry. They had all the lab test information and why not they could make or break a new cartridge or gun with the stroke of their keyboard.
That's what they did old writers in the 50's, 60's ,70's and 80's, they made and broke released new rounds. The 264 win mag, the 6 mm rem , 280 rem even the 223 rem took off slowly because writers planted a negative seed! Conversely the positive seed for the 300 win mag, 7mm rem mag and 222 rem and the 243 win. Set those rounds off to great popularity! Words like overbore, barrel burner and stabilizing the proper bullets broke great cartridges. Even bullets , how many of us over 50 read boat tail bullets burn out barrels and cause throat erosion ! The blow torch effect!
Yes today there is a wealth of information and we all find that in an instant we can gather all the data we want. Forums like this one are invaluable , this one in particular because it is run with the expectancy that we be respectful to other members. That's not the case with many others ! They are just peeing contest and I'm turned off.
In closing this thought , writers of yesteryear were invaluable and rock stars! We didn't know if all they were saying was true or credible . Jack and Elmer were guys like Elgin Gates and Peter Hathaway Capstick maybe not! ! Guys like Bob Milak, Jeff Cooper , Jim Carmichael , Bob Brister, Charles Askins and Townson Whelen all had a lot on input into my shooting thought process.