Reeder Custom Guns - Gary, John Taffin and I as well as a few of you

come from a different era.

We came from an era when Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton were THE sixgun authorities.

In those days most handguns had cylinders, were made of steel, and shot cast bullets.

Rifles were made of wood and steel and had sights that did not require batteries.

What often made the writings of that time interesting was the writers personal experiences using what they wrote about. As an example, Ed McGivern wrote about doing some marvelous shooting and demonstrated it in front of crowds. Some of the writers had been in law enforcement and survived more than a few gunfights. Others were experimenters who helped develop some of the calibers we enjoy today. A few were true handgun hunters who helped change the perspective of the shooting pubic about the ability of handguns to take game.

I am afraid we will not see their kind again.

A few of the "greats" from those days that I had personal contact with were:

Elmer Keith
Pete Brown
Charles Askins Jr.
Bill Jordan
P.O. Ackley
George Nonte
Lee Jurras
Finn Aagaard

There were many writers during the 1950's and early 60's that most shooters these days have never heard of.

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hunter and did minimal plinking, mostly just target shooting. My list of those that are gone and never to be replaced is...
Lee Jurras
Bob Milek
Al Goerg
Steve Herrett
Larry Kelly
J.D.Jones
Of that list J.D. is the only one still with us. And of that list Al Goerg is the only one I was not fortunate enough to meet and annoy the hell out of on the phone. Al died while I was trying to build my first hunting handgun in 1965. All the rest were true gentlemen that became good friends and put up with my never ending questions back 40 or more years ago.
I feel sorry for today's young shooters especially those that want to venture into handgun hunting as they have no heroes to look up to.

Mine is a much shorter list: J. D. Jones, Larry kelly, and Elmer Keith. I have hunted with J.D., and Larry. I meet Keith at Champlin arms, he was picking up 338/378 K/T. He was very nice to 19 year old deer hunter.

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WE WILL NEVER SEE THEIR LIKE AGAIN!

(those in their late 20s and early shooters) who developed the 44 Magnum and 99% of then said Clint Eastwood.

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I was most influenced by were: Bob Milek, Steve Herrett, Skeeter, and Hal Swiggett. Each for different reasons. Milek and Herrett for the things they were doing with the XP-100 and Contender. Skeeter because his writings were something I just couldn’t put down....informative, practical, and a bit of humor. Hal Swiggett seemed like a real class individual. I had several conversations with Larry Kelly and he was a wealth of knowledge....he told me a story of a brown bear he shot that was trying to enter a cabin during a torrential rain.

I entertained him at my place in Oracle, AZ and visited him at San Antonio. Went to church with him when I was there, many years ago. He was a gentleman and a fine christian brother.

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pick Gary's brain about - what is it about gun and hunting enthusiasts that compells them to write about it all? I'm thankful for it, thats for sure. Gary's handgun hunting book was the first book about hunting that I read. I didn't grow up in a family that liked guns or hunting (how tragic!) but was I always attracted to it.

from out of state and out of country stop by the shop to look at the custom guns. We always end up talking about handgun hunting and I normally give them a copy of my second handgun hunting book to help keep the flame alive.

Just like WB loves to talk about bears that come to his tent in the dark of night, some of us love to talk about handgun hunting.

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the magazines are very cartoon like. In the past you could read an article and it was akin to eating a well prepared meal. Today it seems like it is a drive through lunch.

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