WB
Gunwriting "stars"? The days of old.
Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 14:39

I read how Petersen groomed his writers to where they had a reputable relationship with the readers. They were referred to as "Stars" in this piece I read. As a boy I truly could not wait till the next issue to hit the bookshelf at the grocery store. Later I had my own subscriptions. I savored the great anticipation for that day when I collected the mail on the gravel road and made it back to the house where I anxiously sat and drank ice tea, reading what my favorite guy had been up to. Of course you'd recognize some names, Milek, Keith, Skelton, Seyfried, Cooper, Simpson, Schemick, just to randomly name a few. JT too! Still with anticipation! It depended on which era you were living in I guess, for me the 1970's - late 1990's mostly. In a span of less than 30 days the magazines were very worn and basically memorized. Enthusiasts of all ages could share the information and discuss the stories as it seemed everyone read the same articles.

I watched a video today, not real bad, on a .300 AAC bolt gun. The young fellow really enjoyed the new rifle and gave a pretty fair newcomer's review. Sadly he did not know much or seem to care of the history of the pedigree of rifle or cartridge. Also he made the statement about the ballistics as "I'm not a numbers guy" as to the 100 yd. performance or beyond of the cartridge. Not a single FPS, or bullet weight, energy figure, reference. You'd think he'd care enough to Google some basics to at least make you think he was somewhat knowledgeable. I mean it's just a pregnant .30 Carbine with a better shaped bullet, perhaps even a "magnum" version of the old WWII round. But any such references would have totally escaped the young man. I don't think he had time or desire for such useless information anyway.

I still have some faith that some young folks will "get it" one day and we will have some new fellows to look forward to hearing their perspectives like I did when I was young.