</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Thats why it's interesting to look at gun magazine articles through the past (in decades), particularly in cartridge selection and design. )</font>
It's only been about a year ago that I gave away my 25+ year collection of magazines to the VA hospital, a whole pickup load.
There was a lot of good stuff in them, and I distinctly remember one article of Jeff Cooper's in which he was asked about the virtues of the .25 ACP. His answer was "I'd rather have a stout cane."
I didn't really notice the *****-footing until the next generation of writers came along. Elmer Keith, Jeff Cooper, Bill Jordan, Skeeter Skelton were old school, and pulled no punches. Then along came the their successors, like Jan Libourel, and the guy whose name I've forgotten from Thermopolis Wyoming who would heap praise upon whatever was put in front of them. I did kind of like Ross Seyfried, though.
But then the emphasis seemed to turn to hand-cannons and $2000 .45 combat rigs and I totally lost interest, which may have more to do with my waning enthusiasm that the changing gun world. I can't remember the last time I shot a gun and I used to buy .22LR by the 5000 round case. I used to be halfway good with a handgun, but I suppose whatever skill I ever have had is now long gone, what with fading eyesight and inactivity. With all the houses that have gone up around here, there is now no direction to safely shoot. It used to be that I could step out the back door and shoot; now it's at least a twenty mile drive to find a place where people hearing gunshots won't call the law. Too much trouble.
FWIW, all you younger guys would do yourself a favor by reading Keith, Cooper, Jordan, and Skelton if you can get your hands on any of their material. Also, Hatcher and Taylor. No need to reinvent the same wheel these guys did. I have personally only found one thing that Elmer states that cannot be true--everything else is right on the money. I highly recommend his book Sixguns.
It's only been about a year ago that I gave away my 25+ year collection of magazines to the VA hospital, a whole pickup load.
There was a lot of good stuff in them, and I distinctly remember one article of Jeff Cooper's in which he was asked about the virtues of the .25 ACP. His answer was "I'd rather have a stout cane."
I didn't really notice the *****-footing until the next generation of writers came along. Elmer Keith, Jeff Cooper, Bill Jordan, Skeeter Skelton were old school, and pulled no punches. Then along came the their successors, like Jan Libourel, and the guy whose name I've forgotten from Thermopolis Wyoming who would heap praise upon whatever was put in front of them. I did kind of like Ross Seyfried, though.
But then the emphasis seemed to turn to hand-cannons and $2000 .45 combat rigs and I totally lost interest, which may have more to do with my waning enthusiasm that the changing gun world. I can't remember the last time I shot a gun and I used to buy .22LR by the 5000 round case. I used to be halfway good with a handgun, but I suppose whatever skill I ever have had is now long gone, what with fading eyesight and inactivity. With all the houses that have gone up around here, there is now no direction to safely shoot. It used to be that I could step out the back door and shoot; now it's at least a twenty mile drive to find a place where people hearing gunshots won't call the law. Too much trouble.
FWIW, all you younger guys would do yourself a favor by reading Keith, Cooper, Jordan, and Skelton if you can get your hands on any of their material. Also, Hatcher and Taylor. No need to reinvent the same wheel these guys did. I have personally only found one thing that Elmer states that cannot be true--everything else is right on the money. I highly recommend his book Sixguns.
