1911Forum banner
41 - 60 of 104 Posts
I have not seen ANYONE mention Skeeter Skelton.

Didn't preach, easy to read, BUNCHES of REAL knowledge.
 
"Ray Chapman was an American sport shooter and firearms instructor who was central to the development of practical shooting. He was one of the founders of the International Practical Shooting Confederation at the 1976 Columbia Conference. He won the first IPSC Handgun World Shoot in 1975 and took silver behind Jan Foss from Norway in the second World Shoot in 1976. He continued to compete until 1979 when he retired from competition."

After I left the military he was local to me for a while and he gave me a few tips on both revolvers and 1911s. He was held in such high esteem by others in law enforcement that just a few words from him would instill confidence that really helped and he was always right about guns, technique or whatever. He was one of the original folks who founded modern competitive shooting and training. Here they are. Look how young Cooper was and how thin they all were. We all were.
View attachment 611981
It's unfair to post the picture without identifying the guys, here's the caption:

These men are five of the "Combat Masters", the five most successful shooters during the competitions held at the South Western Combat Pistol League ("SWCPL") at Big Bear Lake, California, during the late Fifties. The sixth "Combat Master", John Plahn, is missing from this photograph. Left to right: Ray Chapman, Elden Carl, Thell Reed, Jeff Cooper, Jack Weaver.
 
I met Ken Hackathorn at an IPSC match in Ohio back in the early '80s ... he gave a short talk to all the shooters. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. I've followed much of his written word and videos over the years.

I later met Hall of Fame Gunsmith, James Clark Sr. at the '82 IPSC Nationals, where we talked 1911 tuning and Ruger .22s. Before I left I bought one of Mr. Clark's Custom Ruger MK II Bullseye guns ... I still have it and shoot it regularly. I've always kept an eye on the things coming from Clark's shop.
 
"Ray Chapman was an American sport shooter and firearms instructor who was central to the development of practical shooting. He was one of the founders of the International Practical Shooting Confederation at the 1976 Columbia Conference. He won the first IPSC Handgun World Shoot in 1975 and took silver behind Jan Foss from Norway in the second World Shoot in 1976. He continued to compete until 1979 when he retired from competition."

After I left the military he was local to me for a while and he gave me a few tips on both revolvers and 1911s. He was held in such high esteem by others in law enforcement that just a few words from him would instill confidence that really helped and he was always right about guns, technique or whatever. He was one of the original folks who founded modern competitive shooting and training. Here they are. Look how young Cooper was and how thin they all were. We all were.
View attachment 611981
Last I heard Thell Reed was still alive, Is he the only survivor?
 
George Romero was the biggest influence that started me looking into firearms, collecting them, and training with them. After I saw the movie "Dawn of the Dead" back in 1978, it made me realize that in times of disasters (real disasters, not fantasy zombie apocalypses) that police and other first responders would not be available to bail us out and that people would have to depend on themselves to survive, not only the disaster (whether it be blackouts/ice storms/hurricanes/tornadoes/terrorist attacks/ or pandemics - real pandemics, not wimpy pandemics like this covid 19 that is nowhere near as deadly as smallpox or Ebola Zaire), but also, the bands of thugs and criminals that would seize upon the opportunity to commit looting, arson, murder, rape, and every other crime under the sun because there will be no one to stop them except for ourselves. And we won't be able to do jack crap without firearms.
 
Discussion starter · #46 ·
My primary gun Influencer was Robert M. Milek. Bob was rifle hunter a handgun hunter and reloader for Peterson Publishing . This man caused me to purchase a couple 8" revolvers and add a red dot to the 357mag it when a tube type red dot back available in '80 in a buelher mount and a XP-100 in 7mm BR in 1980 or '81 . Bob was also a fine BP shooter . A gunman first but a talented writer too .

View attachment 611972
Bob Milek almost made my list because a book he wrote on the .22 rimfire was my bible for many years as a teenager. He definitely was an old-school type, however. I often wondered what he'd have thought of everybody and his cousin shooting and hunting with AR-15s nowadays.

By the way, somebody who hasn't been mentioned yet but who nonetheless likely influenced a LOT of guys here... or their purchases at least. Ichiro Nagata! You might not recall his name, but you certainly have seen all of those delicious high-res, full-color photos of guns in American Handgunner magazine.
 
By the way, somebody who hasn't been mentioned yet but who nonetheless likely influenced a LOT of guys here... or their purchases at least. Ichiro Nagata! You might not recall his name, but you certainly have seen all of those delicious high-res, full-color photos of guns in American Handgunner magazine.
Once you said his name I recongized it. Excellent photographer. Also a Lethal Force Institute instructor under Massad Ayoob.
 
When I was younger I read alot of Skeeter Skeltons work . Then late 80's I read a article on a gun Chuck Taylor had done By Don Williams of the Actionworks.
I had some work done by Don and we got to be friends.
Don Mentored me in working on guns and before that time I would not take a screwdriver to a gun.
For a short time I had my own Gunsmithing business.
I remember being at my work bench at 12 midnight trying to finish up work for a customer.
Young, stupid, and full of energy.
Would not trade those days or part of my life for anything.
 
There have been many great men mentioned so far. I would add Col. Charles Askins to the list. I would not have Garry James on any kind of list of positive influencers. I have a copy of "Book of the 1911" magazine where he states that there were legitimate USMC marked 1911 pistols.
 
American Handgunner was my favorite magazine for most of my younger days. The heyday, IMHO, was when Cameron Hopkins was the editor. His own incredible, custom guns, reviewed by him, were beautifully photographed and the objects of my lust as a young man. And a bit later, Ichiro Nagata's photographs were in a whole new league. His images were as amazing as Cameron Hopkins' words. The magazine is still excellent, but I don't read it like I used to.
 
Bill Wilson's book became a reference book for me as a young 1911 aficionado. Those of us who've made the 1911 Bash got to shoot with Bill and Joyce and Ryan. They are all amazing shooters, outstanding instructors, and super nice people. We had a great group in Bash 1 and 2. What ever happened to Duke Nukem? He was a recently retired SWAT cop and a great guy. He, Roger, and a couple others became our group leaders. We all had an amazing time and received some great training from one of the best shooters in the world, Bill Wilson.
 
Bob Milek almost made my list because a book he wrote on the .22 rimfire was my bible for many years as a teenager. He definitely was an old-school type, however. I often wondered what he'd have thought of everybody and his cousin shooting and hunting with AR-15s nowadays.

By the way, somebody who hasn't been mentioned yet but who nonetheless likely influenced a LOT of guys here... or their purchases at least. Ichiro Nagata! You might not recall his name, but you certainly have seen all of those delicious high-res, full-color photos of guns in American Handgunner magazine.

I know who Mr. Nagata is . He's a good shooter too . I tried to enjoy match shooting back in the late 70's shooting a few matches at a ipsc events in SW FL . but there was to much stand around time . Still at one local match I was given some advise from a big man on learning to look thru the sight not at the sights and don't worry so much about accuracy but move faster . I said I was mainly a hunter as hogs were abundant in our area . This is not a bullseye match , treat it more like a hog is running at me so move and shot looking thru or even over the sights depending on distance . This mans words stayed with me thru the years and only some 10 years ago wonder if that big man was after reading who first taught the style !!

I guess I should have added 2 pro shooters to influencers - Rob Leatham and Todd Jarrett . I used a da/sa revolver hunting and found DA at times was necessary with hogs and I carried DA handgun as my at work carry along with 1911's away from work . So I learned to use the sweep the trigger style of shooting since the late '80's I think as it seemed to work well no matter the trigger style or pull weight along with flash sight picture style of my defensive drills over my 33 years of CC . .
 
My father died when I was a baby. My mother would not allow guns in the house. I was fortunate that I had relatives and friends from church who took me under their wings and taught me to drink coffee and shoot guns starting in the summer between the second and third grades in the early 1950s. A majority of them had been in the Marines and some had been in the Army. One served in WWI and several had served in WWII and/or Korea.

Between my mother's family and my father's family, I had twenty sets of aunts and uncles. I had cousins who were around twenty years older than me and some who were around five years younger than me. One cousin was awarded the Silver Star during Korea in the Marines. I spent some time on Camp Pendleton when I was a small kid.

When I was five, I spent some time with a cousin and his wife in San Diego. He was in the Navy and served in Korea. He took me ocean fishing and gave me tours of the military bases and a tour of the ship he was stationed on. I decided when I was five that I was joining the Navy. I made Chief just before he retired as a Chief. He was a huge influence on my life.

I was more influenced by my older relatives and family friends who taught me to shoot and hunt with borrowed guns until I joined the Navy at seventeen. Navy and Marine instructors influenced me. Tours in Viet Nam influenced me. I read all of the gun magazine writers, but can't say they influenced me much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bmcgilvray
Cooper and all the Southwest Pistol League, the fast draw competition between Cooper and Reed could be extremely funny . Cooper never did beat Reed. A nicer man than Weaver can't be found. I still at 74 practice a modified el Capitan.
 
41 - 60 of 104 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top