Jack O'Connor

[krossh]

I'm just curious what Jack O'Connor books out there are your favorites and why?

 

[W.D. Crawford]

I never read any of his books but I used to read his articles in Outdoor Life magazine. Way back when.

 

[handwerk]

the big game rifle
lost classics
game in the desert
sheep and sheep hunting
hunting the rockies
big game hunting in north america
the complete book of shooting
I've got all these and still enjoy revisiting them
there are some other good ones as well, classic stuff!

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Like Hemingway, I always found Jack O to be a bit pretentious. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he did, and his knowledge of all things hunting rifles (not just the .270) but I was never crazy about his actual writing as a whole.

 

[Blockcaver]

Jack O'Connor was my favorite writer when I was a young guy. I am sure he influenced my love for sheep and Coues deer hunting, as we had neither in the upper mid-West where I grew up. I have most of his books.......Sheep and Sheep Hunting, the Rifle Book, North American Big Game Animals all stand out in memory.

As a side note, the O'Connor Museum (Hunting and Heritage Center) had Jack's and his wife Eleanor's rifles (Al Biesen stocked M70 .270 and Mauser action 7x57) on display at the WSF convention in Reno, NV a few weeks ago. It was a treat to see and handle them! (photo op too). Normally they are on display in Lewiston, ID.

 

[B.S.]

I'm reading sheep and sheep hunting right now and so far am enjoying it. Picked up a used copy off amazon for a "reasonable" price.

Brett

 

[VernAK]

I drive the Alcan quite often and I alwys think of Jack when I see the Prophet River Bench or the Burwash Landing area near Kluane.
It's fun to compare his gear with the lists of sophisticated gear we read on this forum.

 

[krossh]

Awesome Vern... I always compare Fred Bear and what he used to what we have now... those guys were definitely tough.. I want to start with Sheep and Sheep Hunting but man they're expensive on Amazon.. I haven't ever seen hunting the rockies by him, so I'll check that out as well.. I was too young to ever catch his work in outdoor life which is a bummer..

 

[kicker338]

I grew up reading Jacks books and mag articles, remember writing a letter to him when I was 12yrs. old about my first rifle, a converted 303 British army one. It was like Christmas getting a letter back even though it wasn't wrote by him. It was wrote by another guy who worked with him but as far as I was concerned it was from Jack lol. Loved old Jack.

 

[VernAK]

Awesome Vern... I always compare Fred Bear and what he used to what we have now... those guys were definitely tough.. I want to start with Sheep and Sheep Hunting but man they're expensive on Amazon.. I haven't ever seen hunting the rockies by him, so I'll check that out as well.. I was too young to ever catch his work in outdoor life which is a bummer..

I've been into the Cabin on the Little Delta where Fred hunted as it's 30 miles West of us.

 

[krossh]

That is awesome Vern.. I'm going to make it back up that way again soon.. We fish AK almost every year either in Homer, Seward or Ketch. I was just at some training with a guy who spent some years at Greely. He now lives in Anchorage and will retire from the Military in the next 4 years or so and his goal is to get a plane.. He's my new best friend! haha.. I'm betting he's going to have a lot of new best friends..

 

[Jfromecoas]

Awesome Vern... I always compare Fred Bear and what he used to what we have now... those guys were definitely tough.. I want to start with Sheep and Sheep Hunting but man they're expensive on Amazon.. I haven't ever seen hunting the rockies by him, so I'll check that out as well.. I was too young to ever catch his work in outdoor life which is a bummer..

Hey long shot here, do you still have the MR Mountain Ruck? New account so not allowed to pm or message directly unfortunately

 

[Blockcaver]

I've been into the Cabin on the Little Delta where Fred hunted as it's 30 miles West of us.

I’ve flown low over it in ‘84 on my first DIY Alaska caribou and moose bowhunt. Still looked identical to the photos taken in the late ‘50s. Still were caribou and Dall sheep nearby too.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I too grew up reading him in Outdoor Life. I have every book he wrote. I just finished re-reading Lost Classics for the 3rd or 4th time, it is my favorite. He influenced me a lot on his ideas about the classic rifle.

 

[Steve O]

I don’t have them all but have quite a few. Game in the Desert and Sheep & Sheep hunting are my favorites. The books that are collections of his articles by Robert Anderson are excellent too.


The museum is really an awesome little place. I was able to stop there a few years ago before sturgeon fishing in Hells Canyon

 

[displacedtexan]

Like Hemingway, I always found Jack O to be a bit pretentious. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he did, and his knowledge of all things hunting rifles (not just the .270) but I was never crazy about his actual writing as a whole.

They're both great writers, but both are better when limited on space.

I like Jack's articles.