Mentors

[FishDFly]

"Wow. That's a trip down memory lane.
Going to Rebel Arms was a treat."

Good Cheer responded to another post and it reminded me of memory lane, past mentors.

How many folks here have been influenced in a positive way by a good mentor(s)?

Rebel Arms had some of the best BP shooters in Texas. Ralph Miller was one of the best, always willing to teach whether in Texas, Phoenix or Friendship.

Have been to Phoenix and have learned from the pistol shooters (Lou, Russ, Mike Luma, the California contengent) and others there and from the same folks and others when going to Friendship.

Good mentors have pulled me up to be a decent pistol shooter where I can compete, even managed to set some records at times.

Thanks to ya'll for what you have taught me.

rde

 

[BillinOregon]

Richard, was Rebel Arms a Texas gun shop?
My best firearms mentor was Sergeant Ryan, a member of the Fort Lewis pistol team who taught me four-position rifle shooting as I worked on my Marksmanship merit badge in Scouts in Tacoma, Washington.

 

[jlindstrom]

My good friend and gun builder got me back in to BP shooting after 40 years. I likely would'nt be doing it without his mentoring. I forgot how much fun I was missing.

 

[Snakebite]

Davey Boultinghouse (Round Rock, TX) built my first rifle in 1978. I had never shot a blackpowder gun. He walked me thru and thru on shooting my new rifle when it was finished. We had a club in Austin about a year later, but Davey was the only one up until then that I had any contact with shooting BP. So I would have to state he was my mentor and a good one at that.
:2

Snakebite

 

[BrownBear]

No gun mentors, sad to say.

But my dad was an old time western leatherworker and I spent many a day at his elbow. These days some of the most fun I've had is mentoring youngsters (and a few adults) at my own bench. Try mentoring. You'll love it!

 

[Patocazador]

As a big-city kid I had no contact with guns except from "The Lone Ranger" and "Davy Crockett." Luckily, my Boy Scout troop took us to a YMCA indoor range where the staff taught us to shoot single-shot .22 rifles at 50 feet. Every Thursday evening we got on the bus and went to the "Y".

I have always been grateful to the ones who took the time and effort necessary to mentor us and keep us from becoming typical juvenile delinquents.

 

[azmntman]

:metoo: Being a non-typical juvenile delinquent was not so bad as I recall

 

[Tom Compton]

The late, great Tom Gillman (Hot Springs, AR) kept whooping me so bad but he answered questions and demonstrated the how to without lecturing.

I learned to go where the best shooters were going. Gillman, JL Hargis, John Snyder, Dewey Conrad, Jim Luke, etc. Also practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Tom set world records in CF bench rest in the 1960s w guns he made. I recall seeing one world record target up close and personal, 5 shots at 200 yds, light bench category I believe, measured .192" CTC.

Then he told me shooting a flintlock rifle offhand was the hardest thing he had ever done. Damn. Just what I needed to hear when all I shoot is offhand and now almost exclusively flintlock. I have 2 SMRs he built for me.

He is missed.
TC

 

[wattlebuster]

Two old hermit brothers that lived down the road a piece an took the time to answer a skinny 14 yr old kids questions about the original tenn iron mounted squirrel rifle each of them had. They both had original percussion double barrel shotguns that they turkey hunted with too. One was a remington an I have forgot the others make. They had modern 22s but I cant ever remember them shooting them. I shot those flinters lots of times an they taught me more than they will ever know. They started me on my flint journey. I wish they were around to thank them now but they have been gone since the late 70s an memories is all thats left. I never did know what happend to their guns. Some of their kin maybe but most them are gone too

 

[sidelock]

You are right brownbear. I have taught bunches of young folk to shoot and fly fish (especially fly fishing). And some of them turned out to be super good.

 

[sidelock]

The best mentor in my life was my scout master named stoney parker. He didn't teach me much about guns (all though we hunted and fished a lot to gather)but he was one of the finest men I have ever known and taught me much about life. And he was a simple tobacco farmer from North Carolina.

 

[necchi]

Never had a "Mentor".
Had to figure it all out myself.
I have folks I admire, there have been folks I have watched,,
,but I've never had a mentor.

 

[meanmike8665]

Sad day today, first mentor is in the hospital. He fell and broke his hip. He is 79 years old. Have known him about half my life.
The best advice he give me " listen to only me until you start beating me, then go find who is beating us and learn what they know ". I have many new friends and new mentors, because my first mentor.
Michael

 

[Mean Gene]

Unfortunately me to, I never had a mentor to shoot bp with, someone to teach me about the how to's. I read books before I ever fired my first shot and learned by my own experiences.

 

[Einsiedler]

Davey Boultinghouse (Round Rock, TX) built my first rifle in 1978. I had never shot a blackpowder gun. He walked me thru and thru on shooting my new rifle when it was finished. We had a club in Austin about a year later, but Davey was the only one up until then that I had any contact with shooting BP. So I would have to state he was my mentor and a good one at that.
:2

Snakebite

Davey is a good man! You heard that His wife Francis passed a couple of years back? Used to buy flints from Davey when he was still cutting them and his place was out on 620. Man that was back in the early 70's!

When I was just a punk kid there was a group of old muzzleloaders in the central Texas/Austin area called the Powderhorn club! I fell in with several of them. They were a fine group of fellows! One who helped me considerable was Mr. Don Morgan. He began collecting muzzleloaders in the 30's up in the Red River valley. He was a wealth of knowledge. He had a complete blacksmith shop in his backyard that came out of east Texas. He disassembled it board by board. Heck of a guy!

He had lots of other cool stuff too!!!

 

[Snakebite]

You know we may have met there at Davey's shop, it was "The Flint Shop" and he had those big machines that cut the flints.

I did hear Francis passed away. Davey is still making knives and I emailed him a while back and his son Chris responded. Davey was very patient with me, I would go out to his place and watch him build rifles. We had a club that shot out at the Hill Country Rifle Range, we were the "Hill Country Free Traders".

When I was still in the Army and stationed in Germany we had a club "The Northern Bavarian Renegades", Germans and Americans. We shot on Grafenwohr casern. We had 2 rendezvous a year. One time a German came up and asked if he could look at my rifle which I said of course. Then he asked "how much do you want for it", I told him it wasn't for sale. He asked me about 4 time and was kind of coping an attitude. I thought about saying 10,000DM but I thought better as he may have paid that. Finally I convinced him it was not for sale and he left. I won a lot of shoots with that rifle.

All those little farm houses on FM 620 are all gone now, new subdivisions and stores all along 620.

Chris

 

[Einsiedler]

Yeah, if you bought cut agate flints in those days they were in all likelihood Daveys! He had the contract with Thompson/Center and those little blister packs they sold!

 

[azmntman]

Never had a "Mentor".
Had to figure it all out myself.
I have folks I admire, there have been folks I have watched,,
,but I've never had a mentor.

:metoo:

Guy that got me into it new little but how to load and shoot. He ended up selling me all his bp rifles when he got into 45-70 levers. (all but one, a CVA flint that would spark EVER that I turned down). I pretty much learned all myself. 70% since joining here actually :thumbsup:

 

[Jay Dobro]

My greatest mentors have been all the school teachers I've had. Without these people I'd still be looking at the pictures in the "funny papers" and guessing what was being said. Shooting mentors have been many, many more over the years. Experienced shooters, just by watching their habits have taught me so very much. Grandstanders and self proclaimed experts, that'll always be in any walks of life, will shine in their own eyes. I gained the most by my own experiences and trial and error. Good luck to you all. M

 

[Louisk]

I had two good mentors when I first got into black powder (quite recently) BrownBear and Sam Fadala...both of whom I have yet to meet in person.