doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Silent Doubles - In Memorium On another site: "Passing of Michael McIntosh"

I must say that I was very saddened at the passing of Michael McIntosh. Michael had a special gift of being a writer that had inside knowledge of the technical aspects of both double barrel shotguns and their use. In a day when most gun writers are mere paid advertisers for gun companies,who know little of the workings of guns and even less on how to shoot them accurately, Michael could tell you how to shoot and how your gun shoots. I don't believe that we will see equal of him for genrations to come. Shoot Straight Michael.


Jonathan

It hasn't been that long since we lost a couple other fine shotgun writers: Bob Brister and Don Zutz. Both really good shots and excellent on the technical stuff. They both had a broader focus than Michael, who was pretty much strictly a doublegun guy. But IMO, while I always enjoyed Brister and Zutz, Michael was a better and more entertaining writer.

I like reading McIntosh and think he was a great guy. More interesting than Bob Brister? Larry, you have to get out more.

I didn't say "more interesting", eightbore. I said "more entertaining". Other than in the technicana pieces MM did with David Trevallion, I think Zutz and Brister were more in the business of communicating that kind of information than was McIntosh. But I'll give Michael my vote as a WRITER, subject matter apart.

If you will read Brister's short stories you will find out what sort of writer he was. He was an equal to Buckingham or Babcock. Moss, Mules, and Mallards or The Golden Cresent; buy a copy and enjoy.

Think I have 3 or 4 of his books. His books "Best Guns" first got me interested in Foxes. Then his book on Foxes hooked me for good. The change from stackbarrels to sxs wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for MM for sure. Great delivery style and easy to read. He will be missed, but he left a treasure chest full of quality reading behind.

Michael with the "Barbra Blanco" and the Foster Grants- looks a bit like the late Ernest M. Hemingway circa 1949 Idaho- sans the shades-- and that's a compliment- as very few writers had the solid work ethic of Hemingway, and also MM- he worked at his craft, was not afraid to take a stand, but did his homework and did it well- Of all his writings I like best his decription of his father with the Rem M31- first as MM was a youngster, and then the final hunt 25 years later, when as we all must, his father became a victim of Anno Domini- And letting that rooster fly away unscathed, a bit of Gene Hill's story about the elephant hunt taken by one of Gene's friends who had terminal cancer- and the line- "Sometimes, when all is said and done, we discover that the greatest pleasure in owning a fine gun is discovering the greater pleasure of not always having to shoot it"!!

Larry, sorry for the misuse of the word interesting. I was comparing Brister and McIntosh both of whom are interesting and entertaining. Zutz is not in the same universe with either.

IMO-- Bob Brister was a technician who covered all the shotgunning bases, and was a master story teller and a first class shot as well- Ditto for Mike M., but with the caveat that he covered double guns of both "persuasions". Don Zutz had his own ideas, in some ways like Francis Sell and "Cactus Jack" O'Connor, all made their mark in the world of shotgunnery and will be missed.

That being said, the three late gun writers who influenced both my interest in shooting shotguns effectively on game (not clays so much) were Nash Buckingham, Paul A. Curtis and especially, Gene Hill. When you read one of Gene's articles on shotguns and shooting, you felt as if he was standing right next to you, lending helpful advice gained from years of actual experience.

I read my first Michael McIntosh book in 81. "The Best Shotguns ever made in America". He really spoke to me in his writings and I have been a fan ever since. I like Gene Hill, as did Michael.
Michael thought equally well of Steve Smiths writings, as do I.
Bob Brister gave me a thorough understanding of shotgun ballistics in his book, Shotgunning, The Art and The Science.
I was never a big Fan of Don Zutz. He wrote about shotguns with all the flair of a treatise on bus transmissions but if you view shotguns simply as tools, you may feel differently.