Jeff Quinn
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version)
Jeff is a full-grown child who lives in the woods next to
a national wildlife refuge in Tennessee. He has always loved guns and shooting, and
really enjoys writing about the things he loves. Born in 1959, Jeff is a life member of the
NRA, a Shootist, a conservative,
and a Baptist. You may not agree with his opinions on
guns, politics, or life in general, but he will still give them freely to all
who will listen!
E-mail
Jeff
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Boge Quinn
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version)
Boge is a professional artist,
architectural design engineer and web
designer. An NRA
member since 1980 and an avid handgunner, Boge was born in 1961; since
that time, the greatest honor in his life was becoming a member of
the Shootists in
2004. He also enjoys reloading, but defers to
Jeff when he has a question! A regionally well-known mandolinist and guitarist, Boge
puts his musical abilities to use by playing in local Blue Grass bands,
performing Gospel and Western music as a solo act, and serving as Song Leader at the same church where Jeff serves as Deacon
and their dad recently retired after a quarter-century as Pastor.
E-mail
Boge
Greg Quinn
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version)
Greg has been a high-technology business
consultant specializing in start-up technology businesses since
1985, and is CEO of Quinn
Consulting, Inc, a leading international technology
consulting organization. Born in 1957 and an NRA member since
1980, Greg specializes in modern rifles & modern
semi-automatic pistols and their applications. Greg is also our
edged-weapons specialist. Greg functions as VP of Business
Development for Gunblast.com, and directs all business activity
for our company. Greg is active in local and national
political circles, is an ordained Baptist Minister, and is
President of Mt. Ida
Youth & Music Ministries, Inc., a non-profit
organization charged with developing young people across the
globe. Greg serves on the Board of Directors of several
technology organizations, and is President of CoreTech
Industries, Inc., a leading construction technology
organization.
Greg is honored to have been appointed as 2003
Honorary Chairman representing the state of Tennessee in
the Business Advisory Council of the National Republican
Congressional Committee (NRCC). More recently, Greg has been
honored as Businessman of the Year for years 2004 and 2005
from the NRCC, and in late 2005, was awarded their highest honor,
the Ronald Reagan Republican Gold Medal. Greg was
inducted into the Platinum Round Table for 2006 for his
work
in tax reform to help small businessmen everywhere, and was
honored by the NRCC's Business Advisory Council as a 2006 Republican of the Year from
Tennessee.
E-mail
Greg
Contributing Writers
(Listed Alphabetically)
William Bell
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for a larger version)
Born in 1954, William Bell, a.k.a. La Vista Bill
(SASS #11869), has
been writing about guns since 1983.
He is a veteran of almost 29 years in law enforcement and
presently works for the Bureau of Customs & Border
Protection, Dept. of Homeland Security.
A firearms instructor for some 15 years, Bill has also written
articles for Combat Handguns, Guns & Weapons for Law
Enforcement, Guns of the Old West, Glock Auto Pistols, Police, The
Backup (CD-ROM magazine), Wild West, and Police Marksman.
Bill has been honored by membership in the Shootists
and the Western Writers of America. He is an NRA Life Member and a member of the Masonic
Lodge,
plus an avid reader, book collector and student of the Old West.
He also does a passable job singing “A Boy Named Sue”
when accompanied by Boge on the guitar. We are proud to welcome Bill as a contributing writer here at
Gunblast.com!.
Email
Bill
R.
K. Campbell
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for a larger version)
We are proud to welcome R. K. Campbell to the
Gunblast.com family.
An established and
well-respected outdoors writer, Bob writes for Shotgun News,
Handguns, SWAT Magazine, American Gunsmith, Knifeworld, Police,
Women and Guns, and GunWeek, among others. He is
Contributing Editor of Women and Guns and Executive Editor
of Boar Hunter. Bob has also published occasionally in Tactical
Knives, American Handgunner and Guns, and he is
a regular at Krause Publications' Gun Digest and Handguns. He
also wrote a significant portion of the 4th and 5th Editions of Assault
Weapons.
Bob has also authored three books: Holsters
For Combat and Concealed Carry (Paladin Press), The
1911 Semi Auto (Stoeger Publishing), and The Handgun
In Personal Defense (The Second Amendment Foundation).
Email
Bob
Mike
Cumpston
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for a larger version)
Born in 1947, Mike is a native of central Texas.
He is a member of the National Rifle Association, the Texas
State Rifle Association, and a certified Texas Concealed
Handgun Licensing Instructor.
Mike is a freelance
writer whose articles have appeared in American Handgunner,
Guns Magazine, the TSRA Sportsman, and Front
Sight. In addition, he has contributed articles to such high
quality Internet publications as The
Centurion (Miles Fortis) and Sixgunner.com.
We
are proud to welcome our long-time friend Mike Cumpston to
Gunblast.com!
E-mail
Mike
Glen
Fryxell
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for a larger version)
Glen has been fascinated with guns and hunting
his entire life, and started hunting early, primarily with a bow
and arrow during his teen years, and more recently with handguns.
He is a chemist by training, and professionally his interests have
centered around environmental chemistry, nanostructured materials,
molecular self-assembly and biomimetic processes. On the personal
side, he is a hunter, shooter, reloader, and guitar player of
marginal repute. He has been casting bullets and reloading
ammunition since the 1980s, and has hunted primarily with handguns
over the last 15 years, over much of the western US. His
fascination with the use and performance of cast bullets in the
hunting fields, in conjunction with his technical background in
materials science and chemistry, led him to study the fascinating
field of metallurgy in his spare time in an effort to more deeply
understand bullet performance in the hunting fields.
Please join us in welcoming Glen to
Gunblast.com!
E-mail
Glen
Bill
Hamm
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for a larger version)
Bill was born in 1945 and grew up in rural
Alabama. As with many Southern boys, he learned to handle guns,
shoot, and hunt at a very early age. His interest and love for
guns has always remained steadfast. Bill traded $10 and a “good
bicycle” for his first, very own, handgun when he about 14 years
old. That gun happened to be a Ruger Single-six “Flatgate” .22
and he has had a thing for Rugers ever since.
While he has owned many different makes and
models of guns over the years, Bill began to really focus on
collecting Ruger single action revolvers in the early 1980’s. He
was honored by the Ruger Collectors’ Association (RCA)
in 1995 when he was asked to represent them with his collection of
Ruger .44 Magnum “Flattops” and Super Blackhawks at the
NRA
Annual Convention in Phoenix, AZ.
Bill is a Field Representative for RCA,
Life Member of the NRA, a member of various gun collectors’
associations...and our friend.
E-mail
Bill
Jesse
L. "Wolf" Hardin
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for a larger version)
A fine writer, a wonderful illustrator,
photographer, poet, musician, historian, hunter,
outdoorsman...Jess is a man who wears many hats, and wears each with aplomb. A Renaissance man in the truest sense of the word,
Jess is nevertheless a plain-spoken and down-to-Earth guy. He
has written four published books, along with hundreds of
articles in publications as diverse as Shoot! Magazine, Guns,
Gun Digest, International Militaria Collector, Gray's Journal,
Wilderness Way, and Mother Earth News. He lives in a
remote area of the mountainous Southwest, where he can live the
life of a true Mountain Man. He looks the part; he walks the
walk; and he has the ability as a writer, storyteller and
illustrator to take us on his adventures with him, and to truly
make history "come alive".
Please join us in welcoming Jess Hardin to
Gunblast.com!
E-mail
Jess
Frank
"Paco" Kelly
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version)
Paco was born in New
York during the 1930s. He went into the military in the
mid-1950s and was transferred to Africa in 1957. He trained
military units in small arms - a service the US was providing for
some African countries during that time. Over a two-year
period in Africa while providing training, Paco was also able to
hunt and do ballistic testing.
He did two short tours in Southeast Asia and
then was discharged. He entered the New York School of
Technology and graduated in 1965. He entered Federal
service with the Dept. of Treasury in 1966 as criminal
investigator. In 1968 he was transferred to Virginia. In two
years he made so many criminal cases on Federal drug violations
that the Governor of Virginia appointed him Director of the
then-new Virginia Division of Drug Abuse Control in
1970. He was the youngest State Commissioner appointed in Virginia
and the first New Yorker to hold the rank. During his 5 years of
service, the drug abuse statistics for the State of Virginia fell
from 3rd place in 1970 to 47th in 1975.
Paco returned to Federal Service in 1975 and
worked for the Dept. of Justice until he retired in 1984. He now
lives in Tucson with his wife Barbara.
In the 1990's Paco began studying for the
Ministry and today is Associate Pastor of a Church in Tucson.
He is also the current President of The
Shootists, a gathering of writers, firearms manufacturers
and enthusiasts from across the country. Their annual
meeting, called "The Shootists Holiday" is a
week-long affair that brings some of the top "gun"
talent in the country together.
A prolific writer, Paco has written thousands of
articles and several books over the years. For a number of years he was
Technical Editor of The Fouling Shot, the publication of
the The Cast Bullet Association. He was a Field
Editor for The Sixgunner, the publication of J.D. Jones
and Handgun Hunters International. A book that he
wrote in the 1980's - LEVERGUNS, AN AMERICAN HERITAGE (now
long out of print) is sought after by collectors and shooters.
Paco has invented a number of tools for
reloaders/experimenters over the year and is currently producing
tools to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the .22 Rimfire.
Paco continues writing. His articles can be
found on the Internet on Gunblast.Com,
Sixgunner.Com and
his own web site, Leverguns.Com.
We are honored to have the legendary Paco Kelly as a member of
the Gunblast.com team.
E-mail
Paco
Charles "Butch" Kent
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version)
The
photo of Butch Kent shows him in action…or reaction, as he fires
some of Jeff's handloads in a Ruger No 1 in 45-70.
Butch loves almost all shooting sports but most of all,
he loves the challenge of working with a fine firearm and getting
the most out of it with home brewed ammo. He has been reloading
since 1968 when he acquired his first centerfire rifle. Since
then, Butch's handloads have kept him shooting his collection of
rifles and handguns. Whether it’s on paper or in the field after
game of any size, he has perfected a load that ensures the best
accuracy and performance of the firearm in use.
His
recent retirement from a career in the nuclear power industry
provides more leisure time and new opportunities for hunting and
shooting adventures. Now that he has joined the Gunblast staff of
contributors, he’ll be sharing some of his pet loads and
experiences at the range and in the woods.
Please
join us in welcoming Butch Kent to the Gunblast.com team!
Email
Butch
Joe Riekers
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for a larger version)
Josef
Riekers (Joe) has been professionally involved in the shooting
community for nearly 20 years.
His business has evolved from field trial dog training,
shotgun importing and serving as an apprentice gun maker to his
current booking and
outfitting agency run by his wife.
Joe
has published books and articles on shotgunning and bird hunting
and hosted the former GunDogsUnlimited TV show.
He is currently the Shooting Editor for Covey Rise
Magazine.
A
worldwide hunter, Joe has qualified for the Gold level in Safari
Club’s Introduced Trophies to North America.
After collecting over 400 big game animals, Joe now enjoys
introducing new shooters and hunters to the sport and providing
opportunities for hunters to pursue their dreams.
He also participates in and supports the Hunters for the
Hungry Program.
Joe
has a Masters Degree in Criminology with a minor in English and
Literature.
Full time, he is a Special Agent with a Federal law
enforcement agency, and will celebrate his 20th year in
law enforcement in 2008.
Email Joe
Jim Taylor
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version)
Gunblast.com is proud to welcome our friend Jim
Taylor as a contributing writer.
A true "renaissance man", Jim is
equally at home on his ranch, at the range (you should see him
shoot a match holding his revolvers upside-down "just to make
it fair"), or behind the Pulpit.
A Pastor for over thirty years, Jim has been
Pastor at Christ Chapel (non-denominational) in Mount
Vernon, MO for almost fourteen years.
Jim also knows how to drive one of them old
computers, as he is an expert Webmaster who lends his ability to
various firearms-related and Church-related entities.
Jim has been Contributing Editor for The
New Gun Week for sixteen years, and Chairman of The
Shootists for eight years. In 2005, Jim was honored as the
Shootist of the Decade, joining the legendary John
Taffin as the only recipients of the award.
We welcome Jim's vast
knowledge and expertise as a member of the Gunblast.com team.
Email Jim
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version)
Leroy Thompson
Leroy Thompson has been writing military, law
enforcement, security, firearms, and knife articles for more than
30 years. He has had more than 1500 articles published and
37 books. He specializes in tactical articles and tactical
weapons. But since Jeff Quinn is his hero, he wanted to do
some writing for GunBlast.com!
Email Leroy
Matthew Wellington
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version)
Born
in 1972, Matt is the whippersnapper of the group.
Introduced to shooting by that great institution, the Boy
Scouts of America, firearms have been a big part of Matt’s
adolescence and adulthood.
He has spent the last nine years in law enforcement,
four-and-a-half as a deputy sheriff for the Prince
William County Sheriff’s Office, and just over five with the
federal government at the Department
of Homeland Security.
He also works part time at Virginia
Arms Company, a gun shop in Manassas, Virginia,
specializing in handguns and firearms history.
For the past seven years, he has donated his time teaching
Basic Pistol and Personal Protection as an NRA-certified
instructor through the Piedmont
NRA Instructors Group, also located in Northern Virginia.
Still in the “up-and-coming” stage of his writing
career, he has nevertheless written articles for GUNS and American Handgunner magazines.
When his schedule permits, Matt also enjoys shooting in
IPSC and IDPA competition to keep the old wheels greased.
E-mail
Matt
Erik Johnson
Eric is a police officer in Southwestern
Virginia and a former US Marine engineer. He
enjoys small game hunting, shooting military rifles, and
cheering on his beloved Virginia Tech Hokies to
sometime victory.
As a lifelong history buff, Erik has a
special interest in military rifles and pistols. He
considers his collection of military rifles to be small pieces
of living history. The functionality of
military rifles has appealed to him since his time in the
Marine Corps, and he particularly admires the practical design
of older service rifles. He admits that his
M-1 Garand is his favorite rifle and has traced
its serial number back to World War II.
In his
spare time Erik shoots competitively at local IDPA
(International Defensive Pistol Association) matches and
spends time at home with his wife playing with their two dogs.
