“Good Shootin’ and God Bless”
Remembering John Taffin
For nearly 40 years, I had the privilege of sharing a masthead with John Taffin. Taffin ranks with immortals like Townsend Whelen, Jack O’Connor, Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton — one of those whose influence and writings will continue for as long as people enjoy firearms and shooting.
John had the rare ability — and courage — to communicate his enthusiasm, passion and emotion. I respected him for the values we shared, which he expressed so eloquently: family, responsibility, duty, honor, self-reliance, respect for those who came before and those who will follow.
John Taffin wrote a great deal about big-bore, powerful revolvers, and his expertise in reloading for and shooting big bores certainly made a valuable contribution to shooting lore. It’s less well-known that he was profoundly knowledgeable about virtually all types of firearms, including .22 rimfire.
I remember writing an article about my favorite .22 rifles and getting a nice message from John:
“Dave, Really enjoyed the .22 rifle piece. Nothing like a great .22. Would you believe Duke does not own a .22 rifle or handgun? Hard to understand. Good shootin’ and God bless, John”
In other messages, we talked about the writers we enjoyed when we were young, and it was all ahead of us. I found one old message:
“Eric Collier from Outdoor Life, Ben East, Francis Sell and Ted Trueblood were all part of my young life. Plus, Robert Ruark, Corey Ford and many others. My wonderful 9th-grade English teacher let me report on all of them for extra credit. My aunt had given me a worn-out typewriter, and I could peck away one finger at a time. Sigh! Do kids today enjoy life like we did?? Good shootin’ and God bless, John”
A few years ago, a fellow was selling a couple of Smith & Wesson revolvers — an early ‘50s K-22 and a later model .44 Special. The price was too good to pass up. I wrote John to say I’d finally acquired my first .44 Special. John wrote back:
“Hi Dave! Good to hear from you, and Merry Christmas to you and Simone. The 24-3 is a good sixgun and should give you good service. For a hunting load, 16.0 gr. of #2400 does 1220 fps from mine using a Keith SWC such as the Lyman #429421. Welcome to the wonderful world of .44 Specials! I got my first one in 1959 and am now up to 113 of them. Good Shootin’ and God bless, John”
I believe it was W. H. Auden who wrote, “Let us honor if we can, the vertical man; Though we value none but the horizontal one.”
A few years ago, John had some health issues. I’m glad to say that for once, I fought down my usual reticence and honored the vertical man. I wrote this in a message to John:
“When I think of my friend John Taffin, I think of words like: mentor; standard of excellence; integrity; work ethic; encyclopedic knowledge; and incomparably, the best firearms writer of the era.”
John replied, “I’m so glad to know you, Dave, and humbled by your message! May we both continue to have many good years ahead of us!”
John did have more good years. He lived a long and full life, and he wrote it all down for future generations to enjoy. Thanks, John, and in your own words: “Good shootin’ and God bless!”
