Some time ago, I mentioned that I was on the lookout for a replacement of Jeff Cooper's "Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip".This was ... and is ... a collection of his writings for Cooper's Corner, which I believe was a regular one- or two-page feature of Guns & Ammo Magazine.
Memory fades with age, but I believe that it was eventually discontinued because The Colonel's Commentary was just too controversial and outspoken to be acceptable in a Politically Correct world. Jeff Cooper had the disconcerting habit of saying what he thought, and after trying to 'fix' the problem with disclaimers, the magazine eventually discontinued the column.
Today, you can still read Cooper's Commentaries on the 'net, but you have to be very patient as it only comes out once a month. That wasn't a particular hardship when it was being published in a monthly magazine, but when you're surfing the net you tend to become ... impatient.
As I say, my copy of The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip was stolen from my car by some loonies who took the book, but left a thousand rounds of 10mm ammunition in the back. Either they were discriminating readers, or they had no inclination to pack 20 pounds of full ammo-can as they ran from the parking lot. Frankly, I had rather they stole the ammo and left the book. I can always replace the ammo, but the book was priced between $100 and $200 on the internet, almost regardless of the condition. (Current prices on Amazon, see the link at the top, START at $95.)
When I received my May, 2006, Dillon Precision catalog the other day, I was startled to find they had copies available for $29.95!
I'm still in shock, but I'll be buying a copy real-soon-now, you betcha, along with a few other items I need (9mm/38super cartridge boxes, de-capping pins for the XL650 ... I'm down to 3 since I ran into a handful of berdan-primed 9mm Largo brass in my range-gleanings.)
While I'm at it, I might as well plunk down another $40 and buy The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip 2 ("covers years 1990 - 2000).I know I'm going to want it, and maybe I can throw away the set of dusty hard-cover printouts from the website that I've been hanging on to re-read.
I already have "To Ride ...", so I don't need to buy that. I may wait for a while before I get "Another Country". And I'm not interested in "Art of the Rifle". I've pretty much exhausted my interest in hunting and rifle shooting.
I feel like a kid at Christmas. I didn't see this one coming, I never expected another publishing run on this fine American Shooter (not to be confused with the tv show) book. It's to the credit of Dillon Precision that they did whatever they did to get this either republished, or find a forgotten cache of original 1989 copies.
This is about 1200 pages of 6" x 9.2" x 1.5" Americana, and I heartily recommend it. But don't buy it until I get my copy, okay? Because if you buy the book, and it's out of stock when my order gets in, and you live in the Pacific NorthWet, I'll be begging you to lend me the book until you finally wilt.
Note: If you go to the Amazon.com link, you'll find my September 19, 2005, comments. I begged people to give up their copy for the sake of The Geek, but I never got any response.
Those Amazonians are a heartless crew.
UPDATE: I've just placed my order, online, for The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip and The Gargantuan Gunsite Gossip 2, through Dillon Precision. Feel free to order as many copies as you wish. And if you don't get one because it's already sold out, don't come crying to me. I've got mine!
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