Yes, I made several visits to his house in the late 1970's. About a five hour drive to Salmon from here in the Boise area. I even met Bill Jordan at his house in 1978.
Funny story; I had read articles he wrote for Guns & Ammo shortly after I arrived in RVN in 1969. I wrote him at his house, wanting to know how to get a copy of Sixguns and how much money to send. About a month later I got a copy signed by him and a short letter telling me there would be no charge to an "Army Ranger" defending his country far away. He was an amazing gentleman from the old school, he and Jordan both.
I wrote for Precision Shooting Magazine from the mid-1980's until 2001 or 2002. The Magazine promoted a Prairie Dog Shoot up in Zortman, Montana. Early 1990's, iirc. The day before the shoot started, I ran into Bill in the lobby. He had been invited to shoot as well. So, we checked in with our wives, and walked up the stairs. I was pleased to know he had remembered me. We had rooms across the hall from each other. The Ladies are in the rooms freshening up, and I asked if he still did the fast draw exhibitions. He had been the Chief Firearms Instructor for the Border Patrol for nearly thirty years. He was also responsible for convincing S&W to bring out the K-frame 38 in 357, the Combat Magnum. He used to balance a Silver Dollar on the back of his hand, with his hand resting on the butt of his K-19. On command, he would draw, so quickly; that the Silver Dollar would fall into the holster as he dry fired. I asked him to show me, and he went into his room and came back out buckling his gun belt and holster as he did so. I had won about twenty dollars in a slot machine, and he asked me for one. He did the balancing/dry firing act for me. I was so amazed, I asked him to do it again. And again, so I could see the sequence. About six times. Our wives came out ready for dinner, and I asked him to do it one more time so my wife could see. He did. About that time his wife asked him how many times he had done it for me. He told her, nine times. She then told him to return my money, all of it. He laughed and told her anybody in the country would have paid a hundred dollars for a private fast draw shooting lesson. And then he laughed and gave me my money back. I tried to return it, but his wife would have none of it. So, we shared a laugh and went downstairs to have dinner together. We also spent the next day shooting Prairie Dogs together.
I guess I am getting to be one of that old school. That copy of Sixguns was pretty dog eared from being passed around the Company for the best part of two years. I got talked into leaving it with my Ranger Co in Danang my third tour, attached to the 106th LIB.
It's a story with a sad ending, out of nearly 80 men attached to 2nd Platoon, about 17 are left. Agent Orange has gotten most of that group. I have been lucky to have survived five operations to remove cancerous organs to date. We call it "Death on the Installment Plan...".
take care,
ISS
