Welcome to the website.

I think it is safe to say that most people think of me as the host the Duelist1954 YouTube Channel. That’s understandable because I’ve been doing that for 11 years now, but most people don’t know that I spent over 30 years as a magazine writer.

When I wrote my first magazine article for “Muzzleloader” magazine 1988, I just hoped that people would like it. I really had no idea that I had taken the first steps on the path of my second career. But, I was emboldened enough by the success of my first two articles in “Muzzleloader” to send an article to Jack Lewis, the publisher of “Gun World” magazine.

Jack rejected my article, and I decided to call him to find out why. If you don’t remember the pre-cellphone era, a coast to coast long distance call used to cost some serious money. They were not undertaken on a whim, but it ended up being some of the best money I ever spent.

Jack was the textbook definition of a curmudgeon, but for some reason he took my call, and answered my question. He said my article was fine, but it didn’t have enough pictures. Jack said I needed to have at least a dozen, and more is better.

I said, “So, if I send it in with more pictures, you’ll buy it?”

“Yeah…If they’re any good.”

So, I sent it back with a dozen pictures, and Jack bought it. In fact, with the exception of a couple of articles for photography magazines, Jack, or his successor Jan Libourel, bought every article I wrote for the next nine years.

That exposure in “Gun World” lead to me joining the team at “Guns of the Old West” magazine, first as a feature writer, and then as the Black Powder Contributing Editor, a position I held for 20 years.

During those 20 years I also wrote for a wide variety of other magazines, including a stint as the Reloading Contributing Editor for “Combat Handguns” magazine. And, of course I also started the YouTube channel.

The great thing about YouTube is that all my videos are there. So, a new viewer, who likes my work has over 500 more videos to choose from. The same couldn’t be said about my magazine articles. While some of them are on-line, the vast majority are not.

I spent most of my adult life trying to popularize and de-mystify black powder shooting, but younger shooters would never have the opportunity to learn from my articles.

That’s why I decided to start this website. I wanted a place where I could house my work from both print and video. I hope it provides you with entertainment, but I also hope it can serve as a resource for both new and experienced shooters, especially in the area of black powder.

Getting all that content formatted and loaded is a daunting task, but it’s one that I’m happy to tackle. So, please check back into the site periodically to see the latest videos, and to read the past magazine articles as I get them loaded.

I’ll also be using the blog section to share my thoughts from time to time, and I’d love to read feedback from you on the content here.

Thanks for visiting. There’s lots more to come.