Jim Carmichael's articles were an inspiration for getting into handloading as a teenager... And that began the obsession with accurizing guns!
Jim provided practical advice and know how that helped us improve our guns, our shooting and our hunting. He had much more impact on me as a hunter than the more famous writers who told great stories but did not have the know how or experience to back them up (I.e. Ernest Hemingway).
Had my one and only chance to sit down with Carmichael at the DSC show a couple of years ago. He was at the Sporting Classics booth promoting his new book - still sharp and funny. It was his gunsmithing book that caught my attention as a kid (though I now know it contained some horrible advice about putting a SxS back on face using a hammer!)
Likewise. I bought a couple copies of his book and told him he was one of the legends to my generation (born in the 50s). He shook his head, looked down a bit and said "No...no". He seemed embarrassed by the comment. But he really did have a significant impact on the shooting and hunting communities.
I did t know he still made the shows. I would dearly love to thank him for his influence on our generation!