Hal Swiggett

Hal Swiggett came into my life in 1988, within weeks after Outdoor Media Resources came into being.  Hal died Monday, March 2, 2009, at the age of 87.

As an outdoor writer and editor who specialized in handguns, Hal was my first and best public relations success story.  Immediately before we met, he had written unkind words about not only the pistol scopes being made by my first client, Simmons, but about the company itself.  That meant I had to address it.  I wrote Hal a letter expressing my desire to change his opinion of Simmons, to have the company learn from the points he had raised, and to have him help us develop a better product.  We became fast friends.

A few months later, I sent Hal a prototype of a new pistol scope my client was considering producing, one they thought would correct the problems Hal had identified in no uncertain terms.  My accompanying note said, “See if you can break this.”  For many years thereafter, I read and heard Hal tell the story of that note, his effort to break the scope, and how he shot with right and left trigger fingers until he no longer could, then pulled the trigger of his 44 Mag with his middle finger. 

That actually turned out to be good practice for Hal.  What’s the worst thing that could happen to a gunwriter?  Near the top of the list would be somehow losing use of his trigger finger, but that’s just what happened to Hal several years later. A freak tire-changing accident cost him his trigger finger, but not once did I hear him complain.  “I have nine others,” he told me.

I hunted with Hal many times - moose, bears, whitetails, and hogs – and on our last hunt together, he even let me persuade him to use a muzzleloader. That still didn’t keep him from showing up at the Nail Ranch in Texas with his vehicle full of handguns. Big ones, little ones, new ones, old ones, some with the lowest serial numbers most of us had ever seen.

Once at an NRA convention, I complimented Hal, who always wore a vest, on the very distinctive one he was wearing. Two days later, I got an identical one in the mail. At the following NRA convention, we drew chuckles wearing our matching vests – unplanned – to the American Handgunner Awards dinner.  I wore mine so he could see me wearing it. He wore his, he said, to prove to me that he actually hadn’t sent me the vest off his back. I learned to be cautious when complimenting my generous friend, more than once saying something like, “I like your turquoise watchband – but I don’t want it!”

He somehow learned that I collected loon decoys, so for years he sent me every “loony” thing he came across – decoys, collector plates, photos, art prints. If it were legal to kill or capture one, I have no doubt he would have sent me the real thing.

Hal Swiggett was not only a gunwriter but also a Baptist minister who fulfilled his calling by visiting hospitals every day, and he was a devoted husband to his dear Wilma. To me, he was the kind of friend who would give candid advice, keep my secrets, appreciate my successes, give compassion or consolation when I needed it, and tell me what I needed to hear, even when it wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

Hal was in declining health in recent years, and I’ve missed him.  Now, as I learned of his death, I’m celebrating his long and happy life, doing exactly what he wanted to do.  Goodbye, dear friend.

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 Note:  Thanks to my friends, outdoor writers Jim Foster and Bill Miller, who contacted me to pass along the news of Hal’s death.  Below is the obituary Jim forwarded.

SWIGGETT
Harold “Hal” Swiggett, age 87, passed away from the loving arms of his family to the loving arms of his Lord on Monday, March 2, 2009. He was born to Otho Benjamin & Mildred Swiggett in Moline, Kansas. He was preceded in death by his son, Vernon Lee Swiggett. He is survived by his beloved wife, Wilma C. Swiggett; sons, Dr. Gerald Eugene Swiggett (Ida); daughter in law, Linda Swiggett; grandchildren, Donna, Darryl, Leah, Katherine, Stuart; great grandchildren, Nathan, Leanne, Jordan, Ryan, Zachary, Meredith, D.J., Haille, Cameron.

Mr. Hal Swiggett was a gun writer for over fifty years; African big game hunter with over 25 hunts with a handgun only, a 30-year contributor to Gun Digest, Field Editor of the “North American Hunter” and Senior Editor of Harris Publications. Hal was included in the “Top Ten” Outstanding American Handgunner Award for 10 years and was awarded the first place bronze sculpture on the 10th time. He served on the committee that built the NRA National Firearms Museum. Hal is also an ordained minister giving comfort to hospital patients daily.

SERVICES
The family will be having Private Services. In lieu of flowers, the family requests yard plants.

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Dave is a 20-ish, adventurous young college student who made a road trip from New York to Alabama last July with his sister and two friends, just to hear some great music. He and his pals ended up at a party I was hosting for a large group of strangers from all over the U.S. and around the world. Why I did something so bizarre but fun is another story. This one is about Dave.

The party was off to a great start, and a crowd had gathered around someone telling a story on the deck. Dave and his crew were in the circle surrounding the story-teller when he suddenly stood up and said quietly, “I have to get out of my comfort zone.” He moved around the crowd until he was on the opposite side, positioned himself between a couple of strangers, and shook hands with both.

Dave was on an adventure. He recognized that he couldn’t make new friends and have a memorable night unless he moved away from his traveling companions with whom he was comfortable.  I saw him make about 30 friends that night, get invited to visit people all over the world, and become part of a group traveling to Atlanta the next evening.

Some of the most successful writers and editors I’ve worked with were those who were willing to get out of their comfort zone.  My clients and I taught them to shoot and hunt with a muzzleloader for the first time, and they developed a new skill to write about.  We taught riflemen to hunt with handguns and shoot clays with shotguns. Like Dave, they wanted to meet the writers and editors they didn’t already know and learn from them.  Editors listened to our ideas for new columns and new subject matter. Writers and editors asked us for introductions to one another.

When did you last take up a new shooting discipline?  If you’re a gun writer, have you ever written about fishing, bowhunting, birdwatching, camping, or canoeing?  When you go on a sponsored hunt, do you hang out with the writers you already know or make a point of meeting the ones you don’t?  When was the last time you queried an editor of a magazine that was larger, more prestigious, or better-paying than your current markets? Have you ever queried a non-endemic publication?

Dave may still be a student, but we can all learn something from him. When was the last time you were out of your comfort zone professionally?