John August Taffin (May 2, 1939 – March 10, 2025) was an American author from

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

who wrote several columns for gun magazines including ''Guns'', '' Gun Digest'', ''Sixgunner'', ''Shoot!'', and '' American Handgunner''. A math teacher from 1964 to 1995, Taffin was regarded as an authority on single-action revolvers,

handloading Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by manually assembling the individual components ( metallic/ polymer case, primer, propellant and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded com ...

, handgun hunting, big-bore revolvers, and metallic silhouette shooting. Taffin authored five books and over 500 published articles. His monthly published gun columns included: Siluetas, Campfire Tales, The Sixgunner, and Taffin Tests. Taffin was widely regarded as an authority on revolvers, magnum cartridge load development, firearms rights and handguns in general. In 2008, Taffin was instrumental in opening the

Elmer Keith Elmer Merrifield Keith (March 8, 1899 – February 14, 1984) was an American rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum (1935), as well as the la ...

Museum in Boise, Idaho. The museum is located inside the local

Cabela's Cabela's Inc. is an American retailer that specializes in hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and other outdoor recreation merchandise. The chain was founded by Richard N. Cabela and Jim Cabela in 1961. Cabela's was acquired by Springfield, Mi ...

retail location.

Writing

Taffin's influences on his writing style were Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton. His first article appeared in the November 1967 edition of ''GUNsport''. He wrote several other articles for the magazine until it ceased publication in 1969. Taffin went on to write for JD Jones's newsletter for Handgun Hunters International called ''The Sixgunner'' and Elgin Gates's newsletter for International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association (IHMSA) titled ''The Silhouette'' in 1979. Taffin's first article for ''Guns'' magazine appeared in the December 1983 issue and in May 1984 he became a staff writer for the publication. In 1985, he became a staff writer for their sister publication: ''American Handgunner''. Taffin published detailed review and handloading data on 22TCM in ''Guns'' twice: in 2017 focused on powder loads; and 2023 focused more on different projectiles.

Death

Taffin died on March 10, 2025, at the age of 85.

Bibliography

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References

External links

Archive of Taffin's ''Gun Digest'' articles

Taffin Tests archive from ''American Handgunner''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taffin, John 1939 births 2025 deaths Gun writers American magazine staff writers Writers from Boise, Idaho American male non-fiction writers