John Ross

[KY DAN]

It would appear that the Author and firearm designer has passed away.

I had a rocky relationship with John from passed associations however he and I shared a fondness for his JR500 revolver and 500 load data experiments and he freely shared his knowledge with me over phone calls and emails.

I will certainly miss him and I hope the new book he was working on is finished as indicated by his obituary.

 

[KY DAN]

https://www.luptonchapel.com/obituary/john-ross

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Sad news. I remember when he was on this site a lot back in the early days.
RIP

 

[General Geoff]

From the linked obit:

John was working tirelessly on a sequel to Unintended Consequences when he passed, and the publishers have already committed to examining the unfinished work and doing everything they can to get it published within a year.

I wonder if he got the entire story finished and was just working on editing. If so, who would have the distinct honor of finishing his work in a way he'd have liked?

 

[JCooperfan1911]

John carried a custom Five Hundred short barrel that he used for concealed and carry.

For those of us concerned with stopping power and needing to only shoot once, he was a legend in our field.

RIP.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Sad to hear.

Even though he seemed to leave thoroughly polarized opinions of himself wherever he treaded, he was still a great asset and ally to the firearms community.

 

[Old Dog]

Didn't know the man, didn't know much about him, but his book (UI) got a lot of gun-owners thinking. Which was a good thing. Our community is always diminished when we lose one of our fighters.

 

[Doug444]

I have Unintended Consequences and thoroughly enjoyed it. Learned a fair amount, too. I sure hope the sequel does come out, and does justice to it's namesake. John Ross will be missed.

 

[captain awesome]

I'd like to publicly thank John (as I have previously through email correspondence) for the work he has done with one of my favorite cartridges on my favorite platform. Unintended Consequences is also a literary masterpiece and I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I suppose my signed copy that was promised on the next printing is no longer an option. If there's guns after this life I am sure he is already heavily invested. I wonder if he managed to sell all the performance center custom 500 magnums he had made before he passed.....any one know? we might see a crop of them pop up for sale somewhere like Gunbroker if he hasn't. Thanks again John if you're reading this from up stairs.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I wonder if he managed to sell all the performance center custom 500 magnums he had made before he passed.....any one know? we might see a crop of them pop up for sale somewhere like Gunbroker if he hasn't. Thanks again John if you're reading this from up stairs.

Last I heard, he was arranging for them to be purchased by a single buyer. That was a year or so ago.

 

[ms6852]

Sad to hear great loss for the gun industry as a writer and a bigger loss to his family...may he Rest In Peace.

 

[FROGO207]

Indeed, large loss to the firearms community. May he RIP. And thank you for all that you have done.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Very sad to learn of his passing. Unintended Consequences gave me insights about just how easily we forget the freedoms we have lost over the span of just a generation or two. I recall the passage in particular when an ex-pat safari guide returns home to America after the 1968 GCA and other legislation has passed during his twenty-years (or so) absence in Africa. At the airport he is both bewildered and angry that the Customs officials inform him that he can't bring back to the U.S. the weapons he left with years ago as they hadn't been declared before he left (which of course was not required then) and that the leopard band on his hat was also contraband. You could feel the character's rage just blooming. R.I.P. John Ross...Well Done!

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Sad news. I have a pristine copy of Unintended Consequences, which I am reading very slowly and deliberately for the second time. Considering the price of the book if you can find one, lately, I consider it a prized possession. RIP, John.

 

[KY DAN]

Sad news. I have a pristine copy of Unintended Consequences, which I am reading very slowly and deliberately for the second time. Considering the price of the book if you can find one, lately, I consider it a prized possession. RIP, John.

https://stlccw.com/product/unintended-consequences-softcover/

John's book has never been out of publication, he personally assured me of this in 2020. I purchased my book through the above link years ago.

I have seen the crazy prices this book fetches and that is due to misinformation, it is neither a rare book nor is it a banned book despite what the internet may have one believe.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

https://stlccw.com/product/unintended-consequences-softcover/

John's book has never been out of publication, he personally assured me of this in 2020. I purchased my book through the above link years ago.

I have seen the crazy prices this book fetches and that is due to misinformation, it is neither a rare book nor is it a banned book despite what the internet may have one believe.

Never said it was. But, mine is a hardcover, and I paid less than the softcover you listed above, by nearly half. Try to find a hardcover edition, new and unread, that is not hundreds of dollars.

 

[Blue Jays]

I have been meaning to obtain and read this very famous book for years.
Now would be a good time, out of respect to him, to extend greater effort.

 

[citizenconn]

Let me put in a plug here for your local public or community/college library. They may not have a copy of the book, though I searched the WorldCat database just now and I saw 152 libraries in the US do own a copy of this book. But many libraries take part in the Interlibrary Loan Program (ILL) where you can go to your local library and if you are a patron, they will request to borrow a copy of the book for you from the five or so closest libraries to them that have the book.

The fee ranges from minimal to free for you. They just expect you to take care of the book while in your care and return it by the time they indicate. Many libraries put the program on pause during the pandemic but it should be back up and running now.

The ILL program gives you access to just about any book published. I've run the ILL program for a couple different libraries over the years and it is a great resource most patrons are not aware of. That is all.

 

[alfsauve]

I checked out UI from the local library. They kept it behind the counter, partially the librarian said, because of it's value. I also got the sense at the time it may have also been on a watch list. Anyway, no black helicopters came calling, read and returned it. When ever my wife goes to the library book sale, I ask her to be on the lookout for it. Would be neat to get it for $2.

I'm a big library supporter, but I don't actually use the library often. I have in the past, but circumstances have changed. The local county library card gets purged after 2 years of non-use. So it seems every time I go I have to apply for a new card. The librarian told me the way to fix the problem was to check out the cheapest, cheesiest, smallest paperback fiction and throw it away. Fines don't exceed the value of the book, about $1, and they never try to collect the fine, BUT at the same time the system won't cancel your card because of the outstanding book. What a hack.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I checked out UI from the local library. They kept it behind the counter, partially the librarian said, because of it's value. I also got the sense at the time it may have also been on a watch list. Anyway, no black helicopters came calling, read and returned it. When ever my wife goes to the library book sale, I ask her to be on the lookout for it. Would be neat to get it for $2.

I'm a big library supporter, but I don't actually use the library often. I have in the past, but circumstances have changed. The local county library card gets purged after 2 years of non-use. So it seems every time I go I have to apply for a new card. The librarian told me the way to fix the problem was to check out the cheapest, cheesiest, smallest paperback fiction and throw it away. Fines don't exceed the value of the book, about $1, and they never try to collect the fine, BUT at the same time the system won't cancel your card because of the outstanding book. What a hack.

It doesn't work at my library because I set the policy.
Your card must be renewed every year, although you don't have to get a new card each year.
And, if you don't return items then you get on a deadbeat list and can't check out materials or get a new card anywhere in the county.
Too many people come in, check out a load of items, sell them at the pulga or on EBay and then try it again at the next library over.
-And yes, they've stolen every copy of Unintended Consequences in the area... .

 

[theotherwaldo]

-And the organization that is in charge of the Inter-Library Loan program is in the process of updating this system because it is totally out of date and returning huge numbers of false hits.
I'll be working on this project this afternoon.

151 hits may equal three books, all of which may be checked out... in 2021.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

If you do just a little looking, you'll find .PDF copies of the book floating all around the internet for the downloading. If you feel this might be depriving his heirs of a fair price for his work send along a check.

 

[outdoorman63]

He taught my wife and I's ccw class back in the 2000's, even got to shoot some of his full auto stuff. He even signed my book. RIP

 

[psyopspec]

I found this thread while browsing the In Memoriam thread when i thought of another member who hadn't logged in for a while.

Thanks for UI, John. It was a seminal work. Describing what it opened my eyes to would get me in trouble on THR in this day and age, so I'll leave it at that. Rest easy, and thank you for your creativity and artistic bravery.

 

[DustyGmt]

That's a bummer, I know alot of people had mixed feelings toward him and he was known to ghost people for unacceptable periods but always eventually made good on his end. I had one conversation with him about his book, it's sad to hear of his passing.