American Handgunner Jul/Aug 2011 - Jeffersonian

hunting
Continued from page 38
extensively tested the .375 JDJ Contender
in Alaska and Africa. The .375
became his favorite big game handgun
and he summed it up by simply saying,
“It sure solves a lot of problems.”
The 6.5 JDJ became his favorite for
medium game. His last hunt produced
a trophy Whitetail in Montana hunting
on his own with his 6.5 when anyone
else would probably have been hospitalized.
He probably holds the worlds
record with the number of heart attacks
he survived.
He became involved in Safari Club
International and was the first and only
handgun hunter elected to the SCI
Hunters Hall Of Fame in 1989. His
innovations and achievements earned
him the Outstanding American Handgunner
Award, which I was very happy
to present to him in 1985.
Always the promoter, his advertising
and exploits contributed greatly to the
growth of handgun hunting. He started
the Hunters Hall of Fame and made
the entrance of Mag-Na-Port into a
wildlife museum frequently visited by
school children on field trips. Tragedy
suddenly struck with blocked arteries,
which plagued him for many years, and
involved numerous surguries. Doctors
advised him to quit hunting many years
ago. He didn’t, and continued indulging
in his passion for hunting, taking
a really good whitetail in Montana a
little over a year ago. He did manage
to quit working, and his son Kenny,
who worked in the business since about
age 12, took over running Mag-Na-
Port. Along the way LK developed an
interest in competitive deep sea fishing
and did well with it. He became a fascinating
storyteller of his exploits.
Great Memories
This story wanders around a lot just
as Kelly and I did. We had over 40 great
years wandering around. When driving,
I always drove so Kelly could bitch
about my driving. Once in Denmark,
trying to get to a ferry, a heavy rain
struck late at night. The ticket window
was protected under a wide porch. I
had been catching quite a ration about
my driving in the rain. There was no
place to park within a hundred yards
of the ticket window. Kelly was on me
about how wet I was going to get. After
looking over the situation I drove the
rental car up several steps and down
the porch to the ticket window and purchased
our tickets without getting out of
the car. Ticket guy never blinked an eye.
Never would have done it without Kelly.
After over 40 great years, it’s over
now. It’s hard to believe he’s gone. Now,
it’s reduced to old photos —
and a lot of great memories.
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88 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM • JULY/AUGUST 2011