Bob Brister

Contributing Writer

Bob Brister was primarily known as a shotgunner but was a highly accomplished all-around outdoorsman. A newspaperman by trade, he wrote the outdoors column for the Houston Chronicle for 40 years. His most notable books are Shotgunning: The Art and the Science and The Golden Crescent, a collection of short stories he wrote about hunting and fishing in Texas and Louisiana.

Highlights

Covered shotguns and hunting

Experience

Born in 1928 in Kerens, Texas, Brister was a hunter and fisherman from the get-go. He served in the Army, and in 1954, he became the outdoor editor for the Houston Chronicle, a post he was to hold until 1993. When he retired, the paper certified him a living legend.

Brister began writing for FIELD & STREAM in 1965 and became its shooting editor in 1972. He quickly established himself as the premier writer on shotguns and an honest reporter.

On June 14, 2005, having survived every other ailment known to medicine, Bob Brister succumbed to cancer.

Awards

Nominated him for a Pulitzer prize in 1971 for his coverage of Hurricane Carla

Favorite Piece of Gear—and Gun Dog

Brister’s favorite shotgun for live pigeon shooting was a 12-gauge Merkel over/under. Sent to a gunsmith for repair, it vanished in transit. He never saw it again. Brister’s favorite hunting dog was a yellow Lab named Jake, after a good friend who died young.