Charles Askins, Jr. also known as Col. Charles "Boots" Askins, was an American lawman, US Army officer, and writer. He served in law enforcement (US Forest Service and Border Patrol) in the American Southwest prior to the Second World War. Askins was the son of Major Charles "Bobo" Askins, a sports writer and Army officer who served in the Spanish American War and World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

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Early life

Askins was born in Nebraska, raised in Oklahoma and his first job was fighting forest fires in Montana. In 1927, the US Forest Service transferred him to New Mexico to be a Park Ranger at the Kit Carson National Forest.

The US Border Patrol

Askins was recruited by the U.S. Border Patrol in 1930. In his memoir Unrepentant Sinner, Askins recounted that he had been involved in at least one gunfight every week.

During his service in the Border Patrol, Askins won many pistol championships, and was made the leader of the Border Patrol's handgun skills program.

US Army and later life

Askins served in the US Army during World War II as a battlefield recovery officer, making landings in North Africa, Italy, and on D-day. After World War II, he spent several years in Spain as an attache to the American embassy there, helping Franco rebuild Spain's munition plants. After his assignment in Spain, he was moved to the Vietnamese front, where he trained South Vietnamese soldiers in shooting and airborne operations. Throughout his military career, he indulged in big game hunting at every opportunity, and continued to do so after his retirement. He held several big game hunting records in his lifetime, as well as two national pistol championships, an American Handgunner of the Year award, and innumerable smaller titles in competitive shooting. Askins retired to San Antonio, Texas after his final years in the military at Fort Sam Houston.

Askins, like his father, was a prolific writer, writing books and over 1,000 magazine articles on subjects related to hunting and shooting. His writing career spanned 70 years, from 1929 until his death in 1999.

Legacy

Askins was controversial for the relish with which he described the numerous fatal shootings in his law enforcement and military careers, stating he had killed 27 men. Because he was involved in numerous shootouts along the US/Mexico border, and due to his stated practice of not keeping track of African-Americans and Hispanics, the actual number of killings he committed was potentially much higher. Askins once remarked that he thought he was a psychopathic killer, and that he hunted animals so avidly because he wasn't allowed to hunt men anymore. Askins was a contemporary of Bill Jordan

Bill Jordan (Marine)

William Henry "Bill" Jordan was an American lawman, United States Marine and author.Born in 1911 in Louisiana, he served for over 30 years with the U.S. Border Patrol, while also serving as a US Marine during World War II and the Korean War...

, Elmer Keith

Elmer Keith

Elmer Keith was an Idaho rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum, as well as the later .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges.-Personality and life:Keith's trademarks were his cigars, his ten-gallon...

, Skeeter Skelton

Skeeter Skelton

Charles Allan 'Skeeter' Skelton was an American lawman and firearms writer. After serving in the US Marine Corps from 1945-46 he began a law enforcement career which included service with the US Border Patrol, a term as Sheriff of Deaf Smith County, Texas, and investigator with both the US...

, and Jack O'Connor

Jack O'Connor (American writer)

Jack O'Connor was best known as a writer for Outdoor Life magazine, where he served as Shooting Editor for 31 years....

. These people, except for Skelton, as well as Askins, Audie Murphy

Audie Murphy

Audie Leon Murphy was a highly decorated and famous soldier. Through LIFE magazine's July 16, 1945 issue , he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war...

, and Ed McGivern

Ed McGivern

Edward McGivern from Lewistown, Montana, was a famous exhibition shooter, shooting instructor and author of the book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting...

, were used as inspiration for characters in the Stephen Hunter

Stephen Hunter

Stephen Hunter is an American novelist, essayist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic.-Life and career:Stephen Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, a Northwestern University speech professor who was killed in 1975....

 novel Pale Horse Coming

Pale Horse Coming

Pale Horse Coming is a novel by Stephen Hunter published in 2001. It is his second book in the series featuring the character of Earl Swagger.-Plot summary:...

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Books written by Askins

• Hitting the Bull's-Eye, Fitchburg, Mass., Iver Johnson's Arms & Cycle Works, c1939.
• The Art of Handgun Shooting, New York, A.S. Barnes, 1941.
• Wing and Trap Shooting, New York, Macmillan, 1948.
• The Pistol Shooter's Book, Harrisburg, Penn., Stackpole, 1953 (2nd ed. 1961).
• Unrepentant Sinner: The Autobiography Of Col. Charles Askins
• The Gunfighters: True Tales of Outlaws, Lawmen, and Indians on the Texas Frontier with William Askins
• Shotgun-ology: A Handbook of Useful Shotgun Information
• The African Hunt
• Asian jungle, African Bush
• The Shotgunner's Book - A Modern Encyclopedia
• Texans, Guns & History
• The Federalist (The Firearms Classics Library)

External links

• The Colt Revolver in the American—Col. Charles Askins Jr.'s New Service