Bill Jordan video

[Walt]

I came across this video recently. I've had his book for decades and have read it a number of times. Among a lot of things that can be said about him, Bill Jordan was an extraordinary man; he was a great man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT0YHDY ... ponsAffair

[gamekeeper]

I read quite a few articles in gun magazines when I was just a kid with a couple of air pistols, never realised that Bill Jordan had such a good sense of humor as well as vast knowledge of handgun shooting, thanks for posting Walt....

[jeepnik]

The old gun writers, unlike most of today’s crop knew what was because they lived it.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I knew him enough to shake hands with him, but I can’t say that we were close. Most folks don’t know about the tragedy that occurred forcing him out of the Border Patrol.

I felt so bad for him and I think it really humbled him.

[wvfarrier]

IIRC he accidentally shot a BP officer named Rector? Or, reeder...something like that. The round passed through a wall and hit the guy in the head

[Bruce Scott]

IIRC he accidentally shot a BP officer named Rector? Or, reeder...something like that. The round passed through a wall and hit the guy in the head

As described by John Rector's daughter:

Hello I am here to tell you that the story of Bill Jordan accidentally shooting a fellow Border Patrol officer is true. That man was my father, John A. Rector.
I was 13 years old and in the 8th grade, and that has been some 55 years ago, but my memory is very clear. According to the Coroner's inquest, this is the way it happened: Bill Jordan was showing a pistol, a 357 Magnum, to another man. They were in Bill's office at the headquarters of the San Diego Sector in San Ysidro, CA. The gun was unloaded initially, and Bill was demonstrating how he drew and fired. He then reloaded the gun and put it into a desk drawer.
The conversation continued, and forgetting he had loaded the gun he took it out of the drawer, aimed it at the wall and fired. My father was sitting at his desk on the other side of that wall. The bullet went through the wall and hit him in the head. He died about 3 hours later. There was no wrongful death suit, or anything like that. Bill was so upset that he had to be taken home under sedation and the next day I remember he and his wife coming to our house, and he sobbed as he told us how sorry he was. He and my Dad were friends.
I have often given my story as an example of how ANYONE can have an accident with a gun, no matter how expert you are with them.
My Dad did not see me complete my education, he was not there to walk me down the aisle when I married, nor did he see me graduate from college. He never knew that I had a successful career. I don't hate Bill Jordan, nor bear him any ill will. I expect he is gone from this earth now too.
I just wanted to set the record straight for those of you in this forum and elsewhere who think this might have been a false story.

Copied from Post #34 here: https://thefiringline.com/forums/showth ... ?p=2384639

[piller]

I am proud of her for understanding that it was an accident.

[marlinman93]

I have always admired Bill Jordan's writings and found them better than many other gun writers. I was very pleased to meet him and shake his hand at the NRA convention many years ago in Seattle. Couldn't believe it when I walked past a booth and he was sitting on a stool and not anyone around talking to him! When I stopped to talk to him he invited me to sit on another stool beside him and we talked for probably 10 minutes. I could have stayed there all day, but my friends kept walking and eventually I had to find them.
When I caught up to my friends to tell them who I had been visiting with only one recognized his name. Sad to me that guys who were gun guys wouldn't know Bill Jordan.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Thanks for posting that. It was an accident and I can’t say that I’ve never had an accident with a firearm. But I know it affected Bill Jordan deeply.

[wvfarrier]

He is one of the few people I would have LOVED to sit and talk with

[Bill in Oregon]

I never realized just how huge his hands were -- and I though Jack Weaver had big hands!

[Scott Tschirhart]

Yeah, the first time he shook my hand I noticed how it just gobbled up my hands….and I wear an XXL glove!