YouTube shooting sensation Hickok45 caught wind of my recent post Will Someone Please Give Hickok45 Something Better to Do? I considered it a waste of the uber-shooter’s talent to create videos where he’s enacting that old joke about basketball player’s sex lives (they dribble before they shoot). Or, more recently, shooting snowballs with a Taurus Judge. [NB: Our man Hill recently decapitated some Teenage Mutant Ninja Snowmen, but that was a prelude to a full review of the Stoeger Coach Gun.] Hickok45 got the wrong end of the proverbial shooting stick, thinking that I was asking him to do boring old bench tests and such. When I assured him that I would never expect him to squander his enormous talent on matters of strict scientific principle, he penned this reply . . .

We have lots of stuff we’ve not done yet, but I have no desire to copy half the stuff I see on shooting shows and in the magazines. For one thing, it’s mostly us hard core shooters who even care about alot of that stuff, and about half of it doesn’t matter nearly as much as just learning to shoot well. The best tactical add-on, as we all know down deep, is 10,000 rounds of practice ammo.

I do have some videos planned on ammo types and such, but most people who take bullet and caliber choice as a religion will probably not like what I have to say. In fact, I have that on my short list.

The cool thing about YouTube is that anybody can start a channel and put up anything that floats their boat. I do what I do, and other do what they do. I recommend others do the same and fill any gaps they perceive in what all of us are doing. There’s room for more good channels; that’s for sure. All it takes is a camera and Internet access.

We will continue to try new things and new guns as we’ve been doing, but my primary focus will probably always be on the newer shooters and on showing the world how much fun and how inocuous the hobby is for 99% of us. Our image is one of our biggest problems when it comes to gun rights and pulling in those people on the fence.

As I often say, I have to be in the mood to do a video. For example, we’ve had an old engine block lying twenty yards from the range for about five years. One day, I’ll be in the mood to do some penetration tests on it for YouTube. I’m sure a lot of people would like to see that, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.

I have a pretty comprehensive series planned on “Conceal Carry.” Because of my teaching profession and student-parent viewers, I’ve shied away from this to some extent, but recently I decided I have too much experience (over 20 years of concealed carry) with concealed carry issues to keep ignoring it.

Anyway, sorry if I jumped to conclusions. It’s just that I’m already employed and the YouTube thing is just a hobby. If it gets too much like work, I’ll lose interest. I spend at least four hours a day just answering comments and messages, communicating with viewers, so I need to have fun with the videos or I’m in jeopardy of really getting burned out.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

65 COMMENTS

  1. I’d hate to see him get burned out and stop doing what he’s doing.
    His videos are always well done, and he strikes me as a really nice, affable fellow.
    He represents the gun enthusiast community very well.

  2. I have watched several of his videos. Not all of them are “winners”, but he has many good points. If he makes one that does not appeal to the information I am looking for, I just skip over it.
    Good information, interesting topics, and a dang good shooter. Keep doing what you are doing, and most of all, keep it fun.

    • I think that he commented on a vid that his range was 70 yds at its furthest extent. That said, he makes every single shot, spot-on (OK, he does miss occasionally)!! Now, that’s just plain phenomenal.

  4. hickok45 has the best youtube channel. he does a great job representing shooters, his video’s are fun to watch full of info and actually feature him shooting the gun. i don’t see the big deal, he shot some snow with a shotgun, it was a 1 min vid…..he should be invited to post on TTAG.
    P.S. HIckok i just wish you would says the specs about a gun real quick. like the other day i was counting the rounds you were shooting before reloading in the mossberg because i was wondering what model you got.

    that drives me crazy about nutnfancy, he takes to long to make a point.

  7. Think about why he’s so well liked… I like Hickok45 cause he’s fun and he makes shooting fun. Simple really.

    • I like hickock 45. Hes a personable and knowedgable guy. All his videos are Very informative while fun to watch. And given his background, he warrants respect for safe gun practice.

  8. Something free never loses it’s charm.

    Moral: Enjoy the videos. If not, don’t watch. Simple.

  9. A friend of mine told me about Hickok 45s videos, and i have learned a lot! and made some good choices on hand guns and know i just don’t think of my self riflemen. people use wagons sometimes to haul BBQ stuff !!& me and my family and my brothers use it to haul our armory, people at the range are thinking holy shit! the range-master is laughing were unloading hand gun’s rifles boxes of shells eye protection ear protection gloves. thanks John Garcia SR

  10. I really like Hickok45’s channel. He does a really great job of portraying the shooting sports in a positive light. He keeps it fun, light, interesting and leaves all the mall ninja crap out of his videos. Great job!!!

  11. Hey Pard,

    Keep it up. You gotta fresh viewpoint and a good eye.

    Jess keep hittin that gong!

    Michael
    Lost Creek Ranch
    Colville, WA

  12. I’m in Canada and New at this,
    There is NO OTHER PLACE on this whole WWW that you can go for FREE and get the info about Firearms that Hickok45 gives you. Look around. The Guy is full of info, great vidoes, lots of tips, and he always shoots the Gun for you. Oh Yeah…He can hit a Gong at 230 yards with a Handgun like it’s an every day thing (which it is for Him). I watch his videos every day. I always learn something new!!!

    Hey Hickok45…KEEP IT UP…DON’T STOP NOW…I’LL STILL BE WATCHING!!!

  13. My wife used to be on my case about owning so many firearms and wondered what the facination was with them. I played a few of Hickok45’s videos for her and she has an entirely different viewpoint. Now she sees the nature of the hobby and understands why I am so enthusiastic about gun collecting. I wish I could visit his shooting range. He has created the dream range I think all of us wish we had in our backyards. That would be the ultimate finishing touch to a great hobby. Keep up the great work you are doing for all of us enthusiast out here, Mr. Hickok45. By the way, what is his real name anyway?

  14. HICKOK45 AND HIS PRODUCTIONS ARE GREAT. I ENJOY EVERYONE. HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU SPEND ON AMMO A YEAR?

  16. You really took a lot of liberty with your title. This has absolutely nothing to do with hickok45 getting burnt out. Kinda reminds me of how the mainstream media would title an article and try to spin it.

  17. simplicity, functionality, reliability, versatility, all words that i would like to describe myself as a person and my weapon. GLOCK ……perfection, keep up the good work brutha

  19. Just now listening to Hickok. Love this guy, and sure hope he never gets burned out. Right now he’s debating the ‘one in the chamber’ argument. Personally, I usually have an empty chamber. I carry, and my SR9C sleeps next to me, under a pillow.
    Anyway, love you Mr. Hickok, and get the biggest kick out of watching your videos. Thank you so much for making them. You’re just good ole common sense, and that really adds to the enjoyment.

  20. I found Hickok45 about a month ago and became an instant fan.
    He is just plain fun, and yes he is the American spirit.
    Great advice about a lot of things including the value of practice, as in any sport or discipline.
    Who needs TV?
    I’ve got another 500 Hickok’s to watch.

  21. I recently found Hickok45 and now watch his videos when I want to know something about a particular handgun. He clearly is a happy man who is doing what he likes to do in life. Reminds me of the Dahai Lama with a gun. His chuckle after a string of well-placed rounds is a delight to hear, rather musical, akin to having a wind chime on the range. He has his style, and he can shoot. And oh, did I mention, he can shoot. These days, with the Internet, I easily can get the technical specification on any gun. Hickok45 gives me the practical information, the stuff I really want to know, like accuracy, failures, if any, ease of carry, and the like. Moreover, he shoots the subject gun enough to spot any real flaws and to bring out any deficiencies. He shoots slow and he shoots fast. Those are many of the things I want to know about the gun. Plus, he clearly is an experienced and talented shooter, likely a current or ex-competitive shooter, a long-time carrier of concealed weapons, and by his own words has worked with the sheriff’s office in an LE capacity (I am assuming as a reserve or posse member.). Please don’t go away any time soon Hickok45, I am just getting to know ye.

  22. HICKOK .45 i enjoy all the videos you shoot for us that can’t always get to the farm to throw some lead at some targets.hope all is well with your family and, keep on shooting.wish i could shoot as well and as much as you do,so shoot the gong for me one time.danny woodruff

  23. Hi I live upstate NY and have my own pistol range on the compound along with a clay shooting range and a quad track.my 17 year nephew turned me on to Hickcock 45 about a year ago every night
    I tune in on my I Pad and watch him for at least an hour.Im addicted to him like my own hand guns which is approaching 50. we know what a great shooter and personality Hickcock is. There is one thing I think that the utube audiance would like to see and that is have his son John shoot with him.x
    So put the camera on a tripod and lets get to slinging lead. keep up the good work love to here back from you and your thoughts

  24. As others mentioned, the title is unfairly misleading.
    I believe Hickok45 is just having way too much fun just doing what he’s doing.
    He is so popular because he can REALLY shoot, he fairly reviews a wide variety of guns, he often evaluates different ammo while shooting each gun, and (most of all) his aw-shucks personality without the being a braggart really makes him a pleasure to watch, keeping it real even as he slams steel from extended range with a short barreled handgun.

  25. Well, between the arrogant tone of the author, supposing to know how another man should conduct his life, and the trashy, deceptive, New York times style “headline” of this post, TTAG had lost another reader. Goodbye.

  27. Hickok45 is doing a wonderful job in his own style. Enjoy him for what he does or simply go away.

    Like he said, start your own channel, there’s room. Hope yours is almost as interesting.

    Dale

  28. Greg is an excellent ambassador of the shooting sports. His son John does great camera work but I’d like to see him shoot more. My son and I shoot together as often as we can and it’s a bonding thing.
    P.S. I still miss the dog

  30. In my opinion, you might have reconsidered ripping his last sentence out of context to use as a headline.

  31. Hickok45 you are awosome and have learned alot watching you videos.I tell me friends to watch you because are a guy who is down to earth and looks like you enjoy doing what you are sharing with us.

  32. Hickok 45 is without doubt the best gun reveiwer I’ve sen. He gets to the point and says what needs to be said about the gun. Not like some of these other B.S. video reviews, if thats what you want to call them. Keep on doing what your doing Hickok 45, your videos are awesome!!!

  33. Almost everyone who puts in Hickok’s level of energy into something gets burned out. I used to fight for RKBA facts and rights back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, when stupidity was seriously on the march and we seemed to be in retreat. I got burned out and sort of handed off the baton to younger people – I serve the cause best by reminding younger folks of “institutional knowledge” – stuff that isn’t well documented unless one knows where to look in the “Before Internet” times.

    There are days when I don’t want to talk about guns, I don’t want to see guns and I don’t want to deal with guns, gun owners, gun vendors, etc. It isn’t that I don’t like guns, it happens that I’m burned out repairing and working on guns and I want to do something different. Then there are some days when I’ve had to deal with serious gun or gun owner stupidity that I almost want to put on women’s clothes and take up pressing wild flowers, but (happily for bystanders) it never gets quite that far.

  34. …if you ever start to get burned out, JUST SHOOT VIDEO’S will do too! We the public love your shooting and your RANGE! Where do you get all the 2 liter bottles? I hope you don’t drink all that soda. What do you fill them with? Just remember when the public starts getting burned out they go to HICKOK45 for awhile and feel a whole lot better, and you do put the smile back on our face. As you say…LIFE IS GOOD! Thanks for the enjoyment you bring, Bob

  35. I always tune in to see what Hickok has posted and have enjoyed everyone of them, didn’t agree with some but nothing says we all have to have the same opinons. I have been collecting firearms since i was 13, almost 40 years, and I have been into reloading for the past 20 years. I still find myself learning new things when I watch some of Hickoks videos, the day we stop learning will be the day they plant us in the ground. I own many of the same firearms Hickok has used on his videos and others I have never seen in person, so it’s great seeing someone giving an honest, and very biased, review on them. It’s also always fun to watch someone have so much fun firing different firearms and very refreshing to see them do it in a family friendly and safe manner. I look forward to many many more videos from this great man.

  36. hickok .45 is clearly a hapypy man: that fact translates directly into his videos and is left there as a gift to anyone lucky enough to stumble onto his channel, and smart enough to return as often as possible. without preaching, he communicates just about everything i have found good – and enjoyable – about guns, and about the uniquely american freedom to use them as tools and enjoy them as toys. i tell my friends and acquaintances i’m a redneck liberal, and hickok .45 strikes me as the same sort: liberal in his love of humanity and redneck in his down-home delight in ringing that gong.

    life IS good, and so is hickok .45.

    jeffyboy

  37. Hickok45, you do a great job and I pick up some good info from your videos . I really enjoy what you are doing, I share the info with my firefighters at the station because we all carry its just that kind of world now. Keep up the good work, and as always its a good day.

  38. Hickok is the uncle every young boy wished they had, before all this political correctness crap began. Too many young men are video game and cell phone junkies, with role models like justin beebler.

  40. Hickok45 is an enjoyable and interesting You Tube series for which there is viewer supper and a viewing need, to be both entertained and instructed by a very knowledgable and enthusiast individual. He also possesses a very affable personage and his videos are well made and consistent.

    About viewer fatigue, this happens with any type of venue that is over-viewed in a short span of time, o do yourself a favor and partake of moderation in viewing, say 4 or 5 video clips every two weeks or so.

    I for one hope that he expands his firearms video reviews to belt-fed weapons.

    Edmund

  42. I just found your web site about a year ago, and I watch it every week. I love how you talk about all the different guns and compare them with each other.
    I am getting into reloading and your videos on reloading has helped me understand more about how to go about it.
    I still am amazed how you keep hitting the gong with all calibers you shoot.
    Your videos have meant alot to me, very informative, and a whole lot of fun to watch. Especially the soda bottles.
    I carry a Clock 27 also.
    As you say, “life is good”.
    Mike

  44. Sir, I enjoy your videos!!! Please keep them coming. I mostly enjoy the muzzleloading ones. I have one T/C .50 cal Hawkens, percussion, One T/C .45 cal Hawkens, flintier, pre-barrel warning, 4 digit SN, Malteze Cross on bottom of barrel. One CVA .45 Cal Kentucky long rifle in which I’ve shot for 40 years. Anyhow, keep up all those great videos. Have a great smokier day!

  45. Another spin on this ther are those that may be hospitalized or home recovering and for a little while we can escape to Hickock’s range and enjoy his company, the outdoors and watch some awesome shooting. Thanks Hickock, life IS good, keep it up.

  46. Talk about misrepresentation. Your article title smacks of sensationalism. That is NOT what he said. Then again it would not be the first time Farago with about 5 years gun experience has ignored someone with Hickok45’s lifetime of knowledge.

  47. Hey, Farago- This is a real departure from your usual format, isn’t it? I for one, want to thank you for giving us a prime example of “editing/misquote” technique REGULARLY used by the ‘mainstream’ media. That got my attention right away! But please, don’t use that technique regularly, or even again, please, or I’ll be tuning you (read TTAG) out too, just like some others have. It was a happy day when I watched my first Hickok45 video and to to think of him getting burnt out got my immediate attention! The man is an real encouragement to many, including me; I’d surely love to meet him.
    And honestly, I don’t really care what his ‘real’ name is, although I’m sure there are ‘those’ who do. Incidentally, one of these days I’d laugh to watch him shoot down a drone! (I don’t think they’ve started issuing licenses or setting limits for drones just yet, have they?)
    P.S.: His comment about “….10,000 rounds of practice ammo.” -that’s just spot-on.

  48. Sir, by watching your program I’ve learn to appreciate my Barette Storm PX4 40 cal. and my Springfield XD 45 cal. I am amazed and get great pleasure watching you shoot (Ye-Haw), and the thrill and joy you display shooting, even the those very rare moments you miss. The kid in you come out and play. Yes, life is GOOD!!

  49. Hey Hickok45.

    We love ya man.

    I trust your videos more than most to let us know what’s up.

    I’m hoping to see you review a Galil Ace soon, along with anything else you have planned.

    You’re awesome. Please keep up the good work.

  50. I’ve always enjoyed your videos, because your so personable, knowledgable, great shot and most of all you have fun shooting and that’s enfectious. There aren’t any other gun enthusiasts like you that make me smile while watching a video of shooting numerous types of guns. Your wonderful personality is key to the success of all your videos. Please don’t quit making videos. I have made some of my gun selections based off your knowledge of them. If spending 4 hours answering questions from your viewers, well I think we would all understand if you simply didn’t spend any more of your time doing so. Just continue to have fun shooting.

  51. I agree First/&/foremost with Hickok45 as
    Being a great Representative’s has My
    Vote. Second,,U should don’t Jolly Well as
    U see Fit-(We trust U’re judgement). Not
    Every video/viewer will see some to be a
    Bang butt that wood be Selfish to the rest
    Who are interested. If I’m Not into That– I
    Skip it. Hope the Videos keep coming as
    Long as Hickok is able. My #1 U tube-er

  54. Having been in service as a sergeant with the gone East German army I recently catched in with the idea to own something on my own in the still relatively liberal gun country of Austria (Europe).
    Hickok45 catched me instantly and gave me some real good ideas how to structure my own needs.
    Thanks a million for that !

  55. Hickok45 is the best out there. Doesn’t take himself too seriously, yet provides good, practical demonstrations and advice. I hope he keeps doing what he’s doing for a long, long time.

  56. Once a teacher, always a teacher. This internet gig has probably alerted you to the large number of idiots in the audience, on the other hand, idiot instructors need to be held to task. Flex your credibility. The hell with the idiocy!

  57. this is a few years old but what a dirty thing to pull, the headline is designed to boost your reader count, at the expense of one of the greatest

    seems most who read this nonsense also noticed the dirty cnn style headline

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