Sometimes good things do come to really good people. On February 4th, the Minnesota Waterfowl Association elected David Fackler, “The Curmudgeon” of Ballistic Products research and fame, into its Hall of Fame.
I first found Ballistic Products, Incorporated while searching for reloading components for fast, light sporting clays and hunting loads. I became a junkie for their manuals, including the one on waterfowling that, for Steve Clippinger and me, became our bible when we stumbled into best practices for goose hunting. Funny, articulate, authentic, those manuals were written by a one truly rare bird, a deft raconteur and lifelong wingshot who also happened to have the deep science background and active mind to find solutions to problems in getting shotshells to do their work more efficiently.
David made his reputation reviving interest in the 10-gauge shotgun, developing superior powder, wad and load combinations for that useful and often misunderstood weapon. Although a scientist by trade, Fackler is a teacher by nature. He dragged many of us, kicking and screaming, into the steel shot era, ultimately conserving waterfowl by educating us on what steel could, and couldn’t, be expected to do in the field. His research demonstrated over and over again that we could roll our own legal, lethal loads that rivaled lead shot in performance, that in skilled, scrupulous hands (especially those working with a canny retriever like Dave’s beloved Flat-Coats) consistently killed, rather than crippled, wildfowl.
That’s the kind of dedication, scholarship, talent, leadership, and dare I say moxie, that gets a fella into the Hall of Fame.
David is still developing eye-opening, conservation performance loadings with BPI’s proprietary ITX non-toxic shot, now in two densities, ITX-Original and ITX-Extreme, the former perfect for those of us unwilling to retire our vintage side-by-side guns from marsh and field pit. Of course there is the accompanying ITX Shot Manual, with load data for Fackler’s signature 10-bore, as well as three lengths of 12-gauge, plus 20-, 16-, and 28-bore data, even recipes for the (!) .410.
Note that the ITX manual is in its 9th edition. Fackler’s Status of Steel opus is in its 18th! BPI’s indispensable, 364-page, nearly 5,000 load recipe Advantages Manual is in its 10th iteration. That’s because David Fackler won’t quit asking questions of his ammunition. This past weekend, he was on a peg at his local hunt club, gunning driven pheasants with experimental ammunition driving loads at …Naw. If I told you the feet per second on those loads and the anecdotal evidence of their efficiency on high, fast ringnecks, you wouldn’t believe me. Just get on the BPI bandwagon sooner rather than later and make a believer out of yourself. Oh, and do check out Minnesota Waterfowl Association Hall of Famer Dave Fackler under his nom de plume, The Curmudgeon for his “Load of the Week” at http://www.ballisticproducts.com/loadoftheweek.htm.
Through his entire career, Dave Fackler has tirelessly preached that reloading is a lot more than a possible cost saving on ammunition. First of all, it’s a fun pastime for people who like to craft something of value with their own hands. Secondly, handloading offers the shooter confidence and often times, a performance edge in the specialty configuration of some of BPI’s most efficient loadings. Plus, rolling one’s own with the company’s components and arcane load manuals can give a new lease on a wingshooting life for 24- and 32-bore devotees…God love ‘em.
By the time I was writing the “Wingshooting” column for Sporting Clays, I was an unabashed “fanboy,” in the vernacular of today. Those first interviews with Dave and his son Grant, now the major domo of BPI, laid the foundation for a working relationship and a much-valued friendship that is well into its second decade. The Facklers are “Renaissance Men” in the truest sense. They appreciate a good gun dog, a great book, a bottle of fine wine, real conversation, a ticket to the theater or concert as well as ducats to a Twins, Wild, T-Wolves or Vikings tilt (I have waited since I was sportswriter to the “Valley Voice,” our 8th grade school newspaper, to use “ducats” and “tilt.” Feels very Shirley Povich/Red Barber-ish and damned satisfying).
They also had the guts, initiative, and skill to turn an earnest mail-order business run out of the Fackler garage into a thriving family enterprise with global reach. Please go to www.ballisticproducts.com for more information and products that run the gamut from superior muzzleloading components and brass cartridge fixings; the best in clays and hunting shotshells, sold by the box or case lots; the industry’s first reloading manuals for the popular Rio and Cheddite hulls; even the latest in home defense and concealed carry ammunition. Oh, and ask about the North Bay Trading Company rice products, the perfect complement to your next game dinner.
(Photo Credit: BPI ~ The Family Fackler celebrates Dave's Hall of Fame induction. That's proud Grant, stylish in the burgundy sport coat, standing with a guy who was a Hall of Fame father well before the Minnesota Waterfowl Association caught up with him.)