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Dean A. Grennell Edit Profile

journalist

Dean A. Grennell was an American firearms expert, a writer/editor, and active science fiction fan.

Background

Grennell was born near Humboldt, Kansas, in 1923. His family moved to rural Wisconsin three years later, and he grew up on a dairy farm.

Career

He was the managing editor of Gun World magazine and editor of the science fiction fanzine Grue. He was a veteran of the United States. Army Air Corps, where he served as an aerial gunnery instructor during World World War World War II After the war, while working as a salesman for a wholesale Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning equipment supplier, he became interested in handloading cartridges for firearms. He eventually became a recognized expert in the firearms field

In the 1950s, he began a long career as a writer on handloading and guns, serving on the staff of various firearms publications.

He contributed to such publications as Gun Digest and Handloaders Digest. In 1966, he became managing editor of Gun World, working with publisher Jack Lewis.

He served as managing editor of the magazine for more than three decades. As of 2010, Gun World magazine was still being published.

He was the originator of the.45 Super pistol cartridge concept and a co-developer of the cartridge.

The cartridge was later developed by Grennell, along with Tom Ferguson and Ace Hindman (of Ace Custom 45s, in Texas). Along with Wes Ugalde of Fallon, Nevada, Grennell was co-developer of the.25 Ugalde wildcat cartridge, (also known as the Thompson/Center Ugalde, or 25 Texas Christian University) He was also credited as the inventor of the NEXPANDER cartridge reloading tool, which is still in production. In the 1950s, Grennell also began a lifetime of activity in science fiction fandom.

His best-known publication was his fanzine Grue, begun in 1953.

The title Grue ("The Fan"s Magazine") was a play on words for the then-popular men"s magazine True, "The Manitoba"s Magazine". In fanzines, Grennell was sometimes called dag, in reference to his initials.

Connections

Friend:
Robert Bloch