Charles Askins

Charles Askins (October 28, 1907 – March 2, 1999), 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 sporting writer and Army officer who served in the Spanish American War and in World War I.

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. He served in the US Army during World War II as a battlefield recovery officer, making landings in North Africa, Italy, and 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 paratrooping. Throughout his military career, he also indulged in big game hunting at every chance, and continued to do so after his retirement. He held several records in his lifetime in big game, on top of his two national pistol championships, American Handgunner of the Year award, and innumerable smaller titles in competitive shooting. Col. Askins retired to San Antonio, Texas after his final years in the military at Fort Sam Houston.

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. However, because he was involved in numerous shootouts along the US/Mexico border, his actual "kill count" was probably substantially higher. Askins was a contemporary of Bill Jordan, Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton and Jack O'Connor. These people, minus Skelton and along with Askins, Audie Murphy, and Ed McGivern were written into Stephen Hunter's novel Pale Horse Coming under different names.

Askins died at age 90 at his home in San Antonio after a lengthy illness. He was survived by his wife and son, Bill Askins.

Books written by Askins

• 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 Art Of Handgun Shooting
• The African Hunt
• Hitting The Bull's-Eye (Revolver Shooting Made Easy)
• Asian jungle, African Bush
• The Shotgunner's Book - A Modern Encyclopedia
• The Pistol Shooter's Book: A Modern Encyclopedia
• Texans, Guns & History
• The Federalist (The Firearms Classics Library)