Charles Askins

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Charles Askins aka Col. Charles 'Boots' Askins (October 28, 1907- March 2, 1999) 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.

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 WWII as a battlefield recovery officer, making landings in North Africa, Italy, and D-day. After WWII, 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.

See the book Unrepentant Sinner for a more thorough (and self-serving) description of Askins' life. Charles Askins was the son of fellow sporting writer and army officer (Spanish American War, WWI) Major Charles 'Bobo' Askins, whose focus was Upland hunting and shotguns. Charles Askins was controversial for the relish with which he described the numerous fatal shootings in his law enforcement and military careers. A memorable response to the serialization of Askins' memoir "Unrepentant Sinner" inquired, "Who wrote this book - Charles Askins or Charles Manson?" 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.