Author Zigzag Canyon &
Accurizing the Factory Rifle
Author & Editor, Cartridges of
the World 8th & 9th Editions,
Metallic Cartridge Reloading &
Reloading for Shot gunners
Columnist, Precision Shooting,
The Accurate Rifle, Rifle
Shooter & Varmint Hunter
magazines
Technical Editor, Hand loader's
Digest
M.L. (Mic) McPherson, born in
Wyoming and raised in Western
Colorado where he now lives, has
been interested in prospecting,
photography, the collective
shooting sports and geology
since childhood. After a tour of
duty in the Air Force (toward
the end of the Vietnam era) he
entered college where he studied
Engineering Geology, first at
Mesa State College and then at
Texas A&M University. Having
learned that he enjoyed and
excelled at writing term papers,
it was during his college years
that he gained interest in
writing.
In 1987, with significant
encouragement from several noted
writers in the field, McPherson
began submitting technical
articles related to the shooting
sports to magazines and
periodical publications. He soon
discovered that success in this
career would require improved
photographic tools and skills.
So, by the early 1990s, he had
gained skills in black and white
and, particularly, macro
photography.
Since 1987 he has presided over
two editions of Cartridges of
the World, written the home
tinker's guide to gunsmithing,
Accurizing the Factory Rifle,
now a perennial best seller in
this field, and he has written
two hand loading manuals. He has
several hundred published
technical articles to his
credit.
However, McPherson's principal
lifetime avocation has always
been prospecting. This pursuit
led to his co-discovery of the
Lost Adams Diggings with Ron
Feldman. This led to Feldman and
McPherson appearing on Unsolved
Mysteries, in what became one of
the all-time most successful
episodes of that series. Proof
of actual location of the Lost
Adams Diggings led to the novel,
Zigzag Canyon, which he and
Feldman co-authored. The
prestigious Zane Grey Society
honored their historical novel
by presenting McPherson and
Feldman their top annual award,
Book of the Year for that work.
Since then, McPherson and
Feldman have continued to pursue
the legendary Lost Dutchman Gold
Mine. Most recently, through no
mean diligence, they have
procured a Treasure Trove Permit
for a dig in the Superstition
Wilderness; that work began
September 11, 2004. They believe
that the old mine they are
reopening was originally
developed by Spanish miners long
before the mid-1800s. They also
believe that this mine was a
source for placer gold that the
Dutchman was known to have
occasionally recovered from that
area. Regardless of findings
from this dig, McPherson will
continue to chase the Dutchman's
legendary lode gold mine.