Unintended Consequences
by John Ross

THE novel of the American Gun Culture.

The author, John Ross, died April 30, 2022.

America needs an audiobook version of Unintended Consequences.

From John Ross' Facebook posts

Me about to shoot my .50. Note the scope bases but no scope. Recoil trashed the scope in short order; it took some effort to find scopes that would hold up. Ear plugs not visible but I'm wearing them!
Found a copy of this picture published in the Auto Mag Newsletter in 1973. Thought you might like to see what I looked like at age 16. Graves Gladney was my uncle. Kent Lomont, JD Jones, and Buz Chamblee have been friends for almost 40 years. Phil Forbing is Kent's cousin. Dan Yaich I ran into at the SHOT Show a few years back. Mike Barach I haven't seen since that weekend. Photo was shot by another longtime friend, Lee Jurras, at his old Super Vel facility. Lee said he believed I was the youngest Auto Mag owner and shooter in the country at that time
Haven't flown lately and am getting the itch. Here's a pic...
For you gun enthusiasts: Here's the first rifle I built completely from scratch, a .50 BMG shoulder rifle at age 18. Heavily machined British Boyes .55 AT action, turned-down M2HB barrel, handmade thumbhole stock. No scope on it yet. 1976 photo. I had more hair then...
Kent Lomont with me in Idaho 1976. That's an uncut M14E2 Kent's holding. After we got in position for the picture, the photographer about had a coronary when I whipped out the Zippo and lit the fuse. I told him I was going to hold on to it until he got a good picture. He snapped a couple and then started running. I never told him there was no cap at the end of the fuse. I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid...
Lugging a 25-lb. rifle around the mountains gets old. I'm pretty beat here. Need a haircut...
Elmer Keith discussing my rifle with me in his trophy room/office in Salmon, Idaho June 1976.
1983 Zimbabwe 4 bore safari
Rather exciting 4 bore action starts at about 11:20

Lupton Chapel, Inc.



John Franklin Ross

( April 29, 2022 )

Passed away unexpectedly on Friday, April 29th of natural causes, at his home in Richmond Heights. Mr. Ross is survived by his daughter Lucy Margaret Ross, of Boulder, Colorado, and his two sisters Helen Ross and Lucy Natkiel. John is the son of Walter Ross and Lucianna Gladney Ross, deceased, both of St. Louis, as well as the grandson of Frank Y. Gladney, a prominent attorney and businessman in St. Louis.

John graduated from John Burroughs High School in Ladue in 1974 and from Amherst College in 1979 with a B.A. in English, which he put to great use later in his career as a writer.

He was employed by E.F. Hutton for almost a decade as a broker, and later as an executive in the Clayton regional office. He later left the financial industry to concentrate on being a full-time writer.

John was a world-class expert and instructor on shooting, firearms, and ammunition. Having been introduced to gun culture at a young age by his uncle Graves Gladney, also of St. Louis, John became a nationally recognized prodigy in shooting and designing firearms and ammunition by the time he graduated from high school.

It was a lifelong passion for John, who as an adult became a world-renowned and highly respected expert in many different areas of the global firearms and ammunition industries. His dedication to gun culture and to the history of firearms in America led to his ongoing work as one of the tireless pro-Second Amendment lobbying activists in Jefferson City over a period of more than ten years. His work there was largely responsible for the State of Missouri’s ultimate reversal of its existing legislation and its subsequent adoption of the constitutional carry statute, and relaxed purchasing regulations for Missouri citizens.

Before that, in 1995, John published his first and best-known novel Unintended Consequences, which has sold over 100,000 copies as of 2022. The book is—within the worldwide sociological sub-group known informally as “the Gun Culture”—one of the most popular and influential books in the long history of that demographic, and the book has been published in several languages and sold in over 100 countries.

John was working tirelessly on a sequel to Unintended Consequences when he passed, and the publishers have already committed to examining the unfinished work and doing everything they can to get it published within a year.

John had an appetite for life and pursued his dreams and interests with intense abandon. Whether you found him barreling down the slopes of Aspen, Colorado; in the cockpit of his Pitts Model 12 biplane; setting up his famous over-the-top July 4th firework display; or regaling friends with an eccentric joke at any of his local Soulard haunts, John’s generosity of spirit allowed him to forge deep friendships over the decades of pursuing his passions. He loved sharing what he loved with the people that he loved.

The Memorial Service will be held at THE LUPTON CHAPEL, 7233 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO 63130 on Friday, May 6, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family ask that donations be made to either FreedomPrincipleSTL.org (an activist non-profit that works to defend, through events, lobbying and suggested legislation, the political principles John fought so hard for in Missouri all of his life) or ChallengeAspen.org (a non-profit based in Aspen that provides year-round adaptive outdoor experiences, such as skiing or snowboarding, for individuals faced with physical or cognitive disabilities).