Paul Harrell

Benjamin Paul Harrell (June 6, 1966 – September 3, 2024) was an American YouTuber who specialized in videos about firearms.^[1][2][3]

His videos cover many different aspects of firearm ownership, such as self-defense, hunting and precision shooting. In making these video's he would focus on reviews of specific models of both antique and modern firearms, reviewing and comparing types of ammunition, shooting techniques, firearms selection for particular uses and firearms safety. His views on the subject are very highly regarded by many, because of his nearly scientific approach, using a chronograph and calculations in all reviews and his refusal to take sponsorships, making him able to stay neutral in reviewing products.^[4] Also his life experiences are viewed as very relevant on the subjects he discusses, having been involved in two legal self-defense shooting cases, being exonerated in both, having been a USMC marksmanship instructor, Iraq War veteran, lifelong hunter and outdoors enthousiast and winner of various military and civilian shooting competitions, both on national and international levels. Almost all of the videos he made were viewer-submitted ideas. He is also notable for his consideration to realism in his discussions of equipment, taking in the considerations of people on lower budgets, people with legal restrictions and people in different countries being subject to different firearms laws, such as his reviews and techniques on cap and ball revolvers, which under U.S. law aren't considered firearms and are thus accessible to more people.^[5]

Harrell was born in Brookings, Oregon on June 6, 1966.^[6] He served for four years in the Marine Corps as an infantryman and at some point as a marksmanship instructor. He is also a veteran of the Army, where he served for 16 years in the Oregon Army National Guard in the 186th Infantry Regiment. He was deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004 and aided in the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief as part of the national guard. Paul started his channel in 2012 with his now defunct company, Disaster Contingency Specialists. On July 16, 2023, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.^[1] In a video uploaded in February 2024, he announced that his brother Roy would take over the channel, but Paul himself stayed on and made occasional appearances in the videos. His death from the cancer at the age of 58 was announced in the video "I'm Dead"^[7], which was uploaded on September 4, 2024, and recorded on December 20, 2023.^[3] His brother and his manager, Brad Nelson, announced that they would continue the channel despite his death.^[3]

This page was last edited on 11 September 2024, at 22:35