J. S. Wolf, or Spence, as he was known to his friends, had spent most of his life shooting competitively in one aspect or another.  He found great frustration when he could not get his newly acquired original 45-70 Springfield rifle to shoot with any accuracy, and from this point began a life's journey and passion to find out the how, what and why of that legendary rifle.

Spence spent the last years of his life using all of his "free" time researching Arsenal records from the 1800s and other writings of that era to discover and apply those techniques for use in today's loading of accurate ammunition for the "Old Warrior." He had to find what had been forgotten as times changed. With his wife Pat, he began his quest to write a small booklet on how to duplicate the ammunition originally loaded for the Trapdoor in the 1800s.  That "booklet" has grown to 181 pages in the Third Edition of LOADING CARTRIDGES FOR THE ORIGINAL 45-70 SPRINGFIELD RIFLE AND CARBINE.

Two years after completion of the book that documented his years of dedication, and three years of intensive research with wife Pat, Spence succumbed to cancer in 1993. Unfortunately, he never got to experience the satisfaction of knowing that his hard work has brought the "Old Warrior" out of the closet and into the winner's circle for many owners of the historic 45-70 Trapdoor Springfield Rifle and Carbine.