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Thread: Elmer Keith

  1. #1
    Boolit Master Wolfdog91's Avatar
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    Elmer Keith

    Never really knew too much about the guy , other then the fact he really liked big bullets and high velocity. But after watching this , makes alot more sense now lol. Think I'm gonna get that book too.
    Anyhow interesting video
    A wise man will try to learn as much from a fool as he will from a master, for all have something to teach- Uncle Iroh
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  2. #2
    Boolit Master derek45's Avatar
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    his book SIXGUNS is a “must read”

    available cheap on amazon paper or kindle
    .


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  3. #3
    Boolit Master
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    I'm old enough to have met him once at an NRA convention - and I also wrote several letters to him in the 1970's, which he answered. I always enjoyed his articles, even though he rubbed some people the wrong way.

    He wrote a great piece on the Sharps rifles and how to load them - I may still have the clipping laying around the house somewhere. I think it was written in 1940 for the American Rifleman then was revived at a later date.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master
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    Six Guns is the more technical work while “Hell, I Was There” is more about his life.

    Good stuff all!

    Three44s
    Quote Originally Posted by Bret4207

    “There is more to this than dumping lead in a hole.”

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Rifles for big game is another goodread. I got six guns in jr high and read it till the book started to fall apart. The chapter on caring for cap and ball revolvers is the best.

  6. #6
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    Great clip.
    Thanks
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  7. #7
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    I was using his bullet last Saturday

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  8. #8
    Boolit Master schutzen-jager's Avatar
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    also met him at NRA convention in Phila. Pa. 1977 ? - also have a WWII Remington 513 that was stamped by him while chief ordnance inspector at Ogden arsenal -
    Last edited by schutzen-jager; 09-22-2022 at 01:34 PM. Reason: error
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  9. #9
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    You are a youngster,, so you are forgiven for not knowing much about the grandfather of the .44 Magnum. But,, you seriously need to study him, his life, and his contributions to the shooting world. Small in stature,, but big in achievements.

  10. #10
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    He designed some really good bullets.
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  11. #11
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    In 1936 he wrote a book that was themed at what sixgun cartridges were available and how to reload them . The re-print is available from Amazon for $10.00 and is titled
    " Sixgun Cartridges & Loads " Elmer Keith 1936 . This is NOT the book "Sixguns" ,,,
    as far as I can tell "Sixguns" has now been re-printed but sells for about $30.00 .
    Any ways ... the reloading book is very interesting just for the info on boolit metals , lead / tin ratio's , hardness and boolit fit .
    It's also nice to see what he actually loaded and used in his guns ... in this book he has two loads ... what he loads for his gun and another load he recommends that everyone else use... you hear a lot of this that and the other but this book has the "The Real Keith Loads"
    I bought it for it's chapters on bullets , casting metals and sizing.
    He only had Lead and Tin ... I see the day coming when free wheel weights will not exist !
    My main source of boolit metal, If so I wanted to know what blends of Tin / Lead work .
    It's only $10.00 , free shipping , and worth every penny ... If you order "Sixguns" you might want to pick up " Sixgun Cartridges & Loads " to go with it ... I have both and find the loading book very interesting .
    Gary
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    " Let's Go Brandon !"

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post
    In 1936 he wrote a book that was themed at what sixgun cartridges were available and how to reload them . The re-print is available from Amazon for $10.00 and is titled
    " Sixgun Cartridges & Loads " Elmer Keith 1936 . This is NOT the book "Sixguns" ,,,
    as far as I can tell "Sixguns" has now been re-printed but sells for about $30.00 .
    Any ways ... the reloading book is very interesting just for the info on boolit metals , lead / tin ratio's , hardness and boolit fit .
    It's also nice to see what he actually loaded and used in his guns ... in this book he has two loads ... what he loads for his gun and another load he recommends that everyone else use... you hear a lot of this that and the other but this book has the "The Real Keith Loads"
    I bought it for it's chapters on bullets , casting metals and sizing.
    He only had Lead and Tin ... I see the day coming when free wheel weights will not exist !
    My main source of boolit metal, If so I wanted to know what blends of Tin / Lead work .
    It's only $10.00 , free shipping , and worth every penny ... If you order "Sixguns" you might want to pick up " Sixgun Cartridges & Loads " to go with it ... I have both and find the loading book very interesting .
    Gary

    People today when they read Sixgun Cartridges and loads freak out because he talks about casting bullets on the kitchen stove.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    Elmer Keith died in 1984. Not sure why that photo shows him shooting left handed but I visited him many times in the 70's and have a photo of him holding that exact rifle, Ruger #1 375 when we were out in his trophy room behind the house. He was always wearing his 4" S&W 44 magnum.

    Dick
    Last edited by sixshot; 09-22-2022 at 01:17 PM.

  14. #14
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    He was the closest thing I had to a hero back in the 60's, his articles and books inspired a love of big bore rifles and pistols in me.
    Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!

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  15. #15
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    https://www.loc.gov/audio/?fa=partof...r:keith,+elmer

    Here's the man himself.

    "Those were tough old times." Nowadays, we think we are in "tough times" when our cell phones only get one bar.

    He did an earlier autobiography, Keith, An Autobiography. It has more text and fewer pictures, but is still very much worth finding and reading. I understand he thought Winchester Press ruined his book because he wanted the large size of the later Hell, I Was There!.

    Both are definitely worth reading. The guy was a natural storyteller, and an instinctive experimenter.

  16. #16
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    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_Keith

    Keith was a prolific writer, writing both books and magazine columns. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was especially well known for his regular monthly columns he wrote for Guns & Ammo magazine and American Rifleman, typically exploring the performance of the latest new gun offerings, especially those firing large, heavy bullets pushed to high velocities. He has influenced modern gun writers such as Mike Venturino and John Taffin.[10]

    Sixgun Cartridges and Loads. Onslow County, N.C., Small Arms Technical Publishing Co, 1936. [Riling 2200]
    Big Game Rifles and Cartridges. Onslow County, N.C., Small Arms Technical Publishing Co, 1936. [Riling 2199]
    Keith's Rifles for Larger Game Huntington, WV: Standard Publications, 1946. [Riling 2551]
    Elmer Keith's Big Game Hunting. Boston: Little, Brown, 1948. [Riling 2648]
    Shotguns. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole & Heck, 1950. [Riling 2726]
    Sixguns. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole & Heck, 1955.
    Guns and Ammo for Hunting Big Game, with John Lachuk. Los Angeles, Calif. : Petersen Publishing Co.,1965.
    Safari. La Jolla, Calif: Safari Publications, 1968.
    Keith, An Autobiography, Winchester Press, 1974[11]
    Hell, I Was There (autobiography). Los Angeles, Calif.: Petersen Publishing Co., 1979.
    References are to Ray Riling, Guns and Shooting, a Bibliography, New York: Greenberg, 1951.
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  17. #17
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    In addition to Sixguns(2 copies, different editions), Sixgun Cartridges and Loads, Hell, I Was There and Keith's Rifles for Large Game, I have a two volume set called "Gun Notes". The last is a compilation of letters between Keith and Jack O'Conner. A third party was included because he was a fervent defender of Keith. I can't remember his name and I'm not in the shop where all my books are. Other than maybe furnishing the material, I don't think Keith was involved in the compilation.

    I have another book that I'm not sure could be classified as a biography. The title is: "Elmer Keith, The Other Side of a Western Legend by Gene Brown. It is somewhat biased. Brown is/was(?) a definite fan of Elmer Keith.
    John
    W.TN

  18. #18
    Boolit Master Thumbcocker's Avatar
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    September 8, 2022. Sitting in an elevated blind in Limpopo province Republic of South Africa. The PH had asked why I had decided to hunt with an iron sighted .44 magnum. I mentioned Elmer. I pulled out my phone and pulled up tha kindle copy of Sixguns and opened it to the chapters on long range shooting and game shooting. PH was captivated. I'm going to try to find a good used copy of Sixguns and send to him.
    Paper targets aren't your friends. They won't lie for you and they don't care if your feelings get hurt.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master derek45's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thumbcocker View Post
    September 8, 2022. Sitting in an elevated blind in Limpopo province Republic of South Africa. The PH had asked why I had decided to hunt with an iron sighted .44 magnum. I mentioned Elmer. I pulled out my phone and pulled up tha kindle copy of Sixguns and opened it to the chapters on long range shooting and game shooting. PH was captivated. I'm going to try to find a good used copy of Sixguns and send to him.
    It's cheap and available in hardcover, softcover, or kindle...

    https://www.amazon.com/Sixguns-1961-...4120680&sr=8-1

    https://www.amazon.com/Sixguns-1961-...4120680&sr=8-1

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  20. #20
    Boolit Master
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    Wolfdog I need to politely correct part of your initial post. Elmer Kieth was never a fan of high velocity bullets. He kiked big slower moving projectiles that would deeply penetrate. He definetly did not agree with Jack Oconner on the 270 Winchester.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check