keith44spl
Member
That sure sounds like something one of them Ol' Keith boys could do!!! 
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Elmer Keith
- Thread starter Coaltminer
- Start date
RobertJ.;14016150 But he still had more experience shooting than most of us will ever hope to have said:
chiefbob81
US Veteran
I am not a writer, but have been known to spin some stories. My disclaimer is: "There is some truth in every lie I tell".
Billy Dixon killed an Indian at Adobe Wells at a little more than a measured mile with a Sharps rifle in front of witnesses. Scientist later reconstructed the shot and said at one point Billy's bullet was over 40 feet above the ground......Google it.
I remember fishing Henry's Fork when they dropped the limit from 15 to 12 fish. We talked about whether it was still worth the drive. Last time I was by there it was 2 fish none over 16". Times change but it was rare for us to go home without a limit. They were all eaten too.
Pikeminnow, aka Squawfish went up on the bank, an illegal act now. Currently there is a bounty on them in the Columbia system. 50 years from now "experts" will put us down for how little we knew.
Pikeminnow, aka Squawfish went up on the bank, an illegal act now. Currently there is a bounty on them in the Columbia system. 50 years from now "experts" will put us down for how little we knew.
Had ol EK out hunting waterfowl one time. He was a funny fellow with great stories. He was also a good shotgun pointer. Knew how to shoot waterfowl....but so did Jack O'Conner. 600 yd handgun shot? Who knows how far it was? At this point it really doesn't matter. After shooting and hitting a floating metal 25 gal drum at 400 yds(not every shot and it was in the water so I could see where I missed) I have a tendency to believe the story. He didn't go around bragging of it. In Maryland we routinely shot hawks owls etc. But not Bald Eagles. It was even pointed out in the hunting license books we got that it was good for game management. I can tell you after they banned raptor shooting the quail population sure disappeared.... even in good game habitat. But the worst predator on the quail seemed to be the owls...
Hell, I wasn't there.
Jerry Miculek hit his target at 1000yds.....Offhand.......with a 9mm revolver! If I was a betting man, my money would have been on Elmer!
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ3XwizTqDw[/ame]
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white cloud
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People can say what they want about Elmer Keith. Looking at and using his bullet designs leads me to think he was pretty bright and very creative. A lot of his logic makes a lot of sense to me. The world as he knew it is gone but there is still a lot to learn from his writing.
There are people in all sports and professions that can do things that are so amazing that us mere mortals can't even dream about. Champions have something that gives them an edge and even if most people put as much time and effort into it as a champion they still wouldn't be as good. Elmer Keith had that something extra. Larry
Absalom
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
You have to judge people in the context of their times.
When Elmer Keith shot an eagle, that was no big deal, and I don’t see much sense in condemning the man in hindsight. I enjoy reading Kipling today without approving of his superior attitudes toward the “colonial” peoples.
Elmer was a storyteller. Did he shoot a mule deer with a handgun at 600 yards? Almost certainly not. Was it an impressive distance? Certainly. But taking stories from that time as delivering the precision everybody is able to easily measure today with electronics is a bit credulous.
When Elmer Keith shot an eagle, that was no big deal, and I don’t see much sense in condemning the man in hindsight. I enjoy reading Kipling today without approving of his superior attitudes toward the “colonial” peoples.
Elmer was a storyteller. Did he shoot a mule deer with a handgun at 600 yards? Almost certainly not. Was it an impressive distance? Certainly. But taking stories from that time as delivering the precision everybody is able to easily measure today with electronics is a bit credulous.
Texas Star
US Veteran
I knew Keith a little,and I saw him shoot at 200 yards, with a .44 Magnum revolver. He was then well into his 70's and his eyesight wasn't what it had been. But his marksmanship wowed a number of spectators, including a TV reporter, to whom I had to explain who Elmer Keith was and that a powerful handgun can indeed astound the average person, in capable hands.
Briefly, I think HE believed he'd killed that deer. It was already wounded, inc. by Keith who opened fire at about 250 yards, as I recall. It had also been shot with a .300 H&H Magnum rifle.
I think it may have fallen just as he fired the 600 yard shot, dying of earlier wounds. That led Elmer to think he'd fired the lethal shot.
I'd like to get further into this, but don't have time.So, I'll say this: I saw how his fellow gun writers treated Elmer at the SHOT show and an NRA Convention, including a press breakfast where I sat next to him at his request.
To a man, we all respected him and believed that he was probably telling the truth in his books and articles. A number of us had seen him shoot. Many of us had done some long range handgun shooting and knew what was possible. You can't fool associates like that group. A BS artist is soon detected by his literary peers.
I read Askins' article, "Elmer's Little Mortar" about that long shot. But Charlie told me himself that he often wrote controversial stories, to generate reader mail, to let his editors know he was being read. I think Askins could come close to what Keith did at long range with a handgun. Recall, he had been National Pistol Champion and head of the USBP marksmanship program.
I went home soon after I had breakfast with Elmer, that same day, and I knew he was suffering from a respiratory infection. I called Col. Askins' home in San Antonio, as I knew he lived in that city, where we were, for the NRA Convention. (I'm from Dallas. I had to leave to file my stories about the Convention and new products, with two editors.) And I knew that he and Elmer were friends. Mrs. Askins told me that Elmer had been diagnosed with pneumonia and that Charlie was with him at the hospital. I don't think Askins would have been as good a friend to Keith as they'd been for decades, had Askins not respected and believed Keith.
I think that speaks well for Keith. Bear that in mind as you read other posts here.
Briefly, I think HE believed he'd killed that deer. It was already wounded, inc. by Keith who opened fire at about 250 yards, as I recall. It had also been shot with a .300 H&H Magnum rifle.
I think it may have fallen just as he fired the 600 yard shot, dying of earlier wounds. That led Elmer to think he'd fired the lethal shot.
I'd like to get further into this, but don't have time.So, I'll say this: I saw how his fellow gun writers treated Elmer at the SHOT show and an NRA Convention, including a press breakfast where I sat next to him at his request.
To a man, we all respected him and believed that he was probably telling the truth in his books and articles. A number of us had seen him shoot. Many of us had done some long range handgun shooting and knew what was possible. You can't fool associates like that group. A BS artist is soon detected by his literary peers.
I read Askins' article, "Elmer's Little Mortar" about that long shot. But Charlie told me himself that he often wrote controversial stories, to generate reader mail, to let his editors know he was being read. I think Askins could come close to what Keith did at long range with a handgun. Recall, he had been National Pistol Champion and head of the USBP marksmanship program.
I went home soon after I had breakfast with Elmer, that same day, and I knew he was suffering from a respiratory infection. I called Col. Askins' home in San Antonio, as I knew he lived in that city, where we were, for the NRA Convention. (I'm from Dallas. I had to leave to file my stories about the Convention and new products, with two editors.) And I knew that he and Elmer were friends. Mrs. Askins told me that Elmer had been diagnosed with pneumonia and that Charlie was with him at the hospital. I don't think Askins would have been as good a friend to Keith as they'd been for decades, had Askins not respected and believed Keith.
I think that speaks well for Keith. Bear that in mind as you read other posts here.
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Texas Star, you are right on the money! I also had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with Elmer Keith on several occasions and found him to be a good man. Also an extremely close friend of mine from my hometown, Ralph Graham, moved to Salmon Idaho and became close friends with Elmer. Ralph and he shot often and according to Ralph if Elmer shot at something he hit it.
jag312
Member
I go with both, a well aimed shot by a person that was considered a top shot and a lot of luck!
Texas Star
US Veteran
Don't forget that Canadian sniper who killed an Afghan at a mile, verified. But he wasn't using an old Sharps.
Elmer was a Marksman..........
and I also liked seeing Bob London in action with iron sights.
and I also liked seeing Bob London in action with iron sights.
Homer Simpson, upon being caught lying to his wife, Marge:
"Marge, it takes two to lie! One to lie, one to listen."
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