For those of you who are just joining us, this “Elmer” guy is Elmer Keith, known to some as the Sage of Salmon, Idaho, and Dean of American Gunwriters to others. He was a cowboy, hunter, packer, guide, shooter, prolific experimenter, and gun writer during most of the 20th century. He was the driving force behind the creation of the .44 Magnum, the .338 Winchester Magnum, the Winchester Model 70 bolt action rifle, the .41 Magnum, a style of bullet that bears his name to this day, and countless other things during his lifetime. He was born in 1899, during an era the likes of which we’ll never see again. His mentors were those men who fought on the frontier and during the Civil War, men who knew more about living and dying with the gun than most do today.
In the tactical and self-defense training sectors today, there is a lot of talk about shooting on the move, shooting at multiple targets (since bad guys usually run in packs,) point shooting, shooting at close and long range, and generally “being one with the gun.” The way it’s read, you’d think that this is all some new knowledge that’s just been discovered in the last 20 years or so since we had a couple of big shooting wars in that time. Well, I hate to tell you, but it’s all been said before, and Elmer said it.
In 1955 Elmer Keith wrote the classic shooting book, “Sixguns by Keith.” It was more or less a treatise on all things having to do with shooting the handgun, from choosing the right handgun for the job, learning to shoot it, competition, gunfighting, quick draw, point shooting, shooting at long range, holsters, modifying the handgun, and choosing the right cartridge. It was literally a one-stop shop for the new pistol shooter. Elmer Keith was not the last word by any means, but he was smart enough to learn from others the skills needed to stay alive in a dangerous world. He was able to combine that with his own vast amount of personal experience and to put it into words.
Let’s take a look at a few things Elmer talked about almost 60 years ago, and how they apply today.
