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One of my favorite images of Elmer, from the 1930s. He sure was an American original. This is from his memoir, "Hell I was There," a wonderful read.
I ran across it while skimming the book for that incident in which Elmer was loading heavy slugs in .45 Colt balloonhead cases and blew the loading gate off his Colt -- which if I recall correctly set him on the path to glory with heavy .44 Special handloads. I am thinking the bullet he used might be the one Jim T has been casting up lately -- the Lyman 457191 for .45-90. fullsizeoutput_ff3 by ComeWatson, on Flickr
Octagon wrote; "His book on shot gunning is the finest thing of its kind"..... I had always been a Huge Keith fan reading everything I could find that He wrote. I one time got several of His books from the local library on loan from other library's. when I read "Shot Guns by Keith" I then realized He was a genius . when He passed Skeeter Skelton said Elmer was the best judge of distance He had ever seen. Keith got that by a life time of shooting. Thanks for the post Bill.
Always got a kick out of that pic....all dressed up out in the middle of nowhere as they did back in the day. Elmer cost me a ton of loot over the years. His word was gold to me....I believe the guns in his holster are a Smith triplelock and his number 5...if memory serves me.---6
Looks as if Eric Cartwright got wet from just below the hat and shrunk down to Little Joe's size.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
I bet very few people even know “Eric” Cartwright. Now mention his other name and well most won’t know him either outside of this forum and a few others.
When I lived in Montana, Helena still had some plaques. And memorabilia about Elmer. He lived in the area at some points in his life.
a Pennsylvanian who has been accused of clinging to my religion and my guns......Good assessment skills.
Vall, I think he wears that big beauty pretty well. Wonder if it was a Stetson. I see they still make the "Tom Mix." Always admired the "Open Road" that Truman and LBJ were fond of.
Stetson has a factory about 30 minutes away from my house. They have an outlet there, and it sells mostly seconds and defects at quite good prices. They have the George Strait hats there for around $2,000. Obviously, they have first quality and insanely expensive hats. My 5x gambler flat crown style was only $29 there, but it was a factory second. I have never found the mistake.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
gamekeeper wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:45 am
Perhaps "Hoss" was a fan of Elmer, if not, then he should have been....
I think Dan Blocker would have been a fan.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
Cannot prove it as it's only speculation due to several factors but the Colt single action "slip gun" in the center of this mess is one of the Colts that Elmer used in a long range test with gunsmith Harold Croft in 1928 which was written up in Elmers book, "Sixguns"...John Taffin thinks it is but....no documentation...so it's just strong speculation.
I shoot the gun on occasion and it's very accurate...if I can get lucky and hold it right....---6
Found that Keith anecdote quoted by John Linebaugh in his fine article on the .45 Colt:
"There has been so much written about the "weak" .45 Colt case. This probably started when The Grand Old Man of the Shooting game, Elmer Keith made this statement in his excellent book "Sixguns." "While shooting a 300 gr 45/90 rifle bullet in my .45 Colt SAA with 35 grains of black. Finally a weak .45 Colt case head blew off with this load. The gas blew the loading gate off the gun breaking its shank and cutting through the flesh of my trigger finger. From this experience I decided the bullet was a bit heavy for the thin cases and thin chamber walls of the cylinders. I cut one band and groove from the mould leaving it to cast a 260 gr flat point bullet. This worked very well with 40 grains of black. It was a very good game killer and flatter in trajectory curve than the 300 grain slug with 35 grains of black" ( Sixguns by Keith page 129)"
fordwannabe wrote: ↑Mon Apr 29, 2019 7:16 am
I bet very few people even know “Eric” Cartwright. Now mention his other name and well most won’t know him either outside of this forum and a few others.
When I lived in Montana, Helena still had some plaques. And memorabilia about Elmer. He lived in the area at some points in his life.
fullsizeoutput_ff3 by ComeWatson, on Flickr
