Letters from Elmer Keith.

[.45colt]

I copied the handwritten letter Elmer wrote when He was selling some Sharps Rifles. 100 years ago. He was 24 years old.

Winston Montana
Feb 29, 1924
Captain George T. Shank
18th infantry
Fort Sumter N.Y.
Dear Sir:
I advertised four of my ten Sharps. Have sold two of the four advertised. Both were Caliber 45-120 ,
one weighed 14#. other 10#. both octagon.
The best of the two I have left is a 44-77-470 original Christina Sharp.30" octagon, double set trigger
weight 11# outside fine shape inside good but light pits throughout. very accurate however. Have killed
coyotes at 300 yds with it . A few pits does not affect the accuracy of these big bore rifles. Have over
200 shells for this rifle. some loaded. 44-470 patch mould.
Also have an extra barrel & forend .Sharps caliber 45-70 30" oct. fine shape- nearly new . have made
1 1/2" ten shot groups at 100yds .This barrel has an 8 power Cummins scope mounted on it. also has (old Reliable)
stamp on barrel.
Have 44 everlasting shells for it also some commercial shells. can furnish all the bullets you would want. Will take
$40 F.O.B. Winston for both rifle and barrel or $25 for the 44 outfit and 15 for the extra barrel scope and shells.
Have a 50-70 Sharps military type sniper rifle. peep sight. 30" round, long forend , sling swivels ,single trigger.
in good condition inside & out. very accurate..Have original Sharps 50-473 gr patch mould.( only one I know of)
about 3000 wax lubricators and extra wads of a few shells and patches. also a makeshift capper. $20 outfit.
I also have a caliber 45-90 Sharps that I loaned to a friend in Helena, in pretty good shape when I let him have it
Have about 200 new primed Shells for it $25 outfit.
If all you just want a good specimen of C. Sharps. oct barrel for collection only in serviceable cond. I can fix you
up for about $15. subject to your approval of course. Shells are wouth nearly as much as rifles now and very hard to find
in good condition . would not care for the mauser. I'm no dealer just a crank and collector . also there are quite a few
sharps around here. Let Me hear from you if these interest you. for reference write Chauncey Thomas of
Denver ,Colo. Sincerely Elmer M Keith.

[JimT]

I corresponded with Mr. Keith in the 1970's and have kept all the letters he sent. It was his thoughts on the 300 gr. .45-90 bullet #457191 that got me to experiment with them in the .45 Ruger. He wrote to me what he did with that bullet in the old Colt SAA. I knew the Ruger was stronger so I began with what he was using, knowing if it worked in the Colt it would be safe in the Ruger.

[.45colt]

We did the same thing Here Jim, in the late '80's . A shooting buddy had a Lyman 457122 HP mould . We sized them down and shot them thru My Ruger Bisley . We were pretty nervous ,but for no reason . I also read what Keith wrote in Sixguns about the heavy loads. .

[Scott Tschirhart]

Thanks for sharing. I wish that I had written more letters back in those days.

[Tycer]

I was asked about Elmer and whether the 357 was named by Mr. Keith(3, 5, & 7 have significance in Masonry) so I contacted his Lodge and was told prolly not however at his funeral, since he was such a 45 fan, several of his Lodge Brothers fired their Colt 45s and dumped the brass on his casket before the first clod of dirt was placed.

[Bill in Oregon]

That's an amazing letter, and the prices Elmer was asking even moreso.
Jim, isn't that the very bullet Elmer had loaded that blew the gate of his Colt SAA and turned his thoughts toward the .44s?

[JimT]

That's an amazing letter, and the prices Elmer was asking even moreso.
Jim, isn't that the very bullet Elmer had loaded that blew the gate of his Colt SAA and turned his thoughts toward the .44s?

Yessir. If I remember correctly, he was using 4Fg under it. It's a great bullet for long-range pistol work in the .45 ... I took quite a bit of game with it.

457191.jpg

[Walt]

This is a letter from Elmer Keith to an acquintance in 1968. His correspondence was notoriously challenging to edit for publication from what I've read. Interesting letter though.

[JimT]

Yessir. Mr. Keith's typing/spelling was always interesting. I find that as I get older mine seems to be going the same direction. Especially if I do not go back and read what I wrote.

[Bill in Oregon]

When I think of the volume of correspondence Elmer felt compelled to answer personally -- on an old-fashioned manual typewriter no less -- I tip my hat.

[Walt]

I agree completely, Bill. He received and wrote such a staggering amount of correspondence I'm surprised he had time to do anything else.

[AJMD429]

.
These days the average 24 year old couldn't put together that many words and make sense, especially if they had a college degree...

[Bob Hatfield]

I started getting interested in guns around 1975. It started when I picked up a Guns and Ammo magazine and was glancing through it. From the mid to late 70's I couldn't wait to read "Gun Notes" in Guns and Ammo magazine. I had to travel 10 miles to "Union Cut Rate" drug store to buy the magazine.

Bob

[Nath]

Awesome thread.
Elmer Keith and PO Ackley, two of the best

[Walt]

Speaking of the load that Elmer Keith blew the top of his Colt cylinder off with, he had ground the black powder to a very fine, flour-like consistency and sized the .458 diameter bullets down to .454 or .455. Afterwards he cut one of the driving bands off of his mould to reduce bullet weight and apparently used the load successfully therafter.