A Elmer Keith article from Guns & Ammo Aug.1959... I believe this is one of his least read articles....Very interesting...Read it if you can.....

Nice James.....Where can I get a readable copy please....

I would be extremely interested in reading the whole article. Can you perhaps scan it if you have a copy and make a PDF up? That would be so great. Is it archived anywhere?

Thanks for the article James. I like the fact the Elmer was fond of a 4 INCH barreled short gun.......Here I thought I was almost alone.....

I'm with Elmer! I have always said if the arrow was superior to the gun the Indians would have won!

Wow! After going through an myraid of intellectual gymnastics here with a dash of boasting thrown in for good measure Mr. Paul Tunkis seems to reach the same conclusion I have on the gun vs arrow discussion. And yes, Elmer was not a learned man. I took particular note of the statement that Elmers literary work would not be allowed to be published today. Does this sound familiar? Any similarity between what we see happening in Ivy league colleges all over the country. With the utmost humility I would like to tout one on my credentials. A title bestowed upon me by none other than the Queen of the Left herself. I proudly proclaim to be a Deplorable!

Shoot straight and often!

While Elmer did not have much formal education, he was definitely an intelligent man.

No reason to fight. Many of us bow hunt and handgun hunt. Proper equipment and shot placement in a nutshell. I grew up on Elmer. Didn't always agree with him but I was always entertained by him. This is one forum where I never thought anyone had to prove anything. You aren't going to see many outlandish claims here. Just a bunch of fellers with a passion for handgun hunting and on occasion another type of hunting. we have this part of the forum for that. I love to bow hunt as much as anyone. I will never be a Chuck Adams or a Joella Bates. I just like being silent and sending an arrow at my quarry. Joella is a very close friend. She worked hard for her accomplishments. She is interested in trying handgun hunting. It all works together.

There is no reason to fight. Elmer had an opinion based on his experience and I happen to agree with him. Elmer was looking to improve performance of his handgun and explored posibilities he thought would lead to that end. The fact that he was not "learned" as in not having attended schools of higher learning is no way an assesment of his inteligence. He liked to experiment and push the envelope like all the "wildcatters" of that era. Look how many wonderful cartridges came from that effort. I don't know if is the article that Elmer wrote or my comment that sent Mr Tunkis off. I would really like to see the full copy of the article to see which would be the most inflamatory I am not interested in apologizing or defending my opinion. It is just that. An opinion

Last week there was some guy on here going off on spelling errors. What's next?

I think if it is legal in your state and you want to do it, then go for it. I am fortunate to hunt in a state with very liberal game limits and have harvest many, many deer with my bow. Do I wound deer and loose them, you bet. However, I have harvested almost triple digits with my bow and I kill at least 80 percent of the deer that I shoot. I bow hunt because I love archery and the natural progression led to bowhunting. I think this is probably true for many of you who started off with a hand gun for the fun of it and that led to hunting. I plan to hunt with a handgun for the first time next fall. I think that all hunters should stick together whether slinging lead or using a stick and a string.

And this is the bottom line for me -- period. I most certainly have my preferences, they most likely differ from yours (whoever is reading this), but we are so divided that it is sickening. We have enough enemies that we can ill afford to fight amongst ourselves. Sorry, rant off.

Nancy Pelosi and all her liberal friends sign up on this forum....Okay you may flame me for that one.....

I love to bow hunt with a recurve, I can't any more due to an old shoulder injury. I can hunt the same as in getting close with my handguns. I support all legal / ethical methods of taking game. Though it may not be my cup of tea.

amen

True Story. A friend of mine went down to Tennessee a few years back to kill a wild boar. I think Carionna was the name of the Lodge and expect to hear from the spelling critic on that one.
He didn't take a gun long or short nor a bow recurve straight compound cross etc. He went armed with a spear. Now he didn't buy this spear at the sporting goods store and it was not a brand name. My friend is an iron worker and he made this thing in his shop. He must have been on the same side of the argument as John Linebaugh when it comes to heavy/slow projectiles vs light and fast ones. I never had this conversation with him but judging by the size of his bicepts and the weight of the spear head I simply jumped to a conclusion. We did discuss the up close and personal nature of his mission. He scoffed at me using handguns as being too easy. I really got an ear full when he returned from a successful trip. "Anybody can do it with a handgun" echoed for weeks as he recounted the experience of trying to pin the beast to the ground. A few years passed and we were still friends. He called me up to ask my advice on what rifle/caliber he should take on his next hunt in Africa. This was a lifetime dream come true for him. I was honored that he would look to me for advice on such a decision. We talked about bolt guns, side by side, English cartridges etc. But my initial response to the rifle/caliber question was a real test of our friendship. "What . . . .your not taking your spear?"

The article was written in 1959 when NM was the only state to legally take big game with a handgun. Many states, at the time, allowed bow hunting but none recognized handguns. Jeff Cooper wrote a similar article at the time also trying to get handguns allowed. This was 58 years ago and a sign of the times.....A good percent of you guys were not born when it was written. Of course it would not be written today....its just an OLD article by Keith....

One must understand the times to understand is spot on.

Where can I get a copy? I was alive but not old enough to read in 1958.

FA834, I posted the complete article on the bragging board...if its to small you can copy to your pics and enlarge.....

Well thanks James! I copied to my pictures and with the help of zoom and a pair of cheaters I was to read the bulk of the article. I found the article to be factual for the times it was written. It didn't come across to me as anti bow hunting but more of a justification for legal handgun hunting. Bow hunting gets attacked by the anti hunting crowd now as it was then. Handguns have the stigma of being associated with crime and more politically incorrect than bows do. In 1958 I was armed with a cap pistol but in my teenage years I became intrigued with handguns when one of my father's friends showed up in deer season with Colt Python and another family friend carried a Belgium Browning High Power. Wow!! I dreamed of the day I would have one of each. I remember reading the American Rifleman and articles by Col Charles Atkins. Another author of articles that wouldn't be printed today. A Bob Dylan quote comes to mind
"Oh the times they are a changin'"

FA83, In another issue of the same magazine of the time, Jeff Cooper also wrote an article to get the laws changed so handguns could be used on big game....Would you believe New Mexico was the only state to legally allow handguns for deer (1959).....Charlie Askins sure as hell was one "salty" individual....He used the then new S&W 44mag on a shikar in Vietnam to take deer size game along with a Ruger 22 semi-auto for snakes and fowl...He walked the walk......

Yeah he did! That's for sure. We have been blessed with the writings of some truly badass (sorry, but I think this term here is utterly and unmistakably appropriate) people. I would encourage anyone here who hasn't read some of the work of the old timers discussed, to make an effort to do so.

Sorry for the thread hijacking here, but I recently read a piece from Rifle magazine (September 2004 I believe) written by John Barsness. Long story short, the article was about a .416 Rigby that lead to a "canned" or high fence hunt in Texas of a water buffalo. The article had me laughing at times and entertained the entire time. There are some real gems out there worth making the effort to read.