I started reading Elmer’s work when I was a teenager and got interested in guns and hunting. He was by far the most interesting writer and in later years from personal experiances I found a lot of what he preached was right on the money. He always seemed very credible unlike other writers.  I know when you read things especially all those years ago about hitting a deer at 500 or 600 yards with a hand gun seemed impossible. But in later years you see silhouette shooters using positions not unlike the ones Elmer used making equally difficult shots with regularity.

During the late 1970’s I wanted to design an affordable 338 with performance similar to the 338/378 round something that did not require a true magnum length action. I started corresponding with Elmer getting his advice which he freely gave and was also very practical in saying at the end of the day a 340 Weatherby was a good compromise. I eventually came up with a 338 based on a shortened and improved 45 basic case in a Ruger #1 this rifle pushes .338  250 grain Nosler Partitions @ 3,000 fps and cloverleaf’s at 100 yards. I had hoped to meet Elmer I attended an NRA event in Philadelphia and was told by some one from Peterson’s Publishing that he was really in bad shape. In fact about that time I received a Safari book from the Keith’s signed by his wife saying Elmer was too sick to sign but doing well which turned out not too be the case  Primarily due to the business I was in I did get too meet many people that knew Elmer. I will share what I can remember with you.

JD Jones was probably the first writer I knew who really spent time with Elmer. If you know JD he calls a spade a spade (something I really respect in a writer) and he had nothing but respect for Elmer. I remember him telling of a writer’s seminar he attended with Elmer and was amazed at his age how tirelessly he swung his 10 gauge at the clay targets. He also told me that the feud between Elmer and Jack O’Conner was for real and that they had to keep them apart at the seminars they were genially concerned Elmer would have shot him. I personally could never stomach O’Conner’s writings. By the way JD is the finest long range handgun shot I ever personally witnessed. I stood next to him one day as he shot off hand with an open sighted XP in a 2” 458 caliber. At 300 yards he shot 3 chicken targets 1 turkey and the mastodon that was used for testing knock down power.

Around the same time period there was a fellow that lived near me whom I met thru a Professional Hunter he will go unnamed as he was a very strange person. But he spent time with Elmer and had some articles that Elmer mentioned him in. He was very strange and imitated Elmer every opportunity he got. His redeeming quality was that he had some very interesting guns including a double rifle that Elmer once owned. I had a really nice private range in those days and he became part of a group that would shoot with me. The double was a Westley Richards 470 single trigger cased in superb condition. It had a bunch of targets Elmer had shot and signed along with a letter of certification from Elmer. For some reason he had to purchase another English double in a different caliber and had to sell this gun. I had first refusal a friend talked me out of it because his dislike for the seller. A dealer snapped the gun up and I regret that decision to this day. I also quit taking advice from that friend. Elmer died a few weeks later.

I took gun writer Bob Milek an avid handgun hunter on safari in the early 1980’s he too knew Elmer as they both worked for Peterson Publishing. He too had a lot of respect and some interesting stories. While he was not nearly as complimentary of some of the other writers he worked with. He said Keith was a fantastic shot with any type of firearm. Bob died some 14 years ago.

Ed Matunas a fantastic ballistician and responsible for many of the reloading tables we use today started hunting Africa with me in the early 1980’s he did I believe 10 safaris with me and to this day remains a very good friend. Ed knew Elmer quite well as during his days with Winchester he had Elmer out on many writer seminars. Ed will tell you the man was the real thing no BS. He also shared some personal stories that I could never put in writing.

Tom Turpin who is a very talented hunting writer told me that a fellow writer whose name I forget took him to meet Elmer. It was the classic story they knocked on his door and he answered it wearing his cowboy hat gun on his side and smoking a cigar.

Mike Hissey who hunted in Kenya knew Elmer I do not remember all of the details of the hunt I believe it was with the Petersons. In his later years Mike ran a photo safari camp along the Chobe in Botswana for Hunters Africa a firm that I worked with when it was owned by Clayton Williams. I met Mike when we laid over in the photo camp for a few days. He shared some of his stories of the hunt and the respect he earned for Elmer. That would have been a great safari to have been on. Mike died not too long afterwards.

John Northcoat hunted in Botswana with Hunters Africa he too hunted Kenya and Uganda. In fact in Uganda where he did culling for the government they wanted him to take Idi Amin on safari he refused! I spent about 10 to 14 days in the King of Pools camp with him he was hunting a friend of mine and I was off in another direction hunting lion with Cecil Riggs so I spent the evenings talking with him about old times and of course Elmer. He related how badly scarred Elmer was and he was apparently pretty sick on the safari as at times he would brace his heavy Boswell double rifle on the trackers shoulder to take a shot. Out in the African bush a lot of things get said and discussed that would not be the subject of conversation here in the states. In this case there were several things that would not be wise for me to repeat. He related to me when they hunted the Galena Ranch in Kenya the massive number of elephants they saw on the Keith / Fowler hunt. He had been back in recent years and there were no elephant signs whatsoever.

By the way John Northcoat was one of the few professional hunters who by choice used a 375 H&H. he was a fine shot and during culls the other hunters were working with 470’s would start the shoot and he would take the wounded running away jumbos with his 375. The 375 is not something Elmer would have approved of. From my own experiences doing a lot of culling with different calibers during the 80’s into early 90’s the heavy bullets worked much better dropping or stopping game quickly. Elmer was right a large hole is much better than a small one, and punch it all the way thru so it bleeds from both sides. As far as using big guns he said something to the effect an animal can not be too dead. To qualify this, good shot placement and a properly constructed bullets are paramount adequate penetration is important. Adequate penetration does not mean super high velocity!

Thanks

SafariAfrica,
THANKS FOR THE GREAT POST.
I WAS TAKEN BY YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THE INDIVIDUALS YOU KNEW AND THEIR REMEMBERANCES OF ELMER.
PLEASE KEEP THE WRITINGS AND MUSINGS COMING OR I FEAR ONE DAY THIS HISTORY WILL BE LOST FOREVER.
LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING MORE.
THANKS AGAIN.
MB

I starte reading Elmer's work in the 1970s.  I would have liked to meet him.