Categories
Oh Dear!
Today in 1782, French and Spanish forces launch the “Grand Assault” against Gibraltar, hoping to smash a British garrison that has already endured more than three years of siege.
Although remembered as the American War of Independence, the conflict has spread far beyond America.
Spain’s ambitions include recovering Gibraltar, and the Rock’s defenders, commanded by General George Augustus Eliott, have faced blockade, bombardment and shortages since 1779.
The attackers’ great hope is a fleet of ten specially constructed floating batteries. These heavily protected vessels carry powerful guns close enough to batter Gibraltar’s seaward defences, while artillery on land adds its fire.
Thick timber, protective packing and arrangements for circulating water are intended to keep the batteries from burning.
Once the defences are broken, troops can move in.
Eliott’s gunners answer with cannonballs heated until red-hot. Handling these beside gunpowder is dangerous work, but a heated ball embedded deep inside a wooden vessel can start a fire beyond the reach of men trying to extinguish it.
Initially, the floating batteries withstand the punishment. As the bombardment continues, however, their protection proves inadequate. Fires take hold, spread through the vessels and turn the supposedly revolutionary weapons into blazing traps.
During the night and into 14 September, the assault collapses amid burning wrecks and explosions. All ten floating batteries are lost, either destroyed or abandoned and scuttled.
Then comes a remarkable change of task. Royal Navy boats under Captain Roger Curtis, which have been fighting the batteries, begin rescuing their crews. Hundreds of enemy sailors are pulled from the water despite the danger from the burning vessels.
The Grand Assault has failed, but the siege is not yet over. Admiral Richard Howe brings in another vital relief convoy in October, and the blockade finally ends in February 1783.
After more than three and a half years, Gibraltar remains in British hands. 
Elmer holding the model 29 used for shooting the mule deer at 600 yards.
Once in a lifetime, if we’re lucky, a true phenom raises the bar of excellence, performing feats so unbelievable that half the people hearing these feats think the person is lying, stretching the truth, or surely “fudging the facts” a bit.
This was the case with Elmer Keith. One of the most called-on instances in which Keith was called an outright liar is the 600-yard running mule deer incident. For those not familiar, let me refresh your memory.
Elmer and Judge Don Martin enjoying a smoke on the porch.
600 Yards?
Keith grew up hunting grouse and rabbits with a .32-20 sixgun. In his late teens and early twenties, he was a member of the Idaho National Guard Rifle team, competing at Camp Perry for several years, where he routinely shot out to 600 yards or more on different courses of fire.
So, Elmer was familiar with what 600 yards looked like. Secondly, he knew the terrain very well on which the miraculous mule deer shots occurred, having hunted on the property numerous times.
Lastly, Keith shot the same gun, a 6.5” S&W .44 Magnum and ammo, Remington 250-grain factory ammunition, just days prior to the hunt. Keith was driving with his friend, Judge Don Martin. “I spotted a rock at what looked like 500 yards from the road. I told Don to stop the car and turn off the motor. The rock was about 3 feet long and 18” high,” Keith recounted.
“I rested my arms out the window, held up some front sight and tried it. It was low. I held up more front sight and managed to hit the rock the next five shots. Judge Don Martin said I seen it, but still don’t believe it.”
If you can’t believe a judge, who can you believe? Both Keith and Judge Martin paced the distance off to the rock twice, getting the same distance both times.
Elmer demonstrating the sitting position with his Winchester model 70 .375 H&H.
Jack Shooter
Keith was hunting jackrabbits with Judge Don Martin, publisher Bob Petersen and editor Tom Siatos. As Petersen and Siatos beat the brush in the Pahsimeroi valley, Keith and Judge Martin drove the roads in a Jeep, looking for targets of opportunity. A large jack took off behind him and the judge, but Keith decided to try for him anyway. He got his sights on the jack, swung forward and fired, just missing him.
The elevation was good, but the shot was behind him. Keith tried again, leading a little further, narrowly missing again. On the third shot, Keith rolled the large jack. Don Martin exclaimed, “If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t believe it.” Later, an incident occurred that was more unbelievable than Keith’s 600-yard mule deer shot.
Keith shooting prone with his .375 H&H.
Five in One
“Don and I waited in the car. Siatos and Petersen jumped a big old jackrabbit. The range looked to be 100 yards, but the rabbit was running all out. I got on the rabbit, started my trigger squeeze, swung the sights well ahead, and just as the rabbit crossed the white line in the road, the gun went off, and the hare flew.”
Again, Judge Martin said, “If I didn’t see it, I wouldn’t believe it.”
“The Remington 250-grain gas-checked slug caught the rabbit through the middle of the back. When Keith picked up the jackrabbit by the ears, four young rabbits fell out of it. I wrote it up as killing five rabbits running all out with one shot, and have been called a liar ever since.”
Remington factory load Keith used for the 600 yard shot on mule deer.
On Long Range Shooting
Keith was a master at long-range shooting. His technique was sound and simple. For sight alignment, he would perch the top of the front sight above the top of the rear sight while keeping the front sight centered in the rear sight notch. The further the target, the higher the front sight was held.
He then perched his target on top of the front sight blade. Keith preferred a flat on top of his front sight, saying it was easier to maintain a steady sight picture. This makes sense, as the flat provides a larger surface for holding elevation than the smaller arc of a rounded top front sight. The flat top front sight is easier on the eyes at greater distances.
Fun Facts
Skeeter Skelton’s famous “Skeeter Load” consisting of 7.5 grains of Unique with a Lyman 429421 was given to Skeeter by Keith when Skeeter summoned him for a good load for the .44 Special. Skeeter’s warm personality and writing style made people associate the famous load with him.
Keith also had some input in the development of the famous rifleman’s rifle, the pre-64 Winchester Model 70. He received a Model 70 in both .375 H&H and .300 H&H Magnum as a gift from Winchester. Keith described the .375 H&H as having a straight tapered 24-inch barrel and having an ivory-tipped stock.
Keith once fired a 16-shot group measuring 1 9/16ths inch at 200 yards with his .375 H&H, which had a fixed Weaver 330 scope mounted with Stith mounts. Keith stated he would fire two shots, walk to the target, check the impact, walk back, and fire two more, until he fired a total of 16 shots, during a snowstorm. The group measured 1 9/16ths inches, center to center at the widest bullet holes using Winchester 300-grain soft-nose factory ammunition.
.44 Magnum
Keith didn’t invent the .44 Magnum, per se, but he planted the seeds for its development. He wanted a manufacturer to load his heavy .44 Special loads, which drove 250-grain cast slugs to 1,200 fps. The ammo companies were wary of such loads fired in older .44 Special guns. Remington, in partnership with S&W, came out with the .44 Magnum, which has a cartridge case 1/10th of an inch longer than .44 Special brass, so it couldn’t be loaded in the older .44 Special guns.
Kieth had several other accomplishments credited to his name. He helped design the .338 Winchester Magnum, several Lyman bullet molds, and, like the .44 Magnum, he planted the seeds for the .357 Magnum with his hotly loaded .38 Special loads consisting of his bullet design Lyman 358429 and 13.5 grains of old Hercules 2400 powder.
Fuddy Dud?
If Keith’s old ways make him a fuddy dud in the eyes of today’s younger shooters, well, count me one as well. I’ll wear the title proudly! There will never be another Elmer Keith. We barely scratched the surface of all he accomplished in his lifetime. Just about any subject covered today was covered by Keith in one way or another.
While some may question his claims, I believe every morsel. Everyone is born with a gift, and Keith was blessed with superior vision, great hand-eye coordination and a mind made for calculating anything related to shooting sixgun, rifle, or shotgun. We could use more fudds and fewer tactical commandos in this world.
Categories