The sixguns of Elmer Keith hell, he was there! - The Sixgunner

American Handgunner, Sept-Oct, 2003 by John Taffin

Keith's favorite sixgun cartridge from 1927 to 1955 was the .44 Special. However, he did not completely abandon the .45 Colt Single Action. He still favored a 4 3/4" barreled model, with S&W type adjustable rear sight, barrel band front sight and ivory stocks. When I was granted the great privilege of examining his sixguns after his going Home, I found this one still loaded with five rounds of factory ammo that I'm pretty sure were black powder rounds. Before the .44 Magnum arrived Keith often said if he had to depend on factory ammunition, his choice would be the .45 Colt.

This .45 Colt, with a wide hammer spur, is also interesting in that it has a special stud on the left side of the gun, replacing the hammer screw. The stud fitted on a clip fastened to the belt and the Colt swung on the clip without a holster, ready for instant use. This clip is known as the Jesse Thompson rig. This old .45 sixgun exhibits much blue wear. I would guess Keith carried it a lot on the quick-draw belt clip. Single actions were his obvious favorites for about 30 years, or until he moved into town and found it much more practical to carry a 4" double action Smith & Wesson. His first was a 1950 4" Smith & Wesson .44 Special, which would soon to be replaced by the same basic sixgun chambered for the .44 Magnum.

Four to Draw-To

Keith had four short barreled double action Smith and Wesson .44s that were his favorite packin' pistols. The first was the aforementioned .44 Special 4" 1950 Target Model. This gun is fully engraved, with a blue finish and fitted with ivory stocks that have a steer head carved on the right grip. The steer head carved grip was an obvious favorite as it is found on three of the four .44 DA's. I've always wondered how Keith could handle the recoil of the heavy loaded .44 Special -- and the subsequent .44 Magnum -- when fired in these relatively lightweight sixguns with standard Magna style grips with no filler behind the trigger guard. I tried it with standard wood grips and got nailed, and painfully so. After handling Keith's sixguns I understood perfectly. The carving on the right grip naturally filled in the crease in the shooting hand perfectly and did much to help control felt recoil.

The first .44 Magnum from Smith & Wesson had a 6.5" barrel. Keith preferred this length for hunting and, in fact, this was the gun he used to make his famous six hundred yard shot to stop a mule deer that had been wounded by some other hunter. However for convenience of carry a 6.5" sixgun was soon cut to 4.5", and engraved and stocked by the now-defunct Gun Reblue Co. This sixgun was featured in the 1958 Gun Digest. It too is a beautiful specimen, with its full engraving and steerhead grips and like all of the .44s, has Keith's signature on the sideplate. This was the first of Keith's three short-barreled .44 Magnum sixguns. The second example was presented to Keith by Carl Hellstrom, then president of Smith & Wesson. This was one of the first factory 4" .44 Magnums. It was also fully engraved and ivory stocked, with an eagle carved on the right grip and a brass presentation medallion.