SMITH MODEL 29 4 inch Elmer Keith
I love asking Questions here. Most replies are informative,accurate and save me lots of research. Hopefully one of these days I will be able to help one of you ladies/gents out. I need an Elmer Keith enthusiast for this question.
1. Ok, Smith and Wesson model 29, with a 4 inch barrel. Is this the gun Elmer Keith carried as a favorite all around hand gun?
2.Did Elmers extensinsive test results show that the 4 inch barrel with iron sights was just as accurate as a 6 inch barrel with iron sights (in his hands) proving that a 6 inch barrel is a matter of preference.
3. The 44 magnum model 29, did Elmer have a companion rifle that used the same cartridge?
I started looking at these guns and see there are 3 bolt- 4 bolt, nickel blue, I do not know the difference right now between them. I know Elmer had hundreds of guns and developed many cartridges. It seems like there was a commemorative gun he loved the best and carried the most because of his opinion of how all around practical it is.
I read "Hell I was There" in the 1980s and cant find it now to refer to.
Thanks
1. Ok, Smith and Wesson model 29, with a 4 inch barrel. Is this the gun Elmer Keith carried as a favorite all around hand gun?
2.Did Elmers extensinsive test results show that the 4 inch barrel with iron sights was just as accurate as a 6 inch barrel with iron sights (in his hands) proving that a 6 inch barrel is a matter of preference.
3. The 44 magnum model 29, did Elmer have a companion rifle that used the same cartridge?
I started looking at these guns and see there are 3 bolt- 4 bolt, nickel blue, I do not know the difference right now between them. I know Elmer had hundreds of guns and developed many cartridges. It seems like there was a commemorative gun he loved the best and carried the most because of his opinion of how all around practical it is.
I read "Hell I was There" in the 1980s and cant find it now to refer to.
Thanks
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1. As I understand, Elmer routinely carried a 4" M29 after they came out.
2. As I recall, Elmer preferred the 6 1/2" when he knew he was going to be shooting, the 4" was for carry.
3. Not that I ever read of; he would have considered a rifle in a pistol caliber to be a peashooter when he could have a .45-70 or .333.0 -
Thanks for the reply, I need to re-read that book sometime. The Africa stories were contained a lot of information also. 0 -
I used to read his articles in Guns & Ammo back in the 60's and 70's. I agree that his favorite was the 4" model 29. I once read that he hit an antelope or similar animal at several hundred yards with a revolver.
This is one of a few of my guns that will never be shot. I have a plain 4" 29 for shooting.
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I'm not a big Keith "enthusiast", but I can answer at least two of these:
a. Did Keith usually carry a 4" model 29? Yes.
b. Did Keith "prove" that a 6" gun is just as accurate as a 4" gun?
I don't know, though I doubt it.
To answer this in general, in terms of MECHANICAL accuracy, it probably is true that a 4" gun is just as accurate as one with a longer barrel. That is, if you fired both guns from a machine rest, you might not be able to detect an accuracy difference. It also *might* be true that Keith, who was quite a good shot, couldn't yield better accuracy from the short barrel. Again, I doubt it.
But even stipulating that HE couldn't find an accuracy difference, that doesn't mean YOU wouldn't. I fire the identical versions of 4" and 6" K-frame revolvers all the time, and I generally find it easier to hit things with the longer barrel.
Also, a longer barrel means more velocity, a bit less flash and a bit less noise. So there are other good reasons why you might want the longer barrel even without a measurable accuracy difference. As already mentioned, Keith was an avid handgun hunter, and when hunting, he usually used a 6.5" barrelled gun.
Personally speaking, given that I'm never going to carry one concealed, I'd consider a 6" bbl to be a practical MINIMUM. I would certainly agree that this is largely a matter of personal preference.
3. Did Keith use a "companion" .44 magnum rifle?
Not on a regular basis.
While its pretty likely that he owned or shot a .44 mag rifle at one point or another during his lifetime, I think its well-documented that he was a fan of large magnum-type rifles for serious "rifle" purposes.
For example:
http://www.reloadbench.com/cartridges/w333okh.html0 -
Keith favored the 4" barrel as a universal hunting & defense big bore revolver. Prior to the S&W model, which came when Keith's career was pretty much over, he liked the S&W Triple Lock in 44 Special. It is this handgun in which he developed his high speed heavy loads.
He also favored the SAA Colt in 44 Spl but was happy when Ruger came out with the 44 mag Blackhawk and S&W the 29.
His 44 Special loads were no slouch. They were either 235grHP or 250gr solid at about 1200fps.
Read his book "Sixguns".0 -
Thanks again, I may get a 6 or 61/2 inch. 0
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