You Gotta Love the Classics

From a 1960 article by Elmer Keith on The Combat Quick Draw as reposted in the latest issue of Guns magazine.

https://gunsmagazine.com/handguns/the-combat-quick-draw/

I grew up reading everything I could beg and borrow that was written by Elmer Keith, Col. Townsend Whelen, Jack O'Conner and the other greats of that era on everything from handguns to rifles and how to use them. I remember when I was 11 or 12 having a discussion with my dad on the ballistics of his Remington 721 in .30-06 where I told him he would be better off using a 150 gr. bullet instead of the 180 gr. ones I saw in his ammo drawer. He laughed at the idea and couldn't believe what I knew since I had never even fired a rifle at that time.

But, I read and I learned, and when I started shooting at 13 years old, that knowledge took me a long ways to where I was a crack rifle and pistol shot by the time I left high school. I bought my first new handgun, an S&W Model 19 on my 21st birthday and I never looked back. I owe it all to those great writers of yesterday as well as the more modern ones like Skeeter Skelton, John Taffin and others.

Reading this reprint article was a great reminder of days gone by and I thought some of you might enjoy it.

When you can score 90 on the standard American slow fire target, or kill jack rabbits or grouse with certainty up to 50 yards with a sixgun, or hit the silhouette of a man’s head and shoulders most of the time at 300 yards from rest or two-hand position, then you are ready to take up combat quick draw work.

300 yards with a pistol? Ain't happening with these old eyes.

Ah, you know how us old farts love to stretch the truth. I used to feel pretty good about popping off the gallon milk jugs at 100 yds with my pistol but never dared try 200 or 300 yards. Now, I shot many a barn pigeon out of the air with my handguns and killed many a running rat at full speed while bouncing through the rice fields in the back of a pickup, but those were close range.

gdr_11 said:

I used to feel pretty good about popping off the gallon milk jugs at 100 yds with my pistol but never dared try 200 or 300 yards.

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oldag said:

When you can score 90 on the standard American slow fire target, or kill jack rabbits or grouse with certainty up to 50 yards with a sixgun, or hit the silhouette of a man’s head and shoulders most of the time at 300 yards from rest or two-hand position, then you are ready to take up combat quick draw work.

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Some of these so called expert marksmen were rather full of themselves. While I sued to do pretty good reliably hitting a man sized silhouette steel target at about 100 with a stock handgun (even 3 to 4 out of 5 shots with a S&W Model 60), there was no way I'd have been able to do so reliably shooting at 300 yards unless it was a tricked out target pistol with precisely loaded handloads and was scoped. Even then, I doubt I would have done well and I doubt those guys were that good either.

I’m always amazed at how many shooters that don’t know the difference between a yard and a foot when it comes to measurements.

My long range shooting was done with a S&W Model 57 with an 8 3/8" barrel in .41 Mag. I hand loaded with 185 gr. bullets and could usually hit my milk jug about 4 out of 6 at 100 yards at the range.

Now, at 70 years old, I can't focus on the three aiming points so it is more of a "spray and pray" approach. That's why I've been looking at 9mm carbine/pistols for my next home defense weapon.