Keith on leverguns?

[Timothy]

Does anyone know if Elmer Keith used or was fond of any particular lever action? Thanks

[arjunky]

I haven't read his books for awhile, but seems to me he mentioned 1886's in one. I know he was real fond of Sharps rifles though.
Either way I'm sure it was a fairly large caliber.

Byron

[Rusty]

I seem to remember reading his test of the Marlin 1895 .45-70. I think it's in one of his Gun Notes books, which came from original articles. My son just about has them memorized. I'll have to find out from him more of the details.

[Ben_Rumson]

I remember reading he thought the Mod 71 was a fine deer & elk timber rifle.

[Hobie]

One of his mantras, if you will, was that the .45-70 loaded with a 400-405 gr. bullet at 1800 fps was the equal of the .338 Winchester Magnum to about 100 yards. He really liked the .338 Win Mag or something about like it. I have a letter in which he told me to so load the Marlin 1895 I was thinking of buying at the time (but didn't because I considered it better to feed my family than buy a new gun).

[kimwcook]

Feeding your family is a good thing.

[Lastmohecken]

Elmer had no use for the 30/30, at least for anything bigger then deer, but then again he pretty much hated the 30-06 also. He liked the old 45/70, in the 1886 with a nickel steel barrel, and he like the old 95 Winchester in 35 Winchester and the .405 Winchester. Of course the old Sharps calibers go without saying.

He liked the idea of the 348 Win in the Model 71 but only with a the heavier 250gr loading. And he thought that Winchester should have brought it out with a heavier barrel, and he was probably right, as the original .348 never had a reputation for great accuracy, but perhaps it was still accurate enough for most people anyway.

I remember him writing that he liked the old 95 Winchester, and that it was very reliable, but a little difficult to reload under the stress of a tight hunting siduation, but he was talking about the need to be careful not to get the rim of a top round behind the rim of a lower round, however, that is not a problem with the 30-06 since it doesn't have a rim that sticks out past the base. Plus of course the 95 is out of battery when you reload, where an 86 or 71 can be reloaded while keeping a round ready to go in the chamber.