gundigest.com GunDigest the magazine AUGUST 2019 | 57
A SHOOTER, NOT A COLLECTOR
Ben Heskett, owner of Serial No. 4325,
can attest to Keith’s penchant for over-
powered, if not overpowering, loads.
“It obviously saw a lot of heavy
loads and a lot of shooting, because it
was noticeably out of time,” Heskett
said. “And that’s kind of the curse with
Elmer’s hot-rod .44 Special loads.”
Heskett sent it to a gunsmith, Alex
Hamilton of Ten-Ring Precision in San
Antonio.
“He’s one of the few remaining
Smith & Wesson revolver meisters
left,” Heskett said. “He re-timed it and
went all through it.” However, other-
wise, he left it intact.
Heskett doesn’t just set the revolver
on a shelf to admire; he shoots it.
“I agree with what Elmer once
wrote: ‘I’m a shooter, not a collector,’”
Heskett said. “That’s why I shoot it—
albeit with milder loads.”
He brought it out and let me shoot
it too. We went through about 100
rounds of Heskett’s handloadswitha
formula he picked upfromgunwriter
John Taffi n: 6.0 grainsofUniquepow-
der with a 250-grainKeithbullet(an
Elmer Keith semi-wadcutterdesign).
The action and trigger pull were
smooth, and accuracywasconsistent.
It fi t the hand well. Elmerwasknown
to prefer smaller stocks.Hewasnota
big guy. And that stock workedwell
for me. The front sightfeaturedanin-
set Ed McGivern-designedGold Dot,
which provides a nicelynoticeablevi-
sual reference point,eveninsubdued
light.
Heskett explainedthatthesmooth
action and trigger pull are inherent,
not a tune-up.
“That’s exactly thewayI gotit.It’s
pretty characteristic. The early (Smith
& Wesson) guns were noted for being
very, very smooth ... back when qual-
ity control was at the top of the list.”
Heskett purchased the revolver in
March 2016 from gunbroker.com.
Previously, it had been sold at a 2015
auction offering Keith’s nearly intact
fi rearms collection.
Other than the authentication from
the auction house, including notes
from Keith’s son, Ted, Heskett knows
little of the role the revolver played
in Keith’s work or how it came into
his possession or that of its pre-
vious owners. He does know it
was sent back to the factory in
the 1920s for rebluing, but
he doesn’t know if it was
sent by Keith or a previ-
ous owner.
Heskett, a former
police offi cer in Lin-
coln, Nebraska, and
lifelong fi rearms
collector, is now
a rancher near
Arnold (central
Nebraska). He
preferred not
to reveal the
price he paid
for the re-
volverbutsaid
he was a long-
timeadmirerofKeithandgetssatis-
factionofowningoneofhispersonal
handguns.
“I’vebeen a big fan ofElmer’s ever
sinceI wasa kid.I supposeI shareda
commonality with him—the love of
six-gunsandthefactthathehadbeena
cowboy,rancheranda big-gamehunter.
AndtherewasthatconnectionwiththeWest.I wasbasicallyallofthosethings,
too,at onetimeoranother,”hesaid.
HeskettsaidheadmiredKeith’spro-
ficiency withwheelguns, inpart, be-
causeheusedtoshootinpolicecom-
petitions.
“I shotthousandsandthousandsof
rounds through my competition re-
volvers,andI dolovewhatyoucando
witha six-gunatlongrange,”hesaid.
Keithwrote abouta 600-yardshot
hemadetostopa woundeddeerfrom
escapingovera hill.Hedrewcriticism
for takingtheshotbut madeit clear
he only did it because thedeer had
been hit by another hunter. He de-
scribedwalkingtheshotsinandcon-
necting, preventing thepossibleloss
ofthewoundedanimal.
Withpracticeandknow-how,long-
range shots with a revolverare pos-
sible,Heskettsaid.
“Itcanbedone,andElmerwasthe
onewhocouldproveit.Andhekind
of led others to it.” GDTMA detail shot of the .44 Special
marking on the barrel.Detail of the slim,
checkered handle.
Keith preferred slim,
rather than bulky,
grips for the better
fi t they provided his
hand.