Hell, I Was There [Paperback]

Elmer Keith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0941540162 | ISBN-13: 978-0941540162 | Publication Date: November 1989

Adventures of a Montana cowboy who gained world fame as a big game hunter. The dean of American gun writers, Elmer Keth tells his own story, cowboy, broncbuster, hunting guide and rancher, Keith maintained an abiding and active interest in firearms, here he takes you from Alaska to Africa on his big game hunts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Blacksmith Corp (November 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941540162
• ISBN-13: 978-0941540162
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,354,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Better Time and Place, August 26, 2006

By 

Nevada Storm (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hell, I Was There (Paperback)

Elmer Keith is a legend of the American West and of firearms. He was a contemporary of Charles Askins (Unrepentent Sinner) and of many of the other greats of American firearm experts.

I never met him though had I known how close I was to him during the late 1970s, I would have made the effort to meet him. Elmer was typical of the classic western male of the early to mid-1900s. The effete, feminized, modern urban male will classify him as arrogant and a braggart. This is understandable, yet regrettable, because the modern male understands nothing of committment to anything except their own self-interest and comfort. They do not understand conviction or character. Elmer had plenty of both.

I thoroughly enjoyed the read. I first read it in the late 1980s in a borrowed book. I enjoyed it now even more. I was dismayed at the amount of carnage in the hunting stories he provided. The number of wounded game and the multiple shots required to kill game as they suffered and fled is tragic. The needless suffering of hunted and trapped animals is disturbing. But, it must be kept in mind that these were different times and trapping and hunting as a means of survival is far different from the motivation of most hunters and trappers of today. I could not even read Chapter 7 because of the accounts of the slaughter of African game, especially the elephants.

The most compelling portions of Elmer's memoir are his accounts of the broncs he rode, the country he saw, his encounters with incompetent and arrogant law enforcement officials, game wardens and other government bureaucrats like the Forest Service, and his dealing with extraordinary physical pain and suffering. This was one tough son of a bitch (and that is a compliment).

A very noticeable thread in the book is the confrontations with law enforcement officers, especially Idaho game wardens. These accounts further corroborate the conflicts that occurred between Claude Dallas and the same department officials in 1981 ending with Claude shooting and killing two of them. There are also accounts by Elmer of the old time law enforcement officials that understood the differences between good guys and bad guys and encouraged citizens to take action against the bad guys. A far cry from the "obedient street bureaucrats" that assault all citizens with impunity in today's world.

This world, both domestically and internationally would be a better place if more of our population adhered to the values and certitudes of right and wrong that men like Elmer took as a matter of course.

Elmer came up during hard times, but these times were, arguably, among the best years of America. We had a stable and homogenous population that had greater continuity of values and a love and respect for America. The country, especially the West, was less crowded and self-sufficiency and independence with a love of individual liberty was the order of the day. It was a time when a man carried a six-gun and was expected to conduct himself honorably and carried the means of dealing with those who were dishonorable. It was a better time and place.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keith never pulled his punches, April 26, 2000

By 

M.E.C - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hell, I Was There (Paperback)

During his half-century of prolific writing, Keith explored virtually every aspect of the shooting sports and firearms development. His writing style is engagingly coloquial and every bit as concrete as his epistemology.- If Keith wondered how many teeth there were in a Camel's mouth, he would find himself a camel and count 'em. Likewise, before the general availability of the counter-chronograph, Keith knew the performance parameters of his loads. While his contemporaries might simple guess at pressures and velocities, Keith would pack his cartridges off to the White laboratories for the straight scoop.

In Hell, I Was There, we learn the inside story of what it was like to be a gun writer in the glory days. We also get a clear picture of life as it was during the early decades of the Century. Keith emerges as a dedicated family man and a responsible citizen of his era.

Those who have read Keith's other books and magazine articles will find themselves in familiar territory, nevertheless, the most dedicated Keith reader will find something new in Hell, I Was There.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story teller with a fasinating story to tell!!!, October 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hell, I Was There (Paperback)

A pleasure to pick up and get lost with the author as he leads you from one exciting location to the next, usually in pursuit of big game. Though this isn't just a book about hunting. Elmer explains what growing up in the early part of this century was like. Everything from dealing with the local grade school bully to crooked bankers who run his family off their farm. Pick up a copy and enjoy.