"[3] Keith was born in Hardin, Missouri, and overcame serious injuries that he had sustained at age 12 in a fire when he was living in Missoula, Montana.

[4] In The Phantom Of Phu Bai, a biography of USMC Scout Sniper Eric England written by Joseph B. Turner, one chapter is about Elmer Keith and his influence on the shooting community.

Keith's first major contribution, the .357 Magnum, was the result of handloading the .38 Special cartridge far beyond normally accepted limits, taking full advantage of the greater material strength of the revolvers available in the 1920s and 1930s compared to those of the late 19th century.

Keith had earlier determined that the thinner chamber walls of the .45 Colt would not comfortably withstand the pressures generated by his own heavy loads.

He therefore started experimenting with the .44 Special revolver and used the same formula of pushing heavy bullets at high velocities that he had used for the .357 Magnum.

Keith encouraged Smith & Wesson and Remington to produce a commercial version of this new high pressure loading, and revolvers chambered for it.

The .357 Magnum was adequate for hunting deer-sized game, but the limited power meant it needed to be used by a skilled marksman.

The .44 Magnum provided far more power, easily taking deer-sized game, but recoil and muzzle blast are substantial, at least in the earliest commercial loadings.

However, while there was (and still is) a small community of shooters preferring the .41 Magnum, the round failed to achieve a similar high degree of popularity.

These bullets were based on the semiwadcutter (SWC) design, but using a wider than normal front surface, and convex sides.

Because of the three wide equal width driving bands, the total bearing surface is half the length of the bullet.

The relatively large bearing surface helps the Keith-style SWC to be an inherently accurate bullet and minimizes pressure leakage due to projectile blow-by.

The .333 OKH ("O'Neil-Keith-Hopkins"), developed in conjunction with Charlie O'Neil and Don Hopkins, was made from .30-06 Springfield brass necked up to take the .333" 250 and 300-grain bullets of the .333 Jeffery.

Keith was an avid handgun hunter in the earliest days of the sport, and often hunted medium game with a double action Smith & Wesson revolver.