“I saddled old Satan up, rode over, and sure enough, the East Helena butcher was up a tree over there and the bull was going around after him. His .41 rod ejector Colt had shorts in it. I never heard of such a light load being used for the purpose, as an old bull has two inches of cartilage over the frontal skull plate, and his bullets were stopped by the skull. As soon as the bull saw me he came for me. I shot him square in the forehead, killing him instantly, and he turned a summerset towards me. The old .45 Colt slug went clear through his skull. My horse jumped over the top of him and watched him, but the bull was dead.”

—Elmer Keith, “Hell, I was There!,” Chapter Three, “Ranch Life.”


Direct Impingement is the Fart Joke of military rifle operating systems. ⓒ