A Limited Edition Restomod 1911: Only 50 Elmer Keith 1911s have been produced
Big hat, big car, big man go far, Elmer Keith was as much of a legend in his own time as he is in ours. From ridiculous long-range six gun feats to dramatic stories of hunting on the Dark Continent, there has never been a more “gun guy’s gun guy” than Elmer Keith. His stories, articles, and findings regarding small arms shaped an entire industry, leading Elmer Keith to be one of the most influential gunmen to ever pull a trigger.
While most people know the ‘ole bronc buster for things such as the No. 5, Magnum cartridges, and big game rifles, few know of Keith’s experiences with Automatic handguns. It makes sense- his book is titled “SIXGUNS”, after all. Not, “AUTOMATICS”.
Like anyone with taste in guns, Keith did, on occasion, have an old M1911 in his saddle bag. Although, much like anything associated with Keith, the tale surrounding this particular 1911 was taller than even the man who toted it and would become an emotional keepsake from a good friend gone too soon…
The Fight at Chateau Thierry
France, Spring, 1918
The German’s Third Aisne Offensive looks to break the deadlock of trench war and capture Paris. Seeing the urgency of a refocused German assault, General of the American Expeditionary Force John Pershing, offers two full American divisions in the defense of the French capitol. Among the men of the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions deployed to the defense of Chateau Thierry, was a young Army officer named Captain W.R. Strong. As the fighting raged between the American and German forces, Captain Strong called upon his Springfield Armory M1911 to do battle with the Hun. From Keith’s records on the pistol, “He told me he used seven clips in that fight and did not think he missed a shot as the Germans were coming over the parapet at point-blank range.” For reference, that’s roughly 49 estimated hits or kills.
Chateau Thirry and the following Battle of the Marne halted Prussian General Erich Ludendorff’s offensive and swung the momentum of war into the Allies’ favor. By late Fall of that year, the Central Powers had collapsed both economically and militarily. On November 11, 1918, the guns of the Great War fell silent on a ravaged European continent.
Captain “Bill” Strong
Following the war, Captain Bill, as Keith knew him, Strong returned home to Montana. It was here that he crossed paths with an enthusiastic young gunman named Elmer Keith. From Keith’s autobiography (and required gun guy reading) Hell, I Was There, “Bill Strong became my good friend and mentor. I would cast bullets, reload all his pistol ammunition and we shot together and hunted together whenever we had the chance (pg. 24).” The two were lifelong friends, shooting companions, and hunting partners- to the tragic and unexpected end.
From Hell, I Was There “THE SHOOTING OF BILL STRONG”:
“Picking our way around fallen logs and brush, we figured out where a horse could go. I’d bend over little fir trees and whack them so that they would pop open as markers and also blaze trees. We came to a big heavy spruce tree and Bill broke a bar of Hershey chocolate in half and he says, “Elmer, I can help more if I get ahead and pick out where a horse can go while you’re doing the blazing.”
He’d just stepped ahead of me when I heard the ping of a bullet go between me and the big spruce. It caught Bill in the back. He just gasped, doubled up, and fell backwards. I nose dived behind the spruce tree. Having been on the target range marking targets for years, I well knew what that sharp ping was. I yelled until I was hoarse. I pulled the six-shooter and shot three times in the air. No answer. Then I got mad. I reloaded the six-gun and started on hands and knees and I made a wide circle and came in behind where I knew the shot had come from. Finally I worked down and I saw some alders a-moving. So I sat down and turned the safety over on the Springfield and waited.
Out came D. I was surprised.
I had a bead on the center of his chest, the slack taken up and only an ounce or two left on the trigger pull. Had I known what I did later, I think I would have given him that 220-grain slug right then (pg. 74).”
Later, Keith would come to the conclusion that Bill was murdered to cover up wrongdoings by the unnamed hunting party, who at the time were the State Treasurer and Chief Clerk of the Treasury Office of Montana. Bill at the time was the State Accountant, and Keith was, “sure in my own mind now that they had something they had to cover up and they had to take Bill on their hunting trip and get rid of him.”
Elmer Keith’s 1911
While we’re unsure of when exactly Captain Strong’s M1911 came into Elmer Keith’s possession, it remained one of his favorite few Automatics. Under Keith’s ownership, the gun was sent to the King’s Gunsight Company where it received a new high rear sight and a famous King’s “Mirrored” Front Sight. The pistol also gained a new A1-style short trigger, arched mainspring housing, and long grip safety, although we are unsure as to if those modifications were also made at King’s. The gun’s original service stocks are long since gone, replaced by an aged set of ivory with scrimshaw on both panels. On the right side, a simple skull and cross bones and for the left, a graphic illustrating the initials of E.A. Price, a fellow gunwriter. It’s believed that these stocks were given to Keith by Price as a wedding gift… quite hilariously with his own initials on them.
Keith’s Springfield M1911 remained in his collection until well after he passed away and now it resides in a private collection. It saw features in several of his writings, most famously in a July 1969 issue of Guns and Ammo titled, “Keith On Auto Pistols”.
The Gun
Following in the footsteps of our Q2 2024 RestoMod, the Classic Government, the Elmer Keith harkens back to the earliest era of M1911 production. Inspired by the patina of Keith’s own former warhorse turned custom pistol, we’ve finished our gun in Vintage Classic, a proprietary and durable finish that matches Keith’s own gun remarkably well. Like all RestoMod’s, the rollmarks on this gun are painstakingly matched and reimagined with “ALCHEMY ARMORY U.S.A.” The opposite side of the slide is also marked with the matching United States seal. The slide is completed with vertical cocking serrations, a Harrison Retro Rear sight, and While the original Keith gun had the King’s “Mirror” front sight, we’ve added one of our favorites, also known well for utilizing light to reflect and create a sight picture – the gold bead.
Please note that the final gun, unlike the prototype shown here, will have ball cuts to match Keith’s original Springfield.
On the frame, we’ve once again used the Harrison Spur hammer, a USGI thumb safety, and American Holly aged stocks with flawless recreations of Keith’s own engraved stocks. The gun also has a correct arched mainspring housing, and while Keith’s gun had the much shorter A1 trigger, we have finished this gun with a standard mid-length trigger.
When we work to pay tribute to a pistol, we don’t want to place a billboard on the gun that says “ELMER KEITH” but we want to pay homage nonetheless to the person who inspired the build. This is accomplished on this pistol with Keith’s own Ogden Arsenal cartouche. For those unaware, Keith during WWII was the Ogden Arsenal’s Inspector. While he primarily inspected rifles (you’ll find this cartouche on M1 Garand rifles and carbines and not 1911’s) we found adding O.G.E.K. (Ogden Utah Elmer Keith) on the frame was the perfect and quiet nod to the man himself. Keith would be far more on the nose with his personal gun, engraving his full name into the front strap. In the spirit of what we just mentioned above, we have checkered the front strap in 25LPI instead.
While this isn’t the first handgun one thinks of when Elmer Keith is mentioned, it is an important one nonetheless. A gun storied by two great men in American shooting culture and illustrating the rise of the classic “custom .45 Automatic” from blunt war-time hammer to refined target gun. Keith was master of the Magnum, a larger-than-life outdoorsman, an American one could only dream of being, and we at Alchemy Custom Weaponry are proud to pay homage to him with this RestoMod.
To learn more about Elmer Keith – Watch here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cCIIZGi6LU
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SOLD OUT
Only 50 Elmer Keith 1911s have bee produced and they are in final finish and QC and will be ready to ship to your ffl in Feb/March 2026. To order your Elmer Keith 1911, use the link below. We will contact you after your order confirmation for your FFL. Sales tax will be added for orders shipped to PA , IN or NC.
NOT available in CA or MA
Out of stock
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