By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
When the organizers of a challenging handgun shooting event dedicated to the memory of the late Elmer Keith—considered by many to be the father of long range, big bore handgun shooting—wrapped up the event in 2022, it was deemed to be the finale.
The event had lasted 20 years, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the National Rifle Association Foundation, and some other gun rights groups including the Second Amendment Foundation and, for the past two years, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Participants of the event lamented its passing, but late last year, a new organizer picked up the ball and ran with it.
The shoot had been originally organized by Will DeRuyter, a resident of Valleyford, a small community due south of Spokane, Wash. He conducted the matches on a large piece of agricultural land behind his house, which belonged to a neighbor.
But all things must come to an end. Or…maybe not.
Earlier this month in a huge meadow on private property some 40 miles northwest from Spokane, the guns were roaring again, thanks to a man named Britt Pettit. He stepped up to the plate after a chance meeting with DeRuyter. Entry fees were paid to various groups, and more than $2,000 was raised for the CCRKBA. A smaller amount came to SAF. Funds also went to the Foundation for Wildlife Management and the NRA Foundation’s Elmer Keith Memorial Acorn fund.
CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb was surprised recently to receive two separate envelopes containing checks from match participants.
The Elmer Keith Memorial long range handgun challenge has sprung back to life, and it is already on the calendar for next year. A strictly invitational affair, this match has attracted participants from all over the western map. This year saw shooters from Utah, Idaho, California and Washington attended, and one would-be participant from Montana had to cancel at the last minute. The majority of shooters come from the Evergreen State, where this match has always been held, at DeRuyter’s place. The event has simply moved north about 50 miles.
Gottlieb noted how CCRKBA is always in need of contributions, operating in the shadow of its much more famous sister organization, the Second Amendment Foundation. Where SAF specializes in education and litigation, the committee involves itself in grassroots activism, with state-level affiliate organizations in most states.
According to Ed Parry, one of the original match participants and organizers, the revival drew 18 shooters. There are greater expectations for next year because landowners Andy and Judy Kidd have already given their blessings for the event to return.
Parry, who describes himself as an “assistant ringmaster,” told TGM the new site near the Loon Lake community, is big enough to allow targets out to 500 yards. That’s a long stretch for any handgunner, but at the old site a target was set at about 600 yards and a few people actually hit it.
The distance pays homage to a shot made decades ago by Keith using a .44 Magnum to anchor a wounded buck. That shot has been debated for decades since Keith wrote about it some 60 years ago. Hitting that target brings a high score which usually translates to a first-place finish.
No doubt, the people who turned out this year to resurrect an event they thought had perished are already preparing for 2024.
