Elgin T Gates (7 November 1922 – 16 November 1988)[1] was an American hunter, adventurer, author, and firearms and ammunition technician who was born in Wyoming and died in Idaho Falls, Idaho.[2] He was responsible for proposing and testing the super magnum cartridge family in the 1970s in collaboration with Dan Wesson,[3] which led to many wildcat designs, as well a few production cartridges such as the .357 Remington Maximum.[4]
Gates was a central person in the development of handgun metallic silhouette shooting,[5][6] and served as president of the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association.[7][8] During his leadership of IHMSA, Elgin published a newsletter titled The Silhouette where amongst others John Taffin contributed.[9]
Before Gates died in 1988, his impressive big game trophy room was destroyed by fire.[7]