: During a recent reading of the Two Towers I was struck by a strange anomaly
: in the text. In the 'Departure of Boromir' chapter, Legolas and Gimli
: arrive to find Aragorn grieving over the dead Boromir. Legolas says
: 'Alas...we have hunted and slain many orcs in the woods but we should have
: been of more use here.'
: Later, during the siege of Helm's Deep, a slightly disgruntled Gimli says —
: after nailing a couple of orcs — 'Till now I have hewn naught but wood
: since we left Moria.'
: Was Legolas covering up for Gimli's lack of success earlier? I can't
: believe Gimli would have forgotten his earlier orc kill

I also noticed this some time ago. I too think it's unlikely that Gimli would have forgotten any orc kills (though Tolkien could have), even if I would like to accredit him with some. "We have hunted and slain many orcs in the woods" may mean that Legolas shot while Gimli was guarding his back, prepared to deal with any orcs that got close before Legolas could get them. Apparently none did. But still it was a team effort, thus "we".
I sort of like Beren Valthol's "easy as wood-cutting" exlanation, though I doubt that was really the case.
-Foradan