MM - June 2016

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Meet our Contributors: Robin Barkes ON THE COVER:
Westley Richards exhibition-grade round-
IT IS NO SURPRISE that Robin “Bushbuck” Barkes’s
action sidelock 12-bore double-barrel (single
favourite animal is, well, you guessed it, bushbuck. Robin VOLUME 41 trigger) shotgun (one of a matched pair).
has become something of an NUMBER 06 Engraved by Paul Lantuch. Photo by Terry
institution at Magnum and JUNE 2016 Allen, courtesy Westley Richards.
has entertained, informed
and educated readers for
Features
decades. He started hunting
at the age of 10, mostly hares,
and has a preference for
Mauser rifles, especially in
.30-06 Springfield. Although
a mountain man, he avoids
skinning if possible, though 10 THE CANIK P-120
Turkish-made service pistol showing CZ-75 DNA
Paul Scarlata
he has no problem with gutting. Hunting is done only for the

pot. If money was no object, a Winchester 1873 in .44/.40
would be the first rifle he’d buy. 14 BLASER’S F3 SHOTGUN
Low, slim and exotic
Charles Duff
More about our Subscribers: Craig Milne

CRAIG HAILS FROM the Western Cape, and has been a
16 CLASSIC SNUB-NOSE REVOLVERS
Still the most practical concealed carry option
IJ Larivers
regular Magnum reader since 1984, but before that was

reading his dad’s copies of SA Man starting with the very first
edition 40 years ago. His
20 A GOOSE FOR A GRANDSON
Generation gap? What generation gap?
Simon Neville
favourite spot for hunting

is Badshoek Game Farm
near Beaufort West and 24 THE MAGNIFICENT MANNLICHER-SHÖNAUER PART2
Care and feeding for a classic Sarel Esterhuizen
it was here that he and
his son, Alasdair, enjoyed
their last hunt during July
2015, for kudu and blue
28 APPIE GAME RANGER IN TANGANYIKA
Learning the ropes the rough way
Terry Irwin
wildebeest bulls.
For large game he
prefers a .338 Win Mag;
31 SIMPLE STEPS TO RUSTPROOF YOUR FIREARMS
Keep them clean and corrosion-free Roger Ingle
for springbuck a .243.

34 COBRA QUICKSTEP
“You know I’m not scared of snakes”
Roger Hissey
Vortex Winner
THIS MONTH MILES Hamilton-Brown of the Western Cape
walks away with a brand new 3-9x40 Vortex Crossfire II Plex
36 BISON IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Not quite Zambezi Valley in October
Tony Marsh
riflescope valued at R3 799. Miles says, “I have been hunting

since 1995, and started subscribing to Magnum a year later.
Magnum has always been my point of reference on hunting 42 ’N BAIE DUUR JAG
Een goeie skoot, twee njalas...?
Dawie Strauss
matters. I learned a
great deal from writers
like Gregor Woods
and Koos Barnard,
46 MAKING A PLAN WITH DIES
Loading in a time of economic recession
Malcolm Cobb
49
to name but a few. 40TH ANNIVERSARY KNIVES
These writers helped Commemorative cutlery branded Man-Magnum
me understand the
ethics of walk-and-stalk
hunting and supplied
sufficient information
50 BUFFALO: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
No dagha boy is predictable
Jan Jacobs
to help me purchase
the appropriate
equipment. Because 54 WESTLEY RICHARDS – ONLY THE BEST
A special review of a very special book
Gregor Woods
of this I really am better off and appreciate the total hunting

experience even more.”
Miles regularly hunts in most parts of South Africa and
Namibia. “I enjoy the challenge of hunting kudu, bushbuck
57 A SHOTGUNNER’S STORY
The years fly on wings
Robin Barkes
60
and other plains game. Thank you to all my farmer friends YES, I AM A HUNTER Vladimir Steyn
for their hospitality and those associated with the industry, An early contributor answers an old question
and of course a big thank you to Magnum for running the
competition.”
w w w. m a n m a g n u m . c o m
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READERS’ LETTERS – 8 Contributing Editor Malcolm Cobb
Natal kudu biggest? Sub-editor Morgan Haselau
Production Meridan Creak
40 Years of Magnum
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.458 Win Mag subscriptions@manmagnum .co .za
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Administration & Distribution
Pistol Ammunition Problem Gail Osborne
TECH TALK – 63 Advertising Sales

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Opinions expressed in advertisements or articles are not necessarily those

of the Editors or Publishers. Readers should take every care with firearms
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© All Rights Reserved
Trail Talk by PHILLIP HAYES
Win with
HardTimes Magnum &
W Vortex!
inter is upon us and are positive. It is an important selection
it should be all good process. During the good years animal
news for hunters as numbers go up, most of the young survive
biltong and bird sea- and there’s a lot of food. When you hit a
son is around the drought the old animals are targeted first,
corner. Bird season opened on the 1 st the weaker ones, the young ones and the
of May and the mere thought of a cold, sick ones.”
crisp frosty morning and pointers running Regarding buffalo, he said those with
around with steam rising from their bod- tuberculosis are expected to die first, then
ies, to the sound of guineafowl and franco- the healthy ones later. In this way drought
lin calling, makes me a happy man. has a way of ‘resetting’ the system.
TWO LUCKY
HOWEVER, NOT ALL IS good news for I CAN WELL IMAGINE that many hunters readers have
hunters and especially farmers/game would be willing to fork out considerable already won
ranchers as the country remains in the amounts to cull hippo as part of a conser- Vortex scopes as
grip of one of the worst droughts in a vation project in a place as special as the part of our 40th birthday celebration.
century. Judging by what I have seen, I Kruger Park. This would be money and This month another lucky reader
think things will get far worse before they meat that could be put to good use. But it will win a brand new 3-9x40 Vortex
improve. Where I live the average rainfall is not to be; an international conservation Crossfire II PLEX riflescope valued
for the season has been less than a third agreement is in place stating that no rec- at R3 799 and a Vortex cap. Thanks
of the long-term average for the area. And reational (sport) hunting may take place in to Whylo, distributor of Vortex in SA,
what little rain we got, came far too late to any National Park; failure to comply would we will announce one winner
ensure good growth. The grass plains now mean that Kruger would lose its National in each edition for the next couple
look much as they did at the end of last Park status and the benefits that go with of months.
winter. With the growing season at its end, it. They can, however, remove strategic These excellent scopes are available
I am convinced that the end of this winter boundary fences, permitting game to roam from your nearest dealer and offer
will present a far bleaker outcome than did onto adjoining private game reserves and one of the best price-to-quality ratios
the winter of 2015. game ranches where sport hunting may in optics today. We do not hesitate
legally take place. to recommend the Vortex range of
THIS WILL, of course, have a major impact The fact of the matter is that the products. Through the years Magnum
on wildlife populations and particularly drought will have a severe impact; we has tested a wide variety of their
hunting. In my bird shooting haunts, sun- hunters and farmers are already feel- scopes and found them top-notch.
flower crops were planted very late due ing it in our pockets, and it will worsen For a chance to win, simply complete
to rains falling only in middle January, in the foreseeable future. I can only wish the slogan (see Magnum’s cover).
and consequently, for the first part of the all farmers the very best of luck in these 40 Years of … Email your answer
year, good dove and pigeon shooting was exceptionally tough times. to mail@manmagnum.co.za
out of the question. The dams and pans Please include your name and a
normally teeming with waterfowl are not ON ANOTHER TOPIC: Some time ago telephone number. The winner
there anymore, and I do not know what an acquaintance and his wife were over- will be announced in the July 2016
antelope will be grazing on from middle to whelmed by a gang of at least eight attack- edition.
late winter. ers. He was viciously stabbed to death and In addition to the scopes we have
It is expected that in the Kruger Park, his wife sliced up very badly. It made me several other prizes to give away
6 000 hippo could die, reducing their num- realize that we need to be more prepared during the coming months. So make
bers to 2 000. Hippo are especially vulner- for such eventualities. If you have a self- sure you do not miss a single issue.
able as they need deep water to remain defence firearm, become proficient in
submerged to protect their skin against its use and carry it at all times. But more For more information on the Vortex
the sun. The Kruger Park’s scientific ser- importantly, be constantly aware of your range phone Whylo on 0861-005903.
vices head, Danie Pienaar, said drought surroundings so to avoid any situation that Also remember, you can now get a
is natural and is important to the conser- could give an attacker the slightest oppor- 12 month subscription to Magnum
vation system of the Park. “We’ve seen tunity to make you a victim. Prevention is for only R365, delivered inside South
droughts before and a lot of the results better than cure. Africa.
6 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

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Letters
Your letters are an important part of Magnum. We (readers and editors) like to hear your problems and opinions. Unless marked ‘NOT FOR
PUBLICATION’ all letters are considered and are edited for length and/or clarity. Pen-names may be used, provided that your full name, address
and daytime phone number are furnished. Please try to keep your letters short and to the point.
Natal Kudu Biggest? (though we also got in an occasional dig a single gripe regarding penetration,
After reading your reply to Brian about their other propensities, such as then I think ‘you doth protest too much’.
Hoare (May 2016 edition, page 11) in drinking rotgut mampoer made from Remember that in the early days
which you say that big kudu are found prickly pears). It was all tongue-in-cheek, in Rhodesia, monolithic bullets were
in KwaZulu-Natal, let me correct you and they readily returned fire, hence we unheard of, and 500gr steel-jacketed
with the following. In the latest edi- believed that the opening sentence in lead-core FMJ ammunition was used
tion of Rowland Ward’s Records of Big our reply to Brian Hoare, “We Natalians extensively in the .458, in my case
Game, the highest ranking greater often have a gibe at the Eastern Capers Winchester Super X.
kudu shot in KZN comes in at num- about their ‘lesser kudu’ but mainly in Not one of my hunting friends,
ber 43, measuring 64 inches shot in jest” would serve as sufficient reminder including PHs and National Parks
Umgeni Valley in 2001 by HJ Klipp. to dispel any misunderstanding of our rangers and wardens ever complained
The next ranks in 78th position (63" final sentence, “Hunters wanting decent or mentioned a problem regarding
shot in Vryheid by Angus Murray in kudu trophies should visit Natal”. We .458WM bullet penetration, misfires,
2009). So please, in future, make sure apologise for any misconception. – Editor hang fires or anything else.
of the facts before writing such rub- I am sure that at one time or
bish. I grew up in the Zoutpansberg 40 Years of Magnum another, most calibres experienced
and the number 5 and the number 17 Congratulations on your 40th birthday the odd ammo problem. To single out
were shot there. – Dirk Venter, Gauteng in May! As a medical student from the .458WM seems strange to me. I
Germany I bought my first Magnum in wonder why Mr Brian Marsh used a
Thank you for taking the trouble to 1986 and was hooked for life. For per- .458, or why Mr Harry Selby chose a
provide this information. We regret any sonal reasons I returned to Germany .458 when his .416 was out of kilter?
misunderstanding caused, and wish to in 1991, but thanks to my father- In my opinion the .458WM has
inform any other readers who may have in-law, Nico de Klerk, who sends me been, and will always be, one of the
interpreted our reply to Brian Hoare as every issue, I have not missed a single finest heavy calibre hunting cartridges
meaning KwaZulu-Natal has the biggest copy since. To me, opening the enve- ever produced.
kudu trophies in SA, that this was not our lope containing Magnum, feels like Having got that off my chest, you
intention. We are informed of Rowland Christmas every month! Please keep have a great magazine. – AJ Miles,
Ward’s listings and the regions which up your excellent work. – Dr Matthias Gauteng
produce the biggest kudu trophies, as Kamp, Germany
past Magnum articles on this subject Magnum has never disparaged the
will attest. Regular readers of the past .458 Win Mag .458 Win Mag, nor singled it out for criti-
decade or so will remember a prolonged In your response to John Coleman’s cism, and our reply to Mr Coleman stated
jocular war of words between Magnum letter on the .458 Win Mag (April 2016 that it is a very fine cartridge. We have
and our East Cape readers, which largely edition) I take issue with a number of simply reported the facts about certain
focussed on their “lesser” kudu and statements. I agree with the content teething problems experienced with
their very generous system of determin- of Mr Coleman’s letter. early batches of .458WM ammunition
ing the number of curls in a kudu horn I hunted extensively in Rhodesia as attested to by numerous well-known
for close on 30 years and spent some professionals who had no reason to lie or
time hunting with Mr Rupert Van Der overstate the issue. The fact that many
Riet (Van Der Riet Safaris). Rupert hunters did not experience the problem
was a legend in his own time (sadly doesn’t mean that no such problem ever
passed away a few years ago), and existed. Harry Selby used a .458 for two
apart from running one of the largest years while his .416 was being rebarrelled
safari operations in Rhodesia, was an and refurbished by Rigby in London,
Don’t miss a single copy
Honorary National Parks Warden con- simply because that .458 happened to be
trolling a vast area above Lake Kariba. his safari outfit’s spare back-up and rent-
www.manmagnum.com His favourite rifle was a .458WM. out big-bore. Brian Marsh used the same
Most of Rupert’s PHs used the rifle when he worked for Selby’s outfit
mail@manmagnum.co.za .458WM in Rhodesia and elsewhere because non-citizens on work permits
subscriptions@manmagnum.co.za in Africa. If you take into account the were prohibited from importing rifles
thousands of rounds they fired without into Botswana. – Editor

The Canik P-120
TurkishParabelluminChrome
by PAUL SCARLATA
photos PAUL BUDDE & BECKY SCARLATA
I found the P-120 to be a fine tains large police forces, all requiring
handling, light recoiling pistol. side-arms. In addition, almost half a
million handguns are legally owned by
civilians. The Turks began local pro-
duction of handguns after WWII and
today a number of companies serve
this market.
SAMSUN YURT Savunma Sanayi ve

Ticaret A.S. (SYS), one of Turkey’s
largest defence industries, began pro-
ducing handguns in 1998 at a facil-
ity known as Canik 55, near the city
of Samsun on the Black Sea coast.
Today, SYS offers an extensive line
of metal- and polymer-framed pis-
tols; the former are all based on the
popular CZ-75 design; the latter on a
Walther design. Various models of the
metal-framed pistols are widely used
by the Turkish armed forces and re-
cently 25 000 polymer-frame TP-9 pis-
tols were purchased for issue to the
I
national police. In addition, SYS pis-
t may surprise many readers the world. Civilian firearm ownership tols are used by the military and police
that Turkey has a large and statistics rank Turkey 14th among the of fourteen nations worldwide.
active small-arms industry that 178 countries that keep such records.
goes back to the post-WWI era. Hunting is very popular in Turkey, WE TESTED THE CZ-75 based P-120,
Since Turkey was on the losing where over 2.5 million shotguns are and its ancestry is immediately evid-
side they found themselves cut off from owned by civilians, so it is no surprise ent in its attractively shaped grip
their traditional small-arms suppliers that shotguns were the first guns pro- which, to me, combines the ergo-
like Mauser of Germany, consequently duced locally for the civilian market. nomics of the S&W Model 39 and the
they established facilities to refurbish These have been exported in large FN Hi-Power. This provides a natural-
weapons left over from the war and numbers and Turkish-made shotguns ly pointing handgun, enhances recoil
whatever they could purchase on the of all descriptions have earned an en- control and allows the use of high-
international surplus arms market. viable reputation for quality and val- capacity magazines without making
From those humble beginnings the ue for money, and are capturing an the grip so wide as to be difficult for
Turkish arms industry expanded to ever-increasing share of the smooth- use by people with small hands.
become a major player in the interna- bore market. The forged steel slide uses a system
tional market, supplying both military Turkey has the fourth-largest stand- developed in the 1930s by Swiss de-
and sporting arms to users around ing army in the world and main- signer Charles Gabriel Petter and was

The Canik P-120 is an all-steel pistol based on
the CZ-75. Note the dual grasping grooves,
full length dust cover, thumb safety and
grooved front strap.
first
first used on the French army’s SACM The P-120’s double-column maga-
Modèle 1935A and the Swiss army’s zine holds seventeen rounds of 9mm
P49 pistol (SIG P210). On Petter’s sys- ammunition. However, the magazines
tem, the slide rails are on the inside I received with the test pistol featured
of the frame. This provides full-length extended base-pads that increased ca-
support, smoother cycling, tighter tol- pacity by two rounds. The Italian com-
erances and consistent lock-up, all of pany Mec-Gar made the magazines,
which combine to enhance accuracy. It so their quality is above question and
also allows the slide unit to sit deep- the pistol comes with a magazine load-
er in the frame, lowering the bore axis ing tool to ease the task of topping
and helping to reduce recoil. them up.
The safety, slide-stop and maga-
A LOWERED AND flared flared port and zine release were all well shaped and
large extractor provide reliable ejec- conveniently located, though the lat-
tion. Full-length grooves on the top of ter was not reversible for left-handed
the slide reduce glare when sighting. shooters.
Sights comprise the usual three-dot
arrangement and the rear is mount- SPECIFICATIONS: CANIK P-120 While the trigger mechanism al-
ed in a dovetail permitting windage Calibre 9mmP lows the first shot to be fired in double-
adjustment. Overall length 203mm action mode, the pistol can also
The P-120’s steel alloy frame and Barrel length 119mm (4.7") be carried “cocked & locked” with
steel slide do increase weight, but Weight 0.85kg thumb-safety engaged, allowing for a
make for a very rugged, soft recoiling Height 146mm single-action first shot. However, the
pistol. The frame has a rail for mount- Construction slide: steel P-120’s hammer has to be manually
ing tactical accessories like lasers and frame: steel alloy lowered (most DA/SA pistols today
torches. Sharply cut grooves on the Sights front: white dot feature a de-cocking lever that safe-
front and rear of the slide provide a rear: dual white dots ly lowers the hammer on a loaded
firm grasp from any practical position. Trigger pull DA: 5.2kg; chamber).
Grooved front and rear grip straps SA: 2.3kg Breech lock-up is by the tried and
provide a secure purchase but, while Safety thumb true Browning system whereby dual
the black polymer grip-panels are at- Magazine 17+1 rounds lugs on top of the barrel mate with
tractively set off by the hard-chrome Grips black polymer matching mortises in the slide, locking
finish, I found them too smooth: more Features: Chrome Cerakote finish, beveled mag- the two units together. On firing, the
aggressive texturing would be a big azine well, dual grasping grooves, accessory rail, two move rearwards in unison before
spare magazine, magazine loader, cleaning kit,
improvement. cable lock & padded carrying case an angled cam beneath the chamber
June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 11

Below: Offhand drills showed the P-120 was
capable of doing exactly what I expect of a
combat/service type pistol.
Above: Both the front and rear sights were a bit low and difficult to pick up for fast shooting.
Right: The P-120’s slide runs on rails inside the frame. The thumb safety allows the option of
‘cocked & locked’ carry.
moves on the slide-stop shaft, pulling and is squared off and grooved for
the barrel down to unlock it from the offhand forefinger support. The
slide which continues rearwards, ex- “Commander-style” hammer is sharply
tracting and ejecting the spent case. grooved for positive, non-slip thumb
A recoil spring beneath the barrel then cocking.
pushes the slide forward, stripping
Below: Sample targets fired from a rest at 25m.
the next round from the magazine BECKY AND I tested the P-120 with a
and chambering it. As the slide moves selection of factory- and hand-loaded
into battery, the barrel is cammed up, 9mm ammunition. Accuracy testing
locking it and the slide together. was done from an MTM K-Zone rest
at 25m, producing quite respectable,
THE P-120 features a firing-pin safety well-centered groups, all printing to
that is deactivated only by a complete point of aim. Setting up a combat tar-
stroke of the trigger. The generously get, I ran the pistol through the follow-
sized trigger-guard permits gloved use ing drills: Five metres: draw pistol and
Disassembly was
fast and easy. Note
Below: An Uncle Mike’s Kydex belt holster was the full length recoil
used during the offhand drills. spring guide rod.

TEST FIRING RESULTS:
Ammunition Velocity (fps) Group size
Factory:
Liberty 50gr Civil Defense+P 1892 76mm
Black Hills 124gr JHP+P 1069 70mm
Hornady 135gr Critical Duty 998 64mm
Federal 147gr Hydra-Shok 936 60mm
Handload:
Remington 115gr FMJ +
4.2gr IMR 700X 1085 70mm
Note: Accuracy is the average of five, five-shot groups fired from an MTM
K-Zone rest at 25 metres. Velocity is the average of ten rounds measured 4m The only malfunction we experienced in over 300 rounds was a single
from the muzzle with a Chrony chronograph. smokestack jam.
using a one-handed grip, fire five rounds on target, perform The P-120’s sights are low and a bit difficult to pick up,
a combat reload and fire another five rounds to the target’s especially when trying to shoot fast and at light-coloured tar-
“head”. Ten metres: carry out the same drill with a supported gets. Higher sights would not be amiss and the option of a
(two handed) grip; re-holster and repeat. Fifteen metres: fibre-optic foresight would be the icing on the cake. Aside
draw pistol and fire ten rounds, slow aimed fire. from this one minor point, I found the P-120 to be an accu-
I soon discovered the safety was located a bit too high on rate, soft shooting, rugged and reliable pistol capable of
the frame for me to manipulate it without moving the pistol serving as a personal, home defence or service pistol, also
around in my hand. The solution was to use the thumb of my suitable for competition shooting in the various Action Pistol
support hand to sweep the safety down. This proved fast, disciplines. And it does it all at a very attractive price!
positive, and in no way compromised the handling. Selwels of KwaZulu-Natal import the Canik range. They
also import this pistol in .40S&W. Call 032-551-1350 or email
ASIDE FROM THE safety’s elevated position, the ergonomics selwels@gmail.com for a dealer near you.
proved excellent and the pistol pointed very naturally. As
expected in a handgun weighing almost 30 ounces, 9mmP
recoil was very controllable, even with +P loads, allowing fast
follow-up shots. Of the forty rounds sent downrange, only
one wandered outside the A zone and “head.” To my way of
thinking, this is impressive performance.
The test pistol we received had

the extended magazine base-
plates for a capacity of 19 rounds.
I did experience a single, early smokestack jam using

the Liberty Civil Defense ammo, but thereafter the pistol
ran reliably. This was the only malfunction experienced
during two sessions in which Becky and I ran more than
300 rounds through the Canik. Magazines fell free, empty
or loaded, slide forward or locked open, and the bev-
elled magazine-well and magazine extensions facilitated
smooth, snag-free reloading.

Blaser’s F3
Shotgun
by CHARLES DUFF
The Blaser F3.
F
ounded in 1957, Blaser (pro- London style forearm is trim, the shal-
nounced Blah-zer) initially low finger-grooves a good idea with
made rifles: single shots, an excellent, unobtrusive Anson-style
bolt-actions, doubles and push-button release catch. Alternatively,
drillings. In 2003 they pro- a subdued Schnabel-tipped forearm or
duced their first shotgun, the F3, in a semi-beavertail version can be had.
over-and-under configuration with a The stock has been slimmed down and
striking, low-profile action. The first a palm swell added to the right hand
production models had the typically side of the pistol grip. The angle of the
Teutonic humped-comb stocks which comb to the sight-line was minimised to
have since been replaced by the ‘nor- reduce recoil. All chequering is laser-cut
mal’ straight comb design which gives at 22 lines per inch.
it a much more acceptable profile. The
early versions were plagued by niggling THE STANDARD length of pull (LOP)
problems which adversely affected is 14⅝" to a rubber butt-pad with
sales. Re-launched a while back, all a hard insert at the heel to aid quick
of the problematic sears, firing pins, mounting, but this can be lengthened
cocking levers and ejector actuators to 15⅛" by adjusting the gold-plated
were either replaced or reformatted; titanium mechanical trigger which is fit-
the interior coating and finishing of the ted with an inertia block. The trigger is
bores were much improved and a truly advertised as having a four-stage pull,
impressive shotgun emerged. though to me only two were evident,
breaking crisply with zero drag.
SEVEN MODELS are produced: Game, At only 58mm high it has one of the
Game Competition, Competition Sport, lowest profiled actions ever in an O/U,
Super Sport, Super Skeet, Super Trap and is slim at 40mm wide, with a very
and Vantage, in five different styles fast lock time. The very compact action
of finish. The Standard style has is only 90mm long. The lock-up is
plain black actions with ‘F3’ in gold on achieved by a Browning-type full width
either side; other styles include the bite across the action floor. The barrel
Baronesse, Luxus, Attache and Grand selector is divorced from the safety-
Luxe. Some have side-plates, English catch and positioned just in front of the
scroll engraving and traditional game trigger, which is a marked deviation
scenes or highly-detailed Germanic from the ‘standard’ O/U configuration
engraving with matching carved stocks. and certainly prevents inadvertently
To this possible list of 35 different switching barrels.
guns may also be added a fairly exten- Inside the ‘cock-on-opening’ action,
sive range of optional extras, such as the equivalents of the tumblers and
adjustable combs and butt-pads, mid- hammers are set very close together
rib sights, left-handed versions and and slide in line, so that firing pins
Monte Carlo stocks, wood quality from function at exactly 90 degrees to the
Grade 2 to 5 and so on. The re-profiled primers. Also innovative are the ejec-

tor actuating rods which are located at A close-up of the breech showing
the mid-line sides of the breech-face, minuscule ejector operating rods.
with the result that there is no cocking
or ejecting mechanism in the fore-end.
The barrels are back-bored (.735")
mono-bloc made from EBS steel in 28",
30" and 32" lengths with long forcing
cones and are said to be suitable for
steel shot. All models come with five
extended Briley chokes and more
can be ordered. The standard top-rib
is tapered from 10.5mm to 8.5mm,
though a parallel-sided version is avail-
able. Chambers are proofed for 3"
cases in 12ga;
Below: Inside view of the
2¾" for 20ga receiver.
and 28ga.
A balance
system con-
sisting of a
mounting block
on either side
of the barrels
is located just
behind the fore-
A closer view of the Blaser safety
arm catch with
system marked in red.
add-on weights
as a stand-
ard. Two 2½oz out the hard-heeled soft butt-pad snag- further 1½" was not as smooth into
and four 1½oz ging on clothing. The standard LOP is action in my hands, though once it got
weights are ¼" longer than my preferred 14⅜" yet swinging it was hard to stop! The fixed
supplied. Four the barrel and sights were perfectly comb was a trifle high, such that I had
more weights, aligned with the adjustable comb at to really force my cheek onto it to get
fitting onto a ‘normal’ setting on the Super Sport and the front sight lined up with the breech.
bar inside the the standard Game’s fixed comb was I’m sure there are many sporting clay
stock, are an eminently suitable for my physique. shooters who will strongly disagree with
available option. The owner can thus me, both on barrel length and overall
select a neutral, barrel-heavy or stock- MY OVERALL impression was one of gun weight, so I’ll stick to game guns.
heavy disposition. The total additional compact, minimalist elegance. I par- Also, some shooters do not like palm
weight can take the gun from 8lbs to ticularly like the plain black finish. It swells on pistol grips, though I find they
9½lbs, if so required, which is heavy works well in the field. I’m not that keen help in getting the trigger hand into a
enough to soak up any amount of on fancy engraving on working guns. consistent position on the grip, which is
recoil. All metalwork showed precision manu- a definite plus.
Trigger pull is a shade over 5lbs facture and finishing and the wood-to-
for both barrels which have a High-Viz metal fitting was uniformly excellent. THE TWO OWNERS of the three guns
optical front-sight, with some models The wood itself – obviously Turkish in that I tried are both more than satis-
having a mid-rib sight as well. Raised origin – was of a more than acceptable fied with their purchases. At the pre-fin-
ribs are fitted to the Super Trap and standard. While I am not a fan of heavy ance minister debacle exchange rates,
Vantage models. shotguns or long barrels, and the stand- the F3s were priced between R65 000
In testing, I handled and shot three ard Game model was at the upper limit and R75 000. For a solid, precision-built
models, the standard Game, Game of my preferences, it still fitted me like example of a German shotgun, this is
Competition and the Super Sport. In a glove. The Game Competition model, perhaps still not excessive. (It is a long
the hands the guns feel well balanced, however, with its 32" barrels plus the time to Christmas, but Dear Santa, I’d
and come up to the face readily, with- extended chokes, which stick out a really like a Standard Game model!)

Classic Snub-nose
Revolvers
by IJ LARIVERS
everyone they dealt with to be armed

anyway, and concealment wasn’t essen-
tial, but I started putting more thought
into a backup gun. In the Zambezi valley,
with no radio or cell-phone communica-
tions, you really couldn’t have too many
guns. In town, however, there were
circumstances where the .45 would be
just a little too big. It so happened the
police were selling off a lot of firearms
at very low prices, and I chanced upon
a Colt Cobra – a beautiful little alumin-
ium-framed, six-shot .38 Special – Jack
Ruby used one to kill Kennedy assassin
Lee Harvey Oswald.
THIS WAS MY first experience with a

snub-nosed revolver, so I knew I would
have to spend a lot of time on the range
The Colt Cobra: an aluminium-framed, light- with it. Obviously it wasn’t going to like
weight, six-round .38 Special introduced in 1950.
a lot of hot ammo. Practice loads were
W
no problem, because there was a lot
hen I first s t a r t e d building double actions, and I had .41 of UIT shooting on our range in those
shooting, we didn’t and .44 Magnum single-sixes. days, and the club I belonged to made
have much choice in I mostly stuck with my Colt .45, up very nice target loads with 148gr
handguns. The only but circumstances change. I was wadcutter bullets and 3gr of MS200
self-loaders that my doing some UIT Centre Fire in those powder. They were very pleasant to
friends and I would look at were the days, and I managed to acquire a Colt shoot, and actually managed to trav-
Colt Government Model in .45 and Officer’s Model flat-top target revolver erse the 25 metres to the target and go
the Browning Hi-Power in 9mm. The in .38 Special. It constituted my intro- through the paper. They were ideal in
.44 Magnum was a “must have” of duction to Colt revolvers, and I liked the little Colt, which printed roughly 3"
course, given the Dirty Harry fever at what I saw. It was perhaps the finest above point of aim.
that time, and I managed to get one, revolver I have ever owned – a true I acquired a couple of HKS speed-
a S&W Model 29. My other revolv- masterpiece. loaders and some Second Model
ers were the S&W Model 28 Highway Pachmayr grips – I had to ask my gun-
Patrolman in .357 Magnum and the AT THE TIME, I was doing plainclothes smith to modify the frame a little to
S&W Model 14 Target Masterpiece law-enforcement, and if this involved a fit these. To my mind, the club ammo
in .38 Special. Those were the days trip to the bush, hiding a folding-stock wouldn’t do for carry – not that I’d have
before S&W started making the AK-47 somewhere in the vehicle was invited anyone to shoot me with it, you
6-series stainless steel revolvers. It always a good plan; as for a sidearm, the understand. I was discussing this with
was also just around the time when .45 was considered the absolute mini- a diplomat one day, and a solution pre-
Ruger was becoming established in mum. The opposition kind of expected sented itself. He told me of Hydra-Shok

ammunition. This was before unopened box of the ‘prototype’
the advent of the Internet, and Hydra-Shoks. If you ever have the
I had never heard of the make. chance to get some of those…do
Apparently, this fellow’s embassy not hesitate.
security people carried them, but The little J-frame S&Ws are not
none were available in the local what you’d want to shoot all day,
shops. Oddly enough, the but they have a very important
next weekend, while we niche to fill. I still do a little gov-
were relaxing over a beer at ernment work, and being armed
the end of the day’s shoot- is part and parcel of the particu-
ing, he casually informed me lar department (which issues vin-
that he had some for me. tage, corroded 7.62 Tokarevs) but
I found this early Hydra- I don’t really do enough work to
Shok ammo to recoil very merit carrying a full-size Colt .45 every-
Above: The Smith & Wesson Airweight Body-
much like the club’s tar- guard, introduced in 1955, has an alumin- where either.
get loads – not at all like the modern ium frame, five-round cylinder and shrouded When practising with carry-loads
Federal Hydra-Shok. We chronographed hammer. in an Airweight, the trick is to fire
a couple of rounds out of our snubbies enough shots to remain proficient
Inset: Early Hydra-Shok ammunition. Good
and it clocked just over 600fps. Not without putting too much strain on
performance despite the low velocity from a
encouraging, but in the interests of sci- snub-nosed revolver. the gun. Competitive shooting really
ence we fired a couple of rounds into a helps there. Maybe I’ll find a Detective
carcass and found that the bullets pen- Charlie had had quite a journey with Special one day.
etrated a good nine inches into the flesh this little gun. Initially it was offered by Of course, today there are so many
and expanded perfectly. Bullet technol- a local dealer who seemed oblivious to more options: perhaps a S&W Model
ogy had indeed gone beyond the old that fact that it was missing its crane; 640 in .357, which I feel I don’t really
well-worn axiom “a hollowpoint has to at least this minor omission wasn’t need, or the 642 in .38 Special; I can
do at least 1000fps to expand” – and taken into consideration in pricing. have Crimson Trace laser grips. I can
this was over twenty-five years ago. I After a diligent search, and against all even carry it in a Kydex holster with
carried that little snub-nosed Colt for odds, Charlie found a crane – which is Kydex Speed Strips for fast reloads.
years and loved it. blued steel, while the revolver is nick- However, I don’t need all that. HKS
el-plated aluminium. But that was filed speedloaders are fine, and pre-Federal
TODAY THERE ARE a lot more choices under, “Who cares, it’s a carry gun”. Hydra-Shok ammo is about all I need in
on the market and I recently looked at the Airweight.
a Taurus Model 85 which my gunsmith THE MODEL 38’s hammer is shrouded
had nicely tuned, but a little voice in the but still accessible. The double-action A TIP ON SO-CALLED ‘pocket carry’:
back of my mind told me to hold out just trigger is smooth without stacking, put the gun in a holster. The spring-clip
a little longer as there seems to be a and breaks at around 8lbs. The lock-up soft suede models designed for small-
resurgence of interest in ‘backup’ guns is great and the piece sports a set of of-the-back, inside-the-waistband
these days, and more carry guns are Uncle Mike’s grips. I battled to get a carry are ideal in pockets, especially
being used at club shoots. Maybe some- familiar hold on it, just as I had many the inside pockets of contractors’ vests.
thing more interesting will turn up? years earlier with the Cobra, but Charlie The Smith & Wesson Airweight was
My good friend, former CID had assembled some very user-friendly introduced in the same year I was, and
Superintendent Charlie Haley, pio- loads with 4.0gr of MP200 behind a that has to have some existentialist
neered the concept of ‘hideout’ guns 158gr round-nose cast bullet. At 10 significance somewhere in the Grand
for our local shooting clubs. He had two metres I’m shooting a little high of point Scheme of Things. It is every bit as
he favoured: a nice little nickel-plated of aim and five rounds offhand grouped famous as the Colt Cobra. Not to be out-
Smith & Wesson Airweight .38 special, into 5” first time out, and improving. done by Jack Ruby, South Vietnamese
and a Walther PPK. Now that James It seems the ammo factories have General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, chief of the
Bond has seen the light and once more a tendency to go for lighter bullets at national police, shot to fame (no pun
carries a PPK on the silver screen, the higher velocities for use in .38 snub- intended) on 1 February 1968 when he
little .32 has become popular again. bies. Federal’s 110gr Hydra-Shoks are used one to publicly execute a Vietcong,
Charlie loves his, and as a result, last perhaps the most comfortable rounds Nguyen Van Lem on a Saigon street, in
Christmas I became the proud owner of I’ve fired through the little Airweight. front of Associated Press photographer
the Airweight. Then a friend presented me with an Eddie Adams.

A Goose for a
Grandson
by SIMON NEVILLE
Photo by Philip Huebsch.
Passing on the appreciation of hunting ments of shotgunning. Initially we used
to the next generation a single barrel BSA but when my son

showed a marked proficiency at clay
L
pigeon shooting I bought us a pair of
iving in the Duivenhoks val- roosting sites, either on the river, or in Beretta over-and-under B58s which we
ley among the foothills of the winter, the pans on the vlakte and we have used for many years now.
Langeberg, we have a wild- have the good fortune to have one of Every season, we would go up to the
fowlers paradise on our door- these flight paths close by. Here we annual Underberg guineafowl shoot and
step. Over recent yars the enjoy the fine sport of shooting fast fly- as the years passed, the girls also joined
populations of Spurwing and Egyptian ing geese over great working retrievers. in. During this time we realized that our
geese have exploded and the farmers Over many years I have devoted wingshooting would only be complete if
of the Southern Cape are being plagued my time to teaching these passions to we used dogs, and that is when our first
by geese devouring their oats, wheat, our children and latterly, our grand- springer spaniel, Purdey, came into our
barley, lucerne and even fodder put out children. When our children were old lives. Purdey turned out to be a brilliant
for cattle, sheep and ostriches. enough to handle shotguns I built clay working dog and a wonderful family pet.
During the late afternoon, the geese pigeon ranges on our farm in Natal and She was with us for some 15 years and
fly along certain flight paths to their they were encouraged to learn the rudi- when we moved to the Western Cape,

she really found her niche as a retriever us, I found the perfect opportunity to of the Duivenhoks join into a river. As a
of geese on waterblommetjie ponds. introduce Andrew, my eldest grandson, grandfather I was thrilled to have such a
When we moved to Elgin where I to my passion for wingshooting. perfect evening to introduce my grand-
became an apple and pear farmer, we Andrew is a very tall young man, so son to my world of wingshooting.
acquired our next springer, Bracken, I felt that he would best learn with my
who became a legend in the Overberg Beretta which was a better fit than the WE DECIDED TO move out into the
for his amazing retrieves of guineafowl. BSA. The concept of, ‘Bum, belly, beak, middle of the island where there was
Later on, we imported Holly from the UK bang!’ is still the best way to teach a small bush that would give us cover
and she has gone on to produce many anyone how to follow through, so we from the geese flying straight down
great dogs that work all over South threw him birds from every angle and that line at a reasonable height. Once
Africa. These days Holly works con- once he had mastered the principles, concealed, we had to wait for the next
stantly by my side, hunting and retriev- we decided to go down to our favourite flight to come by. Suddenly, there they
ing wherever we choose to shoot. flight line on the Duivenhoks and test were, curling in from the south, taking
the theory on the real thing. us very much by surprise. I was directly
RECENTLY WE embarked on a project in behind Andrew, talking him through the
the foothills of the Langeberg, creating AT ABOUT 7PM, the flights of geese shot. He picked up on a bird as it turned
a farm out of a bare piece of ground for coming off the pastures began. Andrew over the island. Getting on line and fol-
breeding buffalo, practicing game con- was quite overcome by the beauty of it lowing the flight, he pulled the trigger
servation and promoting tourism, where all, a magnificent sunset in every shade as the goose was directly above, swing-
I can teach my grandsons the art of of pink and red, spread across the west- ing straight through, exactly as he had
wildfowling and to appreciate the beauty ern sky, geese flying in formation over- learned on the clay pigeon range. BANG
of God’s creation and abundance. When head, a pristine river running through and the goose fell out of the sky at
our grandchildren came down from its rocky course, bubbling and flowing about 20m, landing directly behind us
Johannesburg to spend Christmas with through the neck where two tributaries into the open water.

Left: A captivating sunset over the river.
Below: Andrew and Holly waiting for the flights
of geese to arrive.
need to do our very best to recover

everything we shot and endeavour not
to wound birds. As we all know,
it is not always pos-
sible to make perfect
kills, so I have tried
to impress upon all
of my family that we
should always have a
dog with us.
A further flight of
a few geese turned in
to us from the north;
Andrew had his gun
up and sure enough,
focusing on the bird
Holly’s retrieve was spectacular as as camouflage. Like and not the gun,
she dived into the fast flowing water, all hunting, one has dropped the goose
swimming faster than the flow and to have patience, so perfectly. We decided
catching the bird probably 50m down- we found a couple of good rocks to sit that for this evening one gyppo would
stream. She swam it out to the bank on and waited for the geese. be enough, so we headed home.
and then ran through a shallow rapid This time the geese started coming Looking back on a lifetime of wing-
where she could cross onto the island in from the west, flying very fast and shooting, I reflect on the lessons taught
where Andrew waited for his first ever relatively high. I encouraged Andrew me by my own father and feel that it is
bird to be brought in. to shoot, unfortunately he missed the a real privilege to pass down as much
bird well behind with both barrels, but as possible of the ethics of what we
ANOTHER FLIGHT was coming straight I figured that it was the missed birds do to each succeeding generation. I
towards us from the pastures of an that motivated us to follow the line bet- always remember when, as a boy of
adjoining dairy farm. Andrew took an ter next time. twelve, I proudly brought a dead fran-
early lead on a bird and missed cleanly colin home. My Dad’s reaction was:
with the first shot. Nevertheless, he “Son, you have chosen to take this
quickly regained his composure and The second barrel creature’s life, now choose to show
the second barrel did the job and down respect for God’s creation by cleaning,
came the goose, almost at his feet.
did the job and down cooking and eating it.”
Meanwhile, I had put down a couple
came the goose,
of gyppo’s with my trusty Masu shot- THIS UNCOMPROMISING advice set me
gun and had kept Holly busy with some almost at his feet onto a lifelong passion for preparing and
long water retrieves. With four geese in cooking game and has become one of
the bag, we decided to call it a day and the most important parts of passing my
drive home to join the family for dinner. That afternoon, the birds were few appreciation of the sport on to my family.
What a great day it had been, to see a and far between. A small flight of gyp- Andrew was taken through the prepara-
grandson fulfil a grandfather’s dream! pos came in on my side. I took a lead tion of the birds that we had shot, skin-
The next time Andrew visited I was on the bird and it faltered at the shot, ning and cleaning, taking off the breasts
thrilled with his request: “May we go so I let go the second barrel and the and legs for cooking, then boiling the
down to the valley to hunt for some bird went into a steep dive to the far carcasses up with veggies in a potjie for
geese again?” The afternoon couldn’t end of the ravine, falling about 500m stock. The remainder we put out at bait-
come fast enough for me either. We away on the other side of the open ing stations where we had trail cameras
drove down to find that the river was water. Holly set off to follow up on the to record the wildlife on the farm.
flowing a lot stronger than on the pre- bird, but could not locate it so I had no Andrew’s feet are now set on the
vious occasion. We decided to make our choice but to abandon the retrieve. right track. Our family passion for
way across the rapids and out onto the While waiting for another flight to wingshooting is, I feel, safe in the
island again, to use the small bushes come in, Andrew and I discussed the hands of our future generations.

The Magnificent
Magni Mannlicher-
Schönauer Part 2
Getitshootingagain!
Get it shooting again!
by SAREL ESTERHUIZEN
I
n The Magnificent Mannlicher- Re-barrelling an original Mannlicher-
S c h ö n a u e r ( M ay 2 0 1 6 e d i - Schönauer rifle constitutes the loss of an
tion) I stated my purpose in irreplaceable artefact. Collectors deem
these articles as an endeavour this a sacrilege, and besides, the rifle’s
to persuade owners of older monetary value would be irretrievably
Mannlicher rifles not to re-barrel those lost. I strongly urge owners to consider
for which ammunition is no longer the alternatives.
available, and not to fit a scope where
no scope was intended.
The Mannlicher-Schönauer
Collector’s site gives the M-S propriet-
ary cartridges as follows:
6.5x54mm M-S of 1903,
9x56mm M-S of 1905,
8x56mm M-S of 1908,
9.5x57mm M-S of 1910.
The notion that the
9.3x57, 10.75x57 and
10.75x68 cartridges were Secondly, reload-
Mannlicher designs is ing the 6.5x54 is straight-
incorrect; those were forward as brass and reloading
Mauser cartridges. dies are available. I have obtained
minute-of-angle accuracy and excel-
lent hunting results with 140gr Sierra
SPBT bullets and 40gr S365 achieving
2400fps from a 23½ inch barrel.
Following the widespread popularity
of the 6.5x54 M-S sporter, the Steyr fac-
tory decided to offer the rifle in a larger
calibre. In 1905 they introduced the
9x56 M-S cartridge in their Model 1905,
Firstly, factory ammunition for the which came in the same three versions
all-time favourite Mannlicher calibre, as the M1903 except that the carbine
the 6.5x54, is currently available in now had a 20-inch barrel instead of
the form of Hirtenberger Game King, 17.7 inches. The logic behind the 9x56
loaded with Sierra 160gr bullets – the M-S cartridge is not clear, as Mauser’s
weight which earned this cartridge its 9x57 was already in use and had a
enviable reputation. Some local dealers marginal ballistic edge over the 9x56.
stock it – ask around. Even so, Remington loaded this round
24
24 | | ManMAGNUM
ManMAGNUM| | June
June2016
2016
until the late 1930s. The M1905 in 9x56
was designed for heavier European
game and seems to have been popu-
lar in Austria, though it saw little use
elsewhere. Apparently it did have a
small following in Germany’s
African territories. base swaging die
to convert 8x57
c a s e s . S a d l y, i n
South Africa, this has resulted
in many M1908 M-S rifles being
re-barrelled, often to 8x57JS.
increased In trying to save at least some orig-
its bul- inal M1908 M-S rifles, I went to great
let diameter to lengths to find a suitable parent case.
.323", adding an “S” Eley-Kynoch 8x56 M-S case heads meas-
to its designation. All 8mm ured .460" and PMP .303" brass meas-
Mannlicher-Schönauer rifle barrels ured .455". Comparing the two cases, it
were bored for the .323" bullet. was obvious that, aside from the rim, the
Handloaders might assume the .303 could be a suitable parent. A fellow
8x57 Mauser case to be useable as a gun-enthusiast and highly competent
Its 245gr parent for the 8x56 M-S, but such is toolmaker agreed to assist. By clamping
bullet at 2100fps not true in all M-S rifles. Apparently a .303 resizing die in the lathe chuck and
would have made a reli- the 8x57 case will chamber in some using it as a holder, he turned down the
able bushveld cartridge even M-S rifles, though I have not yet come .303 rim and cut an extractor groove.
for the larger antelope species at across such a rifle. The problem is the This is a procedure for experts only.
close to moderate range. base diameter. In theory, the 8x57 Developing loads proved to be no
Reloading the 9x56 M-S does not Mauser base is .470", while that of problem. We chose a 196gr Sellier &
present much of a challenge. Brass can the 8x56M-S is .465, thus you need a Bellot bullet and, allowing for a 50fps
easily be formed by necking up 8x57
Mauser cases if you can locate a suitable
die set to resize the neck after fire-form-
ing. I also obtained 9x57 Bertram brass
from Safari and Outdoor. Cartridges
of the World lists the 245gr Eley-
Kynoch bullet at 2100fps for 2400ft/
lbs of energy. I use the 250gr Hornady
Interlock .358" SP-RP which, though
slightly oversized, is similar to the Eley-
Kynoch, looks traditional and shoots
well. Loading it with 42gr of S335 I
achieved the factory velocity of 2100fps
with no sign of excessive pressure.
The Model 1908 was chambered for
A Stoeger
the 8x56 M-S cartridge and came in the
Shooter’s
same versions as the M1905 including a Bible from 1951
20-inch barrelled carbine. In America it had this Mann-
made a name for itself as ‘woods rifle’, licher ad.
which roughly equates to our ‘bushveld
rifle’ category.
By this time, the German military
7.92mm (.318") or 8x57J Mauser cart-
ridge (introduced in 1888) was well
established. In 1905 the Germans had

Left: A Mannlicher in 9.5x57. Centre: L – r: The 6.5x54 cartridge with a 160gr bullet, one with a 140gr bullet, and for scale a .308 Win and a .375H&H.
Right: A 6.5x54 M-S cartridge loaded with the 160gr bullet shown on the right.
velocity reduction per inch less of bar- ily obtainable, with the 270gr the first If you insist on mounting a scope
rel, we calculated that the 20-inch bar- choice. Brass can be made by necking on a Mannlicher-Schönauer, it deserves
relled carbine should produce 2380fps. up the 8x57 case with .375H&H dies. I high-quality mounts, and the most peri-
We achieved this with 43gr of S335. start with 45gr S335 and work up to a od-correct mount is the Suhler Einhak-
Although it took some labour, it velocity of 2200fps. The model 1910 is Montage (claw-mount) or an original
was well worth it, and we were proud probably the most frequently advertised Wiener Schnäpper-Montage (snap-
to have resuscitated this old veteran of M-S on our SA market and should not be mount). However, these are expen-
the African bush. scoped, as the 9.5x57 is a short-range sive, hard to find and require a master
bushveld cartridge. If you struggle with gunsmith to do a proper installation job
IN 1910 Mannlicher-Schönauer intro- open sights at such ranges, rather sell on both the rifle and the scope. Most
duced the 9.5x57 M-S. Its British desig- your Mannlicher to a collector and buy a owners will have to settle for a mod-
nation became .375 Rimless Nitro Express modern, scoped rifle, but please do not ern mount that is functional and looks
(2¼") or .375 (and 9.5mm) Mannlicher. butcher a century-old piece by drilling and the part. Of those available, I regard
The M1910 became something of a tapping it for scope mounts. This applies the CNC machined side-mount by
standby in African safari batteries. It was to Mannlichers in all the M-S calibres Watts Walnut (http://www.wattswalnut.
not an all-round choice like the 9.3x62, except the 6.5x54 which is capable of com/) to be the only acceptable one.
but the rifles were lightweight and accu- taking blesbuck-size game out to 300m. Currently priced around US $165 per
rate, which endeared them to the hunt- The 9x56 M-S and 9.5x57 M-S take- set, specify the rifle model when order-
ing fraternity. Given the close ranges of down rifles have an ingenious flip-up ing. Fitting the rear mount is not for the
those days in East Africa, the 9.5x57 was peep sight inlaid into wood just behind DIY handyman; it requires precision
adequate for any African antelope and, in the upper tang. An example of master- drilling and tapping. As for optics, the
capable hands, even lion. ful craftsmanship, it flips up at the press factory preferred Kahles scopes, one
Factory loads launched a 270gr of a small button. reason being that the two factories were
round-nose bullet at 2150fps from the close to one another.
carbine, and 2250fps from the rifle. IN 1925, M-S rifles became available
This performance ranks the 9.5x57 with in .30-06, 7x57, 7x64, 8x57JS, 8x60S, THE LATE Max Chittick, renowned col-
similar medium-bore cartridges like the 9.3x62 and 10.75x68 (now very rare). lector of these rifles, once said, “In 40
9x57mm Mauser and .35 Winchester. Although the collector in me still wants to years of collecting Mannlicher-Schönauer
Moreover, it wasn’t far behind the preserve these pre-WWII rifles in original rifles, I have handled hundreds and I
well-regarded .400/.350 Rigby and condition, one must be realistic: most of have never seen a part broken through
.400/.360 Westley Richards, though these cartridges can be used at longer normal use. This reliability is the reason
these benefitted from bullets with signif- ranges where scoped use would be more the early hunter and explorer desired the
icantly higher sectional density factors. ethical for many hunters. Later, calibres Mannlicher-Schönauer.”
Lack of penetration was the Achilles heel such as the .264 Win Mag, 6.5x68, .243, Take good care of your Mannlicher, it
of this small .375. .270, 7x64 and 8x68 came along; with- can’t be replaced by a new rifle, and it
Reloading for this calibre is straight- out a scope they are of little practical will serve your children’s children with
forward. Bullets in .375 calibre are read- value to the modern hunter. honour and distinction.

Buffalo bull – too close!
Appie Game Ranger in

Tanganyika
by TERRY IRWIN
Learning the deadly game

of hunting big game
I
was prospecting the Southern Selous Game Reserve Control Officer and my first posting was to Arusha where I
for the Anglo-American Corporation, when I met Brian worked under Brian.
Nicholson, game ranger in charge of Tanganyika’s The Forestry Department had planted pine trees on the
southern province. Originally employed as an elephant lower slopes of Mount Meru, right up to the reserve bound-
control officer, Brian had the reputation of being a great ary. My first assignment involved buffalo that were coming
hunter. I was based in Arusha in northern Tanganyika (now out of the Mount Meru forest reserve and stripping the bark
Tanzania) when Brian was transferred to Arusha to deal with off the pine trees, effectively ring-barking them. I was to
elephant problems in the area. shoot the culprits and try to dissuade others from leaving
One day Brian told me that a vacancy was coming up in the forest. Farmers growing pyrethrum daisies on the lower
the Game Department and asked if I was interested. As my slopes had also complained that elephants from the reserve
duties would entail hunting elephant and other problem ani- had dug up their water pipes. I arranged to stay with one
mals I jumped at the opportunity. I got the job as Elephant of these farmers while dealing with the problem animals.

Mount Meru.
Just after daylight we inspected the bound-
ary line for any intruders and found fresh buf-
falo tracks leading into the pine plantation.
Hoping to catch the herd still in the plantation
we followed.
Rajabu was a good tracker and soon de-
termined that the herd had fanned out among
the pines, damaging numerous trees. We got
onto the tracks of a large bull that seemed to
be trailing behind the herd, and followed them
into the heavy undergrowth.
As soon as we entered the dense foliage
of the reserve, visibility was reduced to about
five metres. We proceeded cautiously, and
Rajabu stopped every now and then to listen.
Soon we discovered that the buffalo had tun-
nelled into a dense thicket of stinging nettles
Mount Meru, an active stratovolcano 70km west of Kili- which slowed us down considerably, as we had to duck
manjaro, forms a majestic backdrop to the town of Arusha. and turn sideways to avoid these. After about two hours, I
At 4566m it is the second highest mountain in Tanzania and noticed Rajabu dragging his feet, coughing and slashing at
the fifth highest in Africa. It was a protected area then; to- the thicket with his panga, making a terrific din. I scolded
day it is the centre of the Arusha National Park. Its foothills him, saying we must move silently if we were to find the
were covered in dense forest with thick undergrowth reduc- buffalo. He murmured that it was dangerous and there was
ing visibility to a few metres. Brian warned me that I would no “room to shoot”. I realised he was deliberately trying
encounter some of the most dangerous buffalo hunting here. to warn the buffalo of our approach. While discussing the
Rajabu, a game scout who had extensive knowledge of the situation we suddenly heard a snort and the herd crashed
mountain and was reputedly experienced in buffalo hunting, off. They had been lying up about fifteen metres ahead of
would be my tracker. He was armed with a .404 rifle; I was us. Rajabu turned round and headed out of the forest, say-
using my trusted Winchester .375H&H with Kynoch solids. ing we’d be unable to approach the herd again that day. He
looked visibly shaken. I realised there was nothing else to
AFTER MEETING OUR farmer host, Rajabu and I did a tour do but abandon the hunt.
of inspection along the park boundary where the forestry
department had erected an electrified fence. At the time, BACK AT THE HOUSE the farmer told me that elephant had
electric fencing was in its infancy, and this one did not work. come in during the night and dug up one of his water pipes.
It was a solar-powered two-strand affair which was no de- It was the height of the dry season and there was very little
terrent to buffalo or elephant; they simply walked through surface water in the surrounding bush. I promised to look
it. The intruders left the forest only after dark to enter the into the matter.
pine forests or pyrethrum fields and were back in the forest The following morning we were patrolling the boundary
by daylight. We decided that in the morning we would fol- fence when I spotted an elephant in the pyrethrum fields
low the trail from the pine plantation into the forest. heading back towards the forest. We hurried along the fence

to cut it off. The elephant was rapidly herd crashed off through the thicket,
nearing the fence while we were still bellowing and snapping branches. I
about 60m from it, so I decided to was so angry I could have shot Rajabu.
shoot before it crossed the boundary. I gave him a severe dressing down. He
I fired for the heart and the elephant was trembling with fright and at a loss
went straight down in a sitting posi- for words. He had panicked at the ap-
tion. I approached to find that it was pearance of the bull and fired without
actually straddling the fence with the aiming, missing the animal. That end-
wires running under its stomach. ed our day’s hunting. Bullet hole in the top of the black rhino’s head.
On reflection, I realised I was lucky
NEXT MORNING WE found fresh buf- to be alive. Fortunately his barrel had ing; I distinctly heard the branches
falo tracks leading from the pine for- been pointing over my shoulder and brushing against its thick hide. Realising
est into the reserve. Soon we were not behind my head. In later years I the animal would be about three paces
picking our way through the stinging lost two game scouts, shot dead by away when it cleared the thicket I
nettle thicket again; this time I was their armed companions when follow- raised my rifle to my shoulder and wait-
prepared, wearing long trousers and a ing up wounded buffalo. ed. I became aware of a dark form ap-
long-sleeved shirt. We found dung still That night I told Rajabu that, in fu- proaching, but saw nothing more until
steaming in the early morning chill. ture, we would follow the buffalo unit emerged from the forest. Then, to my
After tracking for about an hour Rajabu til we located them, and then I would horror, I saw it was a rhino.
stopped abruptly. Ahead I heard the make the final approach alone. He I lowered my rifle, and with the move-
soft low of a buffalo and then the dis- seemed quite happy, if not relieved, ment the rhino stopped. We stared at
tinctive sound of their horns knocking with this arrangement. I also decided each other from a distance of three
paces. Suddenly it snorted, lowered its
The farmer and his family head and stepped forward. Holding my
with the elephant. rifle at the hip, I pointed the barrel at
the top of the beast’s head and fired.
The rhino collapsed in an upright posi-
tion, stone dead.
RAJABU THANKED me for shooting such

a ‘bad animal’ but added that he did
not know if the Boss would be happy.
I took some photos to show the dense
vegetation and how close the rhino
was when I fired. I was going to have
to claim self-defence.
I reported the matter to Brian and
he listened attentively. When I told him
I had taken photos he told me to destroy
them. “I don’t want you showing those
pictures all around town,” he said. He
together as they shook their heads to to change my tactics and follow their instructed me to write a report on the
drive off flies. They were just a few trail in the late afternoon in the hope of matter and take the horns into stock as
metres ahead of us. catching them returning to the forest. government trophies. As I left the room
Taking the lead from Rajabu, I gin- The following afternoon I returned he smiled slyly and said, “I thought you
gerly moved forward. A few paces fur- with Rajabu to the boundary fence and knew the difference between a buffalo
ther on a buffalo suddenly appeared, picked up the tracks of the buffalo that and a rhino.” I felt bad until I read his
staring in our direction. I could see had raided the pines the night before. monthly report in which he praised my
only its head, presenting an easy As the light was failing fast, I decid- ability to “deal with dangerous game”.
brain shot at five metres, but before I ed to leave Rajabu and follow the trail I returned to Meru and, over time,
could shoot, an enormous blast deaf- on my own in the hope of hearing the shot five buffalo which had the desired
ened me and nearly knocked me side- buffalo approaching. After about 100m effect of driving the others to another
ways. Rajabu had fired his .404 over I stopped to listen. Soon I heard what part of the mountain and the raiding
my shoulder, right next to my ear! The sounded like a large animal approach- stopped.

Simple Steps to Rustproof
Your Firearms
by ROGER INGLE
all stainless steel barrels are com-

pletely impervious to rust. Corrosion,
albeit on a small scale, can still occur,
especially if the bore has been left
uncleaned and aggravating chemicals
may still be active.
We all clean and oil our guns before
storing them, but, without dwelling
on the obvious, one should pay spe-
cial attention to the bore. Bullet fric-
To enhance the value, never polish tion soon removes any applied surface
brass actions or furniture on old guns.
finishes, leaving the bore shiny and
exposed to the oxygen and moisture in
M
the air plus any residue from combus-
ost shooters and gun col- moist air; some very quickly, others tion of the propellant and metal fouling.
lectors share a fear of rust less so. The chrome content in a stain- These residues and metal traces will act
spots appearing on their less steel barrel will give it excel- as accelerants for rust.
prized guns, especially lent resistance to oxidation, yet pure
after they have been put chrome is vulnerable to oxidation; FOR THIS REASON, barrel maintenance
aside for long periods. It is unsettling to much more so than steel. falls into three categories: moisture
think that, that in spite of taking a lot of The explanation for this contra- repellents, removing the residue of
care, traces of the dreaded brown pow- diction is the nature of chrome oxide. combustion and removing metal foul-
der or worse, pitting, may still occur. Unlike ferrous rust, the chrome coming. All of these measures are relevant
What more can be done to prevent this ponent forms an extremely hard oxide to the prevention of rust in the bore.
and what can be done to restore the barrier on the surface. Just a few mol- Moisture repelling products like
surface? ecules thick, it is strongly attached to Tool-in-a-Can and Wynn’s Number
The first step is to look at the con- the surface of the alloy. If the barrier is 5 are very thin, polarised oils which
ditions in which guns are stored. It is rubbed off, a new layer is immediately penetrate into otherwise inaccessible
an advantage to keep a dehumidifier reformed and the barrier is restored. spaces and cling tenaciously to the
in a small gun safe. In larger walk-in The surface of a stainless steel barrel metal surface, inhibiting contact with
safes, a continuously lit 60 Watt globe shines because the ever present pro- water. Many like WD-40 have additives
or electric cupboard de-humidifier is an tecting barrier is so thin. to enhance their lubricating properties.
excellent option. The lamp or heater All are stable over a wide temperature
will keep the moisture in the air warm ZINC AND ALUMINIUM behave in a range and do not degenerate or leave
and above condensation point. similar way. While zinc readily oxidises sticky residues.
To most of us, rust means the sur- in humid air, the galvanising process is However, because they are vola-
face oxidation of ferrous materials like widely used as an excellent anti-cor- tile, that is to say liable to dry out or
iron or steel, but in fact the rusting pro- rosion treatment for steel structures. evaporate, they may not be sufficiently
cess is not confined to these metals. Like chrome, it is the unseen tough, durable if a gun is to be put aside for a
Apart from gold, platinum and a few self-healing oxide barriers which do very long period. In this case, all of the
others called ‘noble metals’, all base the trick. Despite these self-healing metalwork should be covered, inside
metals and their alloys will oxidise in qualities, we should not presume that and out, with products like Cosmoline

Bore cleaning solvents. Moisture repellants.
or Alox. Interestingly, a more fluid form a soluble oil and water mix because the are designed to leave the bore clean and
of Alox is marketed by Lee Precision water dissolved the highly aggressive shiny. It is imperative for the cleaning
as a bullet lubricant. These products potassium chloride residue without the process to be complete because any dirt
are brown, oily, wax-like fluids which risk of the water causing rust. left in the bore may accelerate rusting. A
should be sprayed or wiped in and all Many black powder shooters still combination of some residual chemicals
over the gun. The formulation has its use the type of soluble oil and water left by fouling in conjunction with mois-
roots in the Second World War and to emulsion that is fed to cutting tools in ture will act in the same way as the salt
this day it is widely used by the mili- machine shops. We call it ‘moose milk’. in sea water makes the water a more
tary for the long term protection of ord- The fluid readily removes black pow- aggressive corroding agent.
nance and small arms. After a while, der residue without leaving any mois- There is also the risk of rust caused
the more volatile components in the ture in direct contact with the metal. by an electrolytic process. This is when
coating will evaporate leaving the cov- However, the bore still has to be wiped the small smudges of the copper alloy
ering harder and difficult to remove. dry and then conventionally oiled after left by bullet jackets in the bore start to
Vigorous scrubbing with paraffin or the cleaning process. react with the steel and cause spot rust.
petrol will help to remove it. The disad- Most modern gun care products This is called galvanic corrosion, an elec-
vantage of this option is it is hard work like Barnes CR-10, Hoppe’s No 9 and trochemical process in which one metal
to restore the gun to a state fit for use. Break-Free are all-in-one treatments. reacts with another in the presence of
Where the removal of residues and They combine solvents and reactive an electrolyte – the electrolyte in this
metal fouling are concerned, soluble substances with penetrating oils to case being moist propellant residues. It
oils like Young’s 303 Oil were preferred dissolve or dislodge fouling. Organic is probable that over time, small spots
in the old days for cleaning and mois- compounds like amyl acetate remove of metal fouling left in an insufficiently
ture protection. The molecules of these the combustion residues of nitrocellu- cleaned bore will cause pitting in the area
oils cling to metal but they also mix lose and the ammonia content helps where they are attached to the steel.
with water and in so doing form a white dislodge metal fouling. Ethylene glycol, Pitting is a very destructive form of rust.
milk-like emulsion. In the days of corro- nitro butyl ether, and amyl acetate, may When considering restoration, one
sive primers it was an advantage to use also be present in the formulations. All must choose one of two strategies when

Rust-browned musket.
removing rust. Is it to be a functional res-

toration or also cosmetic? If the bore is
rusted it should be lapped with cleaning
patches and a light abrasive like the rub-
bing or burnishing compounds used in the
automotive industry. It is often surprising
that barrels in some old guns that seem to
be ruined will shoot quite well after being
given an abrasive polish, notwithstanding
any pitting which cannot be removed.
FOR COSMETIC restoration of the out-

side of the gun, one may have to take the exterior surfaces can be improved a day or so and then immersed in boiling
different steps if the exterior metal without decreasing the value and, in water to arrest the process. The surface
surfaces are to have rust abrasively particular, without harming the readab- was then scrubbed with a carding brush,
removed and polished for the sake of ility of proof and maker marks. Likewise a wire brush with soft, thin steel wires.
appearance. While not an issue with the patina, the unpolished, mustard Acid dipping and carding was repeated
modern guns, many an otherwise fine coloured surface of the brass actions until the desired depth of colour was
collector’s piece has had the value ruined or furniture on old guns should never achieved. The thin, uniform rust finish
through being aggressively cleaned up be polished. provided an excellent anchoring surface
or worse, re-blued. Never use steel wool Rust can be put to good use. Rust for preserving oil to cling to. To this day,
or any cleaning and polishing medium browning was widely used by gun makers the finish on some old guns is surprisingly
on an old gun before getting advice before the development of hot blueing. resilient and good looking.
from a knowledgeable collector or gun- The gun components were dipped in an So in the end, rust is not entirely a
smith. There are some processes where acid solution and left to rust uniformly for four letter word to be feared.

Cobra
Quickstep
by ROGER HISSEY
illu stration FRED MOUTON
M
ost people fear snakes, for snakes. On our arrival at camp we mamba, which quickly disappeared
and in its extreme form saw the tail of a juvenile black mamba into a jumble of rocks on the roadside.
this fear is called ophidio- disappearing down a hole in an ant hill. So the stage was well set, and no-one
phobia. It is largely based The area around the camp was very needed reminding of the abundant ser-
on ignorance, as most sandy, but it was swept every day to pentine presence.
people do not bother to study snakes or keep it neat and tidy. Early mornings One afternoon, while we were out
learn to recognise the dangerous ones revealed serpentine slither marks in the hunting, Nico and Henry drove into
from the harmless. sand, which had been made during the Alldays to buy provisions and to visit a
A few years back, we hunted on a night. We identified the large sweeps famous watering hole in town. On their
farm bordering the Limpopo. It has five of a cobra and the heavy slither and way back they came across the fresh
kilometres of river frontage with beau- straight-tail inscription of a puff adder. carcass of a huge snouted (Egyptian)
tiful riverine forest. Inland, the country cobra of the banded variety lying in the
is broken by granite koppies, boababs ON THE WAY to drop off our hunters we road. Some delinquent had shot it in
and thick bush; a healthy environment encountered another 2.5 metre black the head with a light calibre handgun or

rifle and simply left it in the road. Henry Of the eight chaps in the group,
picked it up and brought it back to camp four of us knew of the plot. We sat
to show us. It did not take a genius to around the fire awaiting events. Tippies
know that mischief lay ahead. arrived, went straight to the drinks
One of our group, “Tippies”, who is table and stood on the lid. He looked
a competent and experienced hunter down, stepped back and picked it up.
besides holding a senior corporate posi- Recognition and reaction were instan-
tion, suffers from arachnophobia (fear of taneous, resulting in a manic scream
spiders) but I suspect that this affliction and a backflip worthy of a gymnast.
extends to all goggas (creepy crawlies). You could have heard that scream clear
Another member of our group goes by across the river in Botswana.
the nick name of “Twiggies” and is one of
those guys (there’s one in every group) IN BEATING HIS departure, he cleared
who has the habit of constantly re- the camp fire, but to this day, we do
arranging the logs on the camp fire, so not know whether he cleared the boma
his name is appropriate. posts or retreated at pace through the
exit. We suspect it was the former. After
THE BOMA IN camp comprised a central a while, a voice came from the outer
concrete pedestal, about two feet above darkness: “Hey, you guys, I don’t think
ground level. The area is enclosed by that was funny.” We were laughing so
logs, four feet high, sunk vertically into hard we did not take any notice. When
the soft sand, sufficiently far away from Tippies arrived back at the fire he was
the fire to provide a pleasant ambi- so ashen faced that he looked like a
ence. Two gaps in the logs served as candidate for a heart attack – we were
entrances or exits. A folding table stood all quite worried. Well… sort of.
on either side of an entrance, one to
serve as a drinks table and the other TWIGGIES HAD TAKEN a shower so he
as a food table loaded with cutlery, arrived after the Tippies incident. The
crockery, spices etc. Food that was lid had been replaced for his benefit
not placed on the table was kept in a and by now it was almost dark. He went
large red plastic container with a square straight to the bar and stood on the lid.
top. This was under the table. Nico and He stepped back, bent down, picked it
Henry, our self-appointed chefs, had up and placed it vertically against the
prepared a potjie in the late afternoon, leg of the table. He stepped forward
awaiting the rest of the group’s return again and stood on the snake. Realising
from the veld. that he was standing on something
other than sand, he peered down
IT WAS ALMOST DARK when we through the gloom to see what it was.
returned to camp and having stowed Recognition evoked instant reaction
our rifles and equipment we headed in the form of a Khoivastrap – the vert-
one-by-one to the boma. Henry, in the ical stamping of his feet. When he man-
meantime, had taken the cobra carcass aged to get some horizontal traction he
and coiled it up in the sand in front of beat a hasty retreat out of the boma,
the drinks table and placed the plas- initially in reverse! We all fell about
tic container’s lid on top of it. A gas laughing.
lamp stood on the table, set just bright Twiggies likes to maintain a dig-
enough to enable you to see what you nified poise, and after he had recom-
were doing when mixing your favour- posed himself, he returned to the edge
ite refreshment. This meant that the of the boma. As if as an afterthought,
ground in front of the table and the he announced, “Hey, julle ouens, ek
plastic lid were in shadow. The lid was is nie bang vir ’n slang nie!” (Hey, you
in a position where someone was bound guys, I’m not scared of a snake.) This
to pick it up and place it out of the way. just cracked us up all over again. “Well,
The question was, who? you could have fooled us!”

Bison in
British Columbia
by TONY MARSH

T
he quad came to an abrupt
halt and Cid, my Brazilian-
born hunting guide raised
his Leica binoculars. Across a
thousand yards of broad open
valley was a treeline, and right up against
it, looking like greyish brown specks, was
a small group of bison. Or so said Cid –
the man had eyes like a hawk.
“And, Tony,” he muttered, eyes
glued to the binoculars, “there are
two big bulls in that group.” He looked
inquiringly at me. “Are you up for this?”
He had good reason to ask.
Two days before, after an exhaust-
ing five-mile hike, I had started to flag,
due not only to the unaccustomed high
altitude, but also the exhausting effects
of slogging through shallow snow, the
uneven and sometimes icy footing,
not to mention the constant dragging
through waist-high red willow scrub
bush whenever we strayed from the
cutline. Carrying a rifle, it was an effort
at times just to keep balance.
ON OUR RETURN, the surface of an

ice-encrusted stream had given way
and I ended up knee-deep in freezing
cold water. We were some ten miles
from our cabins and the temperature
was minus 26 degrees centigrade.
When I got back to the cabin I was
cramping and thoroughly whipped.
“I’m just fine,” I replied, high on
the adrenaline surge that every hunter
feels on sighting the quarry. “I’m here
to hunt.”
We scanned the terrain between us
and those dots and planned our stalk.
The bison were feeding along a ridge
up the far slope of the valley between
us, moving slowly from left to right. We
checked the wind and the terrain for
available cover and set off.
Many years before, a well-heeled
pioneer and woodsman had established
a hunting camp in the area and, almost
as a hobby, introduced a small group of
free-ranging wood bison. The whole area,
some 750 000 acres, was subsequently
taken over by the British Columbian
Provincial government as a Provincial

My bison. My cabin. Note the rifles left outside as
scopes fog up inside the cabin.
Our trail in, stuck on an icy slope.
Wilderness Park, called the Redfern-Keily lower forests. Nowadays, hunting

Park, about 250 miles north-west of Fort is on a quota basis with a draw for
St. John in the Rocky Mountains of north- BC residents costing $5.00. These
ern British Columbia (BC). shaggy beasts are as wild as can be
The woodsman was asked by some and a challenge to hunt.
purists in the department to get rid of
this bison herd. His small group was ON THE FIRST DAY of my hunt, we
thriving and he refused. After some got the drop on a group of at least
talk, the powers-that-be relented and 30 bison cows and calves. One enor-
decided instead to experiment: they mous cow stood eyeing us as I held
introduced 60 plains bison (a sub- the crosshairs steady on her shoul-
species to the wood bison) into the der at less than a hundred yards. It
area. These integrated with the wood would have been an easy shot. An
bison and today there are over 6 000 old bison cow is usually bigger than
bison in this park. They have adapted the average bison bull, the only ment. “Hold it Tony,” Cid had whis-
to the high mountain slopes and slightly exception being in the horn depart- pered, “We have plenty of days left to
find a bull.”
During my hunt, we must have seen
well over a hundred bison and maybe
fifty moose, including some giant bulls.
On ranches and out in the plains, bison
grow to be enormous – almost a ton,
I’m told; but the biggest animal I saw
taken on this hunt was possibly the
size of a Cape buffalo cow – certainly
no bigger. I was surprised; I expected
bison to be bigger.
Elk were also reported, as were wol-
verine. Wolf tracks were everywhere
and, owing to the current warmer win-
ters, grizzly bear tracks (bears would
usually be hibernating at this time of
the year). Accordingly, I was instructed
Our retrieval vehicle, with some of the
striking BC landscape in the background. not to go wandering around without a
loaded rifle, especially around camp

Cold work retrieving the bison.
where there was a lot of meat and the

smell of cooking.
I love to hunt in Africa, but the con-
trast of a North American wilderness
hunt was exhilarating and demanding.
It was well worth enduring the cold and
discomfort of the coming winter. One
gets a sense of self-sufficiency. Such
things as the wood-burning stove in
the traditional log cabin being stoked at
least three times during the night takes
a bit of getting used to, as does going
out into that freezing night to obey a
simple call of nature.
JUST GETTING TO the camp, one of

three owned by Endre Pipic, the outfit-
ter and owner of Besa River Outfitters,
is a 35 mile adventure in itself. En route
we had to winch the quad and its home-
made trailer up an icy hill. The quad needed our weight for traction. their winter coats, especially when
had come to a complete standstill on The scenery is stunning with mag- there has been a snowfall and the sun
the icy slope and had started to drift nificent snow-capped mountain back- is out shining and glistening on their
sideways and nearly tipped over. We drops, wide valleys and forested lower backs. They are almost ghostly-white
were all on board since the vehicle slopes. The bison are spectacular in as they drift along their wintry way. All

Early morning view of the valley
where I hunted my bison.
of these things, together with the abun- foliage. “Wait for it,” whispered Cid. to take a bull or a cow, but it was not
dance of other game, wove this hunt Then the chest and the front of a shoul- the animal we had wanted to shoot. Cid
into a tapestry of sublime experience. der appeared. The bison was feeding, as the guide was crestfallen and offered
I took one more look at the specks seemingly relaxed. All this time I was to take the cow on his own resident’s
on the treeline before Cid and I started taking my “shooting breaths” and trying hunting licence.
across that wide valley, using every to stay calm. At last the animal took a
available bit of cover to close the gap small step forward revealing the crease I CONSOLED HIM by saying: “This
between us and the feeding group of behind the front leg and I squeezed the was a great hunting experience – it
bison. After a long walk, Cid ranged trigger. The crosshairs were slightly was everything that hunting should be
the animals at 370 yards and turned lower than half way up the body, and about, with one small and understand-
questioningly to me. I was using a .338 with the sharp report of the rifle, a satis- able mistake.” But I agreed that if I
Win Mag with handloaded 225gr Nosler fying “thwump” bounced back to us. got another chance at a bull I might
partition bullets. I made it very clear take him up on his offer, knowing that
to him that about half that distance BISON SEEMED to erupt from every- for him it was all about the meat any-
would be my limit. Nearer if possible. where, running back up into the thick how, and a cow makes better eating
forest beyond. I focussed on the ani- than a bull.
AT 270 YARDS he questioned me again. mal I had shot. It whirled around as if Cid was a magician with a skin-
I stood firm. “No.” We stalked closer unscathed and simply disappeared. ning knife and in short order we had
and after some manoeuvring set our- “How did the shot look to you?” Cid the bison skinned and quartered. We
selves up at 150 yards. The two bulls asked. “You hit that animal hard... I radioed the camp for help and soon had
were among the cows and all were con- think. Let’s go and find it.” We pressed the hide and meat back in camp. My
stantly drifting in and out of scrub wil- on up the ridge. Cid reached the top 225gr bullet had hit slightly higher than
low and small dwarf pines, offering no first. He looked down the other side I intended. The bison had been uphill
clear shot. When the bulls vanished into into a small depression and announced. and quartering slightly away from me
one such thicket we hurried forward, “Your bison is right here Tony, and it is so the bullet had penetrated the upper
set up the sticks again and waited for stone dead.” And so it was – a stone near-side of the far lung, and exited
them to re-appear. The tension was dead bison cow. at the base of the neck. The Nosler
almost unbearable. The tale was written by the tracks Partition had lived up to its reputation.
By now the range was 110 yards. in the snow: the cow had been feeding
If and when the bulls re-emerged, in the thicket, when the bull which we’d WE HUNTED HARD for the few remain-
they would be on a ridge some 40ft so painstakingly stalked had edged her ing days, and frequently saw bison at
higher than our position. After a few forward, forcing her out in front of him; long range in impossible terrain, but
interminable seconds that seemed like hence our mistake. The cow was still could not get close enough. That’s why
hours, a bison’s head came out of the legal because my licence permitted me it is called hunting, not shooting.

’n Baie Duur Jag
deur DAWIE STRAUSS
’n Eenvoudige fout kan jou geld kos,

maar elke fout het ’n les
OMDAT EK NIE van plan was om te

skiet nie moet ek eers my geweer by
die bakkie gaan kry. Terug by die uit-
kykpunt sien ek dat die bokke nou
in die digte bos van die rivieroewer
in beweeg het. Bungi wys my die
bul. Deur die teleskoop lyk die bok
rooierig, en ek vra hom twee keer of dit
die regte bok is. Hy antwoord bevesti-
gend. Die bokke staan byna reg onder
ons en ek mik net langs die rug. Met die
skoot val hy, maar toe ons by hom kom
is hy nog lewendig en ek gee hom ’n
genadeskoot waar hy in die diep skadu
van ’n boom lê. Die ontnugtering! Dit
is nog ’n baie jong bulletjie. “You shot
’n Njalabul by ’n watergat. the wrong bul,” sê Bungi. “I asked you
twice,” sê ek. “I am sorry sir,” kom sy
G
antwoord.
edurende Mei 2007 het seun, Morkel, en gids Filemon op die Die herwinning is maklik omdat ons
ons op die pragtige plaas suidoostelike hoek van die plaas af. Die in die rivierloop tot byna by die bok kan
Beulaland van Wendy Njandorivier deel die plaas in twee en ry. ’n Halfuur later hang die karkas in
en Vinko Coetzee, in die ek, my dogter Lizette en gids Bungi, die koelkamer.
Weenen distrik van Kwa- gaan in die noordelike gedeelte jag.
Zulu-Natal, gejag. Die Bloukransrivier Ons ry op die Dragonsback-veldpad en DAARNA JAG ONS verder en ek kry
vorm die noordelike grens. Hierdie net voor ons afdaal na die rivier, besluit die kans om ’n mooi rooibok plat te
pragtige kronkelende rivier, wat soms ons om eers die jaggebied te bespied. trek. Net na twaalf is ons aan die voet
selfs weswaarts vloei op sy soeke na Reg onder ons in die sand van die rivier van Dragonsback waar ons Morkel-
’n deurgang na die Indiese Oseaan, loop twee njalabulle houtgerus. Hulle hulle moet oplaai. Ek sien dadelik
en die Njandorivier wat op Beulaland is eintlik in Morkel se jaggebied en ek daar is fout. Hy het ’n diep frons op
by hom aansluit, het hier diep twyfel of ek moet skiet. Die plaas het sy voorkop en vra dadelik of ek na ’n
ingesny in die sandsteen formasies, baie njalas, maar omdat dit so ruig njala geskiet het . Ek antwoord be-
en klowe, watervalle en afgronde is sien ’n mens hulle nie maklik nie. vestigend, waarop hy vra: “Nou waar is
met helderskoon waterpoele geskep. Verder is njalas duur bokke en ek soek die bok?” “In die koelkamer,” antwoord
’n Uitstekende habitat vir byna elke na regte ’n koedoe bul. Die laaste strooi ek. “Nou kom laat ek Pa iets wys,” sê
wildsbok wat in die land voorkom. is Bungi: “Sir you won’t get another hy. Sowat 200m verder, in die skadu
Vroegoggend laai ek my skoon- chance like this.” van ’n boom, lê ’n pragtige njala bul.

Bo: Bungi, ek, Morkel en Filemon met die njalabul. Onder: Die in- en
uitgangswonde op die njala se boud.
Morkel verduidelik dat die son skaars op was toe hy en

Filemon voetjie-vir-voetjie die uitkykpunt oor die Njando-
rivier genader het. Met alle sintuie tot die uiterste ingespan,
het hulle eers naby gesoek, toe teen die oorkantste hang
en daarna elke sonkol en skadu verder die rivierloop af.
Sowat 800m weg het swart kolle tussen die wit rivier-
gras uitgestaan. Dis njala het Filemon in sy beste gebroke
Engels beduie.
DIE PLANTEGROEI en topografie het veroorsaak dat hulle nie

die njalas deurentyd in die oog kon hou nie. Volgens Morkel
sou dit hulle meer as ’n uur neem om in ’n posisie te kom vir
’n skoot. Met die wind van voor het hulle met ’n noukeurige
vooraf beplande roete die berg af beweeg. Hulle was seker
halfpad toe ’n skoot klap….. Filemon het die verbasing op
Morkel se gesig gesien, sy antwoord was eenvoudig en reguit:
“Someone shot your nyala.”
Morkel vertel hulle het nie ’n idee gehad wat van die njalas
of van my geword het nie. Die enigste oplossing was om weer
berg uit te beweeg om op ’n hoogte te kom. Moontlik sou daar
dan antwoorde wees. Van die hoogte kon hy sien die njalas is nie

Bloukransrivier.
meer teen die rivierloop nie, maar teen Op pad kry hulle ’n wildspaadjie
die berghang baie nader aan sy posisie. en sien ’n bloedspoor. Volgens Morkel
“Ons kon ook die voertuig na die rivier was dit duidelik dat die bloed te ver
sien ry om vermoedelik iets te gaan weg was van waar hulle die voertuig
oplaai. Hopelik ’n groot koedoebul.” gesien het en dit kon dus nie dieselfde
Morkel en Filemon kon voortgaan dier wees wat by die rivier opgelaai is
met die jag op die njalas, want in die nie. Op die spoor is hulle toe weer berg
trop was ’n volwasse bul. Die bokke uit en het gou besef die gekweste dier
was nou teen die oorkantste hang min is deel van die trop njalas wat hulle
of meer op dieselfde hoogte as hulle. vroeër bekruip het.
Links: Die klippe wat

amper soos graf-
stene lyk is gebruik
as pilare vir ‘n kon-
struksie om graan
van die grond weg
te hou. Daar is hout-
pale in die “mik” van
die klippe geplaas
en die pale het as
vloer gedien. die rug op die linkerblad in en onder op
die regter blad uit. Die koeël moes toe
Onder: Die maalklip die ouer bul getref het, die in- en uit-
is ook ‘n bewys dat
gangswond op sy linkerboud was slegs
een of ander soort
graan verbou is. omtrent 15cm uitmekaar. Die koeël het
ook sy knie gebreek. Al verklaring was
dat die groot bul waarskynlik gaan lê en
die jong bulletjie amper teen hom gaan
staan het toe ek skiet.
Die kat en muis speletjie het begin. In Dit was ’n duur fout, maar ons
’n stadium kom hulle nader as 40m van het uit die ervaring geleer. Ondanks
die trop, maar kan nie die bul gewaar die slegte ervaring het daar egter vir
nie. Later het die trop die hasepad ge- Morkel ’n bonus gewag. Hy kon daarin
kies en na beraadslaging met Filemon slaag om van dieselfde plek vanwaar
is besluit om reguit na die rivier te stap ek geskiet het ’n pragtige ou bos-
in die hoop dat die voertuig nog daar bokram met baie dik horings met een
sal wees. skoot plat te trek.
Onder: Morkel met die bosbok wat hy geskiet SOWAT TWEE URE later bereik hulle IN MEI 2014 het ons die laaste keer
het terwyl hy vir ons gewag het.
’n plato en gewaar die gekweste bul. op Beulaland gejag. Nadat Vinko en
Gelukkig kon hy daarin slag om die bul Wendy verskeie dreigemente ontvang
in die volgende kloof dood te skiet en het en daar een nag op hulle voertuig
vind by nadere ondersoek dat die bok geskiet is, het hulle besluit om die plaas
reeds ’n skoot van bo af deur sy een te verlaat. Die klingel van mak bokke se
boud gehad het. klokke, beeswagters se fluite en honde
wat blaf het nou die blaf van koedoes
EK MOES PROBEER om die raaisel van en bosbokke vervang en oorbeweid-
die gekweste bok op te los. Ek, Lizette ing is ’n realiteit wat die mooi landskap
en Bungi het net twee njalas gesien, onherroeplik verander. ’n Paar kilome-
maar ’n entjie verder op in die rivier- ter stroomaf langs die Bloukrans waar
loop moes nog njalas buite ons sig erosieslote reeds diep ingekerf het en
gewees het, die wat Morkel en File- plastiek sakke nou besoedel, staan ’n
mon gesien het. Die bokke was almal vergete Voortrekker-monument. ’n
deel van dieselfde trop. Ek het met my Monument wat herinner aan ’n skriknag
.375 en 350gr Rhino punte gebruik. in 1838, die nag waaraan Weenen sy
My skoot op die jong njala is bo, langs naam ontleen.

Shooters’ Clinic
Only queries of sufficient novelty or general interest can be published. It is impossible for us to give personal answers. Please TAKE CARE with firearms
and ammunition. Magnum has no control over readers’ components or techniques and cannot entertain claims of any nature whatsoever.
Cape Gun others during the same years. Jeffery’s The ammunition was made by PMP.
I have recently acquired a West- 1910-11 catalogue offered black pow- I afterwards reassembled the pistol
ley Richards Cape gun (12g Black der Cape Guns in 12ga and .577/.450 and fired six shots without an incident.
powder and .577/.450) with Henry Martini-Henry. They also offered Mar- – Roelf Jacobs, Western Cape
rifling. Westley Richards’ records tini-Henry sporting rifles chambered
indicate it was made for the Murom for the original black powder cartridge. There are several possibilities, the most
Bros in 1905. I find it unusual that The 1923 catalogue of the Natal gun- likely of which might be: 1: there was insuf-
in 1905 the Murom Bros would have dealer JF King Ltd offered BSA-made ficient propellant in the case, resulting in
ordered a black powder shotgun with Cape guns in 12-bore and .577/.450 pressures too low to conduce full ignition;
a .577/.450 rifle barrel. Is there any Martini-Henry for £21, and black pow- 2: the propellant had somehow become
information on the Murom Bros and der Martini-Henry sporting rifles for £9 contaminated and either failed to ignite
does anyone still have their records? each, with the ammunition at £2-5/- per or only partially ignited; 3: the primer was
– Andrew Burgess, United Kingdom hundred. The same catalogue offered faulty (perhaps its compound had partly
shotguns with Damascus steel barrels. crumbled as the primer was seated, or was
The late Barry Berkovitch’s author- Interestingly, ten years later, their 1933 partly contaminated, perhaps from gun oil)
itative book, The Cape Gunsmith, is catalogue was still offering black pow- hence also only partially ignited; 4: there
a history of Cape gunsmiths and gun der Martini-Henry rifles and the ammo was some sort of obstruction in the flash-
dealers, and lists all the known ones for the very same price – it must have hole, perhaps brass burring, which allowed
of yesteryear, not only in the Cape but been nice living in an inflation-free insufficient flame to pass into the powder
throughout South Africa, going back to world! Shotguns by Westley Richards, chamber to produce full ignition.
the earliest Cape times. The book makes Bonehill, Greener and Charles Osborne You mention that the shot “sounded
no mention of Murom Bros, nor can we were standard catalogue items at Kings. a lot softer” – you do not mention recoil.
recall hearing or reading the name. How- Those were the days! The fact that you found unburned flakes
ever, in 1905, firearms laws in SA were of powder proves that at least some
nothing like what they became from Pistol Ammunition Problem propellant was in the case. Unburnt pow-
the 1970s on, and a great many bicycle I live on a farm and always carry my der can result from low pressures (squib
shops and general dealers sold arms and Walther PPK 7.65mm pistol with me. loads) even though these can still cycle
ammunition. Murom Bros could have Every once in a while I fire a couple the action and send the bullet down-
been one of any number of such dealers. of shots to confirm everything is still range. Your action failed to fully cycle or
The fact that they ordered the Cape gun in working condition. During the last cycled too slowly, causing a jam, and the
directly from Westley Richards may pos- test I fired three shots; the third shot bullet lodged in the bore. We can only
sibly indicate that it was a special cus- sounded a lot softer than the previous guess, but we’d say possibilities 1 and 2
tomer order, or intended for one of the two and the gun jammed. I also noticed are the most likely. While factory loads
Murom brothers’ personal use, but not some propellant flakes on my hand are usually 99.99% reliable, automatic
necessarily, since many dealers stocked holding the gun. I made the pistol safe, powder hoppers in factories can have the
Westley Richards firearms as standard dismantled it and to my surprise found odd hiccup. Nevertheless, we still recom-
catalogue items. a bullet half way up the barrel. mend factory loads for defensive carry.
In 1905, it was not at all unusual On inspecting the cartridge case
for black powder guns to be ordered, everything appeared normal and the
and for quite some time thereafter. primer seemed to have done its job.
Smokeless powder cartridges only I can only assume that the propellant
started becoming generally popular was not ignited and that the force
in the early 1890s. Hunters and shoot- from the primer pushed the bullet into
ers have always been a conservative the barrel.
lot, and many rejected ‘new-fangled’ This is a worrying experience
developments for many years. English which could have had disastrous con-
gunmakers were still taking orders for sequences had I fired another shot
black powder shotguns well into the before inspecting the pistol. Being my
20th century. Westley Richards’s 1911- carry gun, were this to happen in an
12 catalogue was still advertising black emergency it would leave me up the
powder weapons, as was WJ Jeffery and creek without a paddle.

Making a Plan
with Dies Tips and tricks for
reloading your
by MALCOLM COBB non-mainstream calibres
CH4D mouth sizer-die with a variety broke off. A longer bolt head to reduce
of inserts to accommodate a range headspace didn’t solve the problem.
of brass thickness and bullets. Photo One Magnum reader’s suggestion
courtesy of Roger Ingle.
was to fire-form virgin .303 cases with
rubber grommets under the rims which
held the cases tight against the bolt
face, keeping the primer in the pocket
while the case formed to the oversized
chamber dimensions. We tried it and it
worked fine, but the case was now cus-
tom oversized, so we still couldn’t use
a standard .303 full-length sizing die.
SO, HOW TO re-size the fired case with

its new dimensions so that it chambers
easily while holding the reloaded bullet
in alignment? Lacking access to cus-
tom dies, one solution was to grind out
(or cut off) the base of the standard
resizing die so as to resize the neck and
shoulder only, leaving the rest of the
case still formed to chamber dimen-
sions. That worked fine.
C
The next problem was that this
artridge reloaders of all per- bres to do? Importing loading compo- rifle had a two-groove bore instead
suasions well know that, nents yourself, directly from the USA, of the more-usual five grooves. While
with the drastic fall in the becomes harder with every passing the bore diameter remained .303"
value of the Rand against day, so we have to find ways to solve (you have to think about this) there
the Dollar in recent years, the problem locally. In this article we was actually less ‘space’ in the form
the cost of our sport goes up and up; will talk about reloading dies, especially of rifling grooves to accommodate the
consequently prudent dealers limit those for rifles with special needs. military spec .311" diameter bullets.
their stocks of imported ammunition A few months ago Magnum pub- When you force a .311" bullet down a
components and deal only in the more lished a piece about a US-built No 4 Lee- .303" bore, the extra metal has to go
common calibres. Enfield which had an oversized cham- somewhere, and that can only be into
One result of these economies is ber, both in diameter and length. The the rifling. However, if there is reduced
that reloading components, especially problem was that, in reloading the fire- rifling space, this can only lead to bul-
in vintage or metric calibres, disap- formed case, any full-length resizing let deformation of some kind, which
pear from dealer’s shelves, while those die squeezed down the oversized case adversely affects accuracy.
that are available are stocked only in to such an extent that the case walls, The .311" diameter bullet in a two-
remotest corners of the Republic and at at their junction with the thicker brass groove barrel worked well enough by
considerable cost for delivery. So, what of the case head, became overworked, wartime standards, but the problem
is the shooter of non-mainstream cali- suffered metal fatigue and split open or has worsened with the use of modern

The range of hand reamers available
allows a surprising variety of modifi-
commercially-made bullets because cations to be made to standard dies.
these can be up to .3125" in diame-
ter. As evidence of this, the No 4 has
actually showed better accuracy with
slightly oversize 0.308" bullets and also
lighter .311" bullets, which seems to be
the cure for that particular problem.
HOWEVER, THIS introduced a new

problem: the standard neck-sizer
wasn’t crimping quite tightly enough
on the smaller diameter bullet. We
needed a separate, custom-undersized
neck sizing die. One solution was to
locate a set of .32" revolver dies (or
.32 Auto). This afforded a choice of two Simple hand reamers, fixed and adjustable,
diameters, the sizing die itself and the may be used to make up simple dies.
seating die which was a few thou larger,
accommodating the thicker neck brass Of course, the shorter revolver die top of the press and elevated the die to
in the .303. This arrangement worked acted as soon as the case met the die allow the normal full stroke of the ram.
brilliantly, especially when ironing out bottom, as distinct from the top end of Die risers are not commonly avail-
“doughnuts” on the neck which some- the die at the end of its travel. This did able. The one pictured came from a
times occur when brass is being consid- not give consistent results. The solution Lyman powder measuring set, but the
erably sized down. was a “die riser” which screwed into the thread is the normal 7/8" UNF which is
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Above: A centre spindle can be adapted to
form a .303 calibre neck sizer. Alternative-
ly, commercial UNF thread bolts can also
be used (as shown) for this purpose. The
die body also doubles as a .577 Snider seat
and crimp die.
Above: Some standard Lyman dies allow the use of replacement inserts to facilitate the reload-
ing of a wide variety of calibres. If not available, existing die bodies can be opened out to serve
the same purpose.
of cases. With a bit of care this can be However, Lyman, for instance, pro-
reamed out to take (for example) a duce a single multi-purpose sizing die
.577 Snider case, leaving a bit of the for the whole family of .222, .22 Jet and
original diameter to induce a slight .223 cases. This comprises a long die
crimp, which helps accuracy. body which encloses a series of inserts
locked by a threaded collar from the
Above: Die riser from Lyman which allows
the use of pistol dies on rifle calibres; a very ALTERNATIVELY, most dies have a top end. These inserts can be replaced,
versatile piece of equipment. centre spindle which can also be opened swapped around and reamed out to pro-
out or replaced by a UNF bolt to form duce any sort of combination of diame-
pretty much the same as BSP (British a neck sizer or crimper. The spindle ters and tapers, including shoulders and
Standard Pipe thread) so it is sometimes shown in the photos was intended for necks, one dimension per insert, instead
possible to make one from plumbing fit- use in a .303 but the supporting die has of trying to grind up a reaming die with
tings. The better solution is to go to an the body reamed out as a .577 Snider all of the tapers and diameters in one go.
engineering works, spend the money and sizing die. However, it still functions CH4D produce a similar die which
have one machined up. It’s a very versa- in its original purpose of holding a de- comes with a range of (in this exam-
tile gadget that allows many possibilities. capping pin. Three uses in one. ple) .45 calibre neck sizing inserts of
It is also useful to know that while various incremental sizes to accom-
sizer dies are finished ‘hard’, making modate a range of bullet diameters
them difficult to cut, many seating dies A die riser is a very and brass thicknesses. The point here
and de-capper bodies aren’t, so these is that if the CH4D or Lyman dies are
can be adapted in many ways with the versatile gadget unavailable, then similar inserts can be
advantage of already having the correct made locally, stacked up and used in an
thread on the outside.
that allows many opened out de-capping die for a frac-
possibilities tion of the cost, and without waiting for
DIES FOR THE .45 Auto and the .455 the post from the US.
Webley can be opened up to neck-size The possibilities for the further
and bullet seat .577/.450 Martini cases. HOW DOES THIS help the average use of such a die on different calibres
A commercial .45-70 die can be opened shooter who might reload anything become endless, limited only by your
up a little further to size a .577/.450 from a .223 to a .375? A commercial imagination and the patience of your
case as far as the shoulder, which is resizing die (and a chamber) is pro- local machinist.
handy when adapting cases already duced by a reamer which has to be cut So the thing to do is download the
fired in a different rifle. This arrange- at various angles and tapers to repro- CIP or SAAMI specs for your pet prob-
ment was also used to form a Gibbs .461 duce the desired shape of the cartridge lem calibre and figure out what dimen-
No 1 from a .500/.450 No 2 Musket. case within the die body. Cutting ream- sions you want in your die, and then
As another example, the com- ers is a specialised business; very few locate some sympathetic soul with a
mon de-capping die body has a huge machine shops can do it, and it is an lathe. If it keeps your rifle shooting, it’s
aperture to allow the use of a range expensive process for a “one off” cut. certainly worth the effort.

40 th Anniversary
Knives
Left: The Enlan Coqui, an everyday carry knife
to celebrate our 40th birthday.
Below: The Harrier is another Enlan knife that
should give years of good service.
O
ur regular readers will liner that separates the wood
recall that, in the May 2016 and metal. This trim, com-
edition, we published infor- pact knife is simply a joy to
mation about our com- view and use, being feather
memorative knives that light with clean classic
were on display at HuntEx. We wanted lines. They can be ordered
to give those lucky enough to visit for R3 300 (excluding
HuntEx 2016 the opportunity to view postage) and the price
them “in the flesh”. These knives are includes a sheath made
now available on order from our offices.
To recap, we ordered two knives
branded with ‘40 Man Magnum’. The
first is a handmade custom hunter
made by Willem Steenkamp of Bloem-
fontein. This hunter weighs only 109g
and its total length is 190mm, with a
90mm blade and a tapered tang. The
N690 blade steel is hardened to 59-60
on the Rockwell scale and the bolster is of kip leather (a leather prepared from
Above: The Willem Steenkamp custom knife.
303 stainless steel. the skin of young cattle, being a grade
A work of art that works.
It is an excellent knife that fits the intermediate between calfskin and cow-
average hand perfectly with the handle hide) and a sheepskin lined bag made
curving downwards at the back. The from Ripstop for storing the knife. Also available are Tekut biltong
African blackwood handles are prac- Willem is a long standing member knives (R310 excluding postage) with
tical and lend a touch of class which is of the Knifemakers’ Guild of Southern hollow-ground sheepsfoot blades made
enhanced by a white pin-stripe formica Africa and with this hunter he has suc- from 7Cr17Mov stainless steel. These
ceeded in making the near perfect knife have handle-scales of cattle bone and
Biltong season requires a good biltong knife. for most general hunting uses. are reminiscent of Joseph Rodgers
Why not use your own Magnum knife?
The second knife is the pocket knives.
factory produced Enlan Coqui Lastly, we have available another
liner-lock folder. We published general duty knife from Enlan: the
a test report on the Coqui in Harrier. This is a larger knife with G10
the April 2016 edition and were handles, an axis-lock and is a good buy
sufficiently impressed with the for every day carry at R450 (exclud-
quality and price to order 100 ing postage). The last two are branded
and brand them for the occa- ‘Man Magnum’ on the blade.
sion. They are available at To order, phone us on 031-572-
R300 (excluding postage) 6551 or email mail@manmagnum.
per knife. co.za.

Buffalo: Expect the
Unexpected
by JAN JACOBS
Photo by Phillip Huebsch.
O
ctober 30, 2014 was hot obligatory shooting range session, then gave the wounded bull another shot
and humid. I was wait- spent the rest of the afternoon driving behind the shoulder with his .416 Rem-
ing at the Eastgate air- around the bush just to let the clients ington and it ran on for a further 60
port near Hoedspruit with relax after their flight and get the feel metres before going down.
my fellow professional of the terrain. That night we heard lions At the time, Mike and I were in the
hunter, Daniel Du Toit, for the arrival roaring from two directions. Spotted Land Cruiser about 800 metres away.
of Chris Mclain and Mike Muth, clients hyenas were laughing and whooping, We heard the first shot and then heard
from Wisconsin, USA. Chris had hunted and in the early hours of the morning a buffalo bellowing for a couple of sec-
with Daniel for three successive years we heard a leopard rasping. onds. Then we heard the second shot,
now, earning himself a reputation as a followed by more bellowing. After a
good guy and a great shot. This would I GUIDED MIKE, while Daniel took while we heard a third shot and then
be Mike’s second hunt in South Africa. Chris, and we were hunting buffalo the two-way radio crackled and Daniel
Both men had hunted in the Eastern close to the Klaserie river. Daniel and said, “Jan, you guys can come and get
Cape two years earlier, bagging most Chris were fortunate to get onto the us; we got our bull.”
of the usual plains game species. This tracks of a herd of about 50 buffalo, Mike and I walked for four hours
time both were after Cape buffalo. and less than thirty minutes later Chris looking for a good warthog or water-
Chris also wanted to hunt a good blue got an opportunity. A bull was facing buck. We saw blue wildebeest, water-
wildebeest and a steenbuck, while them at about fifty yards, and Daniel buck females, impala, giraffe and a
Mike’s list included a sable antelope, a told him to shoot it in the centre of female warthog with her piglets. On
waterbuck and a warthog. the chest. On receiving the shot, the our way back to the lodge we spotted
They duly arrived and we made the buffalo jumped into the air and ran in a very old warthog boar. The drought
20-minute drive to our camp, did the a semicircle. As it passed them Chris conditions had made him lose body

weight, but he had a pair of perfectly For some three hours, we had ing were lying down and completely
symmetrical tusks measuring about been within sight and sound of a herd unaware of our presence. My Leica
thirteen inches. Mike was using Chris’s of about 50 Cape buffalo, made up 8x24 range-finding binoculars read
synthetic-stocked .375H&H loaded of cows, calves and bulls of varying 74 metres. I looked at Mike and saw
with Hornady Dangerous Game soft- age. The group we were now watch- that he was nervous. Fortunately the
nose cartridges. This rifle kicked like a
mule and I think it was the anticipation
Mike Muth with author and
of this combined with the excitement
the unpredictable buffalo.
of seeing those huge tusks that made
Mike miss the shot. He was not a happy
man during the walk back to camp.
BY RARE coincidence, the following day

we found the very same warthog boar
and this time Mike made no mistake
about it. The tusks measured just over
thirteen inches. In all, this proved to be
a very successful safari: we managed
to get Mike a good waterbuck bull and
a nice representative sable bull, while
Chris shot a very big blue wildebeest
and a good steenbuck. But the real
excitement came during Mike’s quest
for his buffalo.
Full range of Ruger Rifles and Handguns available.

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Mark/Carlo or Emmy.
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10/22 TAKE DOWN
SR22RDS
SR556
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herd thundered off. I asked Mike how he felt about his shot and
he replied that his reticule was on the shoulder when the shot
went off. I told him we should wait at least five minutes while
listening for the death bellow before we start the follow up. My
tracker nodded in agreement. I had barely uttered the words
when we heard the death bellow. We congratulated each other
and moved towards the sound. Then the bellow came again,
but from a different direction. That was when I realized that
the buffalo was not down but moving from left to right in front
of us, steadily creeping closer then disappearing.
The next moment a buffalo walked through a gap in the
bushes, followed by two more bulls. I could not make out
which was the wounded one, and the bellowing continued.
As the leading bull came downwind of us he caught our scent,
turned and charged with his head held high, crashing through
the bushes. I realized then that this must be the wounded bull.
When he was clear of the bushes he was 15 metres from us
at a slight angle. I had the sights of my .458 on him; I yelled
to Mike to shoot and his .416 boomed. The buffalo’s front legs
A happy Mike with his 13 inch warthog. folded beneath his colossal chest and he hit the ground with
a thud. Thankfully, the other two swerved and kept running.
weather was overcast with a steady breeze from the south-
east. Mike was carrying his Winchester Model 70 in .416 Rem
Mike and his waterbuck.
Mag loaded with Hornady’s 400gr Dangerous Game Ammuni-
tion, a soft-nose in the chamber and three solids in the mag-
azine. His scope was a Trijicon with an illuminated post, and
the rifle shot dead-on at 50 metres with both softs and solids.
On three occasions while we’d been following the herd,
we’d had to freeze and remain motionless while a buffalo cow
stared long and hard at us, “like an
airport security guard” as Mike put
The bush was it. Now that they were lying down
I could see a few good bulls among
very thick, with them, but they were so bunched up
as to give us no chance of a shot. I
some buffalo whispered to Mike that we just had
to be patient; eventually they would
thorn thrown stand up again to feed. I let Mike move forward to put in the insurance shot. As
in to make the he refilled his magazine I saw that his hands were trembling.
ABOUT TEN MINUTES LATER they got I felt pretty high on adrenaline myself. We walked closer to
crawling more up, one after the other, and started admire Mike’s trophy and I saw two bullet holes in the neck
to graze. Needing a better view, we one three inches above the other. We rolled the buffalo over
interesting started to crawl closer. The bush and saw that Mike’s first shot had not gone where he’d aimed
was very thick, consisting of lowveld it; the entrance and exit holes were on the neck below the
cluster leaf bushes mingling with red spine – not a fatal hit but enough to make that buffalo bull
bushwillow, sickle bush and some buffalo thorn thrown in just feel very vengeful towards us.
to make the crawling more interesting. It took us a while to
crawl some 25 metres, stopping frequently to check the wind, WE RECOVERED A SLIGHTLY bent .416 solid bullet just under
until we finally got into a suitable position about 50 metres the skin on the far side of the buffalo. Late that night, while
from the buffalo. We rose to a sitting position as they slowly we were sitting around the campfire, Mike was rolling the
moved through a gap about five metres wide. Then a good bull recovered bullet between his fingers. He murmured that he
presented a broadside shoulder shot and I told Mike to shoot. had been expecting an exciting hunt, but he had not expected
At the shot, the buffalo reeled back and I saw a cloud of to be charged on his first buffalo hunt. But most of all, he
dust rise a few metres to the right and beyond the bull. The hadn’t expected it all to happen so fast.

The Lion Rifle’s barrelled action with
side-plates, trigger-guard and grip-
cap showing the extraordinarily artistic
engraving. It is a presentation grade
.470 sidelock double rifle engraved by
Paul Lantuch.
Westley Richards –
Only the Best
by GREGOR WOODS
R
egular readers will remember lished the review in the form of a com- Westley Richards & Co has now published
Magnum’s review of the first prehensive two-part article on the 200- a second, updated edition. All the orig-
edition of Westley Richards’s year history of Westley Richards & Co in inal material and photographs remain,
marvellous book, In Pursuit of our September and October 2012 edi- and extra pages and photographs have
the Best Gun 1812 – 2012, A tions. That book was launched in 2012 to been added, covering “The way forward”
Bicentennial History by Jeremy Musson coincide with the company’s bicentennial – guns and rifles made and engraved in
with photographs by Terry Allen. We pub- year. I am very pleased to announce that the years since 2012.

The India Rifle: a presentation grade
sidelock double in .600NE, with profuse
engraving and inlay including the stock
and butt-plate. Embellishment includes
gold, diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald,
celebrating the ‘Days of the Raj’.
FOR THOSE WHO missed those articles military designs included one of the improvements on existing inventions.
(back-issues are available) I must reit- first successful capping breech-loader These include the percussion cap,
erate that this is far and away the most carbines (the “monkey-tail”) and their the solid drawn brass cartridge case,
magnificent and informative single vol- tilting block breech-loader in .450 No2 the doll’s head extension, the short
ume on guns, rifles and firearm devel- Musket. Both designs were favoured by thumb-operated top-lever, the hammer-
opment I have yet seen. The photogra- SA’s Boers, who called the “monkey tail” less action (Anson & Deeley boxlock),
phy is unsurpassed, and the technical carbine the “Witwort” (the barrels were the Deeley Edge falling block action,
and historical material is invaluable. stamped “Whitworth”) and some called selective automatic ejectors, single trig-
It is a fact that the history of Westley the Westley Richards tilting block the ger actions for double guns and rifles,
Richards is, to a very significant extent, “Wessel Richardt” pronounced with the and hand-detachable locks (droplocks).
the history of firearms themselves, guttural ‘ch’ as in Louis Trichardt. The This book gives technical descriptions
and the history of hunting and shoot- company also used Belgian-made Mar- of these inventions and developments,
ing going back more than 200 years. tini actions on which to build .577/.450 illustrated with scale drawings and pho-
Founded during the flintlock era, West- Martini Henry rifles for the Boers, so tos of cutaway display guns.
ley Richards & Co was a leading light Westley Richards has lengthy historical Immensely enjoyable is the fas-
in firearms development, both military ties with South Africa. cinating journey through 200 years
and sporting, from the outset, and the Many of the most important tech- of hunting history told via the many
company remains at the very top to this nical advancements in sporting arms famous hunters and explorers who
day when it comes to bespoke sporting development were either Westley Rich- used Westley Richards sporting guns
rifles and shotguns. Their innovative ards’s inventions or the company’s and rifles. These included William

Cotton Oswell, King Edward VII, FC tion of the older hands, and Managing ual client are held paramount. For ex-
Selous, Roald Amundsen, King George Director Simon Clode is quoted as say- ample, a friend of mine, Bill Feldstein,
V, Indian Maharajas and Princes, James ing that the average age of the Westley one of America’s top gun collectors,
Sutherland, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Richards workforce is presently around was involved in gorilla conservation
Ruark, Elmer Keith, Stewart Granger, 35 years. Moreover, operations man- work in Africa some years ago. During
Bill Feldstein, Robin Hurt and others. ager Anthony ‘Trigger’ Alborough-Tre- the late 1980s, he ordered a special
The photographs of early safaris and gear notes an increasing number of double-barrel .600 Nitro Express rifle
shikars showing pith-helmeted Brits in enthusiastic young clients attracted to made by Westley Richards to celebrate
Darkest Africa or hunting in howdahs the company’s products and style. This this conservation project. The result is
on the backs of elephants in India, at a is most encouraging. the now-famous, uniquely engraved
time when portable cameras were still ‘Gorilla Gun’ with its dramatic depic-
a very recent development, take the IN ADDITION, Westley Richards & Co tion of a gorilla on the underside of the
reader on a magical journey through makes use of all the latest technology action and its exquisitely patterned
the golden age of hunting. to enhance precision and accuracy in wooden gun case with inlaid artwork
parts-making and to achieve the clos- showing a gorilla scene.
THE COLOUR photos of guns, rifles and est engineering tolerances without
accoutrements in this book defy TO CELEBRATE THEIR bicenten-
description. Terry Allen’s standard ary, Westley Richards built three
of photography is of the very high- commemorative guns: the India
est both technically and composi- Rifle, the Africa Rifle and the Lion
tionally – this is where photography Rifle. The India and Africa rifles
becomes art. Furthermore, this is a celebrate the importance of these
large book (26x33cm) and many, if two big game hunting fields where
not most of the photographs are full Westley Richards guns and rifles
page size, and on the highest qual- have been so extensively used and
ity paper, so the result is a veritable also collected – the Indian Princes
banquet of gun art and illustrated and Maharajas compiled some of
history. The reproductions you see the world’s greatest collections of
here do not do them justice. And bespoke British firearms, especially
the book has 368 pages. To me, the during the 1920s and ’30s. The India
most astonishing feat has been the Rifle is a nod of thanks to them. The
locating and transporting of all these Africa Rifle is a pair of .600NEs,
many firearms spanning two cen- engraved to celebrate the long his-
turies of design and development, to tory of big game hunting in Africa.
be photographed under studio condi- These were not completed by the
tions. The cover shot on this edition time the book was published. The
and some of the photos shown here Lion Rifle is a double .470 sidelock
have been selected from the new profusely engraved with the most
section of the book, as we wanted read- compromising on quality and finish. extraordinarily artistic lion scenes.
ers to get an idea of the technical and The starting point for every gun they Renewed interest in “ball and shot guns”
artistic standard and style currently pro- make today is worked out on a Com- is also being catered to by the company
duced by Westley-Richards & Co. Most puter Aided Design (CAD) system and – the Explora is again being made,
of the guns and rifles shown here have the computer keeps a ‘live model’ of which is great news.
been made within the past four years. every gun produced. From the CAD Magnum congratulates Westley
As far back as the early 1960s, I drawings the components are then Richards & Co. More than two centur-
recall an oft-bemoaned concern that individually directed to the various ies ago, their founder, Willliam Westley
the hand-making of bespoke guns machines used for manufacture: CNC Richards set out “to be the maker of as
and rifles was a dying craft in Britain; milling, wire erosion, die sink EDM and good a gun as can be made”. He suc-
youngsters saw no future in it and surface grinding. A full set of parts ceeded, and the company has contin-
were not apprenticing themselves in for a gun or rifle requires between ued to uphold this standard ever since.
the trade. What was to happen when 220 and 260 hours of machining. The This book is a marvellous reflection of
the old hands died out? This book bears company does not – and never has that historic journey. The cost, exclud-
glad tidings: there is no shortage of – batch-produced their actions. The ing postage from England, is UK£75.
young blood working under the direc- personal requirements of the individ- Email sales@westleyrichards.co.uk.

A Shotgunner’s
Story
by ROBIN BARKES
A
s a boy I spent a great This, together with an interest in over, I still enjoy hunting the old fash-
deal of time on the farms history and the instinctive love of the ioned way with historical weapons – my
owned by my Grandfather outdoors and its wild creatures, have favourite being an old shotgun – the
and three uncles. My always made me feel closely akin to the gun that started it all.
Grandfather had been a early hunters of old Africa. Even now, I was about ten years old when I
police detective and my uncles had all though time has weakened my eyes first saw a shotgun in action. I was
served in the war so they knew about and softened my muscles, my heart has staying with my Grandfather on his
guns. From an early age I learnt from remained strong with a restless longing poultry farm and saw him shoot a wild
them what every youngster should for wild places that can only be satisfied cat that came streaking out of a fowl
know about shooting and the safe hand- by a few days in the bush. Even though run with a chicken in its mouth. Little
ling of firearms. I realize that the good old days are now did that wide-eyed, open-mouthed boy

Fifty years ago I shot my first game birds with this old
Greener hammer gun.
know that one day Grandpa’s shotgun would become

his very first firearm, and with it, he would learn to
shoot running game and flying birds.
However the art of shotgunning did not come eas-
ily. At the age of fourteen my first attempt was a com-
plete failure. My Uncle Garth had planted a big land
of birdseed that ripened around the time quail arrived
from the north. The only gun I could lay my hands on
was a borrowed side-by-side combination .22/.410 with
a box of 25 cartridges. All I knew was that a shotgun
sprayed out lots of pellets that guaranteed you’d hit
what you aimed at… I sure had a lot to learn.
SO THERE I WAS, wading through a sea of ripening

birdseed and every few yards, quail would erupt and
go buzzing off, just a few feet above the tops. I popped
away and used up that little box of shells before I had that took about 20 minutes at the local magistrate’s office. By
covered half the length of a rugby field. I missed every shot – then I was an art student and with my pocket money and the
never even drew a feather. However, missing made me even extras I earned from doing arty jobs I could buy 12ga cartridges
more determined to master the art of wingshooting. that, back then, also came in packets of ten. I cannot remem-
ber the name but they performed badly. One day I knocked a
guineafowl out of the air and the bird was still flapping around
on the ground so I killed it with a knife. When I skinned the fowl
I discovered the No 5 pellets had barely penetrated the skin. I
never used those shells again and coughed up a bit more hard-
earned cash to buy the better quality Eley cartridges. I learnt
fast and with that old Greener I also shot my first yellow-billed
ducks and became forever addicted to wildfowling.
Acquired later, this BSA double twelve was the first modern shotgun A few years later I bought a more modern gun – a pre-
I owned. war 12ga BSA double. This was my Golden Age of shotgun
shooting. Over the years I had befriended farmers in the
A while later I spoke with a fighter pilot who told me all Grahamstown-Salem area where guineafowl moved about
about ‘deflection shooting’. “You don’t shoot directly at a in large numbers. Then, on milk producing farms around
moving target,” he explained, “you shoot at the space where Alexandria, fields of oats and lucerne lured in game birds
it’s going to be when your shot gets there.” This helped me to of all sorts. Also, at certain times of the year, Rameron
better understand how to use a shotgun. pigeons would swarm into the indigenous forests of the
When I turned 18, I inherited my grandfather’s old Greener Patensie area and gave me hours of challenging shooting.
hammer gun and licensed it in my name – a painless exercise And in the Gamtoos river valley I would sometimes camp

I soon took up the challenge of using muzzle-
loaders. This original piece made around 1850
is the shotgun I now use the most.
only one chance forced me to concen-

trate even more on a fast flying bird. I
have taken guineafowl, ducks, geese,
francolin, pigeons and quail with my
muzzle-loaders. Once I had perfected
the loads, they shot just as well as any
modern gun. Now, with today’s reduced
bag limits, the slowness of reloading
stretches out the wonderful time I can
spend in the fields or beside still waters.
As the years rolled by, I became
involved in the professional hunting
business. For six or seven months a year
I was out with overseas clients and the
rest of the time I spent birdshooting or
fishing. I was having a wild time and life
out for a week to shoot yellow bills the spot. I never had any reason to use was good; so good that I ended up hav-
and Cape teal. In spring I headed the heavier SSG preferred by the other ing a quadruple heart bypass and later
for the Elands river valley where hunters. Using the bigger pellets made Lady Luck rubbed it in by giving me a
wheat was once grown and miles some fellows believe they could take life threatening aneurism that again laid
of golden fields attracted quail by longer shots even though this usually me out on a slab under the knife. Well,
the thousands. resulted in the dangerous situation of that put paid to my professional hunting
By that time I had acquired a wounding a running ram by hitting it too career. Oh yes…add to that a house fire
feather light, double barrelled .410. I far back with too few pellets. in which I lost all I possessed except the
must have shot hundreds of quail with Back in the late 1970s replicas of most important things – my wife, dog
that little gun and when the cartridges historical guns began to appear in gun and guns… and of course my life – which
became ridiculously expensive I loaded shops. Now the old days I had dreamt I nearly lost when I went back into the
opened up .303 cases. The straight about were being reborn and I was in smoke to rescue the dog.
cases were slightly loose and had to be my element. The Italian-made repli-
fire formed with a little powder and a cas cost only a few hundred Rand and DURING THOSE hard times I was
rice filler held down with a tight-fitting it wasn’t long before I had bought a forced to sell off, one by agonizing one,
card wad. I loved that little gun and felt double barrelled muzzle-loading shot- my antique gun collection followed by
that I’d lost a friend when, first, the left gun. The 12-bore cap-lock was styled the pick of my replica guns. And now
V-spring snapped and soon after the in the manner of the common shot- the wheel of life has turned a full circle
right spring went as well. gun of the mid-1800s and I searched and all I have left are two breech-load-
antique shops and scratched around ing long guns – the old Greener and
BUT MY USE OF a scattergun was not old farmsteads for original loading the pre-war BSA – the same two guns
confined to bird shooting. I shot my first accessories such as powder and shot I started off with more than fifty years
antelope one day when a duiker jumped flasks and so on. When I go on an out- ago. But not to worry; the sun will rise
out of the scrub while I was searching ing with my muzzle-loader I even dress tomorrow and with the coming of the
for guineafowl. I let go with the choke in the fashion of the old Eastern Cape dawn the ducks will fly again and the
barrel and rolled the animal with a load frontiersmen so I can walk proudly in distant call of guineafowl will join the
of No 4s. Then, on another outing I their footsteps as I hunt the very same harsh honk of wild geese and the cackle
bagged a bushbuck the same way. Later, ground they did so long ago. of francolin as they greet the new day.
when I began to get invitations to social In time my constant search for an Soon wings will beat the air and the
hunts, I was always put with the shot- original muzzle-loading shotgun was smell of burnt powder will float on the
gunners on the bush paths. I used Eley successful and I acquired an English- breath of a crisp winter’s morning. To
AAA cartridges and this load was deadly built single barrel cap-lock made me that is what life is all about – and it
on driven bushbuck and duiker at short around 1850. You have no idea how that always will be until the final pull of the
ranges. A full charge in the heart-lung single-shotter improved my shooting trigger and the sound of the last shot
area put even the biggest rams down on ability. Just the realization of having fades away.

Yes, I am a
Hunter
by VLADIMIR STEYN
Why do we hunt?
This article was written for the first Magnum Annual (1979).
Its message is timeless and it is one which we believe
Vladimir Steyn would like all new generations of hunters to
read and understand. We reproduce it in our 40th year as a
tribute to its author.
“Kill not for pity’s sake and lest ye slay

The meanest thing upon its upward way.”
T
hese words are of ineffable beauty when spo-
ken by Gautama Siddhartha, the founder of
Buddhism, in Sir Edwin Arnold’s The Light of Asia,
and the more the shadows lengthen around one
the more sensible of this theme one is inclined to
become. When one has passed the crest of his road on this
mortal coil and his attention becomes increasingly focused
on the rectangular hole at the end of the long decline, the
thought of inflicting sudden and violent death becomes ever
less attractive even if the subject is an animal. And towards
each year’s end we approach once more that happy season
when one’s thoughts would rather be constant with the Spirit
of the Lamb than with that of the lion. How fortunate that,
unlike our brothers in the northern hemisphere, we hunt in
those months furthest removed from the celebration of the
birth of the Prince of Peace!
However delicate the subject, killing, may be, I want to
talk about it, for ever since I shot my first bird with an air rifle
in my grandfather’s orchard I have had to listen to the accu-
sations of that ever-increasing body of people who consider
that hunting is evil, and I have had many years in which to
nurse the vexation which I am now going to vent with mean-
ing. And do not think I intend seeking refuge in pragmatic
arguments such as the necessity of culling to avoid the dis-
astrous impasse of over-population. I shall tackle the subject
in its nakedness.

Killing, for the sake of killing, I can- why should our perception of cruelty be ing me on the barbaric sport I indulge
not and do not intend to defend. To in such direct proportion to the size of in to start talking about the birds. I
my mind no-one can justify the kind the sufferer? Watch a praying mantis remarked that they were no longer a
of sport which is the sad fate of many slowly tearing its insect prey limb from frequent sight in my garden as the Sia-
English foxes. Where I have killed limb. Talk about cruelty! mese cats – those blue-eyed, grace-
animals that one does not eat, they ful feline killers – which my children
were a threat to the lives or property TO GO A BIT higher on the evolution- had acquired did not appreciate their
of human beings. Now that I am older ary ladder, watch a cat playing with a beauty or their song. Patently annoyed,
I have no wish to kill any more ele- mouse or bird. Especially a Siamese he asked me how I could allow them to
phants — if they destroy crops or need cat, which is in all its habits – even in destroy the birds. He was quiet for a
culling I prefer to leave it to someone mating – a miniature lion. Yet, we keep long time after I asked him, “friend, do
else, because these pachyderms are them as pets. It is when watching a lion you want me to shoot them?”.
not vicious animals, and the damage or a cat, not eating its prey, but tortur-
they do is done innocently. Lions are ing it to death, that one wants to ask YEARS AGO WE lived in Cape Town in
an entirely different story. They are the with the poet Blake, ‘Did He who made Bantry Bay. There were many pension-
cruellest killers in creation, and please the lamb make thee?’ ers in the sea-front hotels and board-
do not believe the nonsense written by
sentimentalists who tell you that lions
kill only in order to satisfy their hunger.
They kill for the hell of it.
I ONCE SAW twenty-seven goats

killed by two lions in an enclosure
from which they could not escape. On
another occasion the then owner of
the farm Hoedspruit fetched me before
sunrise from my camp some twelve
miles distant to help him kill two lions
that had entered his cattle kraal. His Of course He did. He made every ing houses spending their time waiting
own eyesight was too weak for this kind animal and every parasite that lives for that rectangular hole I spoke about
of shooting. When I got there, there on it. He made the snake, poison fangs just now. The cats of these establish-
were nine fully-grown Afrikaner cattle and all. In His wisdom He made many ments wreaked havoc among the turtle
lying dead. The lions had only eaten a things with which some clever people doves, as cats will. The poor birds, per-
piece of one of them. I followed them think fit to find fault. He made hewers haps realising the inevitability of their
and found a wildebeest they had killed of wood and drawers of water, whether fate, got no wiser, and more and more
within a couple of miles. They had only we want to acknowledge it or not. He of them fell prey to the cats hiding in
lapped up some blood from a wound made that beautiful, gentle impala as the shrubbery on the lawns until the
they had torn between its hind legs. part of His design that the cruel lion will aged spectators could no longer stand
So if there is a lion you want killed, one day stalk it and tear the life from it it and had to pour out their feelings
let me know. These unrealistic idealists with claw and fang. in the correspondence columns of the
apparently do not realise how out of press. A whole spate of letters fol-
step they are with the general scheme ONCE I SAT talking with a friend in his lowed, eloquent in condemnation of
of things. Some of them have the garden, a gentle and a good man. While the cruelty of the cats and the inno-
temerity to criticise their host’s hunt- we were having a drink we were watch- cence of the doves.
ing while eating venison at his table. ing a hoopoe which, without any elec-
One should give such people the choice tronic assistance, was striking its slen- FOR THE FIRST AND last time in my
between a vegetable meal or a meat der curved bill into the soil of the lawn life I asked my wife to write a letter
dish derived from an animal that died to pull a worm from its hiding place to the Press – she does the typing in
of natural causes. My advice to them an inch or more under the surface. our household. I asked her to write in
is a simple lesson in nature’s ways Later on two thrushes joined him and the interests of those unfortunate vic-
which may aid their adjustment to the to our delight a coucal at the bottom tims, the inoffensive harmless little
environment in which they live. Take a end of the garden started tumbling its worms, and early ones at that, killed
microscope and study nature’s cruelty cadence of clear notes from a tree. My by the ruthless turtle doves while the
to its smallest creatures. By the way, friend interrupted a lecture he was giv- old women of both sexes sit watching

without lifting a finger. I am glad ure the agony suffered by a plant
to say that letter never went off. It — spinach from which a leaf is cut,
would not have helped, or should I or a plant from which a tomato
rather say it would have helped no is plucked.
more than to argue with one whose I must admit that I was quite
convictions are rooted in emotion. pleased to hear that this sensitive instru-
I have no wish to disturb the equanimity ment has established the fact that whereas
of the vegetarian reader, but cannot refrain plants thrive if treated to sweet music, the pop
from commenting on the fierce proud variety causes travail; but the thought of their
beauty of those creatures which have to kill ability to suffer hurt disturbs me.
to live. He who does not thrill at the sight
of the imperious mien of the eagle, the leop- AT THE SAME TIME it seems to have deprived
ard and the lion, lacks something, and I think it the antagonists of hunters of the main plank in their
has to do with the function of certain endocrine platform, unless these critics can manage to sub-
glands. sist on thin air. I am not writing in defence of wan-
And now, kind and gentle vegetarians, ton killing. When it comes to shooting danger-
I have a shock for you. If you are under the ous animals there are certain rules that true
impression that by satisfying your hunger hunters adhere to. Shooting a dangerous
on the products of the plant world you animal from the protection of a vehicle or a
inflict no anguish or pain, think again, as tree is a despicable thing to do. If one does
my Latin master used to say, and think to not do it to savour the thrill of danger, yes,
better purpose. even fear, it is senseless. To face real danger,
Psycho-galvanometers which measure emotional stress particularly if one is alone, is a rare experience. I have faced
in man have been known for more than a century, but now charges by four of the big five, and on three of these occa-
modern science has devised an apparatus that can meas- sions I was not accompanied by an armed person. The mere
memory of these encounters mean more to me than hunting
Pre-order Now!
trophies, and I am glad to have had them. I fancy that a man
who does not know how he will react to a situation that can
easily bring about his end does not know himself.
The Lee-Enfield .303

I WOULD NOT SHOOT a tiger from a machan if you paid
my trip to India and back. If, as they say, this is the only way
Hunting, Reloading &
History Soft-cover in which one can get a tiger, why, then I do not want a tiger.
book soon Violent death is an unlovely thing in spite of its popularity
on television where, to make it worse, it concerns human
available beings. Perhaps the ugliest part of it is the fear of death which
in print is in itself hideous. This the hunted animal does not suffer.
But have you seen the eyes of cattle when they smell the
blood of their kind in an abattoir? Heard the agonized cry of a
buck when it realizes it cannot get away from the big cat, or
the ghastly sounds a baboon makes when a tiger takes him?
R355
excluding FORGIVE THE MELODRAMA of these rhetorical questions. If
put to me my answer to them would be in the affirmative, and
postage because it is, and because I have a little humble knowledge
Published by
of and boundless reverence for nature, I am still prepared to
speed that little bullet on its way which – if well aimed – will
send the animal to oblivion without any suffering on its part.
I have seen many animals die thus, and have also seen
Contact us: the way in which domesticated ones have to give their lives
so that mankind can eat meat – not much less cruel than the
mail@manmagnum.co.za way in which predators kill them. If I were in their position,

and the choice between the two ways of going were mine, I
Tel: 031-572-6551 have no hesitation in deciding which one I shall pick.

Tech Talk by MALCOLM COBB
Pressure Spikes
Another reason for rifle blow-ups
L-r: Hollow-based bullets; (1) as cast, (2) one
with a protective base-wad which worked
well, (3) 80gr load without the base wad,
and (4) 60gr load without the base wad. The
minute gap left by the omission of the fil-
ler-wad pushed pressures up and destroyed
the base cavity.
start out of its crimp and get moving just

as the wave hits the base, lowering any
potential pressure spike at this point.
Now, it would be wrong of me to
theorise without proper information,
but it is safe to say that reloading
G
for cartridges like Tony Marsh’s .360
regor Woods’s article on passes through the powder fairly No2 Nitro Express also brings its own
Chamber Pressures in evenly and ignition is smooth and the problems.
the December 2015 edi- bullet is accelerated down the bore. First off, it was factory-loaded with
tion has a startling photo However, if the powder is com- cordite, which isn’t available any more.
of Magnum contributor pacted into a more solid mass, then Now, it is quite possible to reload .360
Tony Marsh’s blown-up .360" No2 Nitro the propellant itself becomes a solid Nitros with modern powders which will
Express Manton double. If ever anyone ‘plug’ (black powder is notorious for safely duplicate the original perfor-
needed a graphic caution against the this) which is also heaved forward by mance. No problem there. However,
unintended results of reloading, the the pressure wave, becoming part of these powders may not fill cases in-
sight of Tony Marsh’s hand minus its the projectile weight and moment- tended for cordite, hence might require
thumb would be that caution. arily decreasing the volume of the firing the use of wadding over the powder to
Gregor discusses many common chamber. keep it against the primer, otherwise the
causes of blow-ups in his article, but Both of these factors increase condition develops whereby the powder
notes that the reason for the Manton chamber pressure and at the very lies at one end of the case for one shot
blow-up was undetermined, so the least, cause erratic ignition and incon- and at the other for the next shot, which
accident remains a mystery. sistent velocities. will also result in erratic ignition.
There are, however, other reasons for
blow-ups that are very rarely discussed. THIS EFFECT IS multiplied in instances THE SITUATION is far worse when
The actual happenings inside a rifle’s where the bullet is seated far out, just dealing with double rifles because ‘reg-
chamber when a cartridge goes off give touching the rifling. When the wave in ulating’ them to group consistently
rise to a complex series of events, but it front of the ignition hits the base of the with both barrels together is a Black
seems clear that pressure builds up rap- bullet, which is momentarily immobile Art which makes regular reloading
idly from the point of ignition and moves (inert), it pushes the pressures up even look easy. Very often these doubles
forward into the remainder of the propel- higher until the bullet starts to move, will shoot well only with a particular
lant. If we think of the combustion (and allowing the pressure to drop. If the weight of bullet over particular charges
therefore the increase in pressure) as seating is inconsistent, then the ballis- of powder. My point is that regulating
being like a wave formation, then we can tics will be inconsistent. a double can mean that the case is not
view the process in the following way. That is why most rifles have a ‘sweet always filled to capacity with powder
If the powder grains are uncom- spot’, where the bullet is seated just a and that is where the problems start.
pacted, it seems clear that this ‘wave’ little back from the rifling, allowing it to In a double rifle, when one shot is fired,

Tech Talk
Left: The un-deformed and square to the bore which promises

base. Right: The dished
good shooting.
base, badly deformed
due to omission of the Using these in the Snider is some-
filler-wad. Note recov- thing else again, as bullets measuring
ered wads showing less than .590" are loose in the case
excessive dishing. and need base-wads to maintain cor-
rect seating depth. But, on firing,
these wads could jam up inside the
hollow base, destabilising the bullet
in flight. So we filled the cavity with a
tight fitting card-wad to prevent this.
It worked.
When we tried it without the little
wad inside the hollow base, while
retaining the case-diameter wads to
ensure correct seating, the wads didn’t
actually stick in the base cavity, but
the other cartridge becomes subjected Their conclusion (supported by the skirts and cavities were heavily
to recoil, which can ‘start’ the bullet for- many other writers including Vieille) is deformed into a single dish with sharp
wards and slide the powder rearwards, that the column of hot gas and burn- edges, instead of the original square
banking it up against the primer at the ing powder plus any wadding forms a lip. We tried it again, dropping the
moment when the second barrel is used bullet of its own, which, when it hits an charge from 80gr FFg to 60gr FFg but
for a fast follow-up shot, which is what immobile object like the base of a bul- got the same result.
a double rifle is all about. let, spreads radially, causing chamber
The simple solution to the prob- ringing. One conclusion is that it’s not TO SUMMARISE, using the same bul-
lem of powder charges under cartridge always the wadding itself causing the let throughout:
capacity is to use a filler or some form problem but how it was used. • Hollow-base bullet seated directly
of wad, but this again causes problems. Schwartz’s whole contribution to onto powder: no base deformation
This subject is covered very well in The the “Wads” chapter is to state that he • Hollow-base bullet with cavity sup-
Single Shot Schutzen Rifle by Schwartz does not use wads. port wad and two full diameter wads:
and Dell who are much concerned with no base deformation
loading obsolete calibres in the softer HERE IN SA we don’t have the lux- • Same charge but omit the cavity wad:
steel barrels of late Victorian and ury of being able to perform destruc- massive deformation of the base, skirts
Edwardian era firearms, very much like tive testing with a range of barrels and destroyed
the Manton .360 double. wads, nor is it easy to photograph pres- • Using 75% charge, omit cavity wad:
sure spikes, but I have had one experi- same result – massive deformation of
SCHWARTZ AND Dell experimented ence which does provide an illustration. the base, skirts destroyed
with fillers and wads to try to determine With obsolete calibres like the .577 Our conclusion followed Schwartz
the cause of chamber ‘ringing’ which is Snider, we are often forced to use and Dell’s exactly: The minute air gap
a condition whereby the mouth end of lathe-turned brass cases which pro- left in the base cavity ahead of the
a chamber develops an expansion ring hibit crimping to maintain bullet seating heavy main wads was enough to cause
from excessive chamber pressure, such depth. One solution is to use a couple of a pressure spike which destroyed the
that a fired case is forced into it on firing thick cardboard wads which sit tightly base of the bullet, and that was with
and becomes very difficult to extract, in the case and position the bullet con- a moderate charge of black powder.
ultimately making the rifle inoperable. sistently – as long as the bullet is also a Moreover, the same effect occurred
The puzzle in all of this is that the ringing firm sliding fit. So far so good. using 75% of that charge. The pressure
is often caused by low loads, not just full Now, bullets for the .577 Snider are spikes caused by air space in nitro pow-
strength ones, which is what prompted not easy to come by as they need a der cartridges can only be imagined.
Schwartz and Dell to investigate wads groove-diameter of .590". So we often While we do not know what was
and fillers. Their extensive notes include use moulds designed for .577 muz- happening inside Tony Marsh’s .360
experiments with brass barrels which zle-loaders, which cast bullets with double, we do agree with Gregor: re-
they used to induce these chamber rings hollow bases that expand on firing to loading can sometimes be like dancing
as easily as possible and compare effects completely seal the bore. Bullets recov- with demons when everything goes
with different types of wadding. ered after firing show the ‘skirts’ intact wrong together.

Readers’ Market
n Different make cases: n Eibar 20 gauge n Mauser Ferlach n Buck Strider 888
For Sale 68x .30-30, 70x .308,
245x 9mmP, R1 each or
side-by-side Spanish
shotgun, very slender
.458; Mauser .22; S&W
.44Mag; S&W .357Mag;
fixed blade, never
used, R1500; Pedersoli
make an offer, postage stock, R6000. Danie FN Browning .338Win Mortimer Whitworth
n .308 Bullets: 100x n Leupold VX-3 6.5- excluded. Rool 084-809- 082-905-4666 (013). Mag; Browning 12ga .451 Match, as new,
Berger VLD hunting, 20x40mm long range 9709 (013). n 8mm/175gr Lee bullet shotgun. Kobus 076- beautiful wood,
R700; 150x Barnes TTSX teleskoop, sy kant n Remington 700-BDL mould, RCBS sizing die 316-2567 (015). R12,000. Nick 082-857-
BT 130gr, R1350 plus fokus en parallax calibre .270 rifle, Kahles and top punch, ± 900 n .222 Krico, R12,000; 8572 (018).
postage. 082-493-0904 verstelling, 30mm buis, 2x7 VAR, EAW mounts, .32 calibre, Hornady .45 Martini Henry, n Stainlesss steel Ruger
(022). nuut Varmint Hunter’s accurate, excellent gas checks, R1000 onco. R6000; 7x paintball Super Blackhawk .44
n Classic Westley reticle, nuut, R14,000. condition, 125x Kobus 084-208-1534 guns, with Hoppers, Magnum, 10” barrel;
Richards s/s 12BR Fanie 028-424-2531, rounds, components (058). masks, 1600x balls, Musgrave Ambidex
nitro 1906, 100% 079-035-3939. for another 500, dies, R7000. 082-388-2115 4x32 scope, plus
n Renato Gamba 12BR
outstanding condition, n Sako Classic, 3-9x42 R19,000. 011-883-6032. trap, R28,000; .30-30 (011). silencer; Brno Model 2,
few shots fired, Lynx, many extras; .303 n Telescopes: Bushnell Marlin scoped, R17,000; n RCBS Uniflow 4x32 scope. Excellent
R33,000. 083-270-0080 Lee Enfield barrel; 6x42 3-9x40, never mounted, .30-06 Winchester, powder measure, condition. 082-782-
(044). Tasco scope; stainless R4000; Vortex 4-12x40, scoped, R20,000. R2000; 189x Sierra 9671 .
n Miroku 20ga firing steel BP revolver, plus mint, R3750; Leupold Majoor customs in .416 Hornet 45gr bullets, n Liger skin, R10,000
pin set, R350. Jaco van more. For price list sms 3-9x40, silver, mint, Rigby, .300H&H 7x57, R600 postage excluded. ono. Ernst 076-422-
der Merwe 082-731- James, 082-920-6504 R3500. Francois 072- price negotiable. Peet G Burger, fax 051-422- 6940 .
3029 (012). (034). 285-9954 (051). 082-900-9481 (012). 4842, 071-682-0192.
NORTHERN CAPE PH SCHOOL

7 month specialist PH course - Book now for 2017!
• Ideal for a gap year after matric.
• Students will hunt, guide and fish for 7 months.
FROM
• Students will hunt in the Karoo, Eastern Cape and Bushveld.
1 February
2017
• Students will each hunt TO
a kudu, oryx, blesbok,
mountain reedbuck, 31 August
blue wildebeest, 2017
red hartebeest,
Students
springbok and
warthhog. For more will be
information, call market-ready
Mynhard: 083 262 1891 after course
or e-mail: - ready for
mhhs@mweb.co.za employment.
www.ncph.co.za
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Readers’ Market
n 179x Sierra .308 Pro- n Any spares and grips n BSF air rifle, any NATAL EASTERN
Hunter flat nose power
jacket bullets (designed
for FN, Browning,
Models 1900, 1906,
model, wanted by
private collector. 073- TRADING POST FREE STATE PREMIER
WING SHOOTING
for .30-30), R520 plus 1910, 1922, Baby 480-0001 (032). MINIMUM CHARGE PER ADVERT: R77,00 (incl) for OUTFITTER (0603):
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each; 7x57 (7mm shotgun, with choke valuations and advice. TRADING POST, Box 35204, Northway 4065 Quality self-catering
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011-883-6032. 072-511-7965, 035-474- 083-415-5627. Pointer/Retrievers
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n Grips for Sig Sauer BEST KEPT SECRET KURUMAN, NORTHERN family get-away,
n Ruger ranch rifle, 9mmP P220, any make (0305): If you have not CAPE (0502): Biltong great outdoor
semi-auto, calibre screws would be hunted East Cape Plains and trophy hunting in activities. Contact
Wanted 7.62x39 in VGC. 031-
764-4366.
welcome. Jan 071-676-
0880 (018).
Game Safaris, you have
not hunted the Eastern
the Kuruman district,
33 species, adequate
todd@safaribound.
co.za / www.
n Double rifles, o/u, s/s, Cape. Tel/fax 046-645- enclosure. Minimum wintertonadventures.
n Collector seeks any best prices paid. Johnny 2713. E-mail: jgreeff@ of 4x hunters, with co.za Cell: 082-419-
firearms manufactured 082-449-1877, Ari 082- eastcape.net, Website: a maximum of 14x 7486.
by FN, Browning, Colt, 410-7853 (011). www.ecsafari.co.za persons. Cool and
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Winchester, Marlin, UITZICHT LODGE, OMGEWING (0104):
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any condition. Charles FOURIESBURG, OOS Trofee sowel as
Kobus 076-316-2567 083-258-9636, angus@
082-447-8131, 031-303- VRYSTAAT (0501): biltong. Besoek www.
(015). isat.co.za
2344. 16 spesies. Verblyf tambatigame.co.za
is uitstekend. Wees
ARMTEC SYNTHETIC STOCKS

verseker wat jy vooraf
bespreek sal gejag
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PO Box 20481 Noordbrug 2522 (Potch) word. 082-856-7181,
Chris 082 853 7134, Office (Daleen) 083 531 5860 admin@prohb.co.za
fax 0866 284 893 • www.armtec.co.za KNIFEMAKERS! (0106):
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Gallery
Spare parts for Collectors

The lockplate from a Belgian muzzle-loader of
IT OFTEN HAPPENS that collectors the 1880s. The flat sided hammer is unlike the
come across superb pieces of the gun- British equivalent so is difficult to find a similar
maker’s art which sadly are missing right hand hammer, but suppliers in the UK can
provide a closely matching replacement, even
pieces like sights or springs or, most
down to the engraving.
often hammers, which make such
pieces less desirable and indeed make
it difficult to put a value on them at all.
While such spare parts are sometimes
available in South Africa, reliable
sources are often jealously guarded
and are very much “hit and
miss” as far as finding the
exact part is concerned.
Ex military arms, even
as far back as the 1860s,
are nevertheless relatively
easy to fix up, because of the moun-
tain of spare parts on the military
surplus market. The search however, ons, particularly in the case of double- powder flask that I saw in an antique
becomes more difficult with sporting barrelled 19th Century weapons shop last week and replacement
arms, when the style and engraving for instance, which can be a difficult Hawkesley pattern flask tops that
on the missing part has to be a close task indeed. would dress the same flask up nicely,
match for the remainder of the weap- Help however is at hand. Looking plus bullet moulds for a Whitworth
for a spare hammer for a muz- that I know of, plus curliqued trigger
zle-loading Belgian shotgun myself guards that would fit a muzzle-load-
this last month, I was guided onto two ing rifle I am working on as well as
sites in the UK, both of which carried kits for desirable goodies like flintlock
close matches for the parts I needed. Dragoon pistols, all of which create
In the first instance I tried Peter needs that I didn’t know that I had
Binders
Dyson in Yorkshire (www.peterdyson. and at £20 a time for hammers and
co.uk) and then E J Blackley and son £10 a time for replacement flask
(www.blackleyandson.com) on the springs will blow my budget for these
Scottish Borders, both of whom car- things for the next two years. The cat-
ried close matches for my missing alogues really should carry a govern-
part and ship by post. ment health warning because they can
The only problem with their online lead to serious addiction. My thanks to
catalogues is that they also carry Bruce W for the lead on E J Blackley.
spare springs that would suit a broken Malcolm Cobb
R160 each, including

p&p in SA
Other regions on inquiry
Payment by Visa or
Mastercard or EFT
031-572-6551
subscriptions@manmagnum.co.za

Gallery
Skryf vir Magnum Skryf vir ons oor ’n jag, ’n skiet- artikel vir publikasie in Magnum.
ervaring, ’n tegniese aspek en deel met Vat tyd en neem goeie foto’s. Baie
LESERS WEET ONS gebruik artikels van ons iets uniek uit die verlede en hede van die foto’s wat aan ons gestuur
skrywers van oor die wêreld heen. Dié waaruit ons lesers kan leer. Om dit vir word is te klein vir publikasie. Maak
artikels is besonder belangrik vir Mag- jou maklik te maak kry eers die tydskrif seker jou kamera wat jy in die veld
num omdat dit bydra tot die verskeiden- se basiese skryfriglyne wat jou sal help gebruik is gestel om die grootste
heid van onderwerpe wat juis die tydskrif om ’n suksesvolle bydra te lewer. Dié moontlike foto te neem. Ons soek
eiesoortig maak. Ons nooi skrywers inligting help ’n voornemende skrywer meer as een foto; nie net die trofee-
dus uit om hulle ervarings, gedagtes en met die saamstel van ’n artikel. ’n Jag foto nie. Neem ’n paar foto’s rondom
kennis met Magnum en sy lesers te deel of skietsport geleentheid gaan gepaard die jagervaring of gebeurtenis. Kyk uit
deur vir ons artikels te stuur. met deeglike beplanning en so-ook ’n vir natuurtonele, unieke en eiesoortige
Cap Confusion in the photograph. Then, on examining rifles and shotguns. So, at last, the
the old primer, I discovered that it was mystery that history has been hiding
FOR MANY YEARS I was confused indeed a percussion cap – although under its cap all these years has finally
whenever I came across a rusty little shorter than the caps used on the lon- been resolved. Robin Barkes
tin bearing a faded label that read ger nipples of muzzle-loading pistols,
PERCUSSION CAPS FOR BREECH
LOADING GUNS. This did not make
sense to me. Either a gun was a muz-
zle-loader taking percussion caps or it
was a breech-loader taking cartridges
ignited by either Berdan or Boxer
primers. However, light dawned when
I recently examined a few ancient
12-bore brass shotgun shells. To my
surprise, when I tapped the primer out
of one of the cases I discovered a little
nipple in the primer pocket – as seen
Iron Horse
THE ARTICLE ON HUNTING with a bicycle in the April 2016
edition by PJ Viljoen prompted me to submit this photo of my
grandfather, Richard (Dick) Mackway-Wilson. The photo was
taken on a trip he made to British East Africa (now Kenya) in
the early 1900s. As I child of 6 or 7 years old I often heard him
speak about this trip but did not ask any of the questions that
I would now consider important, such as what he shot, etc.
Mr Viljoen spoke about the problem of mounting a scab-
bard on a bicycle. The arrangement in the photo provides a
way to transport what seems to be a Cape hammer-gun – I
noticed that the muzzles are different sizes. I assume from the
bandolier that it was a cartridge weapon, most probably 12ga
and .577/.450. I own a similar example.
The open grassland, almost devoid of trees struck me as a
less than ideal place to hunt, so I wonder what his quarry was.
Unfortunately the family member who owns the photo bluntly
refuses to give it to me, so the best that I could do was to take
a photograph of it, explaining why it is not of good quality.
Garth Mackway-Wilson

Gallery
gebruiksartikels van die plaaslike mense en hul omgewing.

Magnum betaal vir alle artikels en foto’s wat gebruik word.
Hou by sowat 1800 woorde vir artikels, doen bietjie Index to Advertisers –
moeite vir ’n goeie foto of twee, hou noukeurig by Magnum
se skryfriglyne en jy kan ietsie in die bank sit vir die vol- June 2016
gende jag. Kry die riglyne deur Gina Mostert te bel by 031-
572-6551, of stuur vir ons ’n e-pos aan mail@manmagnum.
co.za en vra daarvoor. – Magnum-span
Labram’s Limit Acapulco Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Monterra Safaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

AccuPower Rifle Scopes . . . . . . . . . . 3 My Subs (Magnum Digital) . . . . . . . 5
I RECEIVED QUITE A FEW comments on my January 2016 Action Adverts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
gallery piece on Kimberley’s Long Cecil cannon designed by Alpine Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 National Cartridge Company . . . . 47
G Labram and built in the De Beers workshop of the besieged ATA Shotguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Nosler Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Awesome Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 NSN Guns & Ammo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
town. So I’m sure readers will find the following additional Openview HD TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
accomplishments of Mr Labram just as interesting. Benchmade Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Optics International . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Benelli Shotguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
As an engineer, Labram not only designed the tools to
Berger Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Park Town Stores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
make additional ammunition when the British reserves ran Burger Canes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Peregrine Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
low but he also invented a substitute powder when supplies PH-School (Northern Cape) . . . . . . 65
Camdix Wapens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
ran out. Labram also designed and built a powerful search- Camo Gear (Sniper) . . . . . . . . . . 39/71 Ranyati Firearm Motivations . . . . . 65
light used to illuminate dangerous sections of the town Canicom Dog Training Products . . 23 RCBS Reloading Equipment . . . . . 43
defences and later used it to signal approaching relief forces. Classic Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Readers’ Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Cometa Air Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Remington Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Besides all this he constructed a 155 foot high lookout tower RS Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
and devised a telephone exchange connecting all parts of Digital Magnum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Ruger Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21/51
Dock Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
the defense system. Then, when it became necessary to
Sabatti Shotguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
slaughter all the cattle due to the lack of fodder, Labram built ECM Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Safari & Outdoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
a huge cold storage room to keep the meat fresh. However, Sako TRG 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Federal Premium Ammunition . . . . . 5 Sako Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
every man has his limit, so when British officers ran out Formalito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Savuti Wapens & Ammunisie . . . . . 43
of whiskey and they asked Labram to produce a supply of Frontier Guns & Ammo . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Seek Thermal Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
hooch he found the request beyond his inventive capability.
G-Line Smart Shoot Adaptor . . . . . 33 Shooters Arms Manufacturing . . . . 27
Robin Barkes Glock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29/58 Sierra Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Guns & Bows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Skietwinkel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Honeywell Gun Safe . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Sniper Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39/71
Write for Magnum Hornady Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Steyer Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Hot Power Wapens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 STI Pistols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
THE HUNTING SEASON is under way, and we wish our read- Howa Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Subscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Swarovski Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . 29/72
ers success and enjoyment in their endeavours. Inter-Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Are you remembering to record your hunting and bush Taurus Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Kershaw Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Thompson/Centre Rifles &
experiences – in writing as well as on camera? Magnum is
K & N Cotton Air Filters . . . . . . . . . 66 Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
always looking for new writing talent. Most hunters have at Lapua Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Tikka Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . 23/43/47/58
least one or two entertaining or informative stories to tell – Leatherman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Trading Post . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Legally Armed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 TRG Sniper Weapon System . . . . . . 2
why not share yours with our readers? Magnum pays for all Leupold Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Truvelo Armoury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
articles and photos published, which will help to offset the The Lee Enfield .303 Magnum Book
cost of your hunt. You don’t need to be a budding Heming- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Nico Van Rooyen Taxidermy . . . . . 68
Life-size Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Vixen Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
way or Ruark – our editors are here to polish up any rough Lynx LX2 Rifle Scopes . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Voere Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
patches. But you do need to be aware of a few basic editorial Lynx Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/29 Vortex Competition Winner . . . . . . . 4
Vortex Optics & Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
requirements – suggested length, taboo subjects, etc, so
Magnum Binders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
before you start writing, please phone Gina on 031-572- Magnum Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 X5/X5i Rifles Scopes . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6551 or email mail@manmagnum.co.za and request our Magnum’s Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Makro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Webley & Scott Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . 43
(free) Writer’s & Photographer’s Guidelines. Once you have Marlin Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Wild TV Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
read through these, it is always a good idea to phone or Martin Hood & Associates . . . . . . . 35 Winchester Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
e-mail us before you hit the keyboard, to ‘bounce’ your art- Molopo Wapens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Whylo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
icle idea off us, just in case you’re on the wrong track, or we
have stocks of similar articles awaiting publication. We look
forward to reading your experiences. – Magnum Team

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KOSBARE NJALA BLASER F3 SHOTGUN APPIE GAME RANGER

JUNE 2016 R38,00 incl VAT

Optional ceramic coating can be applied on metal surfaces

Johannesburg Store Pretoria Store Stellenbosch Store

CONTACT ECM TECHNOLOGIES FOR YOUR

he has no problem with gutting. Hunting is done only for the

More about our Subscribers: Craig Milne

regular Magnum reader since 1984, but before that was

favourite spot for hunting

for springbuck a .243.

riflescope valued at R3 799. Miles says, “I have been hunting

of this I really am better off and appreciate the total hunting

Hard Times mail@manmagnum .co .za

TECH TALK – 63 Advertising Sales

MEDIA 24 (Weekly Magazines)

Opinions expressed in advertisements or articles are not necessarily those

6 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

8 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

SAMSUN YURT Savunma Sanayi ve

10 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 11

12 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

The test pistol we received had

I did experience a single, early smokestack jam using

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 13

14 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 15

everyone they dealt with to be armed

THIS WAS MY first experience with a

16 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

18 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

Photo by Philip Huebsch.

Passing on the appreciation of hunting ments of shotgunning. Initially we used

to the next generation a single barrel BSA but when my son

20 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 21

need to do our very best to recover

22 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 25

26 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

Appie Game Ranger in

Learning the deadly game

28 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 29

RAJABU THANKED me for shooting such

30 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

all stainless steel barrels are com-

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 31

32 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

removing rust. Is it to be a functional res-

FOR COSMETIC restoration of the out-

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 33

34 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 35

36 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016

ON OUR RETURN, the surface of an

June 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 37

Our trail in, stuck on an icy slope.

Wilderness Park, called the Redfern-Keily lower forests. Nowadays, hunting

38 | ManMAGNUM | June 2016