An Evening with George Hoffman

In June 2003 the international hunting community lost a true giant with the passing of George Hoffman, a cancer victim.  Sportsman, author, inventor of the .416 Hoffman big-game cartridge, professional hunter, raconteur, and true Texas gentleman, George Hoffman occupies a permanent position as an icon in the hunting community.  His autobiography, A Country Boy in Africa, is read and appreciated by those who undertake or who only dream of a safari in Africa.

Terry Blauwkamp of Michigan is a well-known and respected author of numerous articles and columns on reloading.  With forty-two safaris to Africa to date and hundreds of animals taken, Terry and his late wife Jo Ann left every year in April for six weeks in two or more African countries, where Terry conducted cull hunts to test new powders, bullets, and loads; he also field-tested ammunition manufacturers’ latest offerings.

In the early part of the new millennium, South African Airways offered direct flights from Atlanta to South Africa.   As an Atlanta resident at the time, it was my privilege for many years to have Terry and Jo Ann overnight at my home while awaiting their connection from Grand Rapids.  During one of those years, Texan George Hoffman was in Atlanta for several weeks, receiving cancer treatments.  I had connected with George via one of the Internet hunting forums, and as it happened, his stay coincided with Terry’s and Jo Ann’s annual overnight visit.  George was gracious enough to accept an invitation to join us for dinner and an evening of conversation.

George Hoffman arrived early at my request, and together we drove to the airport to collect the Blauwkamps.  After a dinner of Georgia plantation quail, we adjourned to the den where George regaled us with stories of his adventures in Africa.  He and Terry had a spirited conversation about calibers, loads, and what bullets were best suited for various types of game.

During the course of the evening, I mentioned that I’d acquired a new stock for an old Winchester Model 70, caliber 30-’06 I had taken on my very first safari to South Africa in 1996.  It had accounted for seven of the eight plains game antelope my sons and I collected on that first trip. 

The story behind that old 30-’06 intrigued George.  When I bought my first African safari at the February 1996 Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International show in Atlanta, I was like most tyros:  nothing would do but I had to buy at least two new guns for the trip–to a game farm in South Africa.  So, I purchased a Winchester Model 70 Super Express in .375 H&H and a Browning semi-auto (BAR) in .338 Winchester magnum.  At that time Speer had just introduced its Nitrex line of premium ammunition, so I bought twenty boxes of each caliber, outfitted both rifles with Leupold glass, and started hitting the range every weekend.  I was taking two of my high school-age sons with me, and we couldn’t make the trip until October due to the 1996 Olympics being held in Atlanta–the airlines were booked solid during that summer.  We burned up a lot of expensive ammo getting familiar with the two rifles.

My safari operator/landowner and I were communicating by fax, a slow method back then, and it wasn’t until about a week before departure that I happened to mention I was bringing the BAR.  A frantic fax came back, advising me hunting with a semi-auto in South Africa was forbidden!  Now what?

I surveyed the contents of my gun cabinet, and the only possible choice was an old beat-up Winchester Model 70 push-feed 30-’06 that I had inherited from an uncle and never fired.  Two days before our flight found me at a local gun shop where the Leupold on my BAR was pulled off and mounted on the Winchester; then the rifle was sighted in on a 25-yard indoor range (no time to go to the outdoor facility) and packed up with the .375.  Off it went on our great adventure.  At the safari destination, it was checked at 100 yards and found to be right on the mark. 

As I said, it accounted for seven of the eight animals taken, most with one shot:  kudu, zebra, black and common springboks, impala, black wildebeest, and red hartebeest.  I dropped a gemsbok with the .375 simply because I was determined not to have spent that much, and hauled the rifle that far, without taking something with it.

After relating the story to George and Terry it was clear there was a sentimental value attached to the rifle, and I explained I intended to keep it and thus had bought a better stock and bedding materials.  However, I admitted I’d never bedded a stock and asked if there were any suggestions.  Terry and George exchanged looks, and then George said, “What are we waiting for?  Let’s go!”

We repaired to my basement loading room and workshop where George and Terry went to work on the old Model 70.  Although George did most of the work, it was not unlike watching two surgeons collaborating on a difficult and delicate operation.  After about an hour the job was done, and we re-joined the ladies upstairs.

The next day Terry and Jo Ann departed for South Africa.  George finished his treatments and returned to Texas.  Sadly, the cancer was too far advanced and not long after, he died, even as he was planning yet another safari to Africa.

It was a great honor to have George Hoffman in my home, and I am truly blessed to be able to say I have a rifle that he personally handled and worked on for me.  It will always have a place in my safe and will be passed on to my sons and grandsons, along with the wonderful story that accompanies the old gun.  I only wish I could pass along to them that evening with George Hoffman; that, however, will live only within me, a memory to cherish for the remainder of my days.,