Watch as a dominant elephant uses his tusk to defend his prime riverside spot in Kruger National Park, showcasing the raw territorial behavior of these magnificent creatures in the African wilderness.
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In a breathtaking display of survival and teamwork, a lone buffalo found itself in what seemed like an impossible situation…
I had a very dear aunt who lives in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Every time she sends…
The recent introduction of new .17 caliber cartridges has brought with it a rebirth of interest in this often misunderstood,…
The discussion regarding the best cartridge for use on African plains game has been a century-old affair; a heated debate that certainly has no end in sight, nor a definitive correct answer. Its only competition is the evolving argument about dangerous game cartridges.
Bore diameters between 6.5mm and .375″ all have their champions, and all can be used on plains game with good effect. However, when it comes to a cartridge that is effective across a broad spectrum of game – from duikers to eland – the .30-’06 Springfield continues to hold one of the top positions.
There are some stories that must be written. If they are not, they will only be remembered by those who were there in the heat and dust, with thirst on their thick tongues, and their minds wandering far away when they should be concentrating on the task at hand. Stories lost because they were not written.
Having recently completed a free-lance safari for a local hunter/landowner in the Gwaai Valley, I was spending my ‘down time’ with my good friend Stuart Campbell on his Lion Ranch. He asked me to travel to Hwange town to collect some extra groceries, in preparation for the imminent arrival of a small group of South African visitors. Late that afternoon the guests arrived and one of them, an Air Steward with South African Airways expressed his eagerness to ‘shoot something’.
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When visiting Humani in the Savé Conservancy, one can be assured of being introduced to the newest member of the Humani clan. This extraordinary new addition is an orphan rhino calf named Jimmy, who is being raised by Anne Whittall. When Jimmy arrived at the Humani homestead, weak and in a generally sorry state, Anne was forced to play the part of foster mother rhino. Many will agree that there could be no one better for the role.
I am often asked what caliber rifle to take on an African plains game hunt. My response is usually, “What do you have in your gun case now”? The reason I ask that is because almost everyone already has a .270 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, etc.
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This story actually started way back in 1960 with an article by Dr. Wendell G. Swank from Michigan State College which was in the Sports Afield Gun Annual. He and a fellow doctor took their old pre-64 Winchester Model 70 .30-06 Springfield rifles with Sierra bullets to Uganda to harvest game for research.
Ever so slowly I inch my way through the scrub, closing in purposefully on the result of what was possibly…
After numerous delays, we finally left Victoria Falls on July 21st. As it happened, our departure was somewhat uninspiring, given that we left from the goods train station and followed the railway line from town.
Binga was something of a letdown. It was the first ‘real town’ we passed through, and to be honest I wish we had bypassed. We were delayed there for an unreasonably lengthy period (due to various factors but mainly because of bungling bureaucracy), and I found the town to be a dive, as I find all Zimbabwean towns to be these days.
We ended up spending a week at Tashinga before setting off for the Changachirere Parks post, which is the northern part of Matusadona, close to Spurwing Island.
Kariba gorge was, without a doubt, the most physically demanding stretch of the Borderline Walk to date.
In certain respects, the lower Zambezi stretch was a letdown. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoyed fantastic moments and sightings and met some fine people along the way, but delays constantly shackled our advance and we jerked along spasmodically.
The last leg of the journey before David Passed away was undocumented
The basic design for a Dangerous Game Rifle (DGR) was finalized by English gun makers such as Holland and Holland, Rigby, Jeffrey, et al. before the start of WWI. Drawing on the experiences of big game hunters in their African colonies and using the new smokeless propellant, Cordite, these custom gun smiths could now build relatively light weight rifles that surpassed the stopping power of the earlier 4 to 10 gauge black powder rifles.
In part one of this article, several issues associated with barrels and iron front sights were discussed at length. Now…
In Part I of this article I talked about new ideas and advanced concepts relating to barrels and iron sights.…
The farmer went by the name “Boats.” I never learned his family name and his Christian name kept me baffled, but that wasn’t important.
As far as the eye could see, in their thousands and tens of thousands, the wildebeest came. Stringing down from…
Call me a hopeless romantic. Before leaving on safari I write my wife letters on white paper with a red…