ROBIN BARKES BOER BATTLE KEEP YOUR

RE GUN-SAFE DRY
D

NEW
Stoeger
Cougar
8000 FT in 9mmP

TESTS
Caldwell Chronograph
Lazy Aim Shooting Sticks
CRKT Homefront Hunter

HUNTIN
NG Really
Elephant
Springbuck
What You
Rooihartbees Need to Know
to Face a
Charge
August 2019 43,50 incl VAT
Namibia N$43,50
New FAIR 12ga
F LESSON
SONS 08485
STV 15500 SHOT FROM A FIRST
FR
9mmP TORRTURE BUFFALO
Ammo TESTT HUNT 9 770256 067003
 ROBIN BARKES BOER BATTLE KEEP YOUR
RE GUN-SAFE DRY

VOLUME 44
NUMBER 8
AUGUST 2019
G ERS & SHOOTERS
E

NEW
Stoeger
Cougar
8000 FT in 9mmP

TESTS
Caldwell Chronograph
Lazy Aim Shooting Sticks
CRKT Homefront Hunter

HUNTIN
NG Really
Elephant
Springbuck
What You
Rooihartbees Need to Know
to Face a
ON THE COVER: Charge

Stoeger’s 9mmP Cougar 8000 FT, a new take New FAIR 12ga LESSON
ONS
August 2019
Namibia N$43 50
R43,50 incl VAT

08485
STV 15
500 SHOT FR
FROM A FIRST
on an old Beretta. Read more on p12. 9mmP
Ammo
TORTURE
T
TEST
BUFFALO
HUNT 9 770256 067003

Photo by André Grobler.

Features
12 STOEGER COUGAR
Turkish-made Beretta retro compact 9-mil
André Grobler

16 AN OLD PH MEETS THE FUTURE

Things ain’t what they used to be…
Robin Barkes

20 ROOIHARTBEES
Bied sy eie unieke uitdagings in die veld
Frederik Cocquyt

24 DESICCATORS FOR GUN SAFES

Out, damp spot! (With apologies to Shakespeare)
Roger Ingle

27 THE BULL AND NDOROBO BOY

Elephant hunting: not for the faint-hearted!
Royce Buckle

32 MORE KNIFE NOSTALGIA

Remembering reader generosity…
Gregor Woods

36 FAIR RACING SHOTGUN

Rugged dependability from Rizzini of Italy
Phillip Hayes

40 BOER REICHSREVOLVER
An historical handgun returns to the scene
MC Heunis

44 FACING A CHARGE
Watch for the signs; know what to do
Cleve Cheney

48 MAGNUM/PEREGRINE GONG SHOOT

Fun for the whole family
André Grobler

50 SUNGULA – THE START

A ranger appie’s rite of passage
Kevin Thomas

64 HUNTER FIELD TARGET

Practical air-rifle meets metal-silhouette
Lourens Streicher

Subscribe to our Digital Edition, go to www.manmagnum.com

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Trail Talk
A View from Afar
OTWI ND G THE EVER-
SING hat we, as
nt rs, stil ve good in South
ric o legall a ire your biltong
dv n, you ne only buy a hunt-
g , of c e, pay for what
you hav d. W n heading home
f permission to
t venison, signed
by the landowner, will suffice. And to top
it all, when I’m on a tight budget, all I
need is written permission, and I can
shoot pigeons or doves over sunflower
or maize fields, free of charge. A bles-
buck or warthog hunt is within an hour’s
drive from home and at very reasonable
prices to boot.
A recent visit to family living in
Alberta, Canada, made me realise just
how lucky we are, but also clearly
exposed the shortcomings of our ‘para-
dise’. A family member told me he had
applied in early June for several hunting
tags and was optimistic of a favourable
outcome on one or two as he’s hoping to
hunt elk or whitetail deer during the
coming season.
In Canada, hunting tags are drawn,
and the application form requires a
10-digit Wildlife Identification Number
(WIN). To obtain a WIN, every local
hunter must successfully complete a
one-time hunter’s education course,
online if you choose. The downside is
that there are more applicants than tags
and consequently, many unsuccessful
applications. Not even landowners may
hunt on their own land unless they
successfully draw a tag.
Hunting takes place in specific num-
bered areas called Wildlife Management
Units (WMU), which are comparable
with our local districts, though much
larger. The number of animals to be
hunted in a WMU can vary each year,
much like our own system wherein the
species available for hunting and bag
limits may vary. I was told it’s advisable
6 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
for a novice to accompany an experi-
enced hunter or engage a professional
outfitter to learn the ropes.
Waterfowl hunting is clearly big in
Canada, as was evident with every visit
to a gun shop or outdoor equipment
dealer. In a small sports shop in Stettler,
I found two huge stacks of shotgun cart-
ridges (all steel shot) in all sizes. In the
same shop the variety of appropriate
clothing necessary to survive the hunt-
ing conditions was simply staggering,
but in contrast the choice of scopes was
limited to Vortex and Bushnell. To my
surprise, prices of goods were almost
the same as at home.
Another pleasant surprise was the
venison – the best I tasted was vacuum-
packed elk medallions, prepared by my
host. It was tender, juicy and tasty, and
seemed to melt in my mouth. A visit to
town revealed elk and bison meat freely
available in the supermarkets. Elk
medallions sold for $12.99 (R140) for
224g. Also, it seems that every Cana-
dian has a meat-smoker of some kind
for the regular preparation of beef or
bison brisket. We tried bison, smoked
for eight hours, and it was excellent.
DURING A TWO-DAY visit to the
Rocky Mountains, I did not see a
single scrap of garbage lying around
– not even at the most crowded tour-
ist spots and lookout points. At the
upper Bow River I could dip my hands
into the grey-green glacier water and
scoop handfuls to drink. It was very
cold, but as pure as you can get.
There’s not much open water that’s
drinkable back home.
In Alberta, the wilderness areas are
enormous and the Canadians clearly
enjoy nature (when weather permits),
but more importantly, there’s respect
for nature. For example, there are
grass-covered bridges over highways
to enable wild animals to cross safely.
by ANDRÉ GROBLER
I was told that the week before our
visit, traffic ground to a halt near
Calgary for a duck and her ducklings to
cross the road unharmed. In a small
town I visited, nature seemed to be
right at my doorstep. Early one morn-
ing, while on a stroll, I found deer
tracks barely 50m from the nearest
buildings, and moments later a white-
tail deer surprised me. Some 50m
further, it was my turn to surprise
another, younger deer.
Also obvious was the lack of
security features in vehicles and
houses. Driving to my nephew’s home
on the prairie, I couldn’t help noticing
the absence of fences around pro-
perties, whether suburban houses or
farms. We saw several empty vehicles
along the road; the occupants were
taking walks in the forest with no
worries about car theft. One vehicle
had yellow tape around it. My host said
this meant a motorist had phoned the
local police to report a possibly
abandoned vehicle; the police had
checked it out, found all to be in order
and taped the vehicle to signify as much,
thereby avoiding further such reports.
Most Canadians are strictly law-
abiding and expect fellow citizens to be
the same. Almost everybody adheres to
speed limits. It’s not uncommon for local
police to receive anonymous calls
reporting dangerous driving, resulting in
the suspect being pulled over by police
outside the next town.
In Canada, handguns are allowed at
shooting clubs only and must be stored
in safes at the clubs. Rifles and shotguns
can be kept at home.
The trip was an eye opener. I realised
that we simply do not comprehend how
crime has affected our lives and our way
of thinking. Nonetheless, we are blessed
with freedoms we should not take for
granted, especially when it comes to
hunting.
Letters
Shotgun Loads
I found the article “The Shotgun” by Neil
Harmse in the May 2019 edition well writ-
ten. However, I have some questions: How
is it that an increase of weight in grams
from 24 to 34 grams does not require a
heavier charge of propellant to send the
heavier charge at the same velocity? The
heavier loads like 34 gram have much
more recoil. Where is the extra load of pel-
lets contained in the cartridge?
I have done a fair amount of reload-
ing but only for clay shooting with my
own cast of lead from wheel weights
and batteries, selecting the No 6, 7 and
8 for reloading. – Owen Connor, Zambia
➤ All cartridges have officially standard-
ised maximum pressure levels that are
safe for firing in the appropriate firearms.
These pressure levels are determined by
the ratio of the weight, burning rate and
other properties of the propellant (pow-
der) to the weight of the projectile or
shot-load. The general rule states that
the heavier you make the projectile or
shot-load, the lighter you must make the
propellant charge, all other factors being
equal, in order to maintain constant safe
pressure levels. (Certain compromises can
be made by using different powder types
and burning rates, but the basic principle
still applies). Simply put, increasing both
the powder charge and the shot-load
would likely burst the gun’s barrel. Thus,
in shotgun cartridges containing heavier
shot-loads (say 34g) the powder charge
is actually reduced; the constant pressure
level maintained propels the pellets at a
pretty much similar velocity as the lesser
mass. The increased kinetic energy/
momentum of the heavier mass of pellets
is what causes the increase in recoil (an
equal and opposite reaction).
Wads come in different lengths to
accommodate the shot mass, 24g, 28g,
34g etc. Game loads usually have a fibre
wad and the shot is loaded directly onto
the top of the wad resulting in a more
open pattern. Most vintage guns were
designed with forcing cones and barrels
to work with fibre wads (plastic wads were
not known at that time). Editor
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.
8 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
Gramadoela Mountain Zebra
I feel compelled to voice my disappoint-
ment in your allowing the publication of
such an appalling recollection of a ‘hunt’ by
Jokl le Roux in the June 19 edition. The told
actions of Mr Le Roux for not keeping his
trigger finger straight in such a situation
defeats the spirit of ethical hunting entirely.
This is a slap in the face for ethical hunt-
ers and, once again, wonderful food for the
opposition. –DrAlbrechtPiro,EasternCape
➤ The aim of the article was to por-
tray a lesson learned the hard way, as
Jokl clearly states that he was, “...very
upset with myself for having made this
mistake…”. From time-to-time Magnum
does publish articles where the outcome
has not been ideal. We hope that readers
will take to heart experiences shared by
our contributors. Editor
Sixth Sense?
I enjoyed Chris Pargeter’s June column,
“A Hunter’s ESP”. I have experienced this
phenomenon a few times. Many years ago
during a visit to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier
Park with my wife and young son (3), we
set off from Nossob Camp to Unions End, a
300km round trip. The remote Unions End
area is where the South Africa, Namibia
and Botswana borders meet.
As we travelled, thunderstorms came
and went and we gratefully pulled into
a deserted unfenced picnic spot close to
Unions End. After carefully scanning the
area for any danger we alighted to stretch
cramped muscles. The spot is adjacent to
the Nossob riverbed and slopes up a low
dune to the road. The road, having over
the years been graded lower than the sur-
rounding ground, is not visible from the
picnic area.
As we stood and relaxed I experienced
a strong premonition of danger and had a
feeling we were being watched from the
road about 40m away. I glanced at my wife
and saw that she too was looking intently
at a spot near the road. Although we had
heard no sound, and could not see any-
thing, we knew something was there! There
was no way I was going to investigate so
we departed. Looking to our left towards
the perceived danger spot we saw nothing.
We decided to drive to a water hole approx-
imately 500m away around a corner. After
about five minutes we turned around and
headed back towards the picnic area. As we
came to the entrance/exit of the picnic area
we noticed fresh leopard tracks in the wet
sand – on top of our vehicle’s tracks!
We searched for the leopard with-
out success, and then continued slowly
down the road to the spot at which we
had stared from the picnic site. There,
just below the lip of the roadside, was the
imprint of a large body in the sand with
the same tracks leading to the picnic area
entrance – proof that we had been under
close surveillance.
I firmly believe that there is such a
thing as an intuitive sixth sense and that
depending on circumstances, and the
degree to which you are aware of your
surroundings, you can ‘feel’ it. I learnt that
day in the Kalahari that you must trust the
sensed warnings. –GarthMain,EasternCape
CZ Firearms and Rhino
Poaching
Critical situations require critical meas-
ures. Kathi Lynn Austin from the Conflict
Awareness Project and Carte Blanche
recently did an exposé on (predom-
inately) CZ firearms being used to poach
rhino and elephant in Africa – mainly
Southern Africa.
I do not need to go into details here as
this is all now common knowledge – read
the expose on the web. CZ needs to take
note of the situation – but business is busi-
ness. I am a conservationist and hunter and
advocate the legal ownership of firearms
but do believe that a boycott of CZ firearm
purchases in SA will make CZ take note and
try to resolve this serious problem.
Can we band together and try to stop
the slaughter of these animals? – John Bur-
man,EasternCape
➤ We would like to see all poaching
stopped, however, a boycott against CZ
is not the solution. I’m sure that several
other brands are also used in poaching
and, CZ’s opinion is that the firearms in
question were legally sold. Editor
Consider This...
‘Hello Darkness
my Old Friend…’
WITH OGI O th olk-rock in the bush without preparation. It was
o Sim nd Ga el winter, but they had their old British
Frien r foe, it ep on you? army long grey greatcoats and a fire. A
ybod at me t me id of the ranger was woken up by something
and it c work ag u, if you tugging on his collar. Attempting to
t app tely p for it. brush it aside, he was met with a loud
liev ess at equal- growl and what turned out to be a lion-
h a lot of ess. She had crept up behind him,
nnot see grabbed hold of his greatcoat collar and
you in complete darkness, others will was pulling him backwards. The dark-
just ignore your dim presence. The ness and his immobility had not clearly
exceptions are lion and leopard. The identified him and he had been
unfortunate result of darkness and classified as potential prey.
immobility has led to some nasty At the same reserve, two tourists
happenings with humans, lions and were relaxing on the deck at the
leopards. tented camp at Mpila. The lights were
One night rangers in the Imfolozi out, and they were lapping up the feel
Game Reserve were forced to sleep out of it all when a lioness ‘approached’
them in the total darkness. Crouching
low, she appeared to be stalking one
tourist, and it took the brightness of a
torch’s beam to move her off. Running
into their tent, they were then
subjected to roaring at close quarters
as the frustrated lion vented her
annoyance.
Another relaxed and immobile
tourist who was enjoying a night in
the bush, sat a little way from his
braai at Hilltop Camp at Hluhluwe
Game Reserve. He suffered the same
fate, but with a leopard that practically
scalped him before running off after
realising its mistake. Horrible injuries
to the tourist but he survived.
In the early seventies, my friend,
Sonny Twiggs, at Victoria Falls in the
old Rhodesia was ‘scratched’ by a leo-
pard that jumped down from a tree
beside him. He sustained a small
but deep cut on the fore-
arm. Well known to the
park rangers and
myself, the female
10 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
by CHRIS PARGETER
leopard lived in the village and mainly
ate cats. Hearing something up a tree
next to his verandah, Sonny had left
the illuminated verandah area and
walked over to look up into the tree.
The leopard’s ability to see in the dark-
ness and her regular exposure to
humans made it a ‘minor’ coming-
together as she sought to escape.
Even animals such as hippo, rhino
and buffalo get used to humans moving
around in the dark, especially in the
game reserve camps. Places such as
Ndumo, Charters Creek and Ithala
come to mind. As long as you carry a
small torch, incidents are almost
unknown.
I once walked through a herd of ele-
phant cows at the campsite at Ithala
while seeking the toilet and only
became aware of them upon my return
to the tent. The next morning the
tracks revealed just how close I had
been – at times it was just fifteen to
twenty metres.
Sitting in complete darkness in lion
and leopard country is not recom-
mended. At least utilise some sort of
mild illumination. Visits to the toilet or
braai must be done with a torch; more
to alert the animals that you are about,
than to actually seek illumination.
Never let children walk around outside
at night. Imfolozi’s Mpila camp abounds
with hyena – thanks to tourists who
feed them.
Some of my fondest memories of
the bush are of sitting around a fire at
night listening to the night sounds and
the crackling of the flames, the bugle of
a blue wildebeest or, if you are lucky,
the roar of a lion or sawing of a leopard.
Darkness is indeed your friend, just
don’t abuse it!
Handguns Rapid-fire 5-shot
group after settling
on a suitable grip
for better trigger
control.

A worthy
born-again
Beretta design
8000FT

Stoeger Cougar
by ANDRÉ GROBLER
 Steel magazine,
made in Italy. Note
the witness holes.
TH OEGE UGAR 8000 FT is a
of Stoe tries in Turkey,
y the oldings Group.
tol is w design by
and d retta followers
cogni copy of the
Couga at appeared in
arly 1990s, w he Cougar was
tive to the full-
s designed for
security work and civilian self-defence.
At the time, the Beretta Cougar
pistol series was unique for its rotating
barrel system in an enclosed slide. It
seems the series was very popular with
police agencies in Europe and the USA,
but when Beretta introduced their poly-
mer-framed pistols like the PX4 Storm,
the Cougar 8000 faded out. The Cougar
also became too expensive to produce
in Italy, so Beretta shipped all the Cou-
gar 8000 tooling to their Stoeger Silah
Sanayi AS facility in Turkey, which Ber-
etta has owned since 2002. From the
1980s, the former Stoeger company
was already building top quality Turkish
Stoeger shotguns, and Beretta’s move
in 2005 resulted in the Stoeger Cougar
8000 pistol series, only now at a more
affordable price.
The Stoeger Cougar 8000 FT pistol
Magnum tested is, in almost every
aspect, the same high-capacity, com-
pact, semi-auto as the previous Beretta,
including the rotating barrel system
which is used by few manufacturers
other than Beretta. The barrel rotates as
part of a short recoil lockup system. On
firing, the recoil energy forces the slide
and barrel assembly briefly rearwards.
A central steel block that fits into a cam
track on the barrel has a hexagonal
shaped stud which rotates the barrel,
turning its locking lugs out of their
recesses in the slide. The moment the
lugs are free, the barrel stops against
the central block, and the slide contin-
ues rearwards. In the process, the
empty case is ejected and the hammer
cocked. The recoil spring pushes the
slide forward, scooping a fresh cartridge
from the magazine. The central block
engages the barrel which rotates back
into lock-up, ready for the next shot.
This system holds the barrel at the same
level all the time. It is
believed the rotating barrel Central block and
system has less muzzle- recoil spring.
jump and less felt recoil,
affording enhanced practical
accuracy compared to the
more popular Browning
tilt-barrel design.
THE COUGAR’S BARREL
is 3.62ꞌꞌ long; overall pistol
length is 178mm, height
126mm and width 32mm.
The weight, unloaded, is
800g. The frame is alumin- The rail
ium alloy, the slide steel. system on
which the
The frame-to-slide fit is
central block
snug – I could feel no play. rides.
The test-pistol had already
done service as a demon-
stration model on loan to
several security agencies.
The pistol’s main opera-
tional controls are on the
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 13
left side. The magazine
release button is situated in
the grip at the trig-
ger-guard junction, and is
reversible for lefties. The
button is prominent for
easy one-handed opera-
tion, though shooters with
small hands might have to
shift their grip to reach it.
The slide release-lever is
just above the grip panel.
The disassembly lever is
just above the front of the
scooped, grooved trigger
guard, but the spring-
loaded button you must
press in order to manip-
ulate the disassembly lever,
is on the right side of the
frame. The slide release
and disassembly levers are
grooved for positive pur-
chase. On the right side of
the frame, the external trig-
ger bar is above the trigger.
The trigger guard is big
enough to facilitate gloved use; ahead
of it is a short Picatinny rail for tactical
attachments.
THE BERETTA-STYLE slide-mounted
ambidextrous safety lever sits directly
below the rear sight and also serves as
a decocking lever. With a cartridge in
the chamber, pushing the safety lever
downward lowers the hammer without
it striking the firing-pin. Other safety
features include trigger-bar disconnec-
tion, the rotating firing-pin striker and
a firing-pin blocking device.
The slide’s sides are grooved ahead
of the safety levers for a secure grip
when racking (I found the safety levers
also provided extra purchase). The
wide ejection port exposes the rear of
the barrel and the broad ejector. The
slide and frame are coated with a
tough, scratch-resistant black protec-
tive finish.
The Stoeger Cougar has a double-
action/single-action trigger system.
The trigger is broad and smooth-
surfaced. I did not measure the double-
14 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
action pull, but it has a long
travel and is heavier than
most, though its stroke is
smooth. It will require
practice to get used to and
to get an accurate first
double-action shot on tar-
get. The single-action pull
was much lighter. Because
I have big hands, I strug-
gled with the single-action
trigger pull. Initially, it felt
as if the trigger’s break was
too far back to afford effi-
cient trigger control but,
after some target practice,
I achieved smoother opera-
tion. The grooved external hammer
cocked smoothly during one-handed
operation.
The grip fits my hand well and my
little finger settled tightly above the
slight extension of the magazine plate,
which I can’t say for other compacts.
The grip frame is grooved front and
back; this and the finely chequered
plastic grip panels ensure
a slip-free hold.
The Cougar comes
with two sturdy-looking,
Italian-made steel maga-
zines with witness holes
at five, ten and fifteen
round levels, employing
polymer followers and
floorplates. Loading the
magazines to capacity
was quick, and on
release, the mags readily
fell free, whether full or
empty.
Stoeger uses the
three-dot sight system.
The front and back sights
FAR LEFT: Top view.
LEFT: Barrel with
the camming groove
visible.
are dovetailed into the slide and are
removable. I enjoyed the factory
sights, finding them quick to align for a
perfect sight picture. Their corners
were rounded for snag-free handling
from concealed carry.
Field-stripping is simple. Make the
pistol safe and remove the magazine.
Leave the slide in the open position. On
the right side of the frame is the spring-
loaded button you need to press to
release the disassembly lever which is
on the left side. Press the button and
lower the disassembly lever. Pull the
slide forward off the frame. Lift the
central block and recoil spring out of
the slide. Pull the recoil spring out of
the central block. In the unlocked posi-
tion, the barrel can move slightly for-
ward and back. Lift the barrel out.
To reassemble, insert the recoil
spring in the central block. Replace the
barrel in the slide in its unlocked posi-
tion. The camming-groove should face
you. To confirm its correct placement,
move the barrel back and forth in the
slide. Insert and attach
the recoil spring and
block to the barrel and
frame. It is now able to
move slightly against the
recoil spring if you push it
forward and back. Cock
the hammer and ensure
that the safety lever is up
before you attach the
slide to the frame then
pull it back until the
slide-release button
catches it. The disassem-
bly lever does not return
The three-dot sights.
View of the decocking and safety mechanism.
Pistol is cocked and ready for action.
Engaging the safety (decocking lever). Note that
the rotating firing-pin striker is starting to face
upwards, out of the way.
upright automatically; you must push
the barrel slightly back, then it will click
into position.
At the shooting range, I began by
emptying two magazines just to get the
feel of the trigger and to determine my
grip on the pistol. The long, heavy
double-action trigger pull bothered me
for a while. Such is not necessarily a
drawback, considering that the pistol is
for law enforcement and security work
as well as civilian self-defence. Light
triggers can result in accidental dis-
charges.
I also had to adjust my one-handed
and two-handed grip to get the best out
of the Stoeger. I carry an old CZ 75
every day and am used to a high grip-
hold with my thumbs on top of each
other for a firm grasp. The same hold
did not work on the Stoeger – nor does
it with other compact pistols.
On grasping the pistol and dis-
engaging the Beretta-style
safety, my shooting hand’s
thumb would ride on the
slide-release lever, hence the
slide would not stay open at
the last shot. Concentrating
on using a different grip to
correct this, I got the Stoeger
to perform flawlessly.
WITH 115GR FIOCCHI
ammunition, the pistol proved
accurate at 10 to 15m. During
rapid shooting exercises, the
groups remained tight. Testing
Holding the hammer in the cocked position
while the pistol is decocked and safe. Note
that the firing-pin striker is totally out of
alignment and sight.
the claim that the rotating barrel sys-
tem has less muzzle-jump and recoil,
thus enhanced accuracy, I also fired
two full-size CZ 75 pistols with tilting
lock-up systems for comparison. I am
not that good a shot to give a clear-cut
answer on accuracy but I did get the
impression that the Stoeger had less
muzzle-jump and lower perceived recoil
than other compacts. Recovery-time
was also faster than with the CZ 75s.
The Stoeger ejected empty cases about
three metres at the four o’clock posi-
tion. The cases had no severe dents or
marks that would prevent their being
Field stripped Stoeger reloaded.
Cougar 8000.
THE STOEGER COUGAR 8000 in
9mmP is a reliable pistol and carries the
Beretta stamp of approval. It is a con-
sidered competitor in the compact pis-
tol market for security and law
enforcement work. I would not
hesitate to carry it as a self-de-
fence pistol or for use on the
sport shooting range. The pis-
tol with its spare magazine and
manual come in a durable plas-
tic case at a suggested retail
price of R8 300, excluding VAT.
To find your nearest retailer,
contact National Cartridge Co
in Pretoria on 065-966-9065 or
the Cape Town office on 021-
797-9102.
The Stoeger Cougar 8000
comes in a handy carry case.
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 15
 An Old PH
Meets the Future
by ROBIN BARKES

Becoming a PH and then a client

ABOVE: A beater collected carcasses on his four-by-four recovery vehicle. BELOW LEFT: One of the lodges at Hoeksfontein Safaris.
BELOW RIGHT: There was no shortage of firewood at the well-run venue.

16 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019

The cook turns the lunch while a beater’s horse rests in the background.

ALF ago gle sheet of paper changed my

. In m held tificate from the Department of
ture on th roclaimed me to be what I had
ways wanted to be – a fessional hunter.
Earni nour not come easily. Although I con-
ered xper ed hunter, my first step towards
comin as to s a one-year apprenticeship with
a safari com ny – this be g East Cape and Karoo Safaris
r Lud DeBruijn. As an appie, I
and wildlife than I had during my
lifetime. This was because for the first time, I was hunting
animals such as impala, gemsbuck, black wildebeest, red
hartebeest, lechwe and waterbuck. I also learned the correct
manner in which a professional hunter should conduct him-
self, and discovered that a PH should also be a firearms
expert, a motor mechanic, handyman, head waiter, barman
and psychologist, as well as being able to administer first aid,
treat minor illnesses and recognise serious ailments.
Back then there were fewer than a dozen professional
hunters in the East Cape and the procedure for applying was
totally different. First, I did the practical test. On an appointed
day, two Nature Conservation officers arrived at the game
farm where I worked. The senior fellow carried a clipboard and
marked my performance, while the other chap acted as the
‘client’. In the bush the ‘client’ asked me to identify different
spoor and animal droppings, and grilled me about trees and
bushes, while the other silently noted my answers – he actu-
ally gave me the creeps. All the while my eyes were scanning
the bush for game because the object was to guide the ‘client’
to an animal and then I would shoot it.
In thick bush, we suddenly walked into a group of impala.
A good ram stood alone so I whipped the .243 to my shoulder
and fired... and missed. Hoo boy, I felt a real twit. Anyway,
we soon spied the impala herd on the rocky side of an escarp-
ment. Concentrating hard, I dropped a ram in its tracks. We
made our way to the fallen antelope where I cleaned away

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 17

 With the hunting gene in my blood, little things like a heart condition did not stop me
venturing into the bush, gun or rifle in hand. The difference is that I am now able
to relax and enjoy myself without the strain of looking after clients

the blood and posed the animal With the practical test done, I
with the ‘client’ so that I could take was given a date to appear at Nature
a photo using the other fellow’s C o n s e r va t i o n h e a d q u a r t e r s i n
camera. Then the two men Queenstown to do the written exam-
watched as I gutted the impala and ination. This was pretty easy if you
moved it into the shade. knew all the hunting and firearms
Later, back at the skinning shed, laws, and used your common sense
I made the cuts for a cape and for the general knowledge questions.
began the skinning – a task I hate. My results came later in the form of
Fortunately, the two officers were the certificate mentioned at the start
invited to the farmhouse for tea and of this article.
I could relax without their watching
my every move. Afterwards, when AND SO BEGAN my 20-year career
the senior chap examined the cape, as a professional hunter taking out
he grunted his satisfaction. ABOVE: Desert flowers added a splash of colour.
clients from many different countries.
BELOW: With the drought, the rivers were bone dry.
Next we headed for the shoot- I hunted all over the Eastern Cape
ing range where I was allowed and in the Matetsi block in Zimbabwe.
three shots to sight in one of their scoped rifles. Having done Sadly, the years flew by and like all living things I grew older.
this countless times before, I was successful. Thereafter A heart bypass slowed me down and, a few years later, a sec-
came the charging animal scenario, in which I had to fire ond major heart operation put paid to my career as a PH.
three fast shots at a target 25 yards away and hit the bull’s With the hunting gene in my blood, little things like that did
eye every time. Another pass. not stop me venturing into the bush, gun or rifle in hand. The
That was followed by the trophy identification and assess- difference is that I am now able to relax and enjoy myself with-
ment test. One officer drove the Nature Conservation truck out the strain of looking after clients. I have many fond mem-
about fifty yards off, where he then raised various skulls and ories of my days as a PH and have often wondered how things
horns for about three seconds each while I hollered out, “… have changed since my day. I recently had the opportunity to
blesbuck sixteen inches, bushbuck fourteen inches,” and so find out when I was invited by outfitter, Bennie van Niekerk, to
on. Apparently I underestimated them all, but to my relief, attend a hunt on his property in the Pearston district.
discovered this was a good thing because then a client would The hunt began with top-ranking PH, Neil Pretorius,
never be disappointed. coming to fetch me, just as if I were a client. Seeing me

18 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019

load only a clothing bag, he asked
what I was going to shoot with. I
pointed at the camera bag slung over
my shoulder. Since the weekend out-
ing was to be a springbuck shoot, I
chose to relax, observe, and use the
opportunity to take a few photo-
graphs for my files.
On our arrival at Hoeksfontein
Safari headquarters we were wel-
comed by Bennie and his family. I was
shown to my comfortable room where
my bag had already been placed, a
pleasant, unexpected service. The rest
of the afternoon was spent on the
range where I enjoyed seeing the dif-
ferent makes and calibres of rifles.
Interestingly, all the young hunters
had silencers, or should I say suppres-
sors, on their rifles – something
unheard of when I was a PH. I also
noticed that everyone used shooting Reinhardt and springbuck. The writer, as a young PH, hunted on the other side of those mountains.
sticks, either bipods or tripods. In my
day you shot over an anthill or used a tree as a rest, and select an animal. Just as quickly they were gone, so we set-
rangefinders were unknown. In fact, when I first started as a tled down expecting another long wait, but to our surprise,
PH, I did not even have a scope on my rifle. the herd of springbuck turned and thundered past. Again
There was much talk of super loads, the use of different Reinhardt was unable to get a clear shot. About 150 yards
types of space age bullets, and the speed at which the vari- away, the animals slowed and began disappearing into the
ous ‘wonder’ missiles travelled – all completely new to bush. In a flash Reinhardt was on his feet raising the tele-
someone who, in his day, simply bought ammo from a scopic legs of his tripod. I saw him peering through his scope
dealer. This brought to mind the famous Jack O’Conner who but I could not see any target, so the sound of his shot star-
pointed out that the creature you shoot does not care if it tled me. Hearing the distinctive thud of a bullet striking flesh
dies at 1 500 feet per second or 2 500 feet per second. Heck, and bone I said, “You got it”. “Yep, it’s down,” he replied. We
my muzzle-loader does the job with a soft lead slug loping walked the estimated 200 yards to where the animal lay, it
along at 800fps, although admittedly, my shots are taken at was a good ram. Reinhardt handed me his rifle and picked
50 to 75 yards. up the springbuck. As we walked back to the shade of our
tree I felt like a client again – it reminded me of when I was
THE NEXT MORNING we set out in the hunting vehicles. The the one lugging the buck.
hunters were dropped off in the veld, shown to their posi- That afternoon I went out with Reinhardt and another
tions, and told in which direction they could safely shoot. I PH, Hein. We were dropped off in a different area and chose
accompanied a young PH named Reinhardt and we were soon to wait in a shallow donga. This provided good cover
comfortably seated in the shadow of a thorn tree with small because a line of thorn trees followed the dry water course.
bushes covering our front, prepared for action. An open area Although no springbuck appeared, we did have a burst of
lay before us covered with small shrubs and the odd desert excitement when a big kudu bull suddenly broke from the
flower. Two horsemen had been sent out to get the spring- tree line only fifty yards from us and went galloping off
buck moving and it wasn’t long before we heard the first across the open veld.
shots. The excitement of a hunt never leaves you, no matter Eventually we moved further down in the donga to where
how many times you have hunted before – or how old you we could see springbuck in the distance. Both hunters put up
are. Even though I was not shooting, I was on edge, just as their tripods and Hein offered me a shot, which I declined.
in the past when I had an overseas hunter at my side making And so we waited. Eventually a lone ram came within distance
ready to shoot. and Reinhardt took it with a perfect shot. By the time the
Suddenly about 20 springbuck dashed into view, all vehicle arrived to collect us, there were a couple more spring-
bunched together and going like the clappers. Although buck in the bag. Soon thereafter my wonderful experience of
Reinhardt had his rifle over a tripod, it was impossible to living the life of a client, came to an end.

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 19

 ’n Unieke jagervaring

BO: My eerste rooihartbees gejag in 2007 in Namibië . Die horings is

effens wyer as normaal. REGS: Rooihartbees gejag in meer oop wêreld.
Die dunner horingbasis wys dit is ′n jonger bul.

Rooihartbees
deur FREDERIK COCQUYT

Rooihartbeesbul. Die
penisskede is een van die
onderskeidende kenmerke
tussen geslagte.
 OOIHA EES IS N van die bokname wat in Afrikaans
ker oo tong r n vir my is hy een van die spesies in
jagve at my b or. In die laat 1980s het ek die eerste
er met ʼn rooih s te doen gekry in die bosveld naby
sras. oor die an grootskaalse wildboerdery het
tuurli roppe v ié lang-gesig-bok op oop beesplase
by dor os Tolw Swartwater en Alldays voorgekom.
Die bast rtbees of tsessebe, en Lichtenstein se hart-
hartbees, is die ander bokke in die
at in Suid-Afrika gevind kan word.
Lichtenstein se hartbees kom tans hoofsaaklik in die verre
noorde van die Krugerwildtuin voor. Ek het hulle nog nooit self
in die wildtuin gesien nie, maar wel in Tanzanië. Die rooihart-
bees en die tsessebe kom nou in Suid-Afrika in dieselfde
gebiede voor, hoofsaaklik weens hervestiging in natuurreser-
vate en op privaat grond, maar die rooihartbees hou van ʼn
wêreld wat droër is. Daarom is hulle natuurlike habitat in
Suid-Afrika hoofsaaklik die Kalahari en dele van die Noordwes
provinsie.
Wanneer water vrylik
beskikbaar is drink die diere
Hulle geniet ’n
gereeld, maar indien genoeg
vog uit plante ingeneem oop terrein soos
word, kan die bokke vir dae grasvlaktes en
sonder water klaarkom. Vir
baie jagters is die voorkoms hou daarvan om
van ʼn rooihartbees lomp en saam met ander
snaaks, maar dit is een van
die vinnigste boksoorte, net
wildspesies soos
effens stadiger as die blesbokke en wilde­
tsessebe wat as die vinnigste
boksoort in suidelike Afrika
beeste te wei.
beskou word. Ek het gevind dat
Die bulle is territoriaal en
geniet dit om op miershope
hulle gehoor en sig
te staan om hul omgewing baie fyner is as hulle
dop te hou. Die rooihartbees
reuksintuig.
is hoofsaaklik ʼn grasvreter.
Hulle geniet ’n oop terrein
soos grasvlaktes en hou
daarvan om saam met ander wildspesies soos blesbokke en
wildebeeste te wei. Ek het gevind dat hulle gehoor en sig baie
fyner is as hulle reuksintuig.
Dit is belangrik om die verskil tussen ʼn bul en koei te leer
ken voordat jy ʼn rooihartbees gaan jag. Albei geslagte het
horings. Horingdikte is die mees betroubare manier om die
geslagte uitmekaar te ken indien geslagsorgane nie sigbaar
is nie. Die horings van bulle vertoon meer prominent teenoor
koeie. Die bulle het dik basisse wat tot teen mekaar groei. By
die koeie is daar normaalweg ʼn spasie tussen die horings teen
die kop. Die horingbasisse se dikte is veral opvallend wanneer
daar na die silhoeëtte van die rooihartbees gekyk word. Die
horings by albei geslagte groei met ʼn effense uitwaartse buig-

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 21

Let op die verskil in horingbasisse van die twee diere aan die regterkant. Kenmerkend van hartbeeste is die swart stert , die ligter boude en die
swart op die buitekant van die bene. Die jonger dier (middel) is ligter van kleur.

ing regop na bo waar dit met ʼn 60- tot tussen dié van ʼn blesbok en blouwildebees.
90-grade hoek na agter draai en die horings Groot, ouer bulle Groot bulle se lewendige gewig kan tot 160kg
verdun en eindig in skerp punte. Dit lyk amper wees, maar is meestal in die omgewing van
soos ʼn agterstevoor 7 indien die bok van die
kom tans selde 140kg. Normale uitslaggewig is tussen 65 en
kant af bekyk word. My ervaring is dat hoe verby die 22­duim 75kg. Koeie se lewendige gewig is vanaf 115
meer horisontaal ʼn bul se horingpunte is, hoe tot 130kg. Oor die algemeen het pryse vir
ouer is dit. ʼn Baie ou rooihartbees kan maklik
merk weens hul rooihartbees gedaal, maar dit is nog nie so
aan sy afgeslete en stomp horingpunte uit- gewoonte om met goedkoop soos dié van blouwildebees nie. Die
geken word.
hul horings in die ondervinding om ʼn nuwe spesie te jag maak
egter op vir die duurder prys.
WAT IS ʼn goeie rooihartbeestrofee? Die bulle grond te dolwe. Rooihartbees se vleis maak lekker biltong
is geneig om met hulle gesigte en horings teen en wors.
die grond te krap wat die horings slyt. Jonger Rooihartbeeste is oor die algemeen nuus-
bulle se horings het sagte basisse, wat lig grys kierig en as hulle jou in die jagveld gewaar,
vertoon. Op langer afstande is dié gedeeltes baie moeilik om sal hulle soms op een plek rondmaal en na ʼn kort draffie
raak te sien en word jonger bulle gereeld vir trofeediere weer gaan staan en terugkyk. Ek het ervaar dat hulle selfs
gejag, met horings wat volgroeid lyk maar nog nie hard nader kom en die situasie beloer as die wind in jou guns is.
geword het nie. Die beste raad is om ʼn bul goed deur te kyk, Dit is een van die min boksoorte wat jou weer ʼn skietkans
hopelik van naby, om te sien of die horings mooi donker is sal gee na hulle op die vlug geslaan het. In die bosveld is
met geslyte riwwe. Rowland Ward se minimum lengte is skote selde meer as 100m, en op die vlaktes sal dit nie
23-duim. Ek vind dat sommer oor 300m
rooihartbeesbulle tans wees nie. Net soos
nie een van die maklik- met wildebeeste, het
ste trofeë is om in die rooihartbeeste ook
rekordboek ingeskryf te kamme bo die rug-
kry nie. Groot, ouer string. Ek beveel dus
bulle kom tans selde aan dat skote eerder
verby die 22-duim merk onder die middellyn
weens hul gewoonte om geplaas word. Ek
met hul horings in die beskou 6.5mm die
grond te dolwe. Nie- minimum kaliber om ʼn
temin, dit is nie al rede rooihartbees mee te
hoekom ons jag nie.
Vir vleisjagters pas
die rooihartbees in lig- ‘n Rooi-bruin hartbees in
gaamsgewig mooi die bosveld gejag.

22 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019

LINKS: Pragtig gevormde horings met diep riwwe en stomp horingpunte. REGS: ‘n Rooihartbees gejag in die Swartwater omgewing.
Die horingbasisse raak teen mekaar en die gesig het kenmerkende swart vlekke.

jag indien ʼn premium gehalte koeël van 120gr of swaarder het ek die bul dadelik sien val. Ons het haastig nader beweeg
gebruik word. om seker te maak die skoot was goed geplaas, maar was
In 2007 het ʼn Sweed en ek saam met Karl Stumpfe van onnodig bekommerd. Die bul was pragtig met sy wyd ge-
Ndumo Safaris in die Kalahari en Namibië gejag. Op my lys spreide horings wat afgewerk was. Hy was uniek en ek was
was ʼn Kalahari springbok en ʼn rooihartbees. Op dag twee het baie bevoorreg om my eerste rooihartbeesbul in sy natuurlike
ons ʼn trop rooihartbeeste teen ʼn duin in die verte gewaar, en omgewing in die pragtige Kalahari te kon jag.
ʼn bul met horings wat bietjie meer uitmekaar sprei as
normaal, het toe uitgestaan.
Die Sweed het dié dag ʼn pragtige Mauser M03 in 8x68S,
wat gelaai was met 180gr Rhino-koeëls, vir my geleen om
mee te jag. Die M03-model was toe nog nuut in die mark en
toegerus met ʼn Zeiss 3–12x56 Victory Diarange-teleskoop.
Terwyl ons die trop teen ‘n duin bekruip het, het hulle weg
beweeg en teen ʼn ander duin uitgeklim. Die bokke het op die
kruin van die volgende duin gaan staan. Ek het myself gemak-
lik inrig deur plat op my maag op die kruin van die eerste duin
te lê. Die bul het bietjie laer af en na links gestaan, maar
dwars, vir ʼn mooi bladskoot op ongeveer 160m.
Toe die skoot klap het ons gesien hoe rooi sand onder die bul
se voorbene spat. Verbaas het ek gesien hoe die rooi-
hartbeesbul oor die duin verdwyn, hoewel ek baie seker oor die
skoot was. Niks het verkeerd gevoel toe ek die sneller gedruk
het nie. Met die opstaan het ek so drie meter voor die loop droë
grashalms opgemerk wat ek nie deur die teleskoop kon sien nie.
Ons het so op die diere op die oorkantse duin gefokus dat nie-
mand gesien het ek het die harde grashalms getref nie.

DIE WIND WAS nog in ons guns toe ons na die volgende
duin beweeg en oor die kruin geloer het. Die bul het toe nog
teen die oorkantse duin gestaan, met die meeste van die trop
wat al oor die kruin beweeg het. Hy het weer mooi dwars
gestaan en het in ons rigting gekyk. Toe ek weer aanlê, het
ek seker gemaak daar is niks voor die loop nie. Daar was nie
tyd om weer die teleskoop in te stel nie en ek was bang dat
die bul oor die duin sou verdwyn. Die skietafstand was nader
aan 200m en ek het ʼn bietjie hoër gemik. Toe die skoot klap,

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 23

 Desiccators
for Gun Safes
by ROGER INGLE

The fight against rust and mould

U HAV URN from the range because some oils may not have suffi-
succes hu the guns are cient endurance for long-term storage
eaned, oile curely stowed requirements. Given enough time, all
afe or r their allotted oil films will defuse and collapse. Also,
the s m. But once the metal surface in old guns may offer
put a ere anything a poorer oil-retention property when
n the esses of that compared to modern blueing methods
ge place tha t secretly still or other more resilient surfaces. Oils
the care you intended specifically for guns have dif-
re they really fering formulations. Many like Trisol
safe from damage? have volatile additives to remove com-
Possibly yes... but perhaps no. bustion residues and/or metal fouling
Traces of two blemishing processes may left in the bore, as well as leaving the
linger and still be at work. Both draw necessary moisture-repelling barrier.
their requirements from the air, these Others like Young’s 303 oil simply form
being moisture and oxygen – the ingre- an emulsion to displace the moisture.
dients necessary for rust, and, given a Other moisture barriers like WD-40 and
nutrient source, for mould to take hold. Ballistol are a mix of oil with lighter
By reducing the available moisture one penetrating fluids to act as a carrier.
may strike an additional blow to the root These may not be suf-
of these two threats. ficient for long-

Oil has its limitations. In

Re-usable
the case of rust – while a silica gel
thorough cleaning and products
wipe-down with suitable often have
gun oil will be effective in a chemical
coating,
forming a defensive buffer
cobalt chlo-
against moisture and oxy- ride, which
gen, it may not be indefinitely is blue when
so for a collector’s guns which dry and ready
are taken out less frequently for for use and pink
when the silica gel
inspection and cleaning. This is
is saturated.

24 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019

term storage, in which case and thus causing staining and
products like Tectyl 506 may be physical damage. This is unnec-
more appropriate. They form a essary. Storing them in the tra-
thick, brown, wax-like film that ditional muzzle-up way is harm-
can be sprayed from an aerosol less, as attested to in the gun
or wiped on to cover all metal rooms of the finest bespoke
surfaces. Although this coating is makers such as Holland & Hol-
disagreeable and messy, it can land and Purdey. Most gun oils
be washed away with paraffin are benign petroleum distillates
when the gun is taken out of that will not harm wood fin-
long-term storage. Machine ishes. The disfiguration in the
tools, engineering components wood through oil migration will
and military ordnance that be due to contaminants trans-
require protection against rust Gun leather such as slings, holsters, bags, ammunition pouches ported there by dirty oil in a
over long periods are often and knife sheaths, if stored with the guns, are nutrient-rich sources badly cleaned gun. Preservation
treated in this way. for mould spores to germinate and flourish. and restoration fluids for deli-
cate French polished furniture
Myths have arisen because the way oiled and left free for air to move such as Woodock and Furniglos are
moisture settles out of the air is not through them. petroleum derived oils much like the
simple and is easily misunderstood. For While over-oiling should be avoided, base for gun oil.
example, plugging the chamber and the one sometimes hears that rifles with
muzzle in order to seal a bore which wooden stocks should be stored with Contact surfaces can pose an obscure
has been saturated in oil is unlikely to their muzzles pointing downwards to threat in gun storage racks which is
prevent rust. Barrels should be lightly stop the oil from seeping into the wood sometimes overlooked. The resting

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 25

cushions or linings covered with
baize or felt material may pres-
ent a surface which is some-
times conducive to rusting at the
point of contact. Although less
appealing, plastic foam linings may
be a better option. This is the rea-
son why guns should not be left in
baize-lined gun cases for very long
periods. Cases are for transporta-
tion, not storage.
Gun leather such as slings, hol-
sters, bags, ammunition pouches
and knife sheaths, if stored with the
guns are nutrient-rich sources for
mould spores to germinate and flour-
ish. This can even take hold on the
wood surfaces of rifle stocks and on the
lenses of rifle scopes despite being cov-
ered. Moisture-proofing and texture
conditioners for leather such as Dubbin
as used in hiking boots and riding tack
should be liberally applied to all gun
leather before storage. Fungal damage
to rifle scopes can result in very costly
repairs.
Noteworthy options: there are two
cost-effective supplementary actions
that will all but eliminate the occur-
rence of rust and mould in the storage
space. This is to reduce the dampness
which is essential for the two offenders
to exist, firstly by using suitable desic-
cators, and secondly by elevating the
temperature in the storage space. Des-
iccators use one of a number of chemi-
cals which have a strong affinity to
absorb moisture from the air. The most
suitable are silica gel and cal-
cium chloride.
Silica gel is for short-term
use in small spaces, and is
widely used as a moisture cap-
turing agent. It comes in a range
from small sachets, as in medi-
cine packaging to be discarded
on opening, to large linen bags
for the storage of moisture-sen-
sitive equipment. These bags
can be baked and re-used.
Re-usable silica gel products
often have a chemical coating,
cobalt chloride, which is blue
26 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
TOP: The “Air Scents” product is a good option
to remove moisture.
MIDDLE: Infrared lamps provide warmth in a
safe.
BELOW: Re-usable silica gel ex-military equip-
ment is used to remove moisture.
when dry and ready for use and
pink when the silica gel is
saturated and thus to be
discarded or recycled by bak-
ing. It is remarkable how much
water can be absorbed. Silica gel
is benign and will not release any
unwanted by-products.
Calcium chloride desiccators
are the best option for safes and
larger storage spaces. While a suit-
ably sized re-usable sachet of silica
gel could be used in a gun case dur-
ing transportation, there are better
options for storage in safes and
small strong-rooms. Calcium chloride is
excellent for this purpose. This harm-
less, non-toxic salt has an amazing
affinity for water. When exposed to air,
the solid white chips soon transform
into a large pool of water. A commercial
example which uses this is “Air Scents”.
It is an excellent product of ingenious
design. The self-contained vessel is
divided into two compartments: one at
the top to hold the potassium chloride,
and below it, a second container to hold
the copious amount of water which,
when activated will soon be recovered
from the air. There is no chance of spill-
age. In coastal regions, the product will
remove three cups of water from a ten
gun safe in about four weeks and will
release nothing harmful back into the
air. “Air Scents” is available at most
hardware stores and hypermarkets at a
very reasonable price.
Raising the temperature of
the air will also reduce the pre-
cipitation of moisture. While it is
difficult to get a power cable into
a safe, if this is possible, a small
infrared lamp as used in the pet
trade, or a cupboard warmer will
significantly contribute towards
stopping mould and keeping the
guns dry. It is a worthwhile
investment.
The old adage, “Keep your
powder dry” can be extended to
guns and all the things that are
stored with them.
 The Bull
and Ndorobo Boy
by ROYCE BUCKLE
RING LY 19 I was hunting professionally for
illu stration ALAN WALKER wrence faris in nzania. On these two safaris, I
s joine nd PH, ay Palfrey. I was guiding a lady
nt, wh an unus al incident with a leopard, which

An innocent’s introduction rs tell

The nded opard, which had holed up in
to elephant hunting atch o rass
consciously hiding i
hly 30 yards wide. A leopard
s is invisible, so if you walk in to
is charge will come from mere
hance he’ll be on you before you
can get off a shot. For this reason I fired a couple of shots into
the grass in the hope this would move him out, but he stayed

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 27

 But now, to my horror, I saw the youngster
run past on my left side at top speed, heading
straight toward the wounded bull
put – we knew not where. Ray Palfrey was not far off and
heard the shots, so he drove over to see if he could lend a
hand. He said he had a couple of thunder-flashes in his Land
Rover and suggested we try these. He threw two of these
harmless, explosive noise-devices into the patch of grass,
which instantly brought a loud growl from nearby. We readied
ourselves for fast action, when out staggered the leopard,
completely stunned and disorientated! I quickly dispatched it.
Our only conclusion was that by sheer fluke, a thunder flash
had landed on him or right next to him.
We had no sooner returned from this safari, when we had
to take out another, comprising two clients from Texas,
principally for elephant, and again, Ray joined me as the
second PH. My client was Matt Canger; he was about 50 years
old, fairly heavy, but reasonably fit. He had bought a .470
Rigby especially for this safari and soon proved himself to be
a pretty good shot. Little did I know that I was in for another,
even more unusual experience…
We were camped in southern Masailand between Kijungu
and Kibaya, on a little track that linked up a few waterholes.
It was an ideal situation, as this was the dry season and the
countryside was sorely parched, so elephant and other game
were drinking regularly along this route. We had been at this
camp for a couple of days, and we’d tracked a few groups of
bulls but had seen nothing over 50lbs a side.
ON THIS PARTICULAR day both hunting parties had been
unsuccessful and we were back in camp at around 1pm. We
all went to the mess tent for something to drink, where the
cook and headman soon rustled up some lunch for us, and we
sat at the table, chatting, eating and enjoying the break.
When we were about half-way through our meal, a young
Ndorobo appeared. He walked to within about 20 yards of the
mess tent, stuck his spear in the ground and laid his bow next
to it. He then produced a muswaki stick with which he started
to brush his teeth. One of our staff brought him a tin of water
which he drank, then handed the tin back, and resumed
brushing his teeth. [Dental care in rural areas amounts to
cutting a fresh green twig, thick enough to have a core of
fibrous wood within. They then chew the end of it (sometimes
28 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
after slicing the end into a chisel-point) to remove the pulp
and sap, until only the stiff wood fibres remain – this is used
as a toothbrush. – Editor]
Fortunately, my gun-bearer, Nduyai, was of the Ndorobo
tribe (he had been Jack Hamman’s gun-bearer; I employed
him after Jack died). Nduyai squatted down next to the
youngster and exchanged pleasantries as is the custom. Then
Nduyai asked why the youth had called at our camp. After a
brief discussion involving some directional finger-pointing,
Nduyai came to the mess tent and asked if he may enter.
“Karibu,” I replied, beckoning him. He said that the youngster
had heard we were hunting elephant; he had seen two big
elephant about a half-hour’s walk from our camp. We called
him over and l greeted him.
Nduyai asked if the elephant had big tusks. He replied that
he had not approached close to the animals as he had no
business with them. He added that he could show us where
they were, if we wished, otherwise he would be on his way as
he had a long distance to go. A quick discussion around our
table followed. Ray Palfrey and his client declined to go. I left
Matt no option; I said, “Let’s go and look”.
Matt’s rifles were still in the hunting car; we quickly
assembled his .470 Rigby double, and drove off. We had trav-
elled no more than half-a-mile when the youth informed us
that the elephant were just over the rise. We quietly
debussed and followed the young Ndorobo at a brisk pace.
After about a 15-minute walk we heard a branch snapping up
ahead. The youngster stopped and pointed with his spear,
saying, “They are over there,” then he walked to the back of
our little group. Nduyai took the lead and I followed; Matt
walked behind me, followed by Juma, his gun-bearer, while
the youth trailed a few yards further back. Checking that the
wind was favourable, we approached the spot where we’d
heard them feeding.
THE TERRAIN WAS perfect: hilly with open grassland inter-
spersed with small trees and clumps of bush. We saw the first
bull at about 75 yards, and then the second fairly close behind
him. We stalked slowly forward until we were within 25 yards of
the nearer bull, which had tusks weighing about 80lbs a side.
The second bull carried ivory of roughly 75 to 80lbs a side. Matt
said we should send someone for Ray and his client. I replied
that, at this time of day, the wind could be very wayward,
changing direction at any time. I said we should go ahead.
Matt and I stalked a few paces closer. The nearest bull with
the bigger tusks was facing to the right, while the second bull
was a few yards further on, facing left. Before the hunt, I had
used photographs of several elephant bulls to show Matt the
aiming points for the vital areas. Now l asked, “Do you remem-
ber the side-on brain-shot?” He nodded. As and he gingerly lifted his head, looking about
the closer bull was standing perfectly in a daze. He’d been in a dead faint! We helped
broadside, I told him to go for a side-on him to his feet, and then his face became con-
brain-shot; if the bull went straight down, torted with the wildest look as he saw the ele-
he should quickly swing on the second bull phant within arm’s reach. Panic and bewilder-
and, if possible, give him a heart shot. I ment gripped him; he picked up his spear and
stressed that, should the first bull not go took off in a frantic sprint as if to escape the
down, he must ignore the second bull and gates of hell – all our shouts to call him back
keep pouring lead into the first bull. had no effect. He disappeared into the bush
Matt steadied himself, aimed and fired and that was the last we saw of him.
at the nearer elephant. Closely watching I turned to Matt and the look on his face
the bull, I saw its back legs instantly buckle told the whole story. From a grave expres-
– the sign of a brain-shot – and the bull sion, his face split into a broad grin as he
went straight down. I was pretty sure he announced, “Man, I went through more
was down for keeps. Matt swung on the emotions in those few minutes than in my
second bull, which was already moving off entire lifetime and probably for the rest of it
at speed, and gave it a shoulder shot. still to come.”
Running to our left, the bull now went Author’s client Matt Canger with a I tried to locate the young Ndorobo to pay
behind a bush. I took a few quick paces to kudu he shot on this safari. him his £10 reward. A Somali trader in
the left to shoot him as he reappeared from Kijungu said I should leave the money with
behind the bush. I fired at his shoulder and saw him stagger him, and he would see that the youngster received it. I was
then wheel left, now heading pretty much in my direction. I about to do this, when the trader’s own daughter, who was
quickly reloaded my fired barrel. standing behind him, caught my eye and shook her head to
But now, to my horror, I saw the young Ndorobo run past indicate that I should not do this. I found this amusing, and
on my left side at top speed, heading straight toward the took her advice.
wounded bull! I realised that this youngster, having never
before heard big-bore rifles being fired – not to mention right
next to him – and in the face of all the violent action that
followed, had panicked, and the bull and the Ndorobo were
now on a collision course. In an instant, the bull spotted the
youth and determinedly charged straight for him. Frantically,
Nduyai and Juma shouted at him, but in his state of terror, he
was beyond hearing or seeing anything. With the elephant
and the youngster closing rapidly, I hastily aimed a shot for
the bull’s brain, but the bullet’s impact merely made him nod
his head. With my gut rapidly tightening in a knot, I steadied
myself and again fired for the brain. This time the bull
crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust and leaves.
Unable to see the outcome through the dust, I anxiously
ran forward. Then, through the haze l saw the youth in a
motionless heap on the ground immediately in front of the
fallen bull’s head and trunk. His legs and knees were beneath
him, his torso folded forward with his head down on the
ground between his two lifeless arms; the elephant’s trunk
was touching his head. No movement of any kind came from
his body, and I was struck with dread at this awful outcome.
Sickened, I gave the bull an insurance shot, which brought
no reaction from either fallen figure. Nduyai came forward and
bent over the motionless body, calling for the youth to answer,
but drew no response. I could only shake my head. Not only
was this a terrible tragedy, but the safari would come to a halt
while I involved the police and the Game Department.
Nduyai then took hold of the prostrate figure’s shoulder and
tugged at it. Suddenly, the young Ndorobo’s eyelids flickered

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 29

Good Food

Pigeon Breast with

Guinness Beer Pie
by CHARLOTTE-ANN AUCAMP

INGREDIENTS:
n 1kg pigeon breasts
n 3 carrots
n 2 celery sticks
n 2 potatoes
n 1 large onion
n 500ml amasi or buttermilk
n 100–150ml flour
n 340ml Guinness beer
n 1 chicken stock cube
dissolved in 500ml water
n Oil
n Salt and pepper to taste
n Puff pastry

METHOD:
Clean the pigeon breasts and cut
into small cubes.
Cover the meat with the
amasi or buttermilk and marinate
in the fridge overnight.
The next day use water to
rinse off the amasi and then dry
the meat cubes on a clean cloth. Place the pie filling in your chosen dish and top with the
Roll the meat cubes in the flour; try to cover all surfaces cooked pastry lid. Serve.
of the meat. This meal can also be served on some rustic mashed pota-
Dice the carrots, celery, potatoes and onion. toes without the pastry.
Heat a cast-iron pot with a little oil and fry the meat cubes
until browned.
Remove the meat and add the diced onions, celery and
carrots.
Cook until the onions are caramelised then put the meat
cubes back into the pot.
Add the diced potatoes, 340ml Guinness beer and the
chicken stock to your pot.
Simmer over low heat until the meat is tender and the
sauce is rich and thick.
Don’t miss a single copy
While the meat is cooking, roll out and cut the pastry to Back issues available from our Subscription department.
make a lid for the size dish you are using. Prices on request.
Bake the pie lids on a baking tray in a hot oven until nicely Tel 031-572-6551 • subscriptions@manmagnum.co.za
brown.
www.manmagnum.com
30 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 31
More Knife
Nostalgia
by GREGOR WOODS

The perpetual appeal

of man’s oldest tool

The Black Forest

dagger, circa 1954.
 Over the years, I’ve written numerous articles on knives, occasionally mentioning one
which I fondly remember from my boyhood. Next thing, just such a knife arrives in
the post, sent by a reader of my generation who has kept his since that era
RATIF ent of
t Magnum sponse
om eaders e dec-
I h doub arned
from our read n they
e fr nd , their
po t only add to
somethi have writt n, but
sity of
it that
bonds people who enjoy and
appreciate the same things. I have
been astonished by the trouble
and expense readers have gone to
in parcelling up and sending me all
manner of items – for no reason
other than knowing I will derive
pleasure from such things.
The latter-day BEST folders were not up to the quality of the
Chief among these items have
1950s versions.
been knives. Over the years, I’ve
written numerous articles on
knives, occasionally mentioning one
which I fondly remember from my boy-
hood. Next thing, just such a knife
arrives in the post, sent by a reader of
my generation who has kept his since
that era. He must have been fond of it
to keep it all that time, yet he will read-
ily make a gift of it to someone whom
he knows will appreciate it.
I once wrote that, as kids, my gener-
ation did not have the wide selection of
marvellous knives available today, and
we yearned for the medieval-looking
daggers we saw in movies like Robin
Hood and Ivanhoe. My older brother
bought the American hunting and fish-
ing magazines, which of course I
devoured. A regular advert in these
offered two German-made daggers,
known as Black Forest knives. The
monochrome illustrations showed both
to have dagger-style blades and dual
fighting quillons (handguards). The
handle of one was in the form of a naked
woman – full body and voluptuous –
cast in metal. Apart from its exciting
‘shock value’ (this was the 1950s) it did
not appeal, as its image was not that of
a serious fighting dagger.
The other, however, had a compel-
lingly ornate handle with a ball-&-claw
pommel, much like the daggers worn
by German military officers in full-dress
uniform. The price was US $2.00, about
thirteen shillings at the time, and very
reasonable for a sheath-knife of that
size and style, notwithstanding postage
costs to SA.
I BADLY WANTED that dagger, but it
had to be ordered from America and
paid for in dollars, with possible cus-
toms difficulties, all making it prac-
tically unattainable. Sixty years later, I
wrote nostalgically in Magnum about it,
and, lo and behold, one pitched up in
the post – courtesy of Rudolph Deppe,
who’d kept it yea these many years!
The handle is cast of a non-ferrous
metal alloy, too hard, heavy and shiny
to be aluminium or pewter. It has an
excellent carbon steel blade, 16cm long
and 5mm thick at the spine,
made by Carl Schlieper of
Solingen, Germany. The slim
sheath is of hard black leather
with a metal-encased tip, and
embossed “Black Forest”. Nostal-
gia is a wonderful thing, and I
can still feel the romance and
excitement this dagger inspired
in me as a child.
I Googled Black Forest knives
and found two old adverts, one
from 1954 giving the regular
price as $3.95 (then about £2
and 6 shillings) and another from
1955, priced at $1.95 provided
you sent in the attached coupon.
Google shows several photos:
one or two of originals like mine,
which is the Antique Korium, but
then it seems the quality later
slipped or copies appeared, having
cheaper-looking handles and blades
with plain, two-piece sheaths sans
metal nose-cap. Some had black or
gold coated handles.
I recently learned that the Black
Forest dagger has a macabre history in
our country. In the 1960s, unbeknown
to me, this dagger became available
from a Cape Town dealer. At 9am on 6
September, 1966, a man entered City
Guns in Hout Street and bought a
sheath-knife from Tony Harrison, whom
I later came to know well. Wanting a
second ‘backup’ knife, but wary of
drawing attention by buying two from
the same dealer, the customer then
walked a few metres down the street to
William Rawbone & Co, where he
purchased a Black Forest dagger like
the one pictured here.
Thereafter, the man returned to the
House of Assembly where he worked as
a messenger. That same day, in full view
of the entire cabinet, he wielded the
Black Forest dagger to assassinate
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 33
South African Prime
Minister Dr Hendrik
Verwoerd. His name
was Dimitri Tsafendas;
this information comes
from the recently
released book The Man
Who Killed Apartheid
by Harris Dousemetzis
(Jacana).
I can assure you; it’s not until you heft a genuine
Twenty years ago,
I mentioned in battle kukri that you realise – no more deadly
Magnum that as a a fighting knife has been designed
child, my folding knife
of choice was a BEST.
Known as the “poor
man’s Joseph Rodgers”, it was the high-
est quality I could afford by saving my
shilling-a-week pocket-money. The
handle scales were solid cast iron,
making the blade-hinge extremely rigid
and strong, and their rippled surface
had a permanent black coating like that
of a cast-iron three-legged pot. The
name BEST (I presume a word-play on
besteck, German for ‘cutlery’) was
moulded in large, raised lettering on
the iron scale; these letters were then
touched on a grindstone, removing the
blackening to reveal the name in shiny
silver lettering. Like most knives in
those days, the blade was carbon-steel,
and held an edge very well.
BEST knives go back a long way. I
recall, as a child, seeing an old black-
and-white photo of a Khoi San man in
the Kalahari, wizened and wrinkled,
naked but for an animal-skin groin-
pouch and carrying a bow with a koker-
boom-bark quiver of arrows. He was
untouched by civilization, but for a black
folding knife hanging from his waist-
band. The sun was catching the shiny
raised lettering on the handle: BEST!
I don’t know when BEST knives
were discontinued; the last time I saw
them in trading stores was around the
late 1950s. However, a kindly reader
mailed me a BEST
folding knife he’d had
for years. It was a
later model, and the
handle scale was cast
aluminium rather than
34 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
iron. The name BEST was still there in
raised letters, but the non-integral
black coating had crumbled off the
scale, leaving the entire handle a dull
grey colour. Later, the quality dropped
badly; I came across another BEST
knife with handle scale made of thin
stamped sheet metal – “tin” as we used
to call it. The rippled surface and the
name BEST was pressed into the sheet
metal and the black coating was paint.
Interestingly, the aluminium model was
made by TENT of Sheffield, England;
the sheet-metal one was made in
Germany, bearing a sperm-whale logo.
READERS MAY RECALL Magnum
contributor and correspondent, Frank
Jackman, who lived in rural Zambia.
Frank, sadly now deceased, was one of
those “characters” that only rural Africa
can produce. A somewhat eccentric but
long-experienced hunter, he regularly
mailed lengthy, hand-written letters to
me which arrived much the worse for
wear after their long, arduous jour-
neys. These described his hunting and
related exploits and expounded his
highly insightful home-spun philo-
sophies. Frank’s reclusive life in his
secluded world changed little with the
passing decades. His innocent faith in
Authentic Gurkha
kukri (Nepal). This is
the official army-issue
battle knife, circa 2005.
the postal service
remained as resolute
as when the postage
stamps had borne
the face of the
Queen of England
rather than Kenneth
Kaunda’s, and he
would send me – by surface mail –
parcels containing all manner of items,
from strange ‘stones’ he had removed
from the stomachs of bushbuck, to a
live .375H&H cartridge. Astonishingly,
these all got through to me, albeit after
some six months in the mail!
One such item was the tribal African
knife shown here. Whereas, historically,
our local Nguni tribes made no knives
per se, instead using assegai blades
with abbreviated shafts, many tribes
further north in Africa made knives and
short-swords, usually with carved hard-
wood handles. Many of these bear a
noticeable resemblance to the various
Eurasian dagger and short-sword
designs going back as far as the Bronze-
age, introduced to ancient Egypt from
southwest Asia some 5 000 years ago.
A bit of history: Much earlier, the
Holocene Wet Phase, caused by the
melting of the Ice Age, resulted in the
Sahara region becoming lush, high-
rainfall savannah throughout, with
abundant wildlife, and peopled by
indigenous Africans (Nilo-Saharans and
Khoi Khoi). From around 8 000 BC, the
Mediterranean coastal regions of North
Africa had been inhabited by Berber,
Hamite and Semite immigrants from
southwest Asia, who introduced
Modern-made African
tribal knife ex-Zambia.
domestic livestock and pottery-making
to Africa. Later, these peoples likewise
brought the Bronze Age to Africa and
their edged weapon designs were
adopted by the indigenous Africans.
Around 2500 BC, the Holocene Wet
Phase began to dry up, and the Sahara
rapidly turned into a vast desert reach-
ing clear across the continent. The
indigenous African pastoralists living in
the Sahara region were forced to
migrate southward for grazing and
water, and took with them their skills in
pottery and bronze weapons-making.
FROM AROUND 600BC, succes-
sive occupations of Mediterranean
North Africa by the Phoenicians,
Greeks and Romans brought
iron-working to Africa. These
peoples traded with the sub-
Saharan African tribes for ivory
and slaves via the indigenous
Nubian and Sudanic African tribes
living along the fertile Nile River
Valley, a conduit which also took
iron-working to the sub-Saharan
tribes. In 639AD, the Arab (Mos-
lem) invasions began, rapidly
spreading throughout North
Africa. Throughout history, tribal
African knife and sword designs
have been strongly influenced by
those of Asian, European and Arab
invaders.
This particular knife is an ele-
mentary modern derivative, probably
filed from a panga (machete) blade.
Instead of the traditional double-edged
spear-point shape, the blade is single-
edged and imitates ‘clip-point’ designs.
But the hardwood handle is pretty tradi-
tional (some handles flare outward
again toward the front). The one-piece
handle has a tunnel bored or burned
through it from the front to accept the
blade’s ‘rat’s-tail’ tang, which protrudes
out the back and wraps around into a
recess notched in the side to tightly
secure the blade. The wrap-round bol-
ster is sturdy sheet-steel, possibly from
an oil-drum. That this knife survived
three African countries’ surface-mail
services and got through at least two
ABOVE: African tribal daggers:
T-B (1) Sudanese twin-edged
dagger; (2) Afar (Danaki) dagger,
Ethiopia, pre-1910; (3) talik dag-
ger of Saharan Tuaregs (the earliest
Asian migrants into North Africa);
worn on the wrist (note arm-band
on leather sheath); 19th – 20th
century.
LEFT: Sudanese dagger, 20th
century, ivory handle, snake-skin
sheath. Note snake motifs. Design
very similar to ancient East
European pattern. All drawings
from Knives and Daggers by Zdeněk
Faktor (Hamlyn).
RIGHT: Push-button “flick-knife”;
spring-operated folding blade,
‘mother-of-pearl’ scale. Italian
style; marked Rostfrei (rust-free/
stainless) hence presumably
German-made. Note ‘safety catch’.
international border posts is little
short of miraculous.
A fabulous gift I received from a
reader many years back is an authen-
tic Gurkha kukri. I am ashamed to
admit his name slips my mind. I met
him but once; he invited me to dinner
at the Durban Club, where he pre-
sented me with this extraordinary
artefact. I hope he reads this and
contacts me. He was an officer in a
Gurkha (Nepal) regiment and this is
the real thing – the official military-is-
sue battle knife used by Gurkha sol-
diers, famous for their uncanny ability
to creep up on enemy guards and
silently decapitate them. It weighs
500g (1lb 2oz); the blade is
26.5cm (10½ꞌꞌ) long, 10mm thick
at the spine, and for-
ward-weighted for slashing and
chopping. As a keen, lifelong stu-
dent of knives, I can assure you;
it’s not until you heft a genuine
battle kukri that you realise – no
more deadly a fighting knife has
been designed.
Finally, who remembers the
flick-knife? Americans called
them ‘switchblades’. Nowadays,
custom cutlers who condescend
to make these, dignify them with
the name ‘automatics’ (the
spring-loaded folding blade is
push-button operated). It may
be of some nostalgic interest to
knife-lovers of my genera-
tion. In our youth (the
James Dean ‘ducktail’ era)
when flick-knives were popu-
lar among wannabee delinquents
influenced by the movie West
Side Story, possession of such
was illegal in SA. However, flick-
knives were legally purchasable
in Portuguese East Africa, so it
became a catchphrase: if any-
one was going to Lourenco
Marques, you said, “Bring me
back a flick-knife” (knowing
they wouldn’t – it was too
risky). Years later, one of my
generation was off to LM, so I
jokingly said, “Bring me back a
flick-knife”. And he did!
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 35
ABOVE FROM LEFT: The laser chequering, the hinge pins that can be replaced, the adjustable cheek-piece.

FAIR Racing Shotgun

by PHILLIP HAYES

Standing up to a beating
 ABOVE FROM LEFT: Adjustable trigger set for shortest length-of-pull., the replaceable fibre-optic front sight (in this case red) and lastly a view
of the tang with the manual safety that stays in the position selected even if the shotgun is broken open.

IN UM’S JULY 2017 edition, we family’s involvement in the firearms turer, producing a number of the
bri ked at some FAIR shotguns. I industry goes back much further. The world’s leading shotgun brands for
rec had an opportunity to test one company’s factory in north Lombardy is other companies. This earned it a
mo roughly, and was impressed. currently Italy’s second biggest manu- deserved reputation for excellence in
Th ry offers aftermarket replace- facturer of shotguns, with an annual manufacturing technology and quality
abl es and tension wear strips for production capacity of 20 000. FAIR is standards. It is carrying that reputation
the bers, which should make known as a technologically advanced along as it enters the market with a
and affordable. manufacturer, using leading-edge range of its own shotguns.
Isidoro Rizzini founded Fabbirca Armi computer numerical controlled (CNC) The importer stated that all the
Isidoro Rizzini (FAIR) in 1971, machinery that enables the factory to actions, receivers and ejectors of FAIR
though the Rizzini maintain a 24-hour production cycle. shotguns are manufactured from
Some years back it operated as a forged steel billets for the closest
large original tolerances and optimum durability and
equipment reliability, hence can compete with
manufac- some of the more expensive brands on
the market. The actions also have a
double hinge-lock for durability.

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 37


Should you ever fire enough shots
to develop play in a FAIR’s action, the
gun can be restored to its original con-
dition simply by replacing the worn
parts with the available spares. I have
had a number of working shotguns
develop play, and repairs are expen-
sive, time consuming and never a long-
term solution.
AS A PROFESSIONAL hunter involved
in high-volume bird-shooting over sun-
flower fields during pest control, I have
also experienced firing-pins breaking,
ejector failure, safety-catches not stay-
ing in position after each shot, and bar-
rel ribs tearing loose, especially when
barrels are fired until very hot. In addi-
tion to their replaceable hinges, FAIR’s
firing-pins are made of AISI630 steel
which they claim offers exceptional cor-
rosion resistance without the fragility
this process causes in some steels.
Wisely, the importer keeps spare fir-
ing-pins in stock. Furthermore, the bar-
rels are chromed internally and suitable
for steel shot. Barrels of similar size are
interchangeable on the various models.
The European walnut stocks have
clean-cut laser chequering on both pis-
tol-grip and fore-end, affording a firm
purchase. The butt-stocks and fore-ends
are interchangeable on models of the
same size, offering a number of options
for ‘customisation’. Moreover, FAIR has
researched the preferences of shooters
in each of the destination countries, so
the stock shapes and lengths will appeal
38 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
A view of the underside of the action with
neat engraving.
The FAIR Racing is
immaculately finished.
Note the chokes that
elongate the barrels.
to South Africans. Stock extension
pieces are also locally available.
The FAIR Racing comes with an
adjustable cheek-piece and central
aiming line on a STRADA-type top rib.
Fibre-optic front sights are supplied in
red, green and yellow and can be
changed in minutes to suit shooter
preference and/or shooting conditions.
Each shotgun comes with five inter-
changeable Technichoke chokes.
By turning a single screw with an
Allen key, the gold-coated single trigger
can be adjusted forward or back to suit
your finger. Both strikers are cocked on
breaking the gun, which means that if,
for any reason, the cartridge in the first
barrel fails to fire, the second barrel can
be fired by simply pulling the trigger
again.
The palm-swell on the grip fitted my
hand perfectly and the high-quality,
recoil-absorbing rubber pad does a
good job of taming recoil. Magnum
chambers (76mm or 3ꞌꞌ) are standard
for sport shooting models. I found the
SPORT XP70 chokes easy to install or
remove with the supplied tool.
I could have opted to test the more
hunting-orientated Premier Sporting
model, but chose the more sport-shoot-
ing orientated Racing as it is suitable
for both wing-shooting and busting
clays. Of course, its 30-inch barrels are
more cumbersome in the field (those of
the Premier are 28ꞌꞌ for bird-shooting)
and with the Racing’s chokes further
elongating its barrels, I had to be care-
 The Racing is quite obviously a high­quality gun – some other
well­known brands which I have subjected to the same treatment over
the years did not all fare as well. Bear in mind also that this was a
demo gun which had already fired a couple of thousand rounds
ful not to stick the muzzles in the soil
when picking up fallen birds or spent
cases. However, the Racing’s slight
additional weight (compared to that of
the hunting model) significantly sof-
tened the recoil of the 1 250 cartridges
I fired during an afternoon’s torture
testing (I used my own ammunition
which I had on hand, a mix of Imperial,
Eley, Saga and Federal, all in No 7 or
7½ 28 gram.)
I deliberately tried to induce failure
by recreating situations I’d experienced
first-hand. I wiped the shotgun clean
and then did the shooting without any
cleaning or oiling throughout the entire
test. During a rapid-fire session, the
shotgun barrels heated up to a point
where touching the lower barrel left me
with a blister on one finger and a pain-
ful burn on another. In fact the heat
became so intense that a visible mirage
around the barrel was the norm.
The following day, without having
cleaned the gun, I fired a further 250
cartridges, and it still performed per-
fectly, without a single malfunction or
problem throughout the entire
1 500 shots fired. The previ-
ous day’s torture test had
applied also to me, as fir-
ing 1 250 rounds in one
Each shotgun comes with its
own case, which has two
latches with combination
locks. The case survived our
rough handling with no ill
effect to the shotgun.
day is tiring, yet my shoulder suffered
no bruising, and I found firing an addi-
tional 250 shots the next day easily
bearable.
The FAIR has a manual safety that
can be set permanently on ‘FIRE’, an
important factor when doing high-vol-
ume shooting, since pushing an auto-
matic safety to the FIRE position after
every reload will rapidly result in a sore
thumb. The length-of-pull (14.5
inches) was too short for me, resulting
in shots going high, but an extension
piece (which is available locally) will
easily fix that.
THE RACING IS quite obviously a
high-quality gun – some other well-
known brands which I have subjected
to the same treatment over the years
did not all fare as well. Bear in mind
also that this was a demo gun which
had already fired a couple of thousand
rounds. Of course, 1 500 rounds are
not much in the lifespan of a shotgun,
but in my experience, most failures
occur when high volumes are fired in a
short space of time, especially when
the shotgun heats up excessively.
FAIR shotguns come disassembled,
in a strong plastic case small enough to
fit easily behind my bakkie’s seat. I also
left it on the back of the pickup during
long rides on rather bad dirt roads, but
the shotgun suffered no harm. The
case surface received a few additional
minor scratches, but should survive
years of normal use.
My only gripe is that, when you
break open the gun, the barrels natu-
rally stop at a point which does not fully
expose the lower chamber for reload-
ing. You have to push the barrels fur-
ther down to reload the bottom barrel,
which is a pain when repeated fast
reloads are the order of the day.
I found the FAIR a top-quality prod-
uct with a finish that cannot be faulted.
More importantly, the availability of
replacement parts, especially the exten-
sion piece, firing-pins and swivel-pins,
makes it a winner in my book. The model
tested retails for about R32 000, which is
good value for money, and replacement
parts are reasonably affordable. For
example, a 30mm wide rubber
recoil pad costs around R400.
The entry-level model Pre-
mier has a price tag of R24 000.
Various other models for differ-
ent disciplines are available.
For more information and
dealer enquiries contact
Cuan Robinson at Normark
on 011-794-6950.
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 39
 &+ 
 

  


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“HA YOU R come across Boer The revolver I purchased has the
artillerymen wi the names Jordaan, shorter barrel similar to the M1883, but
n Bil and u Plooy?” he asked. with the lines and muzzle swell of the
answered, “…espe- M1879. Like the Reichsrevolver, it has
I own his revolver!” a loading gate on the right side, and
the date 15 Decem- the cylinder is released by cocking the
va r i o u s n a m e s hammer and withdrawing the ejector
rock in what we rod. The empty cases are manually
er artillery position!” pushed out by means of the small ejec-
egan a couple of tor rod mounted on the side of the
en I was given the frame, with no need to remove the
number of a lady who wanted to get cylinder. Like its official cousin, my
rid of an old revolver that had revolver has the distinctive arched grip
belonged to her recently deceased with wooden side-panels, and a pro-
father. According to family legend, nounced safety catch as required by
the revolver belonged to his grand- German firearm law of that era. The
father who was a member of the grip has a lanyard ring at the base,
Oranje Vrijstaat Artillerie Corps indicating manufacture for military or
(OVSAC). As the OVSAC is my main police use. A distinctive feature is the
field of interest I wasted no time in middle finger-rest beneath the trigger-
visiting her, expecting a Webley No 5 guard – often found on German
LEFT TO RIGHT: J Pretorius, M du Preez and WT
or similar. Instead, she produced a du Plooy, photographed in 1899 at the time of the officer’s revolvers.
German-style revolver I’d never Bloemfontein Conference, dressed in their OVSAC
seen before. The name attached to full review parade uniforms. Photo War Museum of the AS IN MOST armies of the time, German
it, William Thomas du Plooy, was Boer Republics, Bloemfontein. officers were not issued standard ser-
also unfamiliar to me. Initially vice revolvers, but had to buy their own
doubting the story, I undertook to was 10.6x25mmR with a medium- side-arms. Officers usually came from
research it. And boy did it check out… I length cartridge case – essentially a well-to-do families, able to afford better
just had to buy the revolver! family member of the contemporary quality revolvers with a superior blued
The revolver was an odd one. It had .44 S&W and .44 Russian cartridges. It finish, chequered grips, additional finger
German proof marks and resembled fired a 262-grain .452ꞌꞌ heeled bullet at rest and in some cases even in double-
the Reichsrevolver or Reichs-Commis- around 700fps. Due to different barrel action design. Being private property,
sions-Revolver Model 1879 and Model lengths, the 7-inch M1879 is often these did not carry military inspection or
1883, which were service revolvers incorrectly referred to as the “cavalry unit markings. German officers’ revolvers
used by the German Army from 1879 model” and the 5-inch M1883 as the are quite rare, having been made in
onwards. It was the first centerfire “officer’s model”. limited numbers and, according to one
handgun adopted by the source, only one officer’s
newly unified German model is generally found
Imperial Government for for every 200 issue
its army and navy. They revolvers.
were single-action, solid As elsewhere in
frame, non-ejecting, six- Europe, German firearm
shot revolvers of simple manufacturers often
design, similar to other copied officially adopted
European revolvers of weapons for the private
the period. Although offi- market, the Reichs-
cially replaced in 1908 by revolver being no excep-
the famous P08 Luger tion. The German proof
pistol, these robust mark on mine indicates it
handguns still saw ser- was made after 1891,
vice throughout World but since my revolver
War I and even as late as A group of Boers around 1899. The man standing second from the right carries the carries no maker’s name
World War II. The calibre distinctive Reichsrevolver holster. Photo Zuid-Afrikahuis Archive, Amsterdam. or date, its precise origin

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 41


OVSAC gunners in field dress with a 75mm Krupp field gun somewhere on the Western Front, late
1899. Photo McGregor Museum, Kimberley.
is unknown. Its features indicate
German manufacture intended for sale
to army officers or perhaps a police
unit. How it ended up in South Africa
remains a mystery as the Boers did not
officially import German revolvers.
However, private imports were a pos-
sibility and we know that Reichs-
revolvers did see limited action during
the Boer War. I have personally seen a
M1883 that was picked up on the
Magersfontein battlefield and know of
at least one photo of a Boer carrying
what seems to be a M1879 in its
distinctive German style holster. But
how this particular officer’s grade
revolver came to be owned by a young
Boer artilleryman remains speculative.
As will be seen later, Du Plooy served
with a German volunteer artillery
officer who possibly could have brought
this revolver to South Africa.
OUR YOUNG ARTILLERYMAN was
William Thomas du Plooy, born on 20
January 1879 in the Bloemfontein
district. Du Plooy, aged 18, joined the
OVSAC on 1 May 1897 where he was
trained in the art of gunnery under the
watchful eye of the Prussian veteran
Major Richard Albrecht. By mid-1899
war clouds were gathering over sunny
South Africa. In May/June 1899, in a
bid to prevent conflict between Britain
and the Transvaal, President MT Steyn
of the Free State convened a mediation
conference between the two parties in
42 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
Bloemfontein. For this important event,
an honorary guard was drawn from the
OVSAC artillerymen. Dressed in their
finest imported Prussian style parade
uniforms and pickelhaube helmets,
they acted as ceremonial escorts and
lifeguards for the visiting Lord Milner
and President Kruger. To commemorate
this important event, Du Plooy and two
comrades from the corps had their
photo taken in a Bloemfontein studio,
their young faces oblivious of the fast
approaching tragedy. The conference
was a complete disas-
ter. Milner went all out
“to pick a fight” and by I have personally
5 June, Kruger burst
into tears, saying, “It is seen a M1883 that
our country you want!” was picked up on
War became inevitable.
On 2 October 1899, the Magersfontein
a little over a week battlefield
before war was offi-
cially declared, the Free
State called up its
armed forces. It seems Du Plooy
formed part of an OVSAC contingent
under Albrecht, which left Bloemfontein
for the Free State’s western border. On
14 October, the Free Staters crossed
the border and were split up into two
forces. One commando and one field
gun were sent south towards Modder
River Station and later Belmont, while
the rest assembled at Scholtznek out-
side Kimberley. On 28 October, the
order finally came to encircle Kimberley
and on 6 November, the first shells
were fired into the town from various
artillery redoubts constructed around
about. Cecil John Rhodes’s heavily
sandbagged and champagne-stocked
Sanatorium hideout was one of the
OVSAC’s favourite targets.
In the meantime a strong British
relief column under Lord Methuen was
assembling at Orange River Station.
More and more Boer forces from Kim-
berley were therefore diverted south to
counter this threat, including another
OVSAC contingent under Albrecht.
When Methuen finally crossed the
Orange River on 21 November, an ad-
ditional Transvaal commando under
General Koos de la Rey and an OVSAC
field gun under a German volunteer
officer, lieutenant Stockenberg, were
also ordered south to Belmont where
the first fight was expected. Du Plooy
was presumably already with one of the
guns at Belmont as his Vorm B medal
application indicates that he saw action
at this first battle. On the morning of
23 November, Lord Methuen unleashed
his wrath against the Free Staters dug in
on the hills east of Belmont station. With
a rather costly textbook frontal attack
and flank movement,
Methuen’s much larger
force dislodged the Free
Staters who retreated
mostly unhindered to
regroup at Rooilaagte
(Graspan) where they
dug in for Methuen’s
second anticipated
attack.
Tw o d a y s l a t e r,
Methuen attacked
again. De la Rey’s Transvaal commando
withstood the frontal attack, but the
extended Free State lines on their left
capitulated and a small force of Lancers
and Mounted Infantry gave chase, in the
process cutting off Stockenberg’s gun.
Only by firing case shot at close range
were the gunners able to get them-
selves out of a very difficult situation.
The Boers retreated north and took
up defensive positions on the Modder
River where they were reinforced by
General Piet Cronje of the Transvaal.
Since the OVSAC guns arrived only the
afternoon before the next battle, there
was very little time to erect earthworks.
The burghers dug themselves into the
river bed, but the artillery had to take up
mostly unprotected positions in the
open fields behind the river, the OVSAC
guns of Albrecht and Stockenberg to the
west of the rail track and two more to
the right.
EARLY ON THE morning of the 28th the
attack came, but this time the British
textbook advance ground to a halt
under a rain of flat trajectory Mauser
bullets. For hours, the battle raged on as
an artillery duel and the four OVSAC
guns, which still used black powder,
making a very visible white smoke cloud
when fired, were on the receiving end of
sixteen to twenty British guns. Only by
moving his gun positions constantly
could Albrecht evade total destruction of
his battery. During the afternoon the
British launched another flank move-
ment, supported by a concentrated artil-
lery barrage directed at the Free Staters
and OVSAC guns west of the railway
line. Under this heavy bombardment,
casualties mounted among the exposed
Boer gunners. Lieutenant Stockenberg
and four of his gunners fell dead and
wounded after a direct hit, leaving only
the corporal to serve the gun.
Under this cover the British infantry
managed to cross the river and,
although they were driven back by the
OVSAC guns with case shot, by late
afternoon the Boers decided to aban-
don their positions. Du Plooy’s post-war
application for a wound decoration
(Vorm C) mentio ns that he was
wounded during the battle when he
received a bullet in the leg. It is not
known whether he remained with his
gun or was evacuated to the Red Cross
hospital at Jacobsdal. Did the dying
Stockenberg perhaps give him his
officer’s revolver while they were evac-
uated from the battlefield? We will
never know for sure.
Next, the Boer forces took up posi-
tion at Magersfontein. Here the Boers
Author in the field uniform of an OVSAC
senior non-commissioned officer, wearing the
officer’s revolver at his side. Photo by Shaun
Cronje.
had more time to dig in and trenches
were skillfully constructed in front of the
series of hills, while proper gun positions
were built on and between the hills.
Methuen forewarned the Boers of his
imminent attack by an artillery bom-
bardment, mostly on the hills above the
unseen trenches. Early on the morning
of the 14th December the attack came
when Methuen sent his unsuspecting
Highland Brigade right into the Boer
trap. Due to heavy counter-fire by 28
British guns the Boer artillery answered
only infrequently for most of the day.
However, Albrecht’s gun at Moss Drift,
on the extreme left of the Boer lines,
was able to stop the flanking Lancers.
During the afternoon, British water
carts made their appearance on the
battlefield and the thirty Highlanders,
who had been pinned down all day in
the hot sun, started concentrating
around them. This target was too good
to ignore and the Boer gunners opened
fire on them turning the Highlander
retreat into a route. At Magersfontein
Du Plooy was wounded for a second
time, this time by British artillery
shrapnel in the head and shoulders.
Instead of following up on his
victory, Cronje decided to remain idle at
Magersfontein for several weeks,
during which time only smaller skir-
mishes, mostly fought by the artillery,
took place. The OVSAC took part in the
fighting at Koedoesberg on 7 and 8
February 1900. On 12 February, word
came of a large British force flanking
Magersfontein. Cronje sent only a small
commando and two guns under Albrecht
who fought gallantly to stop the over-
whelming British thrust, but on 15 Feb-
ruary, British mounted units broke
through and Kimberley was relieved
behind Cronje, forcing him to retreat
towards Bloemfontein. Behind the
retreating mass of people, wagons and
cattle Du Plooy and the OVSAC gunners
fought continuous rear guard actions to
allow Cronje to get away.
However, at Paardeberg, the British
caught up with the laager and sur-
rounded them before they could cross
the Modder River. Here the isolated Boer
artillery pieces soon ran out of ammuni-
tion, and by 27 February Cronje was
forced to surrender. The OVSAC gunners
disabled their trusty Krupp guns, throw-
ing the breech blocks into the swollen
Modder River, before being marched off
to POW camps in the Cape. One of the
4 000 Boer prisoners taken at Paarde-
berg was young Thomas du Plooy, who
was later shipped to Ceylon where he
spent the rest of the war.
FORWARD TO 2017; on a crisp
August morning, a group of history
enthusiasts and OVSAC re-enactors
assembled on the battlefield at the gun
position my friend had discovered
(exact location withheld to prevent
unlawful relic poaching). Dressed in
replica OVSAC field dress, I carried Du
Plooy’s revolver in a holster on my belt.
We were shown the rock where the
young artillerymen had carved out their
names and the date 15 December
1899. I wondered to myself, who would
have thought that, after more than a
century, the revolver would once again
visit this site.
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 43
 Information that could save your life

1 2 3 4

1: Showing undue interest. Standing tall staring down its nose. May swing trunk and foot back and forth. Head shaking and slapping flared ears
against the head. May trumpet. Trunk beginning to tuck. Approach at a walk. There is still time to back off. 2: You have waited too long. Approaching
at a shuffling run. Trunk tucked in and ears flattened. Generally silent. 3: The elephant may pull up in a warning charge, kick up dust, swing the head,
trumpet loudly. Ears may flare. Trunk mobile or tucked under the chin. 4: Full on charge. Usually silent. Trunk remains tucked in. Ears may be held flat
against the head or flared.

Facing a Charge
by CLEVE CHENEY

S A LI HANGING and unforget-
le exp ce, facing a charge from
e of A ’s big six. On numerous
asions to the nature of my work
a rang d field-guide, I have had to
e moc arning) and serious full-
wn ch from elephant, lion, white
and black rh o, hippo and buffalo. For-
vived all unscathed. Unfor-
s obliged to dispatch sev-
eral of these animals in order to save
myself and those who were with me at
the time. Although I have encountered
leopard many times while on foot, I have
never been charged by one, hence
cannot speak from experience. I will
therefore relate what I have learned from
others who have been charged by this
large spotted cat.
If you are in a vehicle when charged
by a dangerous animal, you have some
measure of protection and (usually) the
ability to drive away at speed. When on
foot, you have no choice but to deal with
the situation. Running away should not
be considered an option, as you cannot
outrun any of the big six, and a runner
often draws the animal’s attention and
stimulates its attacking instincts. It’s
safer to stand still and appear
undaunted.
Continued on page 46

1 2 3 4

1: Showing undue interest. Intense stare. May be growling and snarling. Tail switches back and forth. There is still time to back off. 2: You have wai-
ted too long. Approaching at a trot. May be grunting. 3: Tail lashing. Breaks into a charge. Mane flared. Ears flattened. Time to stand your ground. 4:
The lion may pull up short or may follow through with the charge.

44 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019

 1 2 3 4

WHITE RHINO 1: Showing undue interest. Intense stare. Head lifted. Ears pricked and rotated towards you. There is still time to back off. 2: You have
waited too long. Approaching at a trot. May be snorting, huffing and puffing. 3: Breaks into a charge but may veer off. Time to stand your ground.
Tail held down. 4: The rhino may veer off or may follow through with the charge. If it veers off – it is unlikely to come back.

1 2 3 4

BLACK RHINO 1: Showing undue interest. Intense stare. Head lifted. Ears pricked and rotated towards you. There is still time to back off. 2: You have
waited too long. Approaching at a trot. May be snorting, huffing and puffing. 3: Breaks into a charge but may stop. Head held up. Tail held up along
the rump. May squeal, puff and snort. Time to stand your ground. 4: The rhino may veer off or may follow through with the charge. If it stops or veers
off it may charge again.

1 2 3 4

1: Showing undue interest. Intense stare. Head lifted. Ears pricked and rotated towards you. There is still time to back off. 2: You have waited too
long. Approaching at a trot. May be silent, snorting or puffing. 3: Breaks into a charge and is now unlikely to stop. Time to stand your ground.
4: Head held high, the buffalo will follow through with the charge.

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 45

 1 2
1: Showing undue interest. Intense stare. Head lifted. Ears pricked and rotated towards you. There is still time to back off. 2: You have waited too
long. Approaching at a trot. May be silent, snorting or puffing. 3: Breaks into a charge and now unlikely to stop. Time to stand your ground. 4: The
hippo will follow through with the charge. Mouth may be opened wide.
Continued from page 44
What constitutes a charge? A charge
is an animal’s behaviour when it per-
ceives nearby humans as an imminent
threat and runs towards them to intimi-
date or physically attack them. Fear is
often a primary factor. Generally, wild
animals fear man and in most instances
will run off when approached. This fear
can be compounded when an animal
feels ‘boxed in’ with limited avenues of
escape, or when it is injured, sick or
wounded and regards attack as the best
form of defence – the so called ‘flight or
fight’ response.
If an animal is repeatedly harassed,
teased or approached, anger can moti-
vate a charge – it will attempt to chase
off or attack the source in order to be rid
of the continued irritation. A very com-
mon motivation for aggressive animal
behaviour is the instinct to protect their
young. Lion, leopard, hippo and espe-
cially elephant are extremely protective
of their young, and approaching such can
readily provoke a charge.
Predators are natural hunters and
may perceive humans as prey, es-
pecially predators that are sick, injured
or aged, hence struggling to catch their
natural prey.
Animals like to preserve a ‘personal
space’ around them. They generally
tolerate intrusion into this lebensraum by
individuals of their own group, herd or
species, but become uncomfortable or
46 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
3 4
aggressive if a foreign presence enters
this space. If they detect a human pres-
ence, wild animals assess the level of
threat in terms of proximity. If you are
far enough away, they’ll be alert and
watchful, but none too concerned.
Approach nearer, and they will either
make off or become agitated and pos-
sibly threatening. But enter the space
wherein they perceive you as an immi-
nent threat, and they will charge.
SOME CHARGES ARE not carried
through, and are termed ‘mock’ charges
– erroneously, in my opinion. All charges
should be regarded as potentially
hazardous. A mock charge indicates that
Do practical shooting exercises to ensure
you are ready to face a charge.
you have upset or angered an animal
sufficiently for it to issue a serious warn-
ing that should not be taken lightly. A
mock charge can also change into a
full-blown charge within moments.
A charge is usually preceded by a
sequence of events. This may differ
slightly from species to species, but the
behavioural patterns are usually very
similar. When the animal becomes aware
of your presence it will stare at you – on
high alert. If you move closer, it may take
flight or stand its ground, or possibly walk
or trot towards you to determine what you
are. At this stage, things become dicey
because, with the animal getting closer,
and your failing to back off, the distance
between you shrinks rapidly, and the
closer your mutual proximity, the likelier
it becomes that a charge will ensue. A
warning charge will be accompanied by a
lot of bluster, noise and demonstration as
the animal attempts to intimidate you into
retreating – which is all it wants. A
warning charge will stop short of you –
sometimes very short. This can be very
frightening and intimidating. Some
species, such as black rhino, elephant and
lion may repeat warning charges, but
hippo, leopard and buffalo, once they
have initiated a charge, will generally
follow it through.
It is important that you learn to
correctly read and interpret animal
body-language. To avoid unwanted inci-
dents, guides with tourists on foot, or
hunters not licensed to shoot a particular
species, should, at the very first sign of
the animal showing undue interest in you
or not moving off, decide that NOW is the
time to stop and slowly back away to put
distance between yourself and the
animal. This does not mean turning your
back on the animal; always watch it so
that you can respond if necessary while
slowly backing away.
Most people are surprised at the
speed at which a charge unfolds – the
animal can cover ground very rapidly and
the action can be over in seconds. This
gives a guide or hunter very little time to
react and respond appropriately. Leo-
pards charge with blinding speed, growl-
ing and coming low and fast with ears flat
against the head. They usually wait until
you are very close before charging,
giving you very little time to react. Hippo
may charge on land or in water. In water
its approach is heralded by a bow wave
pushed ahead of its massive body. The
animal then explodes upwards in a
shower of water as it attacks a boat from
beneath the surface.
IN THE CASE of a non-shootable spe-
cies, the hunter or tour guide must make
every effort to avoid shooting the charg-
ing animal. This can lead to some really
hairy moments because there is a cutoff
point where a decision has to be made, in
the interests of everyone’s safety, to dis-
patch the animal. In such a case, the
guide or hunter should shoot at a range
of no further than 10 metres. At this
range a well-placed brain-shot is needed
to drop the animal in its tracks, which is
why guides and PHs must intimately
know the anatomy of dangerous animals
and must be cool, accurate shooters.
Much time should be spent studying
cross-sections of the heads of danger-
ous animals to determine the size and
location of the brain and to learn the
appropriate aiming points to reach the
brain from various angles. On elephant,
for example, the aiming point will differ
according to the height of the head and
whether the elephant is 10m or 5m
away. You need to learn the same for
side- and rear-angled brain-shots, for
the elephant may be attacking a
tracker, client or tourist. Guides and
PHs training for such situations undergo
a set of well-rehearsed drills. They
practise with live ammunition on
fast-moving targets during simulated
charge exercises to develop muscle
memory, fast responses and accurate
shot placement, rehearsing until this
becomes instinctive.
What emotions are evoked when
facing a charge? Those unaccustomed to
the experience will be excited and
22cm
11cm
scared; many ‘freeze’ and some battle to
resist the natural urge to run. Even expe-
rienced guides and PHs feel a measure of
apprehension, knowing that if they fail to
stop a serious charge, someone will be
killed or badly injured.
A well-trained guide or PH stays calm
but experiences some strange physical/
psychological responses. Your brain
focuses on the job at hand to the exclu-
sion of, or modification of, some of your
senses. This includes audio exclusion and
an increased pain threshold. All sound
seems to be blocked out and you operate
on a different sensory level. You experi-
ence ‘tunnel vision’ (the exclusion of
peripheral vision). However, your focused
vision is acute as you search for the spot
where you have to place your shot to hit
the brain. Everything appears to be hap-
pening in slow motion, though the action
lasts only seconds. You may not hear the
sound of the shot or feel the recoil.
WITH ELEPHANT, RHINO and lion, it
is often possible to stop a charge by
standing your ground, waving your arms,
raising your rifle in the air and shouting
at the animal. White rhino, once stopped
The size and loca-
tion of the brain.
Learn the appropri-
ate aiming points .
11cm
6cm
11cm
or turned, will not generally charge
repeatedly. Black rhino, elephant and
lion, after their charges have been thus
stopped, may charge again. When a
buffalo, hippo or leopard initiates a
charge, it is very difficult to change its
mind, and shooting it is often the only
option. In the case of white and black
rhino, if given enough warning, you may
have time to shimmy up a nearby tree.
When the dust settles you are gener-
ally on an adrenaline high. There is usu-
ally a minute or two of silence, often fol-
lowed by giggles or laughter – a sign of
intense relief that you have lived to see
another day.
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 47
 Magnum/
Peregrine Gong
Shoot 2019
Adriaan Moulder of Pretoria in action on the air rifle range.
One of the participants with his standard .375H&H rifle.
Franco Jooste from the Magnum advertising team.
Gong shoot participant engaging gongs.
48 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
Turner Wilkinson (left) the overall winner of the ManMagnum/Peregrine Bullets Gong Shoot.
Th 19 Ma m/ eregrine Gong Shoot was a huge
judgin pinions of the 77 participants and the
rs. Th as well supported by both male and
articip the number of young shooters that
t was e g for the future of hunting and sport
.
ay beg nd misty, but as the mist cleared, the
ing quickly w d up. The wind picked up and blew
ost of the gong lanes, making the
It is safe to say that those shooters
who knew their rifles and scope settings by heart, and cor-
rectly read the crosswind, were the most successful.
The organisers had set up six gong lanes on an open field,
in a wide half-circle, each a short walking distance from the
next. The numbered gong stands were spaced at various inter-
vals at the foot of, and up the slope of, a high hill. Each lane
had five gongs, all 200mm in diameter, and shooters were
allowed one shot at each gong. A maximum of two minutes
was allowed to engage the five gongs in all but one lane, where
only four shots were necessary. A timekeeper recorded the
overall time each shooter took to finish the course.
At lane one, the shooters had to sit and engage the gongs
over a low obstacle. Lane two required shooters to use a steel
bar planted at an angle for support – for both standing and
kneeling shots. In the third lane, they had to use Lazy
Aim shooting sticks, while in the fourth lane they had
to use a high X-frame support while having at least
one foot on the ground.
In the fifth lane, participants had to shoot from
a three-level barricade wall, and in the final lane,
Gerick Jooste of Pretoria uses his .308 Savage on the
Lazy Aim lane.
Erna de Villiers senior lady winner at
the Bushill air rifle range with Jackie Luke Hugo junior winner at the Megan Byliefeldt best female Pierre Rossouw senior men’s winner
Crafford Snr from Bushill. Bushill air rifle range. shooter with Pim de Waard. at the Bushill air rifle range.

they had to shoot from the prone position while lying on a

platform. An air rifle shooter makes ready at
the Bushill bench-rest gong lane.
This year, a new and exciting addition was the Bushill air-
rifle mini-gong range. All entrants in the main competition also
participated in the air-rifle section, though entries solely for
the air-rifle shoot were permitted and these participants were
encouraged to compete with their own air rifles. These
entrants competed in their own categories.
Bushill set up five air-rifle lanes, with five 50mm square
mini-gongs in each lane. The mini-gongs, hanging from steel
frames, were between 18 and 88 metres from the shooting
points. Bushill supplied a PCP Air Arms rifle, equipped with a
Hawke scope, at every lane for each participant to shoot the
required five pellets. Shooters had the opportunity to shoot
with an S400, S410, S510 and S510US in .177 calibre and an
S510XS in .22. The S510XS was used on the ‘long-range’ lane,
where participants shot from the prone position.
The addition of the air-rifle range turned out to be a novel
and gratifying experience for the shooters. I even overheard
some long-lost air-rifle users expressing new interest in pellet
shooting.
The overall winner of the Gong Shoot was Turner Wilkinson
who won a Howa rifle in 6.5mm Creedmoor sponsored by Dave
Sheer Guns. Megan Byliefeldt was the best female shooter of
the event and won the Nocturna Sentinal compact hand-held
infra-red night vision camera as her prize.
The winners at the Bushill air rifle range each won a Konus
Range Finder. The senior winners were Erna de Villiers
(90/100) and Pierre Rossouw (90/100). The junior winner was
Luke Hugo (80/100).
Magnum and Peregrine Bullets would like to thank all the
prize sponsors for their generous support. The main sponsor
was Bushill RSA who provided prizes and incidentals to the
value of over R60 000. Other sponsors were Dave Sheer Guns
(Howa 6.5 Creedmoor rifle), Magnum Magazine (Nocturna
Sentinal night vision camera), Brother Arms (a shotgun and
vouchers), Whylo (Vortex scope), DOW (knives), Pretoria FM
104.2 (radio airtime), Suburban Guns (Hawke scope), Eddie
Sik of Renosterfontein Hunting Farm (an all-expenses-paid
blesbuck hunt), Monroe Shock Absorbers (set of shock
absorbers), Spanjaard Lubricants (specialized lubricants),
Lazy Aim (shooting sticks), and Lite Optec (knives). Thanks
to these generous sponsors, all the participants were able to win
a prize in the lucky draw at the final event. – André Grobler

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 49

 Sungula
– The Start
by KEVIN THOMAS

A cadet ranger’s first buffalo experience

50 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019

 When hunting buffalo,
waterholes are the best
place to begin an early
morning search for spoor.

68 I hunted my first I signed out a .425 Westley

s a newly employed Richards and a box of rounds from the
det game ranger posted station gun safe, but due to ammuni-
ols, the remote eastern tion shortages I got to fire only two
Rhodesia’s Gonarezhou shots at an old cardboard box down in
Having been introduced the Runde riverbed. The rifle had an
early boyhood, I lived island front sight and a four-blade
yet to be exposed to the folding rear sight. My 50m shots, fired
gerous game. from a standing off-hand position,
after my arrival at seemed to satisfy the senior ranger.
Chipinda Pools, the senior ranger There was no discussion of bullet
instructed the station’s game scout, types, or anything else that might
Sgt Hlupho, a tough, bush-wise old have been helpful to a rank neophyte The indomitable Sgt Hlupo who guided me
Shangaan tribesman, to take me to about to go buffalo hunting. Back to shoot my first buffalo. In the background
shoot a buffalo for meat rations. then, there were none of the is Gondo, an excellent tracker.

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 51


Our patrol camps in the remote Gonarezhou were basic to say the least.
new-generation bullets we now have.
Our seniors spoke only of two bullet
types, soft-nose and solids (the term
‘expanding’ bullet wasn’t used in
Rhodesia then). The two unwritten laws
for bullet choice were simple: soft-nose
bullets were strictly for lion, leopard
and antelope, while solid bullets were
for heavy-boned dangerous game.
JOHN ‘PONDORO’ TAYLOR’S Big Game
and Big Game Rifles was every serious
hunter’s bible and during my last year at
school I had bought a copy. In it Taylor
mentions that when it comes to ballistics
for sport-hunting, there is little to choose
between the .425 Westley Richards and
the .416 Rigby. However, Taylor did not
like the 28ꞌꞌ barrel on the .425 Westley
Richards “Game Ranger Model” intended
for use by the Game Departments of Brit-
ain’s African colonies. He wrote of a
hunter almost being killed by a wounded
buffalo when the lengthy barrel snagged
on some brush as he swung to face
the charge. On the eve of my first
buffalo hunt, Taylor’s comment on
the 28-inch barrel played heavily
on my mind.
Intending to combine my
introductory buffalo hunt with a
3-day anti-poaching patrol, we
set up a fly-camp at Chinguli
Pools, downstream from the
Chipinda HQ. I was to shoot the
buffalo on the last day before
52 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
we headed back to Chipinda Pools.
With me on patrol were two game
scouts, a casual labourer, and my cook,
Sam. On the third morning I drove east
along the river’s north bank with Sgt
Hlupo and game scout Tivani, plus
Gondo, the Shangaan labourer.
As we drove slowly along the dusty
track, the game scouts kept their eyes
glued to the ground looking for buffalo
spoor, dung and other fresh sign lead-
ing out of the Lundi riverbed and into
the scrub mopane. Because buffalo
invariably drink during the cool night
hours, waterholes are a good starting
point in the search for spoor. Also, dur-
ing the cold of an early morning, the
wind eddies haven’t yet picked up.
Suddenly the game scouts tapped
excitedly on the vehicle’s roof, causing
me to slam on brakes and kill the
engine. We alighted, and there, in the
sand ahead of the vehicle, were the
tracks of a dagha boy.
The scouts quickly backtracked
towards the river bank and down onto
the riverbed where we found a muddy
waterhole fringed on one side by dense
reed thickets. Several soup-plate size
hoof prints were sculpted into the wet
sand and fresh dung lay scattered
around. Within minutes the scouts had
gleaned all they needed to know and
using hand signals, Sgt Hlupo indicated
we were going to track the buffalo. So,
with slightly sweaty hands despite the
early morning cold, I ran a .425 solid
into the chamber, closed the bolt and
put the rifle on safe.
With Hlupo upfront, followed by
Tivani and then myself and Gondo, we
took off on the dagha boy’s spoor. We
hadn’t gone far when the game scouts
stopped, huddled, and held a whis-
pered conversation. I was then sig-
naled forward and shown the spoor of
another bull. This bull had linked up
with the dagha boy we were following.
Of interest to me was how the game
scouts constantly monitored the wind;
although we hadn’t yet seen the buf-
falo, even the smallest wind eddy
would have carried our human scent to
the bulls we were following. Their
spoor, fairly spread out and meander-
ing, indicated they were ambling along
grazing while moving towards the thick
stuff to lie up during the hot hours.
By 10:30 the heat was starting to
intensify and the buffalo had slowed
down. Their dung pats were wet,
mucus covered, and warm when tested
with a finger. Urine patches were still
covered with a gossamer screen
of drying foam. Shortly, Sgt
Hlupo and Tivani dropped to their
haunches. I immediately followed
suit as did Gondo.
With the wind strongly in our
faces, Sgt Hlupo quietly motioned
me forward. Seated on the ground, I
shuffled toward him with the rifle
across my thighs. Looking over his
shoulder, I caught a glimpse of a very
large, dark object, almost boulder-like
and motionless, about 40m ahead.
 It was my first experience of how
incredibly well-camouflaged buffalo can
be. An old bull’s dark, sparse hair and
dark skin beneath it, mottled with
patches of dried mud and dust, motion-
less amid dappled sunlight and shade,
renders him exceedingly difficult to
make out. Nature has designed him to
look like a patch of shade, and it’s only
when he flicks an ear or tail, or shakes
his massive head and horns, that he
suddenly becomes discernable.
Wasting no time, Hlupo pointed at
the black hulk and mouthed the word
dubula – shoot. We were hunkered
down behind the trunk of a fallen
mopane tree, pushed over by elephant.
Rising slowly, I placed my soft-brimmed
hat on the stump as a rifle rest. Sgt
Hlupo had quietly edged behind me and
I noted that he put his fingers into his
ears. Deciding to get the exercise over
with as quickly as possible, I followed
the trailing edge of the buffalo’s front
left leg up to the line of its shoulder.
Then, going by what I’d heard experi-
enced hunters say, I held about one
third up from the belly line before mov-
ing my sight picture forward a smidgen
towards the point of the shoulder.
Concentrating on the sight picture, I
slowly drew in my breath, holding it for
a second before cautiously, but confi-
dently applying continuous gentle pres-
sure on the trigger until it released. As
the shot reverberated through the sur-
rounding bush, the dagha boy hunched
his shoulders and bucked his way for a
few metres through the tangled scrub.
TOP: Buffalo shot for labour rations were invariably old dagha bulls.
ward to pump my hand while enthusi-
astically – and loudly – complimenting
me on a job well done. I found this a bit
worrying, considering we didn’t even
know if the buffalo was dead…
Moving forward to where the bull
had been standing when shot, the game
scouts soon found blotches of blood
along the trail he’d taken as he exited
the scrubby thicket. My Shangaan tutors
confirmed that he was hard hit, so we
waited for about twenty minutes and
then cautiously followed the spoor. Hav-
ing heard about a dying buffalo’s death
bellow, I kept my ears tuned. Hearing
none had me concerned, which proved
another valuable lesson – I discovered it
doesn’t always happen.
The spoor took us through some
dense thorns and scrub that tugged at
our clothes and hindered our progress.
Much of the way we crawled on hands
and knees, peering ahead and to our
flanks. My heart was in my mouth
because, despite the game scouts hav-
ing sung my praises after the shot, we
still didn’t have a dead buffalo, and I
knew that if a charge came, the scouts
would leg it swiftly out of there, leaving
me to deal with the confrontation.
NINETY METRES ON, the game scouts
pulled up and focussed their attention
on a dark object lying in the scrub about
25m ahead. It was the buffalo. I readied
the rifle and we cautiously moved for-
ward, approaching from the rear. Sgt
Hlupo then picked up a piece of mopane
and tossed it at the buffalo. Getting no
reaction, we moved closer and Sgt
Hlupo showed me how to carefully touch
the buffalo’s open eye with the muzzle
of my rifle. This brought no response,
which confirmed the bull had died from
the heart-lung shot.
I sat down on the dead buffalo and
a huge wave of relief washed over me.
Seating himself alongside me, Sgt
Hlupo said in Shangaan, “Sungula,”
meaning the start.

THROUGHOUT THOSE TENSE sec-

onds – during which I hurriedly cham-
bered another round – I feared he
might suddenly turn and come our way.
Bellowing and crashing, he disappeared
i nt o t h e b r u s h a h e a d , a n d t h e n
everything went deathly quiet. Having
heard the hefty whump of the solid bul-
let striking at a velocity of 2 300fps,
and seeing the bull’s reaction, I was
sure my shot had gone true. Neverthe-
less, I turned around a little apprehen-
sively, but was pleasantly surprised to When you’re hunting buffalo, fresh dung on the spoor is always a good sign. Tracking is easier if a
see the two game scouts pushing for- light rain has recently fallen.

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 53

Caldwell Ballistic Precision Chronograph
THE USE OF chronographs by shooters
h a s b e c o m e q u i t e c o m m o n . Fo r
hand-loaders seeking optimum accu-
racy and performance along with
safety, especially those competing in
long-range target shooting, a chrono-
graph becomes a necessary item.
I recently tested the Caldwell Ballis-
tic Precision Chronograph. The body of
this unit is longer than those of other
chronographs I have encountered, and
its ‘dog bone’ shaped, hard plastic shell
intrigued me the moment I saw it.
A chronograph is a precision elec-
tronic instrument and should always be
handled with care. The Caldwell’s
underside has a threaded insert for tri-
pod mounting, and behind this is a
compartment housing a 9-volt battery
with space for a spare.
Atop of the body are two slits for the
light sensors, and directly beside these,
on either side, are the pockets for
the sunscreen rods. With the large
LED display screen facing you, the
power switch is on the left-hand
side: OFF is the middle setting. Shift
the power switch toward you for
feet-per-second (fps) readings and
away from you for readings in
metres-per-second (mps).
On the right side of the unit are
two cable connection ports. Accord-
ing to the manual, the USB-type port is
for factory use only. The other is a
3.5mm TRRS jack for smart phone con-
nection – a 4.5m cable is part of the
package. The sunscreens are 81mm
wide at their broadest (central) section,
providing ample coverage of the sensors
against direct sunlight. They have four
storage clips for the steel rods. For
proper functioning you need a stable
platform such as a sturdy camera tripod.
ASSEMBLY IS STRAIGHTFORWARD.
Ensure the battery is connected then
insert the steel rods all the way down
into their pockets. Attach the sun-
screens and double-check that the rod-
ends are still fully seated. Position the
chronograph with its nearest light sen-
sor 3 to 4m from the rifle’s muzzle. The
54 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
height of the light sensors relative to the
bore is critical – the bullet must travel
centrally through the shooting ‘window’,
hence a normally-mounted scope should
align with the top third of the window
space. Some shooters put markers half-
way or two-thirds of the way up the rods
for easy reference. Ensure the central
axis of the two shooting windows is level
with, and aligned with the bore and the
target.
Switch on the chronograph and
attach the smart phone cable. The unit
goes through a start-up sequence and
then shows two brackets indicating
readiness for the first shot. Shot read-
ings show on the screen with or without
the smart phone attached. This model
does not have a shot counter or mem-
ory function; to keep a record you need
to write down each reading.
by ANDRÉ GROBLER
The smart phone app is available on
IOS and Android platforms. During my
initial two sessions, the app failed to
work, continually giving an error read-
ing on the phone with a red banner dis-
playing O fps. On re-reading the man-
ual, I discovered that the app needs
microphone permission from the
phone, achieved via the phone’s set-
tings. When the phone is ready to
record, the red banner will change to
black. The velocities of the most recent
shots show in the black banner, with
earlier strings below it. You can record
a shot series as a group and save it.
The app records every shot and shows
the minimum and maximum velocities,
average velocity, standard deviation,
spread and true muzzle velocity. The
app allows you to insert field notes and
additional data like the distance to the
chronograph, ballistic coefficient, bullet
weight, altitude and temperature
reading. You can also send the
results to an email address.
The Ballistic Precision Chrono-
graph is factory calibrated after
assembly; Caldwell claims it gives
about 25% better accuracy than
similar instruments. A further
advantage is that the smart phone
app is free and, at a glance, provides
additional usable data.
T H E A VE R A G E R E LO A D E R w h o
shoots game out to about 200m
doesn’t really need a chronograph, and
users of factory ammunition, less so.
For many years I’ve been hand-loading
160gr Rhino Solid Shank and 139gr
Hornady Interlock SP bullets for my
7x64 Brenneke, without the use of a
chronograph, and both loads shoot
half MOA groups. A friend once chal-
lenged me to use my last five Rhino
reloads to shoot a gong at 500m. I
suggested first firing a sighter at
100m, and he agreed, if I used a
chronograph to check the velocity. The
shot hit at the usual spot: one inch
above point-of-aim. After doing some
calculations and scope-dialling, the
second shot hit a 30cm diameter gong

at 300m; likewise the third shot hit the
gong at 400m. The fourth shot at
500m missed, but the fifth shot was a
hit. I was astounded – mainly because
we were dialling in my old Leupold
Vari-X IIc 3–9x40 with a coin! It would
never have happened without a chron-
ograph, and obviously, I was intrigued
and wanted to know more.
This chronograph is simple to
set-up, has few parts, and the app is
CRKT Homefront Hunter
CRKT OF OREGON, USA has been in
business since 1994 and manufactures
a huge range of knives, axes and mul-
ti-tools known for quality and reliability.
With the world-renowned knife-design-
ing genius of Ken Onion (previously with
Kershaw knives) they have a winning
formula. In 2008, Ken Onion was
inducted into Blade Magazine’s Cutlery
Hall of Fame.
New on the market from CRKT is the
Ken Onion designed Homefront Hunter
folder featuring innovative Field Strip
Technology. The knife weighs 119g and
measures 119mm overall when closed.
The 88.5mm drop-point blade is hol-
low-ground almost to its 3.38mm thick
spine and has a satin finish, which I like
as it does not show minor blemishes as
readily as does a mirror-finish. The
sturdy liner-lock mechanism rigidly
secures the open blade. There is no
play between the blade and the pivot
pin/opening mechanism combination.
Its action is smooth. One-handed oper-
ation is facilitated by a flipper-lug. With
the blade open, the flipper-lug acts as a
quillon. The rear of the spine is grooved
on top for secure but comfortable
thumb purchase. Blade steel is HRC
55-57, popular for kitchen knives,
being easy to sharpen.
The blade-release lever’s thumb-op-
erating surface is grooved for positive
purchase within a recess in the left side
of the grip when inverted. An index finger
groove enhances the grip. Handle mate-
easy to understand. Best of all, it
comes at an affordable price. I have
now used it at a couple of range ses-
sions; it achieved its most consistent
readings, without error reports, in
shade with open skies.
THE ONLY TIME it gave suspiciously
high readings was during a 9mmP
ammo test, but I was so involved in the
exercise that I failed to notice that, by
rial is glass reinforced nylon; its finish is
Realtree’s® Xtra® Green Camo pattern
– a nice touch for a hunter. The handle
scale on both sides is finely chequered.
A belt/pocket clip is retained by a
single screw. The attached section of
the clip fits into a recess in the handle
at that point, preventing it from pivot-
ing should the screw work loose. The
clip has surprising tensile strength
– I repeatedly bent it outward by
at least an inch, and on release it
returned to its original position,
about 2.5mm from the handle.
THE FIELD STRIP Technology
enables you to take the knife
apart (blade and two grip panels)
without any tools, to clean out
dried blood, tissue or dirt. With
the knife closed, simply push the
blade-release lever in the
opposite direction to the
exposed part of the blade. This
unlocks the blade and grip pan-
els. Then rotate the release
wheel at the heel of the spine
anti-clockwise a few turns – this
separates the heel end of the grip
panels for removal, allowing
access to all surfaces of the knife.
It takes about 10 seconds to
a c c o m p l i sh . Re a ss e mb l e i n
reverse order.
D es i g ne d p r i mar i ly as a
hunter, the Homefront also
makes a very useful general util-
Test Report
then, the chronograph was in the direct
morning sun. On a bright morning,
before 8am, I used it without the sun-
screens to record the velocity of an old
air-rifle in an open field and it recorded
every shot.
I would recommend the Caldwell
Ballistic Precision Chronograph to any
serious shooter. The unit I tested retails
for R2 700 at Kloppers in Bloemfontein
– phone 051-400-5500.
by FRANCOIS VAN EMMENES
ity knife. I used it extensively over
about nine months for everyday
chores like opening boxes, cutting
string, slicing biltong and dicing
veggies in camp. As a hunting knife it
sits comfortably in the hand and its
blade is big enough to cut any ani-
mal’s throat. I enjoyed skinning
with it. It’s a bit big to carry in
the pockets of some of my trou-
sers, depending on the garment
cut, but persons with a bigger
build should have no such prob-
lem. Besides, it rides comforta-
bly on the belt and goes unno-
ticed when driving. The knife
comes from the factory super
sharp (I realised how sharp too
late – the second time I took it
apart I wasn’t concentrating
and cut the middle finger of my
left hand almost to the bone).
The blade held its edge for a
long time – I sharpened it
only twice in nine months,
after having bled and skinned
two animals.
This is a knife I can
recommend. At a suggested
retail price of R1 235 it is
good value for money. It
carries a lifetime warranty
and is distributed by Cutlery
Distribution Group, known to
Magnum readers as Sharp
Edge Sharp Shooter, phone
011-786-4834.
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 55
Test Report
LAZY AIM SHOOTING sticks, designed
by Herman Percival, differ radically from
conventional designs and look peculiar
when strapped on to your body, but the
question is, do they work?
I first saw them in use at the recent
Magnum and Peregrine Bullet gong
shoot – this was one of the ‘props’ that
shooters had to use in a specific exer-
cise. For shots from the standing posi-
tion, the base of the monopod rests on
a belt attachment for support.
For shots from the kneeling or
sitting position, the base of the
monopod can rest on the
ground for more stable sup-
port.
I overheard several shoot-
ers, all hunters, being scepti-
cal at first, but after using the
sticks, they agreed that these
sticks could enhance their
shooting with practice.
After a brief demonstra-
tion, Herman handed me a set
of Lazy Aim sticks to test in
the hunting field. The package
consists of the sticks, the belt support
attachment, a shoulder guide and a
clip that secures the pole while walking
and stalking. Two sizes are available,
the longer one for hunters with a
shoulder-to-waist measurement of
64cm or more.
THE LAZY AIM sticks work in con-
junction with a small backpack or
hydration pack onto which you have
to fasten the shoulder-slide and pole-
clip. Obviously, the backpack can also
be used to carry hunting gear. The
poles and belt attachment are made
of lightweight aluminium, pow-
der-coated in black or camouflage.
The plastic shoulder-guide fastens to
the backpack’s shoulder strap with a
string. It has to be on top of the
s h o u l d e r. T h e p l a s t i c p o l e - c l i p
attaches to the same shoulder strap,
but lower. To attach the sticks, slide
the belt support onto the belt with the
bigger hole upward. If you shoot
right-handed, position the belt attach-
56 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
by ANDRÉ GROBLER
ment on the left hip. Hold the poles
horizontal with the two legs next to
each other, and with the round plastic
feet towards you, and place the pole
closest to your neck in the shoul-
der-guide. The shoulder-guide should
be on your left shoulder if you shoot
right-handed.
Insert the base of the other pole
into the belt support attachment on
your hip. Draw the pole in front of you
towards your body and clip it into the
pole clip. When needed, you pull the
pole from the clip and mount the rifle
over the rubber insert on the now hori-
zontal pole. This forms a triangular
support system that’s surprisingly
steady and allows you to instantly
move to a better shooting position
without the need to move shooting
sticks first, as in the case of conven-
tional sticks.
I used the sticks during a warthog
hunt on a friend’s farm. His son,
Wihan, accompanied me and also
tried out the sticks to give a second
opinion. We hunted along a river with
dense bush that opened up into open
grass fields away from the bank.
Warthog sign was everywhere in the
grass, and we had plenty of oppor-
tunities to walk and stalk in the thick
bush, using low-crouching approaches
in the tall grass.
Lazy Aim Shooting Sticks
Moving slowly around a bush with
the Lazy Aim extended, and rifle at the
ready, the system clearly outper-
formed conventional shooting sticks.
With traditional sticks, on spotting the
animal, you are required to set up the
sticks and then get yourself and the
rifle in position. This involves more
movement, which may give your posi-
tion away. With the Lazy Aim, on spot-
ting an animal, you simply get ready
while behind cover and slowly
move into the shooting posi-
tion. Preparing for a shot from
the sitting or kneeling position
also requires less movement
with Lazy Aim.
Of course, when shooting
from the standing position with
the base of the upright stick
resting in the belt attachment,
while potentially steadier than
unsupported offhand shooting,
the Lazy Aim system is still
only as steady as your body
can be, especially the hips.
Surprisingly, heavy breathing
and other slight upper body movement
had very little influence on steadiness.
I FOUND THAT detaching the pole
from the belt support and planting its
base on the ground between my legs
while sitting or kneeling on one knee,
provided the most stable shooting
platform. I could adjust the height of
the rifle by moving the base of the
pole nearer to or farther from my
body. Wihan found this also provided
a more stable rest when sitting down
and resting both his elbows on his
knees.
I n i t i a l l y, I f o u n d t h e s y s t e m
strange, but it is surprisingly effective
and easy to use. As with any hunt-
ing-related equipment, you need
regular practice with these sticks to
use them effectively. And obviously,
they are intended for use at short to
medium ranges in the hunting field.
The Lazy Aim shooting sticks sell
for R850. Contact Herman Percival on
082-444-7011.
STV Technology Scorpio 9mmP Ammunition Test Report

STV TECHNOLOGY IS a by CUAN ROBINSON

small, state-of-the-art ammu-
nition manufacturing
company based in Polica, a the test weapons without a
small town in the Czech single glitch, misfire or mal-
Republic. Founded in 2017, function.
they specialize in the manu- Using my CZ Shadow, I
facture of a narrow selection fired, deliberate-fire, at a tar-
of popular calibres. Their get 10 metres distant. I was
facility is built around new rewarded with the group in the
automated machinery, using accompanying photograph,
the very latest technology indicative of the accuracy
from Belgium, Poland, USA potential of this ammunition.
and the Czech Republic. I pulled and weighed the
Magnum tested STV 124gr bullets from five STV cart-
FMJ Scorpio 9mmP ammuni- ridges. Average weight was
tion which recently landed in 123.16gr with an extreme
South Africa. The small pistol spread of only 2.3gr. This is
primers and smokeless not excessive for a conven-
powder are the only two com- tional cup and core 9mm bul-
ponents outsourced from lead- let. The brass cases, including
ing European manufacturers. primer, averaged 64.40gr in
The cases and bullets are weight, significantly heavier
manufactured in-house. In order to maintain their high stand- than the 61.80gr average of S&B brass and indicative of
ards, STV uses only Fiocchi small pistol primers, believing smaller case capacity.
these to offer the most reliable ignition in striker-fired pistols. I weighed the very fine powder of each of the five cart-
During the manufacturing process, labour is kept to a ridges; four charges weighed 5gr exactly, the one exception
minimum and staff members take personal responsibility for weighed 4.90gr. Bear in mind that this is standard ammuni-
their stations. High-speed cameras and laser technology are tion, meeting civilian C.I.P. specifications, and not some
used to ensure that the closest tolerances are achieved. For specialized target or defensive ammunition. Still, I was
example, the dispensed charge of propellant is verified twice impressed with the tolerances and performance.
– first volumetrically and then by laser, before the bullets Sport shooters looking for reliable and accurate ammu-
are seated. nition that meets the required 125+ Power Factor can con-
We used five pistols of various barrel lengths (four strik- fidently compete with this ammunition. The lowest recorded
er-fired Glocks and my hammer-fired CZ Shadow) and a power factor of the day, using STV, was 128.96 and was shot
Saiga-9 carbine. with a diminutive Glock 43X. The boxer-primed brass
For comparative purposes, we ran the STV ammo along- appears to be a quality product and should give hand-load-
side two other 9x19 ers multiple reloads.
loads firing similar GLOCK GLOCK GLOCK GLOCK CZ 75 SAIGA-9 A ny en t h u si a s t
124gr projectiles. All 26 43X 19 17 SHADOW CARBINE looking for reason-
six firearms were BARREL LENGTH (mm) 106 86.61 102 114 117 235 ably priced 9mm
shot over a Caldwell STV 124gr FMJ Para ammunition for
G 2 c h r o n o g r a p h AVE VELOCITY (fps) 1 045 1 040 1 096 1 116 1 104 1 230 training, practice or
ENERGY (ft.lbs) 301 298 331 343 336 416
placed three metres plinking, can seri-
POWER FACTOR 129.58 128.96 135.9 138.38 136.9 152.52
from the muzzles. ously consider STV
See the accompany- SELLIER & BELLOT 124gr JHP which retails at a
ing table for results. AVE VELOCITY (fps) 1 050 1 045 1 093 1 105 1 110 1 220 very reasonable
The STV ammu- ENERGY (ft.lbs) 303 300 328 336 339 410 R210 per 50.
POWER FACTOR 130.2 129.58 135.53 137.02 137.64 151.28
nition performed Contact the
reliably and consist- MAXXTECH 124gr FMJ importer, Tactical HQ
ently. We fired over AVE VELOCITY (fps) 1 070 1 051 1 112 1 118 1 137 1 279 on 010-005-3920 or
500 rounds of 9mmP ENERGY (ft.lbs) 315 304 340 344 356 450 sales@tacticalhq.
ammunition through POWER FACTOR 132.68 130.32 137.89 138.63 141 158.6 co.za

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 57

Collector’s Corner
Yet More
Yellow Boys!
SOUTH AFRICA’S
INCREDIBLE Winchester
“Yellow Boy” saga continues
to beggar belief. It began
with an article in Magnum’s
May 2015 edition, identify-
ing a fragment of a .44
Henry rim-fire cartridge case
(which a reader had picked
up in the veld and mailed to
me) as being that of a
Winchester Model 1866 “Yel-
low Boy”. I included a dis-
cussion on the history and
rarity of this rifle. This led to another
reader revealing his possession of such
a rifle, which I wrote about in Magnum’s
July 2016 edition. This in turn led to a
series of astounding local discoveries
described in the Feb and Nov 2017 edi-
tions. And now there’s more – but to
appreciate the significance of these
finds, a résumé of the details is needed.
58 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
The M1866 lever-action was the
first firearm to bear the Winchester
name. Its forerunner, the Henry repeat-
ing rifle, was made before the company
was renamed Winchester. M1866 serial
numbers began where those of the
Henry ended, the M1866 being a
much-improved 16-shot repeater
chambered for the same .44 Henry rim-
by GREGOR WOODS
MAIN: Yellow Boy owned by
Manfred Gorn, made in 1876
and still showing vestiges of
silver-plating on the receiver,
now mostly crumbled off.
BELOW: Manfred Gorn’s
octagonal barrelled rifle
with Winchester certificate of
authenticity.
Both photos by Kim Gorn
fire cartridge. Winchester
dubbed it the “Yellow Boy”
for its brass receiver, and it
became known as “The Gun
that Won the West”. Only
170 000 were made (centre-
fi re ca rt r id ge s e clipsed
r i m - fi r e b i g -b o r e s , a n d
W i n c h e s t e r ’s M 1 8 7 3 i n
.44-40 WCF rendered the
M1866 obsolescent).
Winchester’s records show
that the majority of Yellow
Boys stayed in North
America. Relatively few have survived
and these are considered extremely
rare collectors’ pieces.
Now, here are some important
statistics you need to keep in mind.
Winchester’s record of early serial num-
bers is incomplete, but they did an
analysis of their supply ledgers from
number 125 000 onward. Of these
44 739 Yellow Boys, 35 402
were in carbine form, while
only 5 423 were rifles (longer
barrels). The remaining 3 914
were military muskets (the US
Army never adopted the
M1866, though some muskets
went to Europe). All Yellow
Boys are regarded as rarities,
but this makes the full-length
rifles (amounting to only 12%,
based on this sample) very
much rarer than the carbines.
A very small percentage of
Yellow Boys were factory-
engraved and/or gold- or
silver-plated. Winchester’s
official history by RL Wilson
sums up the analysis thus: “A total of
eighty-one carbines, ninety-one rifles,
and fifty-three muskets were plated
and factory-engraved.” That’s out of a
sample numbering 44 739 Yellow Boys!
Only 0.5% were plated and/or
engraved. This makes any Yellow Boy in
full-length rifle form and plated or
factory-engraved, an extremely rare
bird indeed.
‘Factory-engraved’ bears explana-
tion. Winchester’s custom department
produced special “presentation” pieces
for important personages and “highly
finished” top-grade rifles for discerning
buyers. These had profusely engraved
metal-work, some gold- or silver-
plated, others combined plating/
engraving. Around the time the Yellow
Boy was launched, Winchester con-
tracted three professional engravers,
the Ulrich brothers, an arrangement
that came to span generations, lasting
80 years. The Ulrich brothers were
Freemasons, an ancient, international-
ly-linked religious ‘brotherhood’,
considered a “men-only secret society”
whose members were strongly support-
ive of one another. Some of the engrav-
ing by the Ulrich brothers depicted
geometric shapes symbolic of the
Masons. During my research, I spent
days scrutinizing hundreds of photos of
engraved Winchesters, familiarising
myself with styles and patterns. Early
Winchester ‘factory’ engraving, though
varied, is pretty much unmistakable.
None of the engraved Yellow Boys I
have seen ‘in the flesh’ or in photos
bore after-market engraving. All were
‘factory-engraved’.
The only historical record of Yellow
Boys in Africa I had come across was,
firstly, that of Henry Morton Stanley’s
which he brought with him from
America in 1871 for protection against
hostile tribesmen during his search for
explorer David Livingstone (it is now in
an American collection) and secondly,
one pictured in The Illustrated Encyclo-
paedia of 19th Century Firearms by
Major F Myatt MC, which British forces
took off a captured Boer and shipped to
England.
I WROTE THAT my research of local
Yellow Boys revealed a persistent
connection with the early diamond
fields of the Northern Cape. Conse-
quently, Magnum reader Tim Blight
sent me photocopied pages from an
antique book owned by an historian
with an interest in Kimberley’s diamond
rush. The book was by Jerome L Babe,
an American engineer who came to the
Cape in 1866. In addition to designing
mining equipment, he’d been appointed
special correspondent for the New York
World newspaper, and as an official
sales representative for Winchester. He
travelled around the Cape Colony and
OFS, demonstrating the multi-shot
The two fully-engraved
Yellow Boy barrelled
actions owned
by Victor Hugo.
Yellow Boy rifle, before returning to
America around 1870. In 1872, in
America, he published The South
African Diamond Fields, in which he
reproduced an advertisement that had
appeared in a South African publica-
tion, promoting Winchester 16-shot
repeating rifles as the “Best defensive
weapon known” and listing stockists in
Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
Quite likely, it was through Jerome
Babe that gun dealer MJ Maullin of
Queenstown came to establish himself
as a local agent and importer of
Winchester rifles from 1870. My final
discovery of a Yellow Boy with this
importer’s name and address on its
receiver, and my research on Maullin,
explained a mystery which had long
baffled me. I have spent much time
tracking down Yellow Boys in private
collections all over SA, as well as
SA-owned Yellow Boys that had been
sold by local collectors and dealers to
overseas buyers. Given that American
collectors consider all Yellow Boys to be
very rare items, I was astounded to find
so many (21 that I knew of) surfacing
in SA, half a world away, most having
come out of the Cape Colony during the
1870s when that was a very sparsely-
populated land in terms of gun-owning
citizens, compared to America.
Given Winchester’s statistical ratio of
M1866 carbines to rifles (the latter
constituting only 12%) I was further
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 59
Collector’s Corner

astounded to discover that of these 21 strength of that bond, I suspect Maullin’s father gave him shortly before his
examples, 18 (86%) were full-length predilection for “only first class guns” death in 1997. His father had acquired
rifles! A mere three were carbines. To had much to do with his affiliation to the these during his tenure as a gunsmith/
add to the mystery, all 21 of these engravers. It would explain the truly armourer in the SA Air force. The
Yellow Boys were made between 1870 extraordinary percentage of engraved better one his father had owned for
and 1876. That’s a very brief time-span, and silver-plated Yellow Boys in SA. many years, but Victor cannot recall
which strongly suggested a prolific The obituary also explained the the source of it. The action is in work-
importer, but did not explain the abrupt sudden cessation of Yellow Boy imports ing condition, though the stock,
cut-off point in 1876 (Yellow Boy pro- in 1876. In that year, Maullin suffered magazine-tube, loading-lever and
duction continued long thereafter). an apparent stroke. “…it left him right-hand receiver-plate are missing.
Now for the part that beg- paralysed down the right Once again, it is a full-length rifle and
gars belief. Going back to side, and such he fully factory-engraved with scroll-work
Winchester’s Yellow remained ever since.” and a deer scene. And yes, its serial
Boy statistics: given This ended his work- number 124773 reveals manufacture
the percentage of ing life. in 1874 – within the same narrow
the whole that were Now we come time-frame as all the other Yellow Boys
factory-engraved to the latest three I’ve known to surface in SA. I find it
and/or gold or Ye l l o w B o y s t o astonishing.
sil ver-pla ted (a s u r f a c e l o c a l l y. Victor’s second Yellow Boy has been
mere 0.5%), can Earlier this year, deliberately damaged. The story told to
you believe that, of Windhoek collector his father by the last owner was that it
the 21 which I’d found Manfred Gorn sent belonged to his Boer ancestor who
to have surfaced in SA, me photos of his Yellow feared he would have to hand it in to
some 50% were factory- B o y, s e r i a l n u m b e r the British after the close of the Anglo-
engraved, one being The name of the East Cape 129849, for which he has Boer War, so he smashed it on a rock.
silver-plated, two being importer that solved a a Winchester certificate He destroyed the stock and hid the
mystery shrouding the many
both silver-plated and Yellow Boys which have
saying it was received in damaged barrelled action by building it
engraved?* These ratios surfaced in SA (see text). their warehouse on March into a stone wall on the farm. It was
are utterly disproportion- This rifle, made in 1875-76, is 4, 1876 and shipped on discovered many years later when the
ate to those of Winches- owned by Wayne Miller. March 8, 1876, order No wall was demolished. All but the brass
ter’s production statis- 3207. Yes, like the others receiver is completely rusted, and
tics. All in SA. Astounding! *See Gallery shipped to SA, it also falls into the 1870 unfortunately, the tang bearing the
in this edition. to 1876 time-span that ended with MJ serial number is missing. However,
Maullin’s forced exit from the trade. once again, it is a full-length rifle and is
WELL, IN MY MIND, the mystery was And again, it is a full-length rifle. fully factory-engraved! The engraving,
cleared up with the discovery of the Although not engraved, its brass while a different pattern, is of the same
Queenstown (East Cape) gun dealer MJ receiver and fore-end piece retain clear style as the other, and very likely done
Maullin’s name on a Yellow boy. Here traces of a silver coating. This identifies by the same hand. And, like the other
was my Winchester agent and importer. it as one of Winchester’s special “highly one, this is a 3rd model. Winchester
Research turned up a newspaper obitu- finished” pieces with “silver-plated” made four models of Yellow Boy over
ary written on Maullin’s death in 1895. metalwork. This was not a true plating the years. The 3rd model’s serial
Following a four-year gunsmithing part- job but a silver “wash” and Winchester numbers ended at 149000 (1877) so
nership, MJ Maullin had bought the collectors will tell you that after roughly this rifle was very likely made during
business outright in 1865. His obituary 80 years, it would begin to crumble off. the same 1870 – 1876 time-frame as
states, “It was only first-class guns that Interestingly, the only other non-en- the others that came to SA.
he imported which gave him such a graved silver-plated Yellow Boy I know
name…”. It then adds what, to me, is of in SA is serial number 129807 – very I STAND AMAZED. The official Win-
very significant: “He was one of the close to this one’s. I know of two that chester history, published in 1991,
leading Masons…”. My guess is that, were silver-plated and deep-scroll states, “Research suggests that more
possibly informed by Winchester agent engraved. In total, only 245 Yellow Boy than half of the engraved 1866s have
Jerome Babe, or simply through his rifles were ever silver plated – four yet to be discovered and entered into
personal dealings with the company, have surfaced in SA. *See Gallery. the collector market.” Well, I reckon
Maullin had learned that the Ulrich Next, Victor Hugo sent me photos I know where they should start
brothers were Masons. Knowing the of the remains of two Yellow Boys his searching.

60 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019

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Gun Dogs
Magnum.
WITH THE HUNTING season and the
HPR clubs’ events in full swing, this is a
busy time of year for handlers and their
gundogs. It’s also a great time to reflect
on your dog’s growth over the past
couple of months and to identify focal
points for going forward. Being a com-
plete novice, it’s important for me to
gain knowledge and experience before
moving on to the next level of training
– Magnum’s puppy-training days are over.
During the last two months, I’ve had
many enquiries from newcomers on the
pitfalls and positives of gundog owner-
ship. One of my first recommendations
is to join a Hunt, Point and Retrieve
(HPR) club or the South African Versatile
Hunting Dog Association (SAVHDA). In
South Africa we are not only spoilt in
having a wide variety of beautiful game-
birds, we have a choice of numerous
such clubs and associations.
To my knowledge, the oldest club is
the South African Field Trial Club,
Join a club.
62 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
My Dog,
Magnum
Get involved in the clubs
established in 1908 by John McIlveen
and fellow pointing dog enthusiasts.
The club’s very interesting history is
available on their website www.saftc.
co.za and according to a piece written
by BL Kraut, the club was formed 42
years after the first field trial was held
in England, while the first local field trial
took place on 3rd August 1908.
The abundance of HPR clubs all over
SA makes it possible for city-dwellers to
own gundogs and gain the necessary
experience to hunt two or three times a
year. Joining the HPR Club family opens
many doors for you to become a suc-
cessful handler and to elevate your
gundog to local and even international
standards.
Most importantly, novices like me
get the right help by being surrounded
by people with years of gundog training
experience. Since the start of my
journey with Magnum, I have not met
anyone who didn’t offer help when I
by JACQUES BOSHOFF
had a problem or needed advice. I’d
like to take this opportunity to thank
everyone for this generous sharing of
knowledge, which was mostly just a
phone call or a text message away.
REMEMBER, NOT EVERY dog trains in
the same way, but if you connect with
the right people, you stand a better
chance of finding solutions to your par-
ticular problems. Some I have met own
six or more dogs and have trained with
or assisted numerous other dogs and
handlers. It’s highly unlikely that your
problem is one they’ve not encountered.
The clubs not only provide training
opportunities but training venues,
which are crucial for city dwellers. And
you may even find hunting opportun-
ities. Moreover, you can compare your
dog’s standard with that of others of
similar age and training level, under-
take the natural ability tests and par-
take in trials. It’s a good idea to visit


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LEFT: The group that participated in the first official national championship. RIGHT: A junior expressing satisfaction after a shot.
In HFT, target ranging must be done
by traditional methods, either visually
judging the distance or using the
scope’s mil-dot reticle. No adjustments
to rifles, scopes or stocks are allowed
once the shooter has started.
There are limitations to the rifles
that may be used (maximum 12ft-lb –
16 Joules energy), depending on the
country’s firearm laws. A typical HFT
shoot consists of a minimum of 30 tar-
gets (a maximum of 40), placed at dis-
tances unknown to the shooter. Ranges
vary from 8m to 42m, with each lane
comprising a peg and a metal knock-
down target or targets, placed to simu-
late a real hunting scenario.
THE TARGETS RESEMBLE small game
such as rabbits, rodents and birds with
kill zones that vary in size. A direct hit to
the kill zone triggers a mechanism that
makes the target fall backwards. Most
targets have a reset cord, which is
pulled to reset the target in the upright
position. An HFT shooter gets two points
for knocking the target over, one point
for hitting the target, and zero for a
missed shot. The scoring differs in Field
Target matches where only shots in the
kill zone count.
A peg marks the spot where the
shooters take up their positions. Shoot-
ers must touch the peg either with their
person or rifle when firing. Most shots
are taken from the prone position with
certain compulsory positional shots
where shooters must kneel or stand.
Competitors can participate in vari-
ous categories such as Open, Junior
and Recoiling classes. In the Open
class, any shooter can participate and
they usually use PCP rifles. The Junior
class is for shooters younger than
18 years, and the Recoiling class is for
spring-powered or gas-ram rifles.
HFT shooters can use a decent (3–9
magnification) scope on any qualifying
air rifle, thus affording participation with
a minimal capital outlay (potential suc-
cess lies in correct range judgement and
shot placement rather than in high-tech
equipment). This, coupled with low
ammunition costs, enables the whole
family to participate. A tin of 500 air rifle
pellets costs roughly a third of the price
of the cheapest .22LR ammunition.
The popularity of HFT burgeoned to
such an extent that the
first World Champion-
ship event was held in Hunter Field Target is similar to
2009 in the UK under Field Target but with more emphasis
the World Hunter Field
Ta r g e t A s s o c i a t i o n on practical hunting simulation
(WHFTA). More than
200 entrants partici-
pated, and these championships have
been held annually since then. The
sport expanded to the European main-
land with 12 countries participating in
the 2018 World Championships hosted
in the Czech Republic by WHFTO. For
the first time, a South African team
competed, finishing fifth out of eight
countries.
In South Africa, available information
indicates that HFT commenced in 2004,
in KwaZulu-Natal and the Cape. The
Cape Air Rifle (CAR) Club formed in 2006
followed by the Atlantic Air Rifle Club
(AAC) in 2007, both in Cape Town. In
January 2013, a Western Province HFT
League formed between Elcaprisco club
(now KSSC) and the AAC and regular
events have taken place since. The for-
mation of air rifle clubs in the southern
and Eastern Cape and the adoption of
HFT as one of their shooting disciplines
resulted in the various regions getting
together for the first ‘national’ event in
George on 13 May 2017. Sixteen shoot-
ers from the four active clubs at that time
attended the event: George (GSSC),
Kraaifontein (KSSC), AAC and the PE Air
Rifle Club (PEARC). Eventually, the vari-
ous clubs united when the South African
Hunter Field Target Association (SAHFTA)
formed.
The first official HFT national cham-
pionship took place earlier this year in
Port Elizabeth with 39 participants.
Michael Olivier of Cape Town won the
Open Category event, with Luan Ros-
souw winning the Recoiling Class. The
most popular air rifles used at the
championship were the Air Arms S200/
S400 (PCP rifles), the Weihrauch
HW97k and the Air Arms TX200, the
latter two being recoiling rifles.
Participation in HFT is growing,
with a new club in Gauteng about to
join SAHFTA, and plans are in place to
expand into the rest of the country.
Efforts are underway to get national
accreditation for the sport in SA. To
join HFT or participate, go to www.
sahfta.org.za to find a club in your
area.
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 65
Gallery
SAAACA Gauteng
Arms Collectors Fair
The Southern Africa Arms and
Ammunition Collectors Association
(SAAACA), Gauteng, will be holding
their 24th Annual
Arms Collectors
Fair at the Dit-
song National
Museum of
Military History
in Saxonwold on
3 and 4 August
2019.
The theme for
the fair is Weapons and Wheels, and
such will be demonstrated in the mem-
bers’ exhibits, re-enactments and mil-
itary vehicles on show. There will also
be numerous trade tables, interest-
ing lectures on related subjects, and
a Classic Arms auction of arms and
militaria. The auction is scheduled for
Saturday 3rd with viewing of items
from 09:00 and the auction starting at
about 12:00. Interested readers should
confirm exact times with SAAACA.
Parking will be available and refresh-
ments will be on sale.
SAAACA was established in 1994
and is the oldest recognized and
accredited collectors’ association.
SAAACA promotes the collection, study,
restoration, conservation and responsi-
ble use of collectable and heritage fire-
arms, ammunition and related items.
SAAACA is affiliated to the National
Arms and Ammunition Collectors Con-
federation of South Africa (NAACCSA).
Collectors focus on specific fields of
interest, with one or more themes
within a given field of interest.
The Firearms Control Act (Act 60
of 2000) sets out collectability value.
This includes Historical, Technolog-
ical, Scientific, Educational, Cultural,
Commemorative, Investment, Rarity
Heritage, Thematic, or Artistic value,
and a collector’s Field of Interest or
themes will focus on one or a combina-
tion of these criteria.
For competency and licensing pur-
66 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
poses there are four main collector
categories: Category A includes pro-
hibited firearms; Category B includes
restricted firearms; Category C is
for normal firearms, and Category
D is an entry-level category for new
members with a limited number of fire-
arms. Membership advancement from
Category D to C to B to A takes time
and such advancement is subject to
review and control.
For more details about the Fair and
about becoming a collector contact
SAAACA on 011-646-1311 or email
saaaca@iafrica.com – Gail Osborne
Flame-on Upgrade
Readers may remember Magnum’s Test
Report (March 2019) on the affordable
and straightforward Flame-on Anneal-
ing Kit. I met Gerhard Venter at HuntEx
2019, where he was demonstrating the
new Flame-on Gen2 Annealing Kit, an
upgrade of his original design.
The kit still comprises two adjust-
able stands, each holding a butane
The new upgraded version of
the Flame-on Annealing Kit.
canister and nozzle which should be
placed about 450mm apart with the
nozzles facing each other.
The previous kit had three different
shell-holders, which screwed onto a
separate stand. You inserted each case
in the appropriate shell-holder then
turned it into the two flames for a spec-
ified time. For smooth operation, the
shell-holder’s retaining screw had to be
tweaked just enough to prevent the
holder from falling over with the weight
of the case. After heating, you rotated
the shell-holder downwards to drop the
case onto a dampened towel-cloth, and
inserted the next case into the second
slot at the bottom of the same shell-
holder and repeated the process.
On the Flame-on Gen2, Gerhard
has replaced the third stand with a
powder-coated steel bucket which has
an arm incorporating an aluminium
wheel. The wheel has four 14mm holes
to hold cases ranging from .223 Rem
up, having dispensed with the three
case holders. The wheel rotates as did
that of the previous model, but now
the hot cases fall into the bucket
beneath the wheel. This design speeds
up the process.
For those who reload regularly,
annealing is essential for consistent
accuracy. Gerhard explains that with
each firing, the case-neck hardens,
resulting in irregular neck tension on
August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 67
Gallery
the bullet, until the neck finally splits
irreparably. Consistent neck-tension is
paramount for accuracy. Once the neck
hardens, the use of expensive presses,
bushing dies and mandrills will not
help.
Annealing softens the brass and
restores its original properties. With the
Flame-on method, reloaders who follow
Gerhard’s easy instructions can ensure
that the case-neck is heated in pre-
cisely the right spot and for the correct
amount of time to obtain consistent
results.
For more information visit www.
flameon.co.za or phone Gerhard on
083-252-4268. – André Grobler
Harry Wolhuter’s .303
Recently, a friend encouraged me to
write to Magnum to advise that I have
Harry Wolhuter’s .303 rifle in my pos-
session. It has been with me for 35-odd
years. I bought the rifle from an elderly
man in Somerset West who was leaving
the country to go and live with his
children in Australia. He seemed a most
reliable and honest person and I cer-
tainly believed his story, which follows.
When Harry Wolhuter passed away,
the rifle went to his son Henry
Wolhuter, who was a friend of the man
in Somerset West. A hippo killed Henry
Wolhuter, whose widow asked this
gentleman (I cannot remember his
name) if he would like to take over the
rifle, since he and her husband had
been close. He accepted and took
possession of the rifle.
Over the years, I have increasingly
felt that it is ridiculous for this remark-
able rifle to remain locked in one of my
safes, and I have considered donating
it to the Kruger National Park to be
68 | ManMAGNUM | August 2019
displayed somewhere. However, I
decided against this, as I feared the
.303 might end up in the wrong hands.
I am prepared to sell it to some
person or organization who will ensure
it does not become lost in time, but
instead promotes the Kruger National
Park’s history. – Alan Veasey
Mystery of the Lost Guns
Some readers will know the story of the
discovery of an old Winchester 73 rifle
found leaning against a tree in an
ancient Nevada forest now declared a
State Park. It has been established that
the rifle stood there for 130 years and
the story of its abandonment remains a
mystery. Well, here is a story about
another lost and found Winchester that
I read about in a recent copy of The
Winchester Collector magazine.
In 1978 a man living in Bellevue,
Idaho, bought a rusty old Winchester at
a yard sale for $30. When the seller was
asked about the rifle, he explained that
he had found it while hunting in a forest
the year before. A strong wind was
blowing and when it began to snow he
took shelter in the lee of a rock face.
While sheltering there he noticed a
pack rat nest in a cleft in the rocks. On
closer examination he also saw what
looked like the end of a pipe. Curious,
he pulled the object out and discovered
it to be a rusty Winchester model 94.
Sometime later, the derelict rifle
changed hands again in a trade. The new
owner removed the woodwork then
soaked the metal parts in penetrating oil.
It took months to loosen the mechanism
but in the end, the rifle became a pretty
good-looking wall hanger. One day the
fellow was telling the local sheriff about
the rifle. As he spoke, the lawman
seemed deep in thought and then related
the following story which he heard from
his father who had been the local sheriff
in the 1940s.
In a jailbreak from the county jail in
1942, prisoners had apparently
jumped a guard and seized his brand
new .30-30 Winchester 94. It was not
stated how many prisoners were
involved, but they high tailed it out of
the slammer and disappeared into the
surrounding forest. It was winter and
20 degrees below zero with snow three
feet deep on the ground. The escapees
wore only their prison garb and, need-
less to say, were never seen again.
They probably took shelter behind the
same rock face and pushed the stolen
rifle into the cleft.
After hearing the story, the gun
owner rushed home to look up the
serial number to establish when the
Winchester was made. And sure
enough, the date of manufacture was
1942. It just had to be the brand new
Winchester seized by the prisoners and
left hidden in that rock crevice for 36
years. – Robin Barkes
SA Game Fair
The SA Game Fair, the first of its kind,
will be held at Wattlesprings Gun Club,
Bronkhorstspruit, on the weekend of 14
and 15 September 2019.
This event is aimed at entertaining
the public and creating a platform to
promote and support countryside
traditions and pursuits. There will be
plenty to provide you with fun and
excitement, plus opportunities to have-
a-go and try-before-u-buy.
Shooting: Enjoy demonstrations
and competitions for various disciplines
including clay target, shotguns, rifles,
handguns, air-soft and black powder
firearms. Top-quality local and interna-
tional shooting-related products, guns
and accessories will be on display. Meet
representatives of various clubs and
associations.
On both days, Wattlesprings Gun
Club will provide open-air Clay com-
petitions for Compak, Fitasc Sporting,
Trap, Trench, and Skeet, also ladies’
 Gallery

and juniors’ categories, plus a ‘have-

a-go’ stand.
Magnum Custom Knife
The Clay Target Shooting Associa-
tion of South Africa will have a team of
accredited coaches to help you,
irrespective of your experience level –
from never having handled a shotgun
before, to the more advanced shooters;
there’ll be tips for all. The lessons will
include gun fit, master eye test, safety
and shooting tuition.
Gun dogs: Watch demonstrations,
challenges, meet the trainers and the
experts, take a look at equipment and
accessories, get to know different
breeds… join a club.
Knives: Marvel at the crafts-
manship of local knife-makers, both
The Magnum custom Ancient knife reflects the character of an
professional and hobbyists who will be
Tools Hunter is a small hunter ancient cutting tool. The aim was
displaying their creations, sharing some
made from 14C28 stainless steel, to produce a hard-working knife
tips and answering your questions.
hardened to around 59 Rockwell that will keep its edge well, but
Fishing: Whether you are a begin-
by heating and dipping in oil. with a distinctly ‘different’ look.
ner or an old hand, see tackle displays,
Closely spaced jimping affords a Blade length, excluding the choil
get tips and advice from the experts,
better grip with the thumb, and (which can comfortably accommo-
try your hand at casting, learn the art
the tang is tapered. Handles are date the index finger), is 85mm,
of fly-tying, purchase new fishing gear.
made from black laminated G10 and overall length is 200mm.
Falconry: See the majestic raptors
and fitted with a lanyard hole and The Ancient Tools Hunter,
up close, meet the experts, shop and
a leather draw-string. crafted by knife-maker Pierre
get advice.
Readers have enquired about Aucamp, sells for R2 800. You can
Food and drink: Taste the best of
the horizontal leather sheath and order yours by sending an email to
South African food and drink, both
how it differs from a conventional mail@manmagnum.co.za or phon-
traditional and exotic, at a host of stalls
sheath. The horizontal tal sheath ing our office on 031
031-572-65
572 6551.1
including a luxury Beer and Gin Garden.
makes for extremely comfortable
c
There’ll be Cooking Theatres and cook-
carry on the hip – see e the
ing demonstrations; learn how to pre-
accompanying picturre
pare a meal from field to fork, and
– and easy access.
enjoy a potjiekos competition.
Made to the Mag--
Shopping: For the shopaholics,
num team’s taste, the e
there’ll be a shopping area in the hall.
The whole family is welcome –
including well behaved dogs. The site is
grassed with some tracks and most
Like us on
areas are wheelchair accessible. Facebook
Accommodation can be booked in
the surrounding area and camping is
also available. Free parking is available
or pre-pay for priority parking.
Gates open at 7am, stands open at
9am and the fair closes at 6pm each Vi our
Visit ur
ManMagnum
day. For more information and to book Facebook
tickets visit www.sagamefair.co.za. page for great
monthly
Ticket-booking can also be done by competitions.
calling 076-256-3971 (Tuesday to Follow and
share our
Sunday, 8am-5pm). – Gail Osborne page to WIN!

August 2019 | ManMAGNUM | 69

 


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