Man Magnum Mar/April 2022

GREGOR WOODS’ Gun Shop Gallantry (Trail Talk Jan/Feb2022) got me thinking about the role gun shops have played in shaping my decisions and how this influenced my future. Mostly this was for the better, but some school fees were paid along the way when following the wrong advice. My first baffling experience followed directly after putting money down on the cheapest pistol (in .32ACP) I could find. As soon as the wait for the licence had commenced, I enthusiastically started scrounging around for money to buy a reloading kit and components. I knew nothing about reloading and simply could not afford a reloading manual, so my first step was to seek advice from the salesman who sold me the pistol. He recommended a load of 45gr MP200. I did not…

Hunting Preparation Thank you for the article on hunting preparation. I am new to hunting and found the basic suggestions very informative. From them, I have started a check-list for my hunting trips which I am sure will expand sas I learn more. I look forward to reading the second part in your next edition. – Tim Marais, Gauteng Causes of Gun Blow-Ups Dave Westerhout’s piece in the Nov/Dec Magnum concerning the causes of blow-ups refers. While I agree with much of what Dave says, there are a couple of points to be made which might clarify some of the issues he raises. I agree with Dave’s instinct about shooting oversized lead bullets. Using 0.313" dia lead bullets in a .308" bore should not make that much difference. As an…

MY YOUNG grandson, Jimmie, was camping with me in the Mpumalanga Lowveld. One afternoon, I was preparing the campfire when he came running up in a state of excited bewilderment. “Grandpa! I saw a big spider catch a bug and then just disappear!” “Disappear?” “Yah! Like magic!” “Well, could you find the spot again?” Pointing, he said, “I was sitting on that stump over there.” I followed him to the fallen tree. “I saw a big spider chasing an insect over there. I went to stamp on him, but before I got there he caught the insect and ran back and then… then he was just gone! I thought he’d gone down a hole but there’s no hole – look!” Certainly, no hole was visible in the vicinity. I bent…

THE Centurion is Beretta’s version of a compact pistol (similar in size to the Glock 19) with a 15-round magazine capacity. Apart from the Centurion and a full-size pistol, Beretta also has an APX Compact which has the same slide as the Centurion but a shorter grip with a 13-round mag capacity. In the March 2019 edition of Magnum, Paul Scarlata introduced us to the then new Beretta APX pistols – Beretta’s attempt to win the US Army’s Modular Handgun System competition. The APX is a chassis-based design with a focus on modular features such as interchangeable grips and ambidextrous controls. Another article on the full-size pistol and the Compact appeared in the May 2020 edition. I’m not going to recap any of the technical information available in the previous…

THE eland’s scientific name used to be taurotragus oryx but zoologists recently changed it to tragelaphus oryx after evidence of hybridization with the greater kudu. These hybrids are called kulands (koeland in Afrikaans). Eland is the Dutch word for elk or moose and our African eland is referred to as the eland antelope to distinguish it from the moose found in the northern boreal forests. Africa has two eland species: the common and the giant or Lord Derby’s eland. Three subspecies of the common eland are recognized: the East African eland, the Livingstone’s eland and the Cape eland. All three subspecies have thin white vertical body stripes at birth but the Cape eland loses these with maturity. I will concentrate here on the Cape eland. Eland are found throughout Southern…

IN THE previous edition I discussed requirements that can be considered pretty much essential for a serious hunting trip. Here I’ll discuss equipment that is non-essential but is useful to have, and the all-important physical and mental preparation. For starters, a GPS is very useful. In flat, featureless terrain this can make getting back to your vehicle, campsite or downed animal much easier. However, if you can’t afford one or, like me, you’re reluctant to learn how to use new technological goodies, some common sense can replace it. As an alternative, a very handy and cheap piece of equipment for getting back to your animal for recovery purposes, or even your vehicle/campsite, is a flashing (normally red) light as used by cyclists. It is so small and light that it…