Man Magnum Jan/Feb 2023

MANY of us have a predisposition to a specific calibre, or brand of rifle, or handgun, probably due to examples set by our fathers and grandfathers as we grew up. This is especially true with regard to the .303 Lee-Enfield and 7x57 Mauser as these two rifles played an important part in our history. At some stage these rifles attained near cult status among some locals. In my case it was a different story as my dad did not own a Lee-Enfield or a Mauser – he had a short-barrelled .22lr revolver which, as a small boy, I saw him use to shoot an aggressive, out-of-control dog, and later during a rather traumatic experience, firing a shot in a last ditch defence act at a fast-closing assailant armed with a…

SA Gun Dealer? Since my first visit to Namibia in 1993, from time to time a friend has sent me an issue of your fabulous magazine. I live in Germany, and I am a hunter, target shooter and collector of vintage sporting guns and rifles. The articles about vintage guns and rifles are of special interest to me. In an upcoming German auction sale, a Farquaharson actioned single-shot rifle in .450/.400 NE is being offered. The top rail of the rifle bears the retailer’s name “S.A. Gunworks, late Hillston’s, London & Capetown”. I cannot find any information about this firm. Do you know anything about it? I thank you in anticipation of any information you can provide. – Tristan Rinker, Germany • We checked the two most likely local sources,…

I HAD MY young grandson, Jimmy, with me on a weekend camp in Natal and was just building our campfire when he came walking up from the direction of the river. “Grandpa, look!” he said, “I found a little basket lying on the ground. What can it be?” I glanced across and smiled. After a thoughtful pause, I said, “My boy, you are holding in your hand a truly marvellous architectural feat and a wonder of nature.” “I don’t know what you mean,” he said. I replied, “That’s a nest of the southern masked weaver – one of those birds you heard making that buzzing, chirring sound down at the river.” “Why is it… uh… what you said?” he asked. “Well now, that will have to wait; I must get…

THE M&P Shield EZ is a single stack polymer pistol designed by S&W for personal protection and every-day carry. Initially chambered in .380 Auto, it was made specifically for ease of use, featuring an ‘easy-to-rack slide, easy-to-load magazine, and easy-to-clean’ design. S&W has since also made the pistol available in 9mmP and .30 Super Carry. But why make a pistol whose operation is claimed to be easier than that of a normal pistol? From experience I know that some women have a hard time racking the slide of say, a Glock 19, or similar pistols. It seems to be more of a problem with striker-fired handguns than with hammer-fired handguns. Then of course there is the problem of loading a double stack magazine, which can be challenging for the strongest…

IT WAS good to be back on the Sneeuberg mountains for our third hunt in as many years. Schoonberg and Magnum farms straddle the Gats River, an ancient watercourse that starts as a fountain high in the Sneeuberg mountains and empties into the Nqweba Dam above the town of Graaff Reinet. It is harsh country; dry and hot in summer and icy cold in winter. Rocks, more rocks, rugged kloofs and cliffs dominate the landscape. These farms, including my home farm, are part of the 70 000 hectare low-fenced Amandelhoogte Conservancy, so we manage our game populations in consultation with fellow-members and are issued a quota per species as approved by the relevant Conservation Department and these neighbours. Kudu populations, in particular, we monitor carefully as they fluctuate depending on…

ONE Sunday night, about twenty years ago, I went for a cup of coffee at the house of my then wife-to-be. On the kitchen table was some fresh meat which I was told was part of a kudu that her father had shot. While helping to butcher it, I discovered the base of a .243 bullet which had disintegrated and lodged in the vertebrae just behind and above the shoulders. Obviously, the shot had been meant for the heart/lung area but went too high. Imagine the ‘spectacular’ one-shot kill the hunter and his workers must have observed, and their perception that a .243 can put a kudu down as if poleaxed. Oom Dirk, my wife’s father, shot this, and many other kudu and springbuck with that .243. However, I can…