Man Magnum Mar/Apr 2023

I OCCASIONALLY write this column as an emergency stopgap if Magnum’s Editor is incapacitated or unavailable. I approach the task with some trepidation, as opinion expressed in the editorial column carries somewhat more responsibility than that expressed in a by-lined feature article. All magazines carry a disclaimer stating that opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. I have always found writing for public consumption slightly daunting. I mean, the mere assumption that you have something to say worth reading is, in itself, a form of arrogance, is it not? Yet we do it. I have long found it amusing that newspaper editors around the world write leader columns in which they tell governments how to run their countries. Yet that is partly what newspapers…

Favourite Rifles In the Trail Talk column of Magnum’s Nov/Dec edition, Gregor Woods wrote To Each his Own, discussing his love for rifles with the “African look”, including those with a Schnabel tip on the fore-end. In my own battery of hunting rifles, I have a few which strongly contest for the position of “favourite go-to rifle”. Firstly, there is the .30-06 which was my very first self-acquired rifle, built by Musgrave on a P14 action and stocked by the late Oom Jock Wolmarans. This beautiful, accurate rifle with light imbuia stock and ivory inlay is a very strong contender. Next in line is my .375H&H Mag, also on a P14 action with Musgrave barrel, specially built for my hunting trips to Mozambique. It has taken buffalo, lion, hippo and…

YEARS AGO, on a game-ranch in Namibia, I was hunting with a Texan named Ernie Shoemaker on his first visit to Africa. Ernie had bagged a kudu bull early in the day, so, with the afternoon free, he chose to hunt a warthog. The rancher’s teenage son – I’ll call him Billy – joined the hunting party, along with his bull terrier named Jaws. Boy and dog were an accomplished team; many pigs had fallen to Billy’s .22 Hornet. Using his 7mm Rem Mag, Ernie had non-fatally wounded a big warthog boar in dense bush, and before Billy could stop him, Jaws had launched a determined attack. That evening, around the fire in the lapa, Ernie was relating the experience to the game-rancher – with all the animated exuberance of…

GRAND POWER is a Slovakian-based firearms manufacturer that started out in 2002. With only 80 permanent employees, they may not be the largest firearms manufacturer, but they produce some very well-made firearms, of which almost 95% are exported. Grand Power originally manufactured pistols only, but quickly expanded their range to AR platform rifles as well as 9mm carbines. I had the opportunity to test one of their carbines, the Stribog SP9A2. The SP9A2 is blow-back operated with a closed-bolt firing mode and very robust design which provides excellent accuracy and controllability, and proved utterly reliable. More about that later. This carbine has an 8-inch cold hammer-forged black nitride coated barrel with a 1½ x 28 tpi threaded barrel, making it very easy to mount a suppressor. It has a non-reciprocating…

SINCE 2020, the prices of rifles, scopes, ammunition and reloading components have soared and in some areas, game prices too. On top of that we’ve also had massive price hikes for fuel. The average salaried man therefore needs to plan carefully to get the best value for money. Here are some tips. Firstly, get prices from several game farmers and decide what you can afford or want to hunt. Will you be hunting primarily for meat or trophies, or both? If your hunt is also a breakaway holiday rather than merely a meat-procuring exercise, you might not mind spending a little extra money. The seven most popular game species with local hunters are springbuck, blesbuck, impala, gemsbuck, blue wilde-beest, kudu and warthog. Eland is also popular but less so, due…

“EVERY professional hunter should have a Rigby .416!” stated Paul Roberts, then owner of Rigby gun-makers and a maestro of British gun-making. We were at the 1987 Dallas Safari Club convention. “Yes Paul,” I replied, “but I have so many heavy calibre rifles already – I don’t really need another.” However, the seed of owning a .416 Rigby was firmly planted in my mind. “Let me think on it.” I said. I was due to leave for Central African Republic (CAR) for a season of bongo hunting as soon as the convention was over. Having hunted bongo in both Kenya and South West Sudan for many years, I was well aware of the benefit of large calibres for forest hunting and had, in fact, long used an old .458 Winchester…