Man Magnum Sept/Oct 2023

LANGUAGES change and develop as man improves upon his various inventions, including firearms. This can become a problem in publishing, especially since most firearm literature entering Southern Africa in recent decades has been American. Formerly we locals followed British terminology. It becomes necessary to settle on fixed terms for various items so that the subjects under discussion are always clear to our readers. This can be tricky, as so many terms have been incorrectly used for so long that they have become part of the lingua franca (I doubt we will ever persuade newspapers or movie makers that the items loaded into breech-loading weapons are not ‘bullets’ but cartridges). I’ll confine this discussion to the terms applied to the various types of firearm. The one generic term that can be…

Magnum Fuels the Fire I refer to the January/February 2023 issue and the letter written by D. Lourens. I just wanted to write and say, as an avid shooter and reader of Magnum, I thought it brilliantly summed up the passion and ethos that this magazine creates and continues to create. Please do not despair, though I am not ‘young’ (28 years of age), your magazine is a shining light of passion and enthusiasm for a sport and subject we all hold dear. I am an Englishman who has been lucky enough to have family in South Africa and have travelled throughout enjoying the battlefields, stories of old, and a cold beer by the braai many a time. I guess this is just a thank you, to my uncle for…

Win one of three fantastic prizes from Stanley!! We have a Trigger-Action Travel Mug in blaze orange; a Classic Bottle in Bottomland Mossy Oak Camo; and a Classic Bottle in Country DNA Mossy Oak Camo. Trigger-Action Travel Mug This 470ml travel mug in blaze orange will not only stand out but will also keep your coffee hot for hours. Weighing just 360 grams this innovative mug has double-wall vacuum insulation, a trigger-action, push button and easy-clean lid, is leak proof, dishwasher safe and is car cup compatible. Rated for 7 Hours Hot, 10 Hours Cold, and 30 Hours Iced. Classic Bottles Stanley have collaborated with Mossy Oak®, to bring you this timeless, tough-as-nails bottle for your next hunting, fishing or camping trip. These legendary 1 litre bottles come with double-wall…

GORDON CORMACK and I were sharing a campfire on the Zambezi, listening to the deep-voiced snorting and grunting of a pod of hippos close by. Every once in a while, something would disturb one of them, and it would set them all off in a loud cacophony of complaint. “They always sound so indignant,” I laughed. “Hmmm,” said Gordon, “They’ll soon push off to graze. Probably wake us up when they come back.” “I won’t mind,” I said, “I love hippos. Despite their grumpy outbursts, they lend peacefulness to a water scene.” “They can be damn dangerous,” said Gordon, “I can’t recall anyone surviving a bite from a hippo – it’s invariably fatal. Many say hippos cause more human deaths in Africa than any other animal.” “I don’t believe that,”…

WITH the Rugby World Cup being decided during the next two months there is no better way for firearm enthusiasts to enjoy the sport than becoming proud owners of a ‘green and gold’ pistol. Canik SA decided to celebrate local rugby by embarking on an ambitious project to deliver specifically 1889 optics-ready pistols to collectors and enthusiasts. Canik SA states that from its initial conception it took a year to witness the precision production of the pistols at the Canik factory in Samsun, Turkey. Rugby originated in 1823 in England and captured the hearts of many. South Africa, a nation united by this sport, embraced it in the later 19th century, culminating in their inaugural inter-provincial championship in 1889. The number of Rugby SFT pistols mirrors this historical moment. The…

EARLY one mid-winter morning during 2012, on Zimbabwe’s Bubye Valley Conservancy, we stopped to check for buffalo sign at a waterhole. In the heavy sand at the water’s edge, we found the spoor of a solitary old bull. He’d been regularly moving along a well-worn track to and from the water. The tracks were fairly fresh so we decided to follow them, although when tracking a solitary bull, there is always the chance it might prove an unsuitable trophy. However, to my mind, old buffalo bulls with worn down or ‘broomed’ horns also make worthy trophies. A few sport hunters specialise in collecting ‘scrumcap’ trophy buffalo and I think this is noble. Why were we following a solitary buffalo? Well, trying to secure a buffalo trophy out of large breeding…