Man Magnum July/Aug 2025

DURING the era when PMP was still a prominent player on the local ammunition market, their sales figures gave a good indication of what was selling and, as I recall, the venerable .308 Win and .243 Win, and even the .303, performed very well in those days. Today I can only guess as to the top seller, but a calibre like the 6.5 Creedmoor has definitely become a favourite, probably taking a large chunk away from the old stalwarts like the .308. The popularity of the 6.5 Creedmoor is hard for me to understand as the 6.5x55, which has been around since the end of the 19th century, is just as good, and much more popular in Europe, especially Scandinavia, where the 6.5x55 is still a top choice for precision…

Correction: 7.62x39mm vs 7.62x54R I recently read the article SDM AK47S: A Viable Sport Shooting Option in the May/June 2025 issue and really enjoyed it — the detailed look at the SDM rifles was informative and well presented. As someone who genuinely enjoys your magazine and looks forward to each issue, I wanted to point out a small historical inaccuracy that may have slipped through. The article refers to the 7.62x39mm cartridge as a “derivative of the rimmed 7.62x54R Mosin Nagant,” and suggests the rimmed cartridge “was originally designed for the SKS rifle.” From what I understand: • The 7.62x39mm was developed in the 1940s as a new, rim-less intermediate cartridge, intended for platforms like the SKS, AK-47, and RPD. • The 7.62x54R is a much older rimmed cartridge, introduced…

MY GRANDSON waited until I was seated comfortably at the fire and had started sipping my beer before he asked, “Will you let me fire your rifle tomorrow, Grandpa?” “Sure Jimmy. What do you want to shoot at?” “Anything… maybe that big ant-heap we saw across the river?” “No, Sonny Jim, not that.” “Why not, Grandpa? It’s just sand. It would only kill a few ants living in it.” “Well, I can see you need another lesson.” “What lesson?” “Okay, firstly, learn to get the names right. That’s not an ant-heap, it’s a termite mound. Termites are not ants; they’re part of the cockroach family. There is no such thing as an ant-heap. Ants don’t build ant-heaps.” “But… but my teacher said ant-heaps are where flying ants come from.” “That’s…

CANIK is a well-established firearms brand with a reputation for offering value for money. All their pistols come in a quality case with backstraps, a holster and tools. In most instances you just need ammo to be able to head out to the range. For more on the company and its products see the articles Turkey Firearms Revelation (January/February 2025 edition of Magnum), and Canik Tour (March/April 2025 edition). Canik’s latest addition to the local market is the Mete MC9 Prime, chambered in 9mmP, which was launched in June 2025. This pistol is the flagship of the popular MC9 series. The original MC9 was their first micro-compact pistol, which evolved to the L and LS models, and now the Prime. As the MC9 was tested in the November/December 2023 edition,…

I WAS standing on one of the high river-banks overlooking the Nzhelele River, and as I peered through my scope, I saw a beautiful kudu bull that had just stepped into the dry riverbed. By this time of year, the river had almost completely dried up; only a few pools of water remained. On the whole, the area was very dry, resulting in a dense concentration of wildlife along the river where there was still some water and greenery available for foraging. The bull moved slowly across the riverbed while I tried to gauge the distance. So far, he was unaware of our presence, but something made him stop. He immediately looked up and stared intently in our direction. We dared not move a muscle. I had my crosshairs settled…

THE renowned gun-making company John Rigby & Co. was founded in Dublin, Ireland by 1775. In 1858, John Rigby’s grandson, also John, took over from his father, William Rigby, and in 1865 he opened a branch at 72 St James’s Street in West End, London. Business was conducted in both cities until the Dublin office was closed in February 1897. In 1912, the London office was moved to 43 Sackville Street. Like his grandfather, John Rigby was a top target shooter. He developed the .451 muzzle-loader Rigby Target rifle which soon became the match rifle of choice throughout Britain. John won several Wimbledon Cups and was the Irish shooting champion on three occasions. In 1874, when the Irish shooting team toured America, a Rigby Target rifle was presented to Col…