Innehållsförteckning för July 2020 från Man Magnum

IN 1897 JOHN Moses Browning was granted a patent for a small 7.65mm (.32 bre) pistol. The Belgian firm of Fab e Nationale d’Armes saw its potential and marketed it as the Pistolet Aut tique Browning Modéle 1900. It became so popular that in many parts of the world ‘Browning’ became synonymous with ‘semi-auto pistol’ and soon dozens of competitors were marketing similar pistols. Five years later FN released the Pistolet Automatique Browning Modéle 1905 chambered for a 6.35mm (.25 calibre) cartridge which was small enough to be carried concealed by anyone but an under-dressed nudist! It was another instant hit and was copied by gun makers everywhere. Because the 7.65 pistols could be carried in a coat pocket, they had become known as ‘pocket pistols’ (Taschenpistolen in German). Shortly…

FIFTY-TWO YEARS ago, I was a 17-year-old cadet game ranger in Rhodesia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, and I was about to witness for the first time the extremely close social cohesion within an elephant cowherd. Mere months out of school, and still under tutelage when it came to elephant hunting, we were patrolling in the Gonarezhou’s Gulene-Tshefu corridor. I was accompanied by our Chipinda Pools HQ’s senior ranger, the late John Osborne. At the time, the Gonarezhou had yet to be gazetted a National Park, and elephants within the corridor were shot as part of the tsetse-fly eradication programme. This meant the exercise would be written up as part of my training. When we came across an elephant cowherd, John instructed me to shoot one in an…

THE ADMIRATION A large kudu bull kindles in a hunter will prevail as long as kudu exist. Market demand for yet bigger kudu bulls has led to the intensive breeding of some truly breath-taking specimens. Kudu hunts make the st amazing stories and for some hunters it remains the ultimate plains game hunt. However in most stories, success follows only after numerous experiences where the big bull with his thick bluish neck and crowning spiral horns disappears like a grey ghost, merely providing a fleeting glimpse but leaving a lasting impression. These elusive beasts have proved a tough challenge for many a hunter. Their iconic image has been coloured in by writer hunters like Ruark, and more recently Peter Flack, and will continue to infatuate. My first ingrained impression also…

IN PART 2 of this series I gave a brief résumé of events des ed by Harry Manners in his book Kambaku. I broached que ti ns arising from Harry’s imp on that tusks in a photo in K akuwere from his bull, ‘Monarch of Murripa’, when they were actually those of a bull shot by Wally Johnson years earlier. Now I will discuss what Harry did not mention in his book, and endeavour to explain this strange deception. Harry hid the fact that, for most of his ivory-hunting years described in Kambaku, he was married – despite his clear statement to the contrary (see Part 2). He and his wife lived a nomadic existence in the wilds of Mozambique and she shared most of his hunting adventures. Here is…

BAC N OCT ER 2019, Magnum published a pie ntitled ‘Puzzling out our ropellants’, which covered the problems s experienced by shooters of old time weapo when substituting new locally made black powders for the ove s impo s that are no longer available. One of the observations made in the article was that the locally made Obatex powders produced more energy per grain weight than other more traditional black powders. This is acceptable in a muzzle-loader as the charge and bullet seating can be adjusted to suit the smaller powder volume in the chamber, but gives problems in loading black powder cartridges as the lesser charge leaves an air space in the shoulder and neck of the case which needs fillers, all of which adds to the variables involved…

Magudu/Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal: Mkuze Ranch. Imp, bwbees, njala, rietbk, sebra, kdoe beskikbaar. Luukse kamp, slaap 14. Lekker vir die hele familie. Elektrisiteit, slaggeriewe en koelkamer. Erras 082-332-0625, Herman 083-923-8359, www.mkuzeranch.com t Utrecht-Balelesberg, KwaZulu-Natal: Balele Wildlife Management Co. Over 6 000ha. Specials on kudu R45/kg, eland R45/ kg, blsbk R40/kg, bwbees R35/kg. Many other species available. Terms and conditions apply. Specialise in helping first time hunters. Robert 082-873-5575, info@ waterloofarm.co.za Petrusville, Noord-Kaap: Spbok voorsitjag. Volwasse ramme R1 200, die res R800/ bok. Volledig toegeruste kamp. Bring slegs eet en drinkgoed. R400pppd sluit in koelkamer, slagters, voertuig, wifi. 083-236-6816, karookobus@hotmail.com Utara, Naboomspruit, Limpopo: Kudu, imp, wart, red hbees, zebra, nyala, eland, sable, blsbk etc. S/c chalets, family groups welcome. Slaughter and coldroom facilities. 079­778-1379, www.utara.co.za /utaragamefarm@gmail.com Hwange, Zimbabwe: Special offer for free range…

Defensive Handgun With reference to the items in Magnum about defensive handguns (April 2020 – Defensive Handgun Tips, and May 2020 – Trail Talk). I believe this subject needs more attention than many of us, who carry a firearm daily, would like to acknowledge. Practising pistol drills and finding the quirks of the handgun you’re carrying, or the holsters you use, during these sessions, are essential and cannot be overstressed. A pistol-drill range session can be inexpensive by focusing on skills development with the minimal use of live ammo, rather than just punching cardboard targets as fast as possible. I want to thank Magnum for touching on this subject. – Joe Holiday, Free State Base Plate for CZ75 Reflex Mount I read your Trail Talk item about the blues of…

THIS YEAR, THE Marlin Firearms Company, fou d in 1870, celebrates its 150th anniversary. Marlin will mark the event by nufacturing presentation grade commemorative Model 444 and Model 60 22 rifles as well as commemorative am nition. Theirs is a long history a some f it is little-known. Few are aware that Marlin became one of the largest producers of machineguns in the USA, many of which went into fighter aircraft. But let’s start at the beginning… The history of the lever-action repeating rifle design really began with the Henry repeating rifle, immediately progressing to the Winchester 1866 Yellow Boy, after which followed one successful model upon another. Out on the frontier of the American West, a lever-action repeating rifle gave a man tremendous fire-power compared to the old muzzle-loaders.…

THINKIN ACK ON having carried a defensive handgun almost every day for th st 30 years reveals that my needs, habits and abilities have changed a have aged. The fact that these day m mostly sitting behind a desk and not getting enough exercise, is heavily influencing my preferential method for carrying a handgun. As a youngster I could carry it fairly comfortably whether inside or outside the waistband, appendix style, on my weak side for a cross-draw, in the small of my back or even under my left arm in a shoulder rig. I changed my carry method depending on what I was doing, which could be anything from a formal dinner with a client, dangerous game hunting, spending hours on a tractor on the farm or watching television.…

I RECENTLY RECEIVED two military .303s: a Lee Enfield and a P14. All P14 rifles were made in America by Winchester, Remington and Eddystone in .303 calibre for the British army during WWI. The P14 differed from the Lee Enfield in that it was built on an Enfield-designed Mauser type action with a one-piece stock and is potentially more accurate. To work up a load for hunting and club target shooting, I began with the P14 as it was equipped with a Parker Hale peep-sight. Balistix Bullets, the Meyerton manufacturer of monolithic copper bullets, kindly sent me a batch of their .303 170gr Huntac to try out. Magnum published a detailed article on Balistix Bullets in the June 2019 edition. To recap, the bullets are CNC manufactured to mid-SAAMI tolerances…

IN SCOTLAND, ‘GHILLIE’ refers to a man or boy who attends someone on a hunting or fishing expedition and the ghillie suit was created by Scottish gamekeepers as a portable hunting blin t camouflages the shooter’s en odyfromthelegstotheneck, even the head, and renders one near invisible when stalking or waiting in ambush. It’s especially popular with bow hunters who have to get very close to ensure a clean kill. I prefer to walk and stalk alone in the hunting field, as a single person makes less noise, and I can dictate the pace of movement, which is mostly slow while scanning the surrounding area every few metres. Proper camo worn on the body is best suited for this, as it allows me to stalk in close for the shot. The…

DU G THE PAST fifty-five years, I hav been fortunate e to unt a considerable variety of game. However, it has alw ys been on my wish w l st to hunt the larg of all antelope – the eland. In August 2012, an opportunity arose whe was invite to hunt an eland on a g game farm in a very picturesque, mountainous part of the Eastern Cape, between Somerset East and Pearston. I had been very privileged to grow up in the Okavango Delta which, in those days, was in the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana). During trips into the countryside with my father, we occasionally came across eland, but they were categorised as Royal Game and thus protected, so we could not hunt them. While I was thankful now…

THE M3K IS a compeition-ready, semi-auto shotgun from Stoeger Industries part of the Benelli US family of companies in Maryland. Stoeger has long history of manufacturing shotguns and other arms, an their name has become synonymous with high-quality firearms at affordable prices. The M3K, a development of their M3000 shotgun series, is a robust piece specifically catering for 3-Gun competition sport-shooters. Our test model, chambered for 76mm (3'') 12ga cartridges, is 1162.05mm long and weighs 3.3kg. The polymer stock is straight and sans cheek-piece (hence ambidextrous) with a soft rubber recoil-pad to tame the recoil in rapid-fire. While hollow to facilitate installation of a Stoeger recoil reducer (an optional extra), the stock feels sturdy and durable and does not flex. The pistol-grip is chequered for a secure hold, even with…

THE CRONUS IS Athlon Optics’ leading range of scopes for long-distance sport shooting and tactical work. Magnum’s test model had the Advanced Precision Long Range (APLR) first focal plane IR MRAD reticule. The scope is 365.7mm long without the sunshade and weighs 1kg. The objective lens-housing is 66.04mm in diameter – consider this when buying mounts and rings. The one-piece body is 6061 T6 aluminium alloy with a 34mm diameter tube and is waterproof, fog proof and shockproof. The tube is argon-purged to further ensure waterproofing and thermal stability. The lenses are fully multicoated with additional coating on the outside for protection against oil, dirt and scratches. They provide a sharp image, right up to the edges. I was able to call a fellow shooter’s individual shots less than an…