Innehållsförteckning för Jan/Feb 2024 från Man Magnum

THE S&W FPC, which was introduced late last year on the local market, has a rather unique design. Instead of having a folding stock, the barrel has a release catch and swings to the left and clips to the charging handle to keep it in place against the pistol grip and stock. This means that the carbine, with its 16¼-inch barrel and overall length of 30⅜ inches, can be folded into a compact unit measuring only 16⅜ inches, while not interfering with the optics. To get the carbine into action, the charging handle is depressed slightly (it acts as a latch to lock the barrel in place), the barrel swings out and is locked in place, then it’s simply a case of racking the bolt and deactivating the safety to…

SK rim-fire ammunition has an enviable reputation of delivering very high consistency due to superb quality control. It is also fairly affordable when compared to other quality brands. Their Long Range Match ammunition is aimed at shooters who want to stretch their .22lr shooting beyond 100 metres and was developed specifically for long range shooting disciplines where targets can be up to 400m away. The question arises as to what makes Long Range Match different to, for example, the company’s SK Standard Plus, SK Rifle Match and SK Biathlon Sport? The answer is probably consistency of the lots, with more consistent ammunition enabling minimal extreme spread (difference between fastest and slowest velocity) and thus less difference in the drop of the bullets between shots. With a .22lr the extreme spread is…

A POPULAR Wild West saying was, “God made men and Colonel Colt made them equal”. Well, the introduction of Sam Colt’s multi-shot revolver certainly played a big part in western history but I feel the famous saying should really refer to the earlier muzzle-loading pistols that eventually replaced swords in combat. Let’s face it, when two swordsmen fought a duel, the taller, stronger man had an advantage, and superior fencers would challenge known weaker ones. But if both opponents were armed with identical pistols and adhered to a pre-agreed procedure, the contest became somewhat fairer. So, in my opinion the “great equalizer” was not really the Colt revolver but the single-shot muzzle-loading pistol invented much earlier and which, by 1770, had become a beautiful weapon crafted by the world’s best…

THESE two flash lights represent some of the high-tech models available from Ledlenser. The smaller P6R is rated for a maximum of 1 400 lumens in boost mode and a 240m beam distance at the maximum output, and the bigger P18R has a maximum output of 4 500 lumens in boost mode for a claimed beam distance of 720m. The P6R weighs 170g, including the 18650 battery, and is small enough for the body to fit in the palm of my hand (the battery housing has a diameter of 25mm) with only the head (Ø35mm) protruding about 40mm in front of my hand. It comes with a pocket clip and can be carried in a pocket. However, at 155mm in length it is probably not the first choice for all-day…

RARE AND UNUSUAL COLLECTORS’ ITEMS I have come across a number of rare items in my search for unusual firearms and related collectables. By rare, I mean seldom seen in this country, or else linked to some little known historical fact. These are a few of them. During the period when the Austrian territory stretched southward to the shores of the Adriatic Sea, Austria had a navy, which, in 1859, ordered 1 000 cap-and-ball revolvers from the Colt factory. Of course there is nothing rare about a .36 calibre Navy Colt because thousands were produced; however the Austrian Navy wanted a specially-designed holster to carry the gun – and a collector friend owns one of these very rare holsters stamped with the capital letters KM which stood for Krieg Marine.…

“Gun Jargon” I have just received my September/October ‘23 copy of Magnum and the two pieces by Gregor Woods, “Trail Talk” to do with “Gun Jargon” and the article titled “125 Years of the Mauser” were read by me with interest. My understanding of bolt action nomenclature is as follows: The front part into which the barrel is screwed is the “Receiver Ring”. The rear part of the action is the “Bridge”. The opening in between these, for housing the cartridges, is called the “Magazine Slot” as far as I know. I own an original circa 1924 .416 Rigby built on an Oberndorf Mauser Magnum action. The receiver ring up front is rounded at the top and engraved. At the back, the bridge has a square top. This top is…

WHILE on a safari in 1994, an over excited client fired his .375H&H when standing about a foot to my left. The rifle had a muzzle-brake which was directly opposite my left ear when he fired, and the resulting concussion wave felled me to my knees. Aside from the extremely loud zinging noise in that ear, it was excruciatingly painful, and if I closed my mouth, blocked my nose and made as if to blow, air came out of my ear. Simply put, I’d suffered a perforated eardrum. Annoyingly, the client had fired before I’d given him the go-ahead, as I was still glassing a warthog. To add insult to injury, he missed, though this was just as well, as it was a very mediocre warthog. In anger, pain, and…

THESE days I’m buying springbuck venison at Checkers; it is tender, delectable and far cheaper than lamb, beef or pork. The brand is BUSHVELD’S FINEST, packed by Shoprite Checkers, and includes roasts, chops, mincemeat and wors. This recipe is for springbuck shoulder chops (the same cuts sold in supermarkets as ‘lamb braai chops’). Hunters should choose small antelope, preferably young or female springbuck or reedbuck; young impala is good too. Saw the shoulder into thin chops across the grain. INGREDIENTS 400 to 500 grams of chops2 baby leeks (discard the green leafy parts)2 small (12cm) sticks of celery (discard the green leafy parts)2 medium sized carrots1 medium sized onion (red or white) 1 small green, red or yellow pepper1 clove of fresh garlica handful of white button mushrooms and a…

LAST year I wrote about my acquisition of a smoothbore muzzle-loader manufactured by Delhi Gun House (DGH) in India and successfully hunted a blesbuck with it. I particularly wanted a smoothbore because of its touted versatility. ‘Smoothie’ owners claim a smooth-bore musket or fowling piece is the gun that can do it all. With birdshot it can take flying doves and pigeons in the morning, and in the afternoon, loaded with a ball, it can knock down the biggest of game animals. Heck, it can even be loaded with a combination of buckshot and ball known as ‘buck ’n ball’, a load that was devastating in the US War of Independence as well as in the Civil War. Despite marketing claims by Winchester and Colt that their firearms…

THE night was cold on the Impendle farm where I was visiting my brother, who’d arranged a reedbuck hunt for me. Building up the fire, we sipped neat Scotch and chatted. Barry was seven years older than I, and has since passed on. While my lifelong passion has been hunting, his was fishing, but he followed my escapades in Magnum. “I read about your experience with the buffalo cow that gave you some trouble in Zim,” said Barry. “But nothing compared to your earlier story about a wounded buff that charged from 12 paces and fell to the last round in your mag, literally at your feet. That must have shaken you up.” “Well, I did feel a pang when he launched his charge, but after that, there was no…

I HAVE certain reservations regarding the latest technological advances, one example being AI and the effects it will have on society. Technological instruments are beneficial in many ways, but can be misused and abused. In hunting, a scope helps the hunter to see better and aim more precisely, which is good, but if he uses it to take shots which are beyond his or his rifle’s practicability, or which introduce potential long-range risks such as sudden animal movement or wind deflection, this amounts to mis-use. Thus the ethics of the matter do not lie with the device itself, but the use to which it is put. In August, 2023 I was fortunate to join a hunting party in the northern reaches of KZN as arranged by Wayne Scrooby with some…

IN MY opinion there is absolutely no reason to contribute to some hunter’s ill-concealed attempts to build an aura of heroism around big game hunting. The so-called dangerous game really aren’t so dangerous at the end of the day. Of course, there are species which cannot be hunted entirely without risk, but the actual number of incidents where game is the direct cause of injury or death stands in grave contrast to the number of other hunting-related deaths from accidental discharges, cardiac arrests and car accidents during transport. Although I have experienced more than a few dramatic situations during my years of hunting, almost all of these have been caused by my own lack of thought or experience. But this bear hunt was different. The risk of encountering a bear…

BACK in 1973 a pal, Bart, and I decided to go big game hunting in Rhodesia. Our hunting experience was limited. I had only shot one impala and Bart had only done some bird shooting. To prepare for the big event, we bought a second hand Jeep Wagoneer and both of us purchased .375 Magnum rifles; I bought a Brno and Bart bought a Sako. We had applied for a hunting concession in the Zambezi Valley and were fortunate to be allocated a 10-day package comprising one buffalo, one kudu bull and a sable. The total cost was R600 and we both took loans from our company to pay for it. To prepare for the hunt I took Bart to the Johannesburg Zoo to point out shot placement on…

IT’S always exciting to explore new hunting venues, but it’s also rewarding to hunt familiar areas where you know the farm’s boundaries and where to search for game – especially when embarking on a walk-and-stalk hunt without a guide or companion. My hunting partner, Andries Laufs, and I had been hunting on the farm Jaskraal in the Somerset East district for some years, and had booked a hunt for the 2016 season. However, Andries had to cancel as he had relocated to another province earlier that year, so I decided to venture out on a solo hunting trip. On arrival, setting up camp at the dedicated spot was a pleasure as always. Before sunrise next morning I was up and ready for the day’s action. Being a little paranoid about…