Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 21
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 22. Useful Equipment for Shotgunners The long-awaited day has finally arrived. You have your licence for your new shotgun and have collected it from the gun shop – and the season is open! You cannot wait to get out...
Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature
Ask the Namibian Guides Diana Rupp, (Safari Press, 2013, 182 pages.) Reviewed by Ken Bailey Long-time Sports Afield editor Diana Rupp first hunted Africa in 2003, a plains game hunt in Namibia. Captured, as so many of us are, by Africa’s magic, she’s gone back...
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 20
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 21. Shotgun Cartridges and Their Development Over the Years Today most wing and clay target-shooters using modern shot cartridges show very little interest in the ammunition they use, apart from what they feel is...
Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature
A Game Ranger’s Note Book Arthur (A.) Blayney Percival, (Whitefriar’s Press, Ltd., 1924, 372 pages.) Reviewed by Ken Bailey Arthur (A.) Blayney Percival (1875 – 1941) arrived in British East Africa in 1900 from Arabia, where he had been in charge of a British...
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 19
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 20. Understanding The Shotgun New shooters being introduced to the shotgunning sport may find the many terms and techniques rather confusing, with words like ‘load’, ‘bore’, ‘gauge’, ‘choke’ and others bandied...
The Beauty of Beadwork: Turning Waste Into Art
For the past six years, Carmen Rudman has been creating intricate works of art on mostly, South African wildlife skulls. Living on their family ranch, Blaauwkrantz, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, a well-known hunting destination, and with her background...
Formula: AHG + John Rigby = One Very Happy Hunter
Dear John Rigby Co. and Maria, I wanted to write and tell you how thankful I am to own a John Rigby 416 rifle. It arrived last Wednesday!!! Your company and willingness to participate in the African Hunting Gazette drawing with the prize of a 416 is just...
Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature
Death in the Dark Continent Peter Hathaway Capstick (St. Martin’s Press, 1983, 238 pages.) Reviewed by Ken Bailey There’s probably no modern author of African hunting adventures that has captured audience appeal like Peter Capstick has. After a short career as a...
Wato – The Book
By Brian Watson Wato - The Book is a beautiful 324 page hard cover compilation of some of Wato's hunting adventures in wild Africa and other wilderness places. The book can be purchased here: https://watosbook.square.site/ To give you a taste of what's in store...
Youth Hunting:A Smart Parent’s Guide to Safely Hunting with Kids
Sponsored by Ammo.com It's a pivotal time for the sport of hunting, especially among America's youth. Due to urbanization, endless activities for children, and the constant humming draw of electronics, kids are getting less exposure to the outdoors and showing...
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 18
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 18. The Slug Gun As I approached my mid-60s, I decided I would ‘retire’ from game hunting and concentrate on wingshooting. I have a passion for vintage and well-made side-by-side shotguns, and it gives me great...
Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber Ernest Hemingway (Cosmopolitan, 1936.) Reviewed by Ken Bailey The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, a short story by Ernest Hemingway set in Africa, was originally published in the September 1936 issue...
African Response to UK’s Proposed Hunting Trophy Ban
On 17 March 2023 a Private Member’s Bill to ban the import of hunting trophies into the UK passed its third reading in Parliament. It was approved by MPs after this reading, but required further scrutiny in the House of Lords before being passed into law. A strong...
Wildlife Artist: Zoltan Boros
Zoltan Boros was born in Szabadka, Hungary in 1976. Nature and animals fascinated him since his early childhood. Zoltan began drawing at a young age, developing his talent by drawing the local wildlife. Later, he began to paint with oils and watercolors and continued...
Black Wildebeest
Written by Tom Murphy The Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) is sometimes referred to as the white-tailed gnu. Its average weight runs between 250-425 pounds. Shoulder height is four feet. Overall length 65 inches to 90 inches. The black wildebeest has a dark...
African Parks 2022 Update
The addition of Kafue National Park in Zambia, and Boma and Badingilo National Parks in South Sudan added considerably to the African Parks portfolio of land now under formal management agreements. Positive discussions with the governments of Angola and Ethiopia also...
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 17
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 18. Silver Shooters To quote George Bernard Shaw: ‘Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime it is to waste it on children.’ We never consider that we are getting older, and things change… As I myself get older, I...
Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature
Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter W.D.M. Bell (Country Life Ltd., 1923.) Reviewed by Ken Bailey Scottish-born Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell, best known today as Karamojo Bell, was a true Renaissance man. Best known for his hunting exploits in East Africa, he...
First Global Human-Wildlife Conflict Summit
Hundreds of representatives from conservation organisations, academia, governments, businesses and indigenous and local communities from six continents and 70 countries met for the International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence, hosted by the IUCN...
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 16
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 17. Why Wingshooting I think there are as many reasons hunters pursue game as there are hunters – and those who hunt feathered game are no exception. When I decided to sell off my rifles and, instead, take up my sport of...
World’s Longest Buffalo Hunt!
By Jim Thorn I hunted with Monterra Safaris in May 2021. On that hunt I had an opportunity to take a Cape buffalo that was giving them some problems. Of course, my only bad shot of the entire hunt was on this buffalo. Not nervous, not in a bad position, the...
Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature
Cries of the Savanna Sue Tidwell (Circle T Publishing Company, 2021, 426 pages.) Reviewed by Ken Bailey Sue Tidwell knew little about hunting in Africa or the complexities of game management, hunting ethics and human-wildlife interactions when she accompanied...
An Artistic Vision: what exactly is that in the world of taxidermy?
By Richard Lendrum I spent a couple of days in late February with Aaron and his wife Samantha in Douglasville Pennsylvania. It gave me a chance to get, first-hand, an insight as to what this gent has done over the past 19 years – and it was fascinating. Aside...
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 15
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 16. A Storm to Remember Living in the bush has its memorable moments, as well as its problems and dangers, but the dangers are not always from wild animals. One of the most frightening moments during my time living in the...
Classic and Contemporary African Hunting Literature
From the Cape to Kasserine: Ten Years of African Hunting 2007 - 2016 Craig Boddington (Safari Press, 2018, 324 pages.) Reviewed by Ken Bailey This is the fourth book in Craig Boddington’s series describing his African hunting adventures; he writes one every...
Are Cape Buffalo Really That Dangerous?
By Ken Moody We’ve all heard the stories. The maniacal, charging buffalo bearing down on the quivering client as our hero, the professional hunter, brings his mighty double rifle to bear, ending the chaos with a well-placed shot, or worse – getting killed in the...
A Close Encounter With A Lion
This account of a close encounter with a lion near the Limpopo River in 1845, appears to have been written by William Oswell, a former big-game hunter, three years before his death. _________________________________________________________________________________...
Campfire Thoughts & Reminiscences Part 14
Written by Neil Harmse Chapter 15. Geoff’s Lion and Baboon A good friend of mine has always had a yearning to shoot a lion. When I was involved with problem animal control, Geoff kept asking me to call him if there was an opportunity to join me and...
Jason Stone: Inch By Inch, A Trophy Hunter of 25 Years
A 67-inch kudu bull from Limpopo, South Africa.Written by Richard Lendrum Since record books started and inches measured, some believe this has been a curse on the hunting industry. For many, it is their way of distinguishing themselves, to prove something, be...
Leopard Hunt – Podcast
Caption: Rudolph Stephan, Tim and Mary Sylvester.By Richard Lendrum I was talking with Tim and Mary Sylvester when they were out on their safari and somehow the conversation turned to recalling a previous hunt they had done - a leopard in Zimbabwe almost 7...