Jan 1, 2019 | News, On Shooting
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Fspring-2019%2F%23spring-2019%2F150-151||target:%20_blank|”][vc_column_text]WARHORSES
Johan van Wyk
The term “warhorse” is synonymous with a hard-working beast of burden that goes about its chores with a minimum of fuss and care but still gets the essential job done. In the old days, when armies were dependant on beasts of burden, horses were indeed an essential part of the logistical chain, and even though things have changed, and diesel and electricity has replaced hay and coal as the primary propellants of the major logistical systems worldwide, we still have a few warhorses left today in the world of cartridges.
The 1890’s saw the birth and coming of age of so-called “smokeless” propellant. The new propellant offered opportunities that the earlier black powder simply could not match. It was only natural that the militaries of the world, who were then – just as now – engaged in feverish development of small arms, would take note of and embrace smokeless propellant and the many advantages it offered. The British were at the forefront of military developments during this era, and spearheaded the introduction of smokeless propellant in 1892 for their military round of the time – the .303 (which was originally introduced as a black powder round in 1888). The .303 is still very much with us today as a sporting round and there are still many thousands of old Lee-Enfield .303’s doing their thing all the way from Africa to Canada and Australia. If ever there was a true warhorse of a cartridge, it must be the .303 British.
Not to be outdone, the Germans officially adopted the 8x57J cartridge in 1888. Initially it fired a 226-grain .318” bullet at a rather sedate 2 100 fps, but this was changed in 1905 to a .323” 154-grain bullet travelling at 2 880 fps – a powerful and flat-shooting number for its day that saw the Germans through both World Wars, and was also adopted by Poland and Czechoslovakia, among others. The 8×57 was, and is, a very fine sporting cartridge as well, especially with heavier bullets in the 200- to 220-grain category at short to medium ranges. It earned an excellent reputation in Africa on all sorts of game and is reasonably popular to this day on the Dark Continent, even though it has been eclipsed to some extent by many more modern contenders. It is a cartridge I have always wanted to own, and one day a nice old Mauser rifle is sure to come my way.
The 8×57’s older brother, the 7×57, was originally developed as a military cartridge for Spain and saw use in this guise in the Spanish-American War of 1895. Just a few short years later the cartridge was in the thick of the action again, but this time in Africa in the hands of the hardy Boers who were defending their two republics, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, against invading British forces. The 7×57 is a very popular cartridge in South Africa to this day, and enjoys legendary status there, and rightly so. With lighter bullets it is a low-recoiling and flat-shooting rifle that is just about ideal for many plains-game species, and with heavy 175-grain bullets it is sure death on the bigger soft-skinned antelope such as kudu and wildebeest. The good sectional density, especially of the heavier 7mm bullets, ensures good penetration, as Karamojo Bell amply proved on hundreds of elephant, although I’ll be the first to admit that elephants were probably not quite what the cartridge’s designers had in mind for it in 1893!
Internationally, the 7×57 seems to ebb and flow in the popularity stakes. Every now and then a manufacturer chambers a few rifles for the cartridge and the flame burns brighter, only to simmer down to a flicker again in a year’s time. One thing is certain, though. The 7×57 deserves a place next to the fire, and it is just too good to die. I did a lot of my early hunting with a nice little 7×57 and I often wonder why I bother with all the other stuff instead of just getting a 7×57 again.
Possibly the most popular cartridge of all time, the .30-06 Springfield, firmly traces its heritage back to military roots as well. It was originally a US military development that eventually ended up seeing the US through two World Wars, Korea, and a number of other less conspicuous trouble spots before it was replaced in the 1950s. By the time its replacement arrived on the scene, however, the good old ’06 was so firmly entrenched as a sporting cartridge that nothing was going to knock it off this particular perch, and this is pretty much the situation still today.
While some view the .30-06 as a mixed blessing, the fact is that there is very little that cannot be hunted with the cartridge. It is an all-rounder par excellence, with the ability to fire a wide range of bullets from 110- to 250 grains, and the plethora of .308” bullets available make it a reloader’s dream. Factory rifles and ammunition are available from almost every source imaginable, and this more than anything else makes the ’06 a fine choice for the travelling hunter who may find himself stranded somewhere where nobody has ever heard of a .300 WSM. I have probably hunted more animals, both large and small, with a .30-06 on two continents and in a number of African countries, and I can attest to the fact that it is an excellent cartridge for just about anything short of dangerous game when loaded with appropriate ammunition. Love it or hate it, but the .30-06 is one warhorse that is here to stay.
Notwithstanding newer military cartridges such as the .308 Winchester and .223 Remington, both fine cartridges in their own right, the older ex-military warhorses still hold a lot of appeal. With a newer generation of ammunition and rifles to fire that ammunition (even the .303 was recently given a new lease of life in the form of a limited run of the Ruger No 1 single-shot falling-block rifle) they are as good – and even better – as they ever were, and they are always worth a second look for the hunter on the lookout for a cartridge with a bit of history and a proven track record behind it. Give an old warhorse a second chance![/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Fspring-2019%2F%23spring-2019%2F150-151||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”19676,19677,19678″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 20, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Mammal Profile
Red Duiker
Based on Chris and Mathilde Stuart’s book, “Game Animals of the World,” published by African Hunting Gazette, here’s everything hunters need to know about the Red Duiker
English: Red Duiker
Latin: Ephalophus natalensis and C. harveyi / C. callipygus and C. weynsi
German: Rotducker
French: Céphalophe du Natal /Céphalophe de Harvey
Spanish: Duiqueros rojos
Measurements
Total length: 80 cm – 1.2 m (2.6‘– 3.9‘)
Tail: 9 – 16 cm (3.5” – 6.3”)
Shoulder Height: 45 – 60 cm (1.5‘– 2.0‘)
Weight: 10 – 24 kg (22 – 53 lb)
Description
Red and Harvey’s duikers are very similar, having a rich, reddish-brown coat, with the underparts being slightly paler. Chin and throat are paler than the rest of body. The tail is short, and towards the base is the same color as the rest of the body, but towards the tip has mixed black and white hairs. There is a well-developed crest of hair on the top of the head, sometimes obscuring the short horns. Both sexes carry horns which slope backwards at the same angle as the face. Two very similar species – Peters’s and Weyns’s duikers – have “red duiker” coloring, except the rump is usually richer reddish, with western animals paler. Peters’s has a darker stripe down the back, usually absent in Weyns’s.
Distribution
The red extends from north-eastern South Africa, along the Mozambique coastal plain and into southern Tanzania, thence northwards into Kenya. Both are huntable in Tanzania, the red in South Africa and Mozambique. Peters’s and Weyns’s occur across the Congolean forest belt, but the exact range split unknown. One, or both, are huntable in Cameroon and C.A.R.
Conservation standing
All are heavily hunted as bushmeat, but in many areas all four species occur in substantial numbers. Red probably>40 000; Harvey’s >20 000; Peters’s and Weyns’s together may be >500 000. The last two species probably benefit from dense thicket growth resulting from forest clearing.
Habitats
Red and Harvey’s are forest types and associated thickets and dense woodland. Peters’s and Weyns’s occur in equatorial lowland forests, with Weyns’s extending into montane forests in the east.
Behavior
Very little is known about either Peters’s and Weyns’s, but probably similar to the other two species, and even these are poorly known. Usually single animals are sighted, but it is probable that a pair may live in loose association within the same home range and territory. Small dung pellet heaps are deposited in a limited area, or midden, and serve as territory markers, as do secretions from the gland in front of the eye. Probably all four species are mainly day active.
Breeding
Mating season: Throughout the year, but peaks
Gestation: 210 days
Number of young: 1
Birth weight: 980 g (35 oz) (red duiker only)
Sexual maturity: 18 – 24 months
Longevity: One captive 6 years 3 months (red duiker)
Food
Browse, including leaves, flowers, fruits, and commonly feed on discards from monkeys below trees.
Rifles and Ammunition
Suggested Caliber: .224 – .243. Bullet: Expanding bullet.
Sights: Low-range variable scope.
Hunting Conditions: Medium-range shots in open forest.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17875,17876″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 12, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F30-31||target:%20_blank|”][vc_column_text]Some thoughts and insights into egg-collecting
By Dr John Ledger
In an article in The Guardian in 2012, writer Kevin McKenna expressed his surprise when he saw a BBC nature programme called Autumnwatch where Sir David Attenborough admitted to being an egg-collector in his early years. He was being interviewed by Autumnwatch presenter, Chris Pakham.
The two men were debating why so few young people in the United Kingdom were getting involved with nature.
“I’m out there all the time and I just don’t see the boy that I was and you were,” said Packham. “That’s a disaster in waiting, isn’t it?” And then Sir David said: “Yes, and part of the reason for that is that it’s no longer legal to be a collector. I openly admit that I collected birds’ eggs.”
McKenna: Sir David Attenborough collected birds eggs? I was quite overcome, for I, too, had collected birds’ eggs and have been made to feel like a pariah ever since. And a leper too. It got even better as Sir David added: “I knew when the right moment was to take one, and the bird would lay another, so you didn’t damage the population. I learnt a lot.”
The Scottish government and all those myriad outdoor agencies upon whom it lavishes millions tell us how beautiful are our big open spaces and how gorgeous are our fields and forests. Yet teachers won’t take children to them because of the risk assessment. So wouldn’t it be splendid if responsible egg-collecting could be introduced into the curriculum? We could limit the collectible eggs to the 20 most common or garden species like blackbirds, song thrushes, robins and chaffinches. And you wouldn’t need to go into the Highlands for them. Most of the wee birds like these lay a couple of clutches a year, so a couple of eggs here and there wouldn’t be missed.
We’d leave the eagles and the ospreys alone.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/11/kevin-mckenna-nature-egg-collecting
In South Africa it is illegal to collect birds eggs without a permit from the appropriate government agency at provincial level, and such a permit will rarely be granted unless the activity forms part of a scientific investigation by a suitably qualified researcher.
Egg-collecting has pretty much been criminalised by the authorities and demonised by the popular conservation media in most western countries. This has effectively stamped out what used to be a widespread activity in many countries, practiced by numerous young people who later became prominent conservationists or natural history communicators and educators like Sir David Attenborough himself.
In my own case, I grew up on a South African farm where my brother and I, along with the children of our farmworkers, made up a motley band of barefoot urchins, who scoured the countryside like primitive hunter-gatherers looking for food. We each wore a catapult around the neck, and the pockets of our shorts bulged with ammunition; suitably-sized and weighted roundish stones collected along the footpaths as we made our way to the hunting grounds.
We hunted birds, but we were not without ethics, because the golden rule was that whatever we killed we had to eat. We learnt rather quickly that a dove grilled over an open fire was quite delicious, whereas most brightly-coloured and insectivorous species certainly were not. The collective firepower from our catapults was quite formidable, and the accuracy and range that some our fellow-shooters could achieve was remarkable.
We never graduated to air-rifles, I think because my father thought they were a bit too lethal and that the urchins might get too big for their boots and forget their code of ethics. Apart from some nice twelve bore shotguns my father also had a nifty little over-and-under Remington, with a .22 long rifle above and a dinky .410 shotgun below. It also had a plastic stock, which was really gross, but that never worried us one bit. My father used the .22 for dealing with the feral cats that bothered his chickens, and would occasionally use the little shotgun to bag a Swainson’s Francolin for the pot.
My brother and I were occasionally allowed to take the Remington on a hunt, which was a huge privilege, and we mostly looked for francolins which were good to eat. My brother was a great shot, but an accident at school with a cricket ball left him with a dysfunctional right eye. He quickly learnt to shoot left-eyed, and on one memorable occasion dropped a running Swainson’s Francolin with a .22 bullet in the head. But just once, mind you! He probably forgot to move the little round selector on the side down to shotgun mode, but what the heck, we still talk about that shot around the fire fifty years later…
I graduated from the catapult classes and started collecting eggs. Like the young Attenborough, I learnt to study birds and their behaviour in order to find their nests. Spotting a bird flying with a twig or a feather in its beak meant it was building a nest, and sometimes hours were spent in observation mode to pin down the exact location. When I went to high school I met other boys who were also collectors, and we spent many, many happy hours cycling and walking in pursuit of new additions to our collections.
Over the years I built up a very attractive collection of eggs, some of them objects of great beauty which sat on white cotton-wool inside glass-topped drawers, each egg with a neatly-written label indicating the place and date of collection. But for me, each egg also represented an indelible memory of exactly where and how it had been collected; what challenges of tree-climbing had been overcome, the wet and filthy road culverts that were climbed down to reach a nest, and the horror of sticking your hand deep into the nesting burrow of a Pied Starling and touching a snake skin that the birds had used to embellish their boudoir!
I graduated from egg-collecting to bird-ringing (or ‘banding’, the term used in the USA). This provided endless pleasure as the skill of trapping birds, marking them with bands and hoping you would hear about what happened to them subsequently, was a great way of developing great young naturalists and ‘citizen scientists’ (a term only invented many years later). Imagine my absolute delight and sense of achievement when two Barn Swallows that I had originally banded as a schoolboy on my father’s farm were found in Russia and in Poland!
I subsequently went on to complete a degree in Zoology and a career in wildlife conservation, and served as Director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust for 17 years. My early interest in nature and the environment was sparked and nurtured by egg-collecting, some rather primitive hunting, and mostly of course by spending time in the countryside, learning to understand, outsmart and eventually hold a beautiful piece of nature’s miracle, biodiversity itself, in your hand.
As schoolboy egg-collectors we believed that it would not be right to take all the eggs from a nest. So if there were two eggs in the nest of a dove, for example, the first-finder would take one and we would leave one. Likewise if there were three eggs, we would only take one, although there was always a bit of a dilemma there, especially if it was a coveted species. And for species that only laid one egg, the dilemma and sense of guilt would be quite painful. Four eggs would see us each take one and leave two for the bird. A guineafowl nest can hold up to 20 eggs, so there was no issue here. We only kept a single egg of each species in our collections, and that was deemed sufficient.
We read about other egg-collectors who would take an entire clutch for their collection and indeed more than one clutch if they were really serious. We thought this was highly unethical, but we could have spared ourselves the fretting. Most bird species will simply start again if they lose a clutch of eggs, and will lay replacements, especially if they were lost early in the incubation cycle. Some species will even lay two or three replacement clutches if they are having a hard time at the hands of nest predators.
Our noble sentiments at leaving the birds with some eggs were mostly misplaced. By visiting the nest in the first place we would have left signs that could be read by a mongoose, a crow, or a snake, and they would have quickly taken the eggs we had so considerately left behind.
In most birds the eggs are the most expendable stage of the life cycle. In the wild, a host of predators actively seek out nests to eat the eggs or the chicks. It seems many species are geared to deal with this threat by re-laying, or double-clutching as the behaviour is technically termed, or even triple-clutching. The number of eggs that a female can produce in this way is remarkable, and indeed it is this talent that we harness in our egg-producing chicken farms.
There is a famous, diminutive Cape Robin-Chat living at the Delta Environmental Centre in Johannesburg. She was first captured and banded on 25 May 2000, and was subsequently recaptured and given a colour ring, and has been sighted regularly in the same locality, most recently in July 2018. She is at least 18 years old now, and has been breeding every year. This species first breeds at about two years, so she might even be older than 18. But let’s assume she has attempted to breed every year for 18 years, and assume that she loses one batch of three eggs every year and lays a replacement clutch. In 18 years she has possibly laid 108 eggs, and still occupies the same territory. This means that rather few of those 108 eggs have produced breeding adult birds, and it would not have mattered very much at all if some had been taken by egg collectors.
The phenomenon of double-clutching has been used with great success to bring the California Condor back from the very brink of extinction. In 1987 no birds remained in the wild, with only 27 in captivity. These surviving birds were intensively bred at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. Numbers rose through captive breeding and using double-clutching to increase the numbers of eggs that could be artificially incubated. Starting in 1991, condors were reintroduced into the wild. Since then the population has grown and as of December 2016 there were 446 condors living in the wild or in captivity – a truly remarkable achievement.
By removing each egg as it was laid, one researcher was able to induce several Sharp-shinned Hawks Accipiter striatus to lay 15 to 18 eggs during a one-month period. It is evident that many raptors possess the potential to lay more than one replacement clutch in a season.
It is thus evident that egg-collecting under strict control could be sustainable, and a valuable means of educating and interesting young people in nature and biodiversity conservation, as suggested by Sir David Attenborough and The Guardian writer.
Unfortunately, the strict control and proper checks and balances are unlikely to happen in the increasingly imperfect world in which we live. The commodification of wild birds’ eggs would simply add more pressure to the threats they already face from human activities. The late advent of wind farms in South Africa now poses a major new threat to a host of bird species, many of them slow-breeding raptors, threatened species, or migrants that are supposed to be afforded the protection of the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species.
Regrettably egg collecting is thus no longer a viable activity for young people any more, but their interest in nature and the environment can instead be ignited by photography, bird-banding and, of course, hunting.
Dr John Ledger is an independent consultant and writer on energy and environmental issues, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. John.Ledger@wol.co.za[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F30-31||target:%20_blank|”][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17786,17787,17788,17789″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Oct 12, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F118-119||target:%20_blank|”][vc_column_text]PH Dylan Homes – From camera to gun
African Hunting Gazette: Tell our readers a little bit about your personal background and where/how you grew up.
Dylan Homes: I was fortunate enough to be brought up in a farming environment. Hunting and fishing was the highest priority from a young age. I spent some time in the Eastern Cape as well as Natal for most of my life. I began my career in the hunting industry in 1998 and have enjoyed all of it.
AHG: How and why did you become a PH? Who have been your most influential mentors?
DH: I answered an advertisement in the newspaper for a position as a videographer. I had never seen or used a video camera, but I answered anyway. A few days later I was filming my first safari and the rest is history.
I have been very fortunate to share a camp fire with a lot of great people in my time, but I have to say that most of what I know and have achieved in the hunting industry is all through Mark Haldane.
AHG: What countries have you hunted and where are you currently hunting?
DH: I have hunted Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Australia, Alaska, and South Africa. I am currently hunting in Mozambique as well as wing shooting in South Africa. I will be doing a wing shooting safari to Zimbabwe later this year.
AHG: What is your favourite animal to hunt and why?
DH: Bushbuck – they are special animals. You must know what you doing to get your clients good trophies consistently. I personally enjoy hunting them as well.
I am also very keen on wing shooting. Conducting good wing shooting safaris is no easy task, but I believe we have the right formula.
AHG: What guns and ammo do you use to back-up on dangerous game?
DH: I have a Merkel 140AE in 470 and use Hornady DGX, 500-grain ammunition.
AHG: What guns and ammo do you recommend for clients for dangerous game? For plains game?
DH: A .416 REM with Hornady ammo is a good combination for clients on dangerous game. On plains game, the rifle he shoots the most at home. A well-placed shot with a familiar rifle is hard to beat, within reason, obviously.
AHG: Tell us about what you consider to be the greatest trophy you’ve taken with a client.
DH: A bushbuck we hunted in an open area in Natal. Saw him on the first day and could not get a shot at him. Three days later we found him again and he gave us an opportunity. Paul took him on 11 September 2001. He was a beautiful bushbuck. He measured 18 6/8 if memory serves me correctly, and had a wonderful shape.
AHG: What has been your closest brush with death while hunting? As you look back, is there anything you should have done differently?
DH: I was helping a professional hunter look for a buffalo that his client had wounded. After several hours of tracking in thick vegetation the buffalo charged from 10 metres. I was fortunate to drop him at four paces with a shot to the brain. I do not believe there is anything I would have done differently, the situation ended well.
AHG: What qualities do you believe to be most important to achieving success as a PH?
DH: Honesty, Reliability and Dedication.
AHG: And what qualities go in to making a good safari client?
DH: Practice shooting off shooting sticks, be prepared, and ask as many questions as you like before you leave home.
AHG: What one thing would you suggest to your hunting clients to help improve their safari experience?
DH: Try to relax, experience the beautiful places you have paid a lot of money to get to. Trust your guide – he wants you to have a good time.
AHG: Have you noticed any significant changes in the hunting industry over your years as a PH? Any changes in the clients over that time?
DH: Safaris are much shorter; time constraints are creating pressure-cooker safaris. I think clients have not changed much – the industry has changed the client’s expectations, especially in South Africa.
AHG: What can the hunting industry do to contribute to the long-term conservation of Africa’s wildlife and of hunting itself?
DH: Stand together, clean our act up properly, and root out those who disrespect nature and give our industry a bad name.
AHG: What advice would you give to a young man or woman interested in a career as a PH?
DH: Find a reputable outfitter and request to spend some time in the industry first. Find out if it is really what you want to do because it’s not all “charging buffalo and big tips”.
AHG: Any final words to our readers?
DH: Respect nature. Respect the animals we are making a living off, and respect each other.
Keep safe and happy hunting.[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View article in E-ZINE” color=”orange” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fafricanhuntinggazette.com%2Foctober-november-december-2018%2F%23october-november-december-2018%2F118-119||target:%20_blank|”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17770,17771,17772,17773″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
