Jul 30, 2018 | News, Wildlife Game
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]African Vultures Threatened by Lead Poisoning
By Dr John Ledger
Internationally, concern has for a long time been expressed about the toxicity of lead from cartridges and bullets used for hunting birds and mammals; studies have mainly described cases from Europe and North America. But a new report has shown that African White-backed Vultures in Botswana are ingesting lead fragments in the food they scavenge from hunted game. It is highly likely that other African vultures and other scavenging birds are also affected. There is a strong case to be made for the use of lead-free ammunition in Africa, and hunters should demonstrate their commitment to the African environment and its conservation by their leadership in using non-lead ammunition.
Most people who have the privilege of visiting wild places in Africa will have looked up in awe and respect at the big birds high in the blue sky, riding the thermals in their quest for their next meal. Vultures are part of wild Africa – their ecosystem services are to quickly remove decaying bodies and flesh from the environment, so curtailing the proliferation of bacteria and viruses, and the flies that carry them around.
Vultures are pretty smart creatures, and superb aviators, riding the thermals to travel hundreds of miles every day in their search for food. They keep an eye on their neighbors in a network of airborne observers. Should one of their associates spot a carcasse, or a crow signaling interest on the ground below, that bird will immediately lose altitude to take a closer look. The network of observers will be drawn to that hole in the net, and like the knots of a net being pulled down, they fly towards the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This is why a ground observer would see first one, then three, then fifty and then a hundred vultures appear miraculously from the sky and descend to feed on a carcass.
Vultures are long-lived, slow-breeding birds, and a pair must survive for many years to replace themselves in the wild. ‘Modern’ Africa is conspiring to shorten the lives of vultures, in many ways. Electricity transmission and distribution networks kill vultures by collision with wires or electrocution on supporting structures. The new curse of renewable energy is killing vultures by impacts with spinning wind turbine blades, or electrocutions and collision on the new powerlines to take the “clean, green energy” to the nearest grid connection. Then we have the poisoners, the farmers who lace bait with poison to kill predators; the poachers who poison carcasses to stop the vultures from being used by rangers to see where they are operating, and the suppliers of African traditional medicine who can find a ready cash market for vulture parts in the towns and cities of the continent. Vultures feature high in African beliefs in their spiritual and medicinal powers.
Lead poisoning in scavenging birds was highlighted by the near-extinction of the California Condor, brought back from the brink by one of the most amazing success stories in conservation history. Having been somewhat involved in this drama, and knowing a number of the fine people involved, is of special significance to me. Lead poisoning turned out to be a major factor in the decline of the condors, and lead ammunition may not be used in any parts of the USA where the California Condor may forage.
Now we have new evidence from Botswana that African White-backed Vultures are also at risk of lead poisoning.
Association between hunting and elevated blood lead levels in the critically endangered African white-backed vulture Gyps africanus
By Rebecca Garbett, GlynMaude, Pete Hancock, David Kenny Richard Reading & Arjun Amar.
Science of the Total Environment: 631–632 (2017). © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Abstract
Lead (Pb) toxicity caused by the ingestion of Pb ammunition fragments in carcasses and offal is a threat to scavenging birds across the globe. African vultures are in critical decline, but research on whether Pb exposure is contributing to declines is lacking. In Africa, recreational hunting represents an important economic activity; however, Pb in leftover hunted carcasses and gut piles represents a dangerous food source for vultures. It is therefore important to establish whether recreational hunting is associated with Pb exposure in African vultures. We explored this issue for the critically endangered white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) in Botswana by examining their blood Pb levels inside and outside of the hunting season, and inside and outside of private hunting areas. From 566 birds captured and tested, 30.2% birds showed elevated Pb levels (10 to b45 μg/dl) and 2.3% showed subclinical exposure (≥45 μg/dl). Higher blood Pb levels were associated with samples taken inside of the hunting season and from within hunting areas. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between hunting season and areas, with Pb levels declining more steeply between hunting and non-hunting seasons within hunting areas than outside them. Thus, all our results were consistent with the suggestion that elevated Pb levels in this critically endangered African vulture are associated with recreational hunting. Pb is known to be highly toxic to scavenging birds and we recommend that Pb ammunition in Botswana is phased out as soon as possible to help protect this rapidly declining group of birds.
There is a large amount of information on the Internet about lead-free ammunition, such as http://www.leadfreehunting.com/conservation.
As might be expected, there are widely divergent views on ammunition, and while I am certainly very ignorant on this subject, the following article did catch my eye:
Lead-Free Hunting Rifle Ammunition: Product Availability, Price, Effectiveness, and Role in Global Wildlife Conservation
By Vernon George Thomas
AMBIO October 2013, Volume 42, Issue 6, pp 737–745 |
AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. Published by: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Abstract
Proposals to end the use of lead hunting ammunition because of the established risks of lead exposure to wildlife and humans are impeded by concerns about the availability, price, and effectiveness of substitutes. The product availability and retail prices of different calibres of lead-free bullets and centre-fire rifle ammunition were assessed for ammunition sold in the USA and Europe. Lead-free bullets are made in 35 calibres and 51 rifle cartridge designations. Thirty-seven companies distribute internationally ammunition made with lead-free bullets. There is no major difference in the retail price of equivalent lead-free and lead-core ammunition for most popular calibres. Lead-free ammunition has set bench-mark standards for accuracy, lethality, and safety. Given the demonstrated wide product availability, comparable prices, and the effectiveness of high-quality lead-free ammunition, it is possible to phase out the use of lead hunting ammunition world-wide, based on progressive policy and enforceable legislation.
I recently had a very encouraging discussion with a friend who is a hunter and also a passionate conservationist with a deep concern for the future survival of vultures in Africa. He told me that he uses only lead-free bullets as a matter of principle. His passion for ethical hunting means that he will not contribute to the lead poisoning crisis faced by African vultures. If lead-free ammunition is a bit more expensive, he is willing to make that small contribution for the welfare of the big birds in the African blue sky.
My message to our esteemed readers? Please think about using lead-free ammunition on your next African hunting experience. It may be just a small gesture, but if you spread the word, it could become very important. Of course, lots of lead is going to be shot into African animals in the foreseeable future, but if YOU take the decision not to contribute to this avoidable threat to the big birds, their soaring spirits will look down on you as you walk under African skies, and thank you for your part in the greater scheme of things.
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_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16481,16485,16482,16480,16484″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jul 27, 2018 | Hunter Speaks Out, News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]South Africa: 2016
A River Record
By Thomas Lindy Nissen
Hunting bushbuck in its original habitat is one type of hunt. Thomas Nissen followed Jens Kjaer Knudsen in the search for a record bushbuck on the banks of the Limpopo River where it flows between South Africa and Botswana.
They hear a splash. PH Marcel Powell points to the rings that slowly spread on the surface near the opposite bank, and they know what it means. Alerted by the faint sound of the almost silent hunters, another crocodile has slipped from the grass into the river. The ancient animal is just one of many living here along the river.
Danish big-game hunter, Jens Kjaer Knudsen has great experience in hunting in Africa and has seen crocodiles many times before, but he is still fascinated. He nods to confirm the observation. Marcel silently indicates with his right hand to let Jens know that the stalk continues. After just a few steps, Jens notices a reddish shadow slipping into the closest bush to the right. Just a peripheral glimpse, but he knows it was a bushbuck – the goal of today’s hunt, the exact game species for which he has come halfway around the world. It is not the first time it happened that afternoon. But it’s a typical situation when hunting bushbuck in natural habitat along the river.
The next afternoon they are again hunting along the river, and suddenly hear a deep grunt. Through his binoculars Marcel spots two warthog sows in the high grass, but shakes his head. They were not the ones making a noise. He lowers the binos, and slowly turns his head to look at Jens.
”Do you want to shoot a warthog with large tusks?” Marcel points to a place in the bush to the left of the grassy open area. The pigs are at this time of the year in rut, and the grunt they heard came from an amorous boar, extremely impressive, big of body as well as of tooth.
At the sight of the magnificent animal, Jens feels an instinctive reaction and his finger touches the trigger, but although tempted, he focuses on the actual goal of the trip – a big bushbuck. He chooses to ignore this chance and concentrate on what he has come after.
Hunting bushbuck in Africa is a very special kind of hunt, especially in the natural terrain along a river. Bushbuck are similar in habits to roe deer, comparable in size to a young fallow buck. They prefer a solitary life, are very aggressive, and usually defend a territory of about five hectares. It is a very exciting species to chase, as the animals are found all along the river and rarely move out of their own domain.
To hunt along the river, where the mood, scents and sounds are so different from most of the bush, is exciting. You never know what game you will encounter, as the river attracts countless species. This is where the crocodiles rest on the riverbank, getting energy from the sun’s rays. This is where the leopard takes advantage of prey that is driven by thirst to the river. This is where the hippo finds protection from sunburn, submerging into the cooling waters.
Marcel sees a movement. This time it’s a young female bushbuck. As the animal suddenly senses the men, it stops. It stands for a few seconds staring at the hunters, one ear pricked, then bounds away. One of the advantages of trophy hunting is that it is usually only old male animals that are taken.
When hunting along a river you often see game on the opposite bank. And here, across the Limpopo, the men notice another spiral-horned bushbuck, with a female standing near it. They study the animals for a few minutes. But the 30 to 40 meters of water is teeming with hippos and crocodiles – a potentially fatal swim!
They continue along the 12 kilometers of riverbank belonging to the hunting area. Fresh hippo tracks heighten their senses. In spite of its size, the hippo is lightning fast and dangerous and ready to attack, and the bush is very dense here. The animals should, however, be in the river at this time of the day, and shortly afterwards when they find that the tracks lead to the river, attention goes back to bushbuck mode.
Francolins cackle warnings, and a tan shadow slips into the bush – another bushbuck. The sun is glowing just over the horizon as Marcel suddenly spots something. The animal stands with its head obscured by a tree trunk while the entire body is visible. Jens could put a shot into the shoulder of the animal – but is it worth shooting?
In Africa, the sun drops swiftly behind the horizon and dusk is brief, so time is not on their side.
”What do you think? Does the body size tell you anything?” whispers Marcel, binos to his eyes. Jens has already locked the crosshairs on the animal’s body.
For a few seconds neither the buck nor hunters move. It’s as if the bushbuck senses something is wrong, but is unable to locate the source of danger.
”Shoot it, shoot now,” Marcel urges. ”Shoot now, shoot!”
Jens obeys his PH, squeezes the trigger, feels the recoil and the adrenaline in his body. The buck stumbles a few steps forward and collapses into a patch of yellow grass. Jens can’t believe the size of the horns.
”How did you know it was that big?”
”It turned its head slightly to orient itself, and when it did, I saw the tip of the horn and knew that it was a monster,” Marcel replied.
As they marveled over the trophy in the rapidly diminishing light, the African bush became the domain of another hunt. A great roaring cry broke the silence. Not a victorious, confident or dominant roar, but the anguished despair of a large animal that, just like the record bushbuck, ended its day as prey. The despairing animal loses both game, set and match in a dramatic game of survival. Whether it’s a leopard, a crocodile or any third party who has taken the point, the two human hunters cannot tell, but one thing is certain, a life was taken further down the river.
To take a big bushbuck like this one requires not only experience. It also requires a good hunting area, a skilled PH, and good shooting skills. On this hunt, Jens had it all.
Although hunting is not all about size and measurements, in this case, at the time of writing, it was the biggest Limpopo bushbuck that been shot in the safari company’s more than 35-year history. It was later measured to be among the largest Limpopo bushbuck ever shot, and among the largest Limpopo bushbucks taken in South Africa in 2016 – truly a river record!
BIO:
Thomas Lindy Nissen is a European fulltime hunting journalist, who travels the world more than 120 days a year, documenting hunting adventures for various magazines, through photos, text and films. So far, he has produced books and articles describing adventures from more than 40 countries in six continents.
tln@jagtrejsefeber.dk
BOX
Subspecies of bushbuck:
Abyssinian bushbuck (Ethiopia).
Cape bushbuck (South Africa).
Chobe bushbuck (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique).
Harnessed bushbuck (Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Chad, CAR, Gabon, Congo).
Limpopo bushbuck (Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe).
East African bushbuck (Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Tanzania).
Nile Bushbuck (Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Congo, Kenya).
Menelik bushbuck (Ethiopia).
Although all subspecies of bushbuck – seen in an African perspective – with a body weight of about 80 kilograms, are relatively small, the species is one of the most aggressive if it is pressed or when a bad shot has taken place. An attack from a wounded bushbuck can be extremely serious and occasionally costs human life. This mainly due to the size of the animal (about 90 cm height), causing penetration from the horn into the chest.
Virtually all hunting companies can arrange a hunting trip for the Limpopo bushbuck. But no matter how and with whom you book, please check with references from other hunters before the final agreement is set.
This hunt was arranged by Jensen Safaris:
www.jensensafaris.com
jensen@icon.co.za[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16470,16471,16472,16473,16474,16475,16478,16479,16477,16476″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jul 24, 2018 | News, PH Q&A
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]PH Almayne Hughes: A true man of the bush – with a wife to match!
African Hunting Gazette: Tell us when and where were you born, and about your family.
Almayne Hughes: I was born in Klerksdorp in 1989, but grew up in Centurion (Pretoria).
My wife, Natasha, and I are high school sweethearts and met at the tender age of 16. We were together for about 8 years when I proposed to her in 2013. We got married in September of 2014 and currently we don’t have any children. We have both always had a love for the bushveld and for working with people. Together we successfully manage game farms and lodges. Our families live in Centurion, and two of my sisters moved to New Zealand about three years ago.
AHG: How did you become a PH? How did it all begin?
AH: As a young boy our family always went on holiday in the bushveld and I loved every minute of it. I love the bushveld and have a passion for wildlife. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to work in the bush. However, when I finished high school I went ahead to study IT. After about a year I realized, yet again, that sitting in an office or living in the city was not something that I wanted to do. I then changed, and went on to study Game Ranch Management and did many other courses including my Field Guide courses with FGASA. When I turned 21, I went on a Professional Hunting course with the legendary David Sutherland. It was only after a family hunt on my 21st birthday that I decided to focus my energy on the hunting industry instead of working as a Game Ranger. By 2011, I was a qualified and certified Professional Hunter, and started my career as a PH and Game Farm Manager.
AHG: Which countries have you hunted and where are you hunting these days?
AH: As a professional hunter I have only been guiding and hunting with clients in South Africa, mainly in the Limpopo province. However, I have personally been very blessed to hunt all over South Africa, Mauritius, as well as in the Bubye Valley Conservancy (BVC) in Zimbabwe. The hunt in Zimbabwe was my absolute favorite and most recent, where I hunted buffalo in the majestic mountains of the BVC.
AHG: If you could return to any time or place in Africa, where would it be?
AH: This is such a great question and my wife has asked me this question numerous times.
a. I would enjoy the opportunity to see the great migration, in all its natural splendor, in the Serengeti during the early nineteenth century.
b. I would also love to return to South Africa during the late eighteenth century / early nineteenth century, to be a part of the hunter-explorers that explored the Limpopo River Valley and hunted the abundance of wild game there. I can only imagine how exciting it must have been to hunt dangerous game in this lush and wild bushveld area.
AHG: Which guns and ammo are you using to back-up on dangerous or wounded game? AH: When hunting dangerous game, I have complete faith in my Merkel .470 Nitro Express. This is a fantastic working firearm for me as a PH and has saved my arse in many dangerous situations. I currently reload my own ammunition using Perigrine bullet heads. Perigrine is a relatively new brand on the market – however they are extremely reliable. The people at Perigrine are always happy to assist with new load developments and I would suggest their product to anyone who does their own reloading. They are also a South African company – so I hope more people will support them as home-grown is best!
AHG: What are your recommendations on guns and ammo – for dangerous game and for plains game – to your hunting clients?
AH: I would strongly suggest using the largest firearm that the client is comfortable with. In my opinion you can never have “too much gun”. Secondly, I always recommend using premium ammunition. I like to say that one can ‘skimp’ on the gun and ‘skimp’ on the optics, but never skimp on ammunition.
AHG: What is your favorite animal to hunt and why?
AH: I would definitely have to say that my favorite animal to hunt is Cape buffalo. I enjoy that it is such a thrilling hunt and the reward after a difficult day of hunting buffalo is my favorite by far!
AHG: Looking back, which was your greatest trophy and why?
AH: I believe that a trophy is not necessarily the size of the horns of the animal, but that the story behind the hunt is what makes the trophy so much more special. The solid-boss buffalo bull that I recently hunted in BVC, in Zimbabwe, is my greatest trophy and story thus far. The hunt was difficult and strenuous, but so rewarding. It was also my first time hunting in the BVC (Bubye Valley Conservancy) and this is, in my opinion, one of the greatest conservancies that I have ever had the pleasure of hunting in. Furthermore, we hunted with Pete Fick as our guide and PH, and just spending time with him and listening to his great stories made this an unforgettable trip overall.
AHG: What was your closest brush with death? And looking back: Anything you should have done differently?
AH: While hunting plains game with a client, here in Limpopo, the client wounded a warthog. As we tracked the blood-trail into a dry riverbed, something felt very eerie about the situation. I instructed the client to rather head back and wait at the hunting vehicle, while I continued to follow the wounded warthog. As I came into the thickets surrounding the dried-up river bed, I was faced by a massive buffalo bull. This buffalo was just a few metres away from me. As I started to backtrack, to get out of there, the buffalo started charging. Luckily the sand slowed him down a bit, as I turned and ran back to the hunting vehicle. The buffalo bull chased me all the way to the vehicle, where he stopped the charge and turned away. If I could do things differently, I would have walked into that riverbed with my .470 Nitro Express, instead of my .30-06.
AHG: How has the hunting industry changed over the years? And the hunting clients themselves?
AH: I have found that the hunting outfitters have changed quite a lot over the years. It seems that some outfitters and PHs are more focused on the quantity of hunts that they book throughout a year, instead of quality. Some of these outfitters try to make sure that they book as many hunts as possible for the season, but then they don’t focus on offering their clients a good quality hunt and an original African hunting experience. Due to this, a lot of clients have become wary of new offers and outfitters, as there are so many “fly-by-night” outfitters out there, that have given clients some horrible experiences.
AHG: Which qualities go into making a successful PH and or a successful hunting company?
AH: There are many essential qualities to becoming a great or successful PH. Respect and passion for the wildlife; to be a “people’s person” as you have to work with many people from all walks of life; good social skills to entertain your guests, and determination as not all clients are going to be easy to work with and not all hunts will go down smoothly. But I would say the most important is to focus on ethical hunting practices and to not operate in any “grey areas”.
AHG: Which qualities go into making a good safari client?
AH: Importantly, a hunting client should be a good shot and have faith in their shooting ability and be an open-minded person. General good health and fitness is important as the bushveld terrain in South Africa can be difficult for some clients. Lastly, listen and trust your PH, as he is trying to give you a great hunting experience while doing his best to keep you out of dangerous situations.
AHG: If you should suggest one thing to your hunting clients to improve their experience of their safari, what would it be?
AH: First, I would suggest that they spend enough time practicing with their firearms, before coming to hunt in Africa. Spending a good amount of time on the shooting range and getting to know your firearm is very important. Secondly, I would say that the client that comes on safari with no expectations of specific horn lengths, will always walk away as a happy client. While I would always do my best to try and get the best trophies for my client, I believe that the story behind that hunt is what makes the hunt memorable.
AHG: Based on your recent experience in the field, do you think that any species should be upgraded to Appendix I or downgraded to Appendix II or closed all together?
AH: This is a difficult question to answer since I can really only refer to the area that I work and hunt in. Here in the Limpopo River valley, I can see a very healthy population of hippo and crocodile, and I would like to be able to hunt in the Limpopo River again. No permits are currently being issued for hippo or crocodile hunting in the Limpopo River. There is nothing else that I would upgrade to Appendix I or downgrade to Appendix II.
AHG: What can the hunting industry do to contribute to the long-term conservation of Africa’s wildlife?
AH: I always say that hunting is conservation and conservation is hunting. With this statement, I mean that hunting really is the largest contributor to conservation. Without hunting and private game farms, I think many species would be endangered. We would not have the quality of gene pool, that we currently have available. For example, there is a better quality of species available in private game farms, than in any national park in our country.
AHG: Ask your wife, if she could do it all over again, would she still? And what is her advice to future wives of PHs?
Natasha Hughes: I fell in love with Almayne when I was just a young teenager. I always knew that whatever he decided to do or wherever he decided to go, I would follow him and support his decisions. Being an independent woman came naturally to me, but it is also very important to trust your partner in their decisions and to support them in new endeavors. When Almayne was a freelance PH, it was difficult at times, as he would be away from home for weeks on end, for seven or eight months of the year. When I finished my diploma in Lodge Management, we decided to start working together in the bushveld. Working together is easy for us, as we are such great partners in business and in life. We both have a passion for the bushveld, for wildlife and to work with people. If I could do it all over again I would not change a thing. Everything works out as it should, and even difficult or bad times are necessary in our lives, so that we will appreciate the good things and great times even more.
The advice I have for future wives of PHs is to trust their partner. Be a supportive partner to them and treat each other as equals. Never forget who you are or give up your hobbies and interests. Stay true to yourself, but most importantly stay true to each other.
AHG: Anyone you want to say thanks to? Or to GTH (Go to Hell)?
AH: While there are many people that have let me down or disappointed me over the years, I cannot exactly say ‘go to hell’ to anyone in an article like this. ???? I would, however, like to thank my family, especially my wife, for standing by me from my ‘start up’ days of being a rookie PH, spending so much time away from home and for supporting me through all the decisions that I have made for myself and for us. Thank you for believing in me and helping me to become the man I am today, in my career as PH and in my personal life. I would not have been able to achieve many of the things I have, if it were not for her by my side. It is true what they say: “A man’s success has a lot to do with the kind of woman that he has in his life.”
AHG: Any Last Words of Wisdom?
AH: Throughout the years, I have met many aspiring PHs and the one piece of advice that I always give them is: Just keep your nose clean. Stay out of trouble! In this industry your reputation will precede you, so make sure you have a good reputation and uphold this. Don’t get involved in illegal practices as this type of behavior will get you in trouble sooner or later. You will have to start at the bottom, but pay your dues, put in the work and the hours, and it will all pay off in the end.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16460,16461,16462,16463,16464,16458,16459″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jul 21, 2018 | News, On Shooting
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]HOMAGE TO THE ANCESTORS
Johan van Wyk
I don’t think too many people will disagree if I make the statement that cartridges such as the .30-06 and .375 H&H Magnum came to be accepted over the years as industry standards. They are popular to the point where ammunition, reloading components and factory rifles are commonplace just about everywhere where hunting is conducted and rifles and ammunition are sold, and hence they are the yardsticks (rightly or wrongly) by which many other cartridges are judged.
Well, in days gone by, a number of different “yardstick” cartridges were out there as well, and even though they are now to a large extent forgotten or only encountered in gun rooms full of interesting old rifles or on the workbenches of slightly eccentric handloaders, they were the standards by which many others were judged in the days when a manservant and a pith helmet was considered essential hunting equipment.
The .450 (3¼”) Black Powder Express was in all probability the most popular black powder sporting cartridge of all time. Just about every British gunmaker worth their salt chambered rifles for one or other version of the .450 BPE, and ammunition was loaded in Britain, Germany, France and Austria. A state police department in Australia even adopted the Alex Henry falling-block single-shot rifle in .450 BPE as a service rifle at some point, and both single-shot and double rifles were available. Original ballistics were somewhat all over the place – mainly due to different manufacturers preferring different loads – but generally ranged from 270-grain bullets at 2 000 fps to 365-grain bullets at 1 750 fps. Even though the idea of shooting a 300-grain-plus bullet from a modern rifles sounds like serious stuff today, the .450 was actually considered to be somewhat of an all-round rifle for its day and judged to be fine for antelope and the bigger cats, but somewhat marginal for the really big, thick-skinned critters, even though John Taylor reported killing elephant with the cartridge.
The bullets of the day were lead projectiles in a variety of shapes and designs, including hollow-points for rapid expansion and round-nose hardened lead bullets for deeper penetration on big animals. Paper-patching was also in widespread use and was a necessity in many instances to ensure a proper grip on the bullet by the shallower types of rifling designs in use back then, such as Metford and Henry. As the .450 BPE’s recoil was quite moderate due to the low chamber pressure developed by the ammunition of the day, the rifles themselves were quite light (down to 8½ pounds or so in some instances) and handy. All these factors combined to make the .450 BPE a roaring success. Looking back, I reckon it is fair to make the comment that the .450 BPE was the .30-06 of its day. It was effective on a wide range of game, had modest recoil and almost everybody had one.
Moving on, the next cartridge worth taking a look at is the .577 (3”) BPE. This is a cartridge steeped in history and tradition that immediately conjures up images of Samuel Baker and Arthur Neumann, and it certainly paid its dues in Africa in earlier times. As was the case with the .450 BPE, the .577 BPE was chambered by a great many makers and was popular enough that ammunition was available well into the 1920s. It is worth noting that the 3-inch Nitro version of the .577 had been available for decades by this time, and had become a favorite of some in the hard-core elephant hunting fraternity such as James Sutherland, but the black powder .577 was still hanging in there as well.
The .577 BPE’s ballistics were impressive, even for its time. Bullets ranging from 560 to 610 grains were available (with later Nitro-for-black loads maximum bullet weight being increased to a hefty 650 grains) at muzzle velocities ranging from 1 740 fps to 1 650 fps. These were powerful enough to get the attention of just about anything, and in addition to thin-skinned game, the .577 BPE was used with success on the largest animals. Thus, the .577 BPE can rightly be compared to the .375 H&H: popular, available and powerful enough for just about anything, although not quite possessing the outright punch of the larger 8- and 4-bore rifles of the time.
A few years ago I took part in a big-bore shooting competition where many of the contestants used classic old double rifles in various calibers and configurations. For the black powder category my host offered me a lovely old Holland & Holland hammer double rifle in .577 BPE. We stepped up to the line on a damp and rainy morning and when the range officer gave the command to shoot, I hefted the old rifle, levelled the express sights at the target and pressed the triggers, one after the other. The result was a hefty but not uncomfortable PUSH on each occasion, a great cloud of smoke that took some time to dissipate, and two very, very impressive holes in the target. It was a very satisfying step back in time!
As mentioned above, Nitro-for-black loadings for many of the popular black powder express cartridges were available for many years after the advent of the Nitro era. This ensured a new lease on life for many an old rifle, and they remained in use for decades after the .450 (3¼”) BPE became the .450 (3¼”) Nitro-Express, the cartridge that blazed a trail followed by many others. The .577 BPE was likewise turned into the .577 (3”) Nitro-Express, arguably the quintessential elephant cartridge of all times.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16457,16458,16459″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jul 20, 2018 | News
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Jul 19, 2018 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]By L. Barbee Ponder IV
I’m in Southern Africa for a month on business with meetings scheduled further apart than I otherwise would like. So how should I spend a three-day weekend? At the hotel bar in JNB? Nope.
I have always wanted to take a massive bull hippo. Not sure why. Maybe it is because they are responsible for the most human deaths in Africa. Maybe it’s simply their sheer size and the idea of having to get dangerously close enough to the water’s edge – their world – in order to make it happen.
My friend, Conrad, arranged for me to spend the weekend with Jason Stone to get the hippo job done. Jason and I had never met or even spoken or emailed prior to this weekend. I told Conrad that I would land at Pietermaritzburg Friday morning as per his instruction. That’s it.
After spending two days in the same business suit and having flown overnight from Molabo to get there on time, Jason and Clinton were the first two people I saw inside the airport terminal, and it was game on.
I had no idea where we were heading; I only knew that Conrad had confirmed that the hippo would be massive, and that Jason’s track record is sterling.
On the way out of town, Jason said we were heading to a game reserve where hunting was not permitted, but they were having a serious issue with a 30+ year-old male hippo named (apologies to my father-in-law) Barry. The reserve only contained about 14 hippo in total, and Barry was the undisputed monarch. There was only one other mature male hippo there who was covered in scars from prior encounters with Barry.
Barry had run all of the other mature male hippos off the reserve and onto neighboring farms where they then had to be put down. (It’s a rare landowner that wants a 35 mile-per-hour, multi-ton killing machine on his farm.)
Most recently, Barry had started killing the new-born calves. John, the park manager, said that Barry unfortunately had 10 dead hippo calves to his discredit. So, the management had decided that Barry must go, and I was lucky enough to get the assignment.
After dumping our luggage in the Mahogany Bungalow and changing from suit to hunting clothes, we were off to an area of the property where I could take one shot with Jason’s Blaser .375 H&H with very nice Swarovski Optics. I was on with my shot, and we were ready to go to the various reservoirs to spot and view the quarry.
There were several large ponds that supported the hippo population. Barry could be in any of them, as hippos travel from one to another at night while grazing. During the day, they stay in the water as this is their safe place.
With only two mature bulls around, and one of them covered in scars, identifying Barry was not much of a problem. There he was, lying among the females and their calves. Though there were females with much larger bodies, Barry’s enormous head gave him away, with the massive bumps on each side of his snout caused by the upward protrusion of his lower tusks.
John confirmed that he was “hundred per cent” that it was Barry. Clinton set up the sticks on top of the bank looking downward at Barry about 60 yards away. He was quartering to me, so I waited till he was broadside. Jason and Clinton had spent the time in the vehicle with me that morning, schooling me on shot placement — an inch below the ear broadside should make a perfect brain shot.
Barry finally presented me with a clear shot. I squeezed it off, heard the report, heard the smack of the round into the hippo’s skull, and saw the tall spray of water caused by the round hitting the waterline.
Barry immediately sank beneath the water. The surrounding females were not at all startled. They held their ground. We all knew it was a perfect shot; Barry’s knees had buckled, and he was resting, dead, on the bottom. A piece of cake.
We were wrong.
After the shot and Barry’s immediate disappearance, everyone standing on the bank just knew he was done, him having dropped straight to the bottom. Two videos of my shot had been taken, and we watched them both to confirm that the shot was on the mark. All that we needed to do was wait about an hour for Barry to float to the surface. When a hippo expires, it releases all of the air in its lungs, causing it to sink. What then happens is that gas builds in the hippo’s stomach over the next couple of hours, causing the hippo to float back up to the surface. Once he does so, you (not me) swim out to the corpse, attach a rope, and pull him into shore.
An hour went by and Barry had not resurfaced — alive or dead. Then two hours went by, and Jason remarked that we were now at his all-time record for waiting on a dead hippo.
The weather was turning bad. Cold and raining. We thought that perhaps the cold weather was delaying the inevitable gas build-up in Barry’s stomach. And then three hours went by.
Jason sent three of his trackers into the water with a hook and rope to locate Barry. Please note that they could not swim, and all of the other hippos were maintaining their ground. There were three professional hunters with everything from .375s to .470 NEs standing at the water’s edge in case one of the females decided to charge.
The trackers were not able to make out where Barry was last seen, as the water was too deep, and one massive female hippo was none too pleased with their intrusion. So they came back in.
Still, no Barry.
Clinton then went and obtained a kayak and paddle from one of the neighbors. He hopped in the kayak, attached the hook and rope to it, and slowly paddled out to where Barry should be resting. He used the paddle to probe the bottom, but no Barry.
Clinton had been out there probing for a good 15 minutes when a hippo calf surfaced right next to him in the kayak, and then a female surfaced about 10 feet away. Yikes! Clinton came paddling to shore.
I asked Clinton if that was the closest he had been to a live hippo. He looked right at me with his perpetual smile, and said, “No.”
There were about 10 sets of eyes on that pond for the rest of the day, and a hippo can hold its breath only for about seven minutes, max. Jason showed me videos of what a wounded hippo will do when shot in the face with a .375. It isn’t pretty. Yet, night was falling and we had absolutely no explanation.
He can’t be dead, because he never floated. And he can’t be alive, because we never saw him again.
Did my round simply explode upon impact with the water? Had Barry made a run for it out the other side of the pond while we were too busy congratulating each other? When Jason, who has taken a thousand hippos, says he is totally perplexed by the situation… what do you do?
We went to bed that night with nothing but questions.
At first light the next morning, we raced to the pond, hoping to see a dead body floating. No such luck. We called John to ask him to check the other ponds to see if Barry had given us the slip the day before. We then decided to check the edges all the way around the pond to make sure he hadn’t somehow got in among the tall reeds and expired. Dangerous work in very close quarters.
Having spent about two hours checking everywhere around the pond, still no Barry.
We then decided to go to the lodge for breakfast while making sure that someone would remain at the pond looking out for him.
After breakfast, we returned to where I had taken the shot before, and found John who said he was sure that Barry was lying in the water on the other side of the pond near an old covered deck known as the Hippo Hide. Of course, that’s where Barry would be.
John, Jason and Clinton walked down the bank to get a closer look. They returned a few minutes later and all proclaimed that that was our guy. There he was, the same old Barry, up among the females and their young calves, acting like nothing ever happened. Perhaps our work along the edges earlier that morning had pushed him out of hiding?
We decided to make our way over the levee to the other side of the pond and set up in the Hippo Hide to take the shot. There I could shoot from a more solid rest than on sticks, but the shot would be a bit further than my last attempt.
We got to the Hippo Hide without spooking Barry, and took a good look at him. There were several other mature hippos in the water as well as calves that would pop up here and there. We all needed to agree on the one that was Barry. He was about 75 to 80 yards away.
I built up a rest with a couple of jackets on top a deck rail on which to place the rifle. I had no chair, so was in a half-split to get down to the necessary height for the shot. The deck was so rickety that any movement by anyone caused it to sway.
After some further discussion, everyone signed off on which one was Barry, and I was given the OK to take a shot when the opportunity presented itself.
Then, a cow went and put her head on Barry’s bum while some calves popped up behind him. A massive female that had not moved once from her same spot in two days suddenly decided to move next to Barry for a moment.
It was as if everyone knew what was about to happen and were saying their last goodbyes to him. I could not hold my current position forever. The shot would need to come soon.
The big female finally moved off and Barry was now in the clear. When he turned his head broadside to me, I would be ready. And I was determined not to hit water this time.
Here we go again: Barry turns to his right and I have a perfect view of the left side of his skull. I squeeze it off, and the smack of the lead into his skull was definite. There was no spray of water this time. Barry went down and then came up rolling violently. We saw his head and then we saw his feet sticking up kicking, all in a constant death roll.
The big female obviously felt threatened by this and moved forward to attack him. She went under water, digging her tusks into his side and pushing him away from the other hippos.
Jason told me to chamber another round and take a second shot if possible. I had to make sure I didn’t accidentally hit another hippo. I turned the scope to lower power and waited for an opportunity. I saw Barry’s head break the water going skyward, and let fly another round. I believe I caught him under his chin, and his rolling turmoil quickly ceased. We saw him go under for the last time, and watched the bubbles come up as the final air in his lungs was released. Barry was done.
An hour and 15 minutes later, Clinton spotted one of Barry’s feet breaking the surface of the water, right where he was supposed to be.
Clinton retrieved the kayak from the other side of the pond and then paddled out to the body to affix the hook into the corpse. The females were never far away and not happy with the intrusion. (It is difficult to convey in words a description of the tremendous personal risk taken every day of such a hunt by the PHs and their crew)
We all then grabbed the rope and towed Barry to shore until his massive body began to drag in the weeds. We then tied the rope to the buggy and dragged his upside-down, 3-ton body onto the bank. Additional help arrived from the kitchen staff to assist in the effort. It took everyone pushing in unison to then roll his body over onto his belly so we could prepare him for some final photos.
After rolling him over, we noticed small traces of blood coming from Barry’s right ear on the opposite side of my shot. I then looked on the left side and saw the hole from one of my shots with a thin flat piece of copper jacket embedded into Barry’s skin right next to the bullet hole. The flesh inside the bullet hole had darkened from being in the water for a day, so we concluded that my shot the previous day had penetrated deep into Barry’s jaw about six inches below his ear. I traced the bullet hole through a foot of flesh, but didn’t find the slug.
Absorbing my shot from yesterday must have been painful for him, but not enough to make him freak out. Barry had maintained his composure perfectly, even after being walloped in the face with blunt lead force. Barry could take a punch. This was the only bullet hole that we found, and concluded that my first shot today went directly into his left ear. However, after further investigation by the taxidermist, we learned that my first shot did go directly into Barry’s left ear, but exploded, and did not penetrate the skull. It was my second and final shot that pierced Barry’s spine and put him down quickly.
After using a log to prop his mouth open to expose Barry’s tremendous gift of ivory, we took plenty of photos and then began to skin him out.
It took a solid eight hours to cut, slice, hack, chop and finally chainsaw Barry into manageable pieces. Nothing about Barry was small. Even after eight hours, with him having been quartered, it still took between three and four men to pick up and hang each piece of meat on hooks in the cold storage room. Barry totally filled the entire room.
Many, many thanks to Conrad, Jason and Clinton for one hell of a weekend – I hope to visit the Hippo Hide in the future to see a much larger and diverse population. Meantime, I look forward to having Barry’s massive skull and ivory sitting next to me by the fireplace.[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16518,16517,16516,16515″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
