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 ON THE COVER:
VOLUME 41 The Turkish-made Canik TP9SA
NUMBER 02 is an affordable and reliable
FEBRUARY 2016 full-sized polymer 9mmP.
Photo by André Grobler.

Features
08 CANIK TP9SA PISTOL
Turkish-made polymer-framed service 9mmP
André Grobler

20 12 GARB FOR THE PRAGMATIC ‘GUN’

Practical shooting jackets for shotgunners
Charles Duff

17 MY FIRST ELEPHANT
...was almost my last
The late Don Heath (Ganyana)

20 MKA 1919 MATCH SHOTGUN

AR-style competition 12ga
Phillip Hayes

24 PREPARE FOR SUCCESS

Prudent load development pays off
Izak Stoltz

28 HANDLOADING SERIES PART 9

When things go wrong
Gregor Woods

32 OM KOEDOE TE JAG
So uitoorlê jy die skim van die bos
Schalk van der Merwe

35 WHITE-FACED DUCK
Africa’s whistling waterfowl
André Grobler

36 RUGER’S .22 CHARGER TAKEDOWN PISTOL

‘Fold-up’ multi-purpose rimfire
Paul Scarlata

39 EXPENSIVE PIG
Overconfidence can prove costly
Chris Troskie

41 MODERN MAN’S MAGIC

Wonders from another world
Terry Irwin

35 49 DANGEROUS GAME
Any animal can injure you
John Coleman

52 THE LEE LOADER

Pocket-sized workshop
Kobus van den Berg

55 ‘WILDCAT’ FOR A VINTAGE DRILLING

When you can’t cure swelling, amputate!
Tom Caceci

60 DOES FIREARMS FINGERPRINTING WORK?

Forensic science works in movies, seldom in court
Malcolm Cobb

63 EARLY RELOADING TOOLS

When most rough-shooters were handloaders
Robin Barkes
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Trail Talk
The Heart of the Matter
I AM WRITING this on the 1 st of Janu-
ary 2016, as we leave behind a violent
year of death and mayhem daily viewed
on television.
Early in 2015, The Guardian (UK)
reported that global armed conflicts are
becoming more deadly, and quoted the
International Institute for Strategic Studies
as saying, despite fewer wars, the number
of deaths has trebled since 2008 due to
an “inexorable intensification of violence”.
Tens of thousands more people are dying
in armed conflicts, even as the number
of conflicts falls, according to the study.
In 2008, sixty-three armed conflicts led
to 56 000 fatalities, whereas in 2014,
180 000 people died in 42 conflicts.
The numbers reflect the extremely
violent fighting in Syria and Iraq and the
increasing deaths in Afghanistan follow-
ing the withdrawal of western troops. The
Israeli-Palestinian conflict killed 2 500
people in 2014, mostly civilians, while
fighting in Libya, Yemen and Central Af-
rican Republic contributed to the rise in
overall deaths.
The study found the number of dis-
placed people exceeded 50 million in 2013.
It warned that civilian populations continue
to pay the price of conflicts in short-term
dislocation and the longer-term impact of
the collapse of government services, par-
ticularly education, healthcare and eco-
nomic development. The World Bank esti-
mates that 1.2 billion people, roughly one
fifth of the world’s population, are affected
by some form of violence or insecurity.
As conflicts cause widespread destruc-
tion, increasing the numbers of displaced
people and refugees, and the risk of
“ungovernable megacities”, the west has
been increasingly reluctant to intervene.
Various other reports suggested that the
ready availability of weapons and margin-
alization of, for example, woman or certain
groups of people, are factors that could
push a population towards conflict.
The terror attacks in Paris aggravated
the situation. On November 22, Repub-
lican presidential hopeful Donald Trump,
in defence of the US Second Amendment,
said an armed citizenry could have pre-
vented the “horror show” in Paris. France
has very restrictive gun controls, includ-
ing expanded background checks that
entail mental and criminal checks, gun
6 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
club membership requirements for gun
owners, and bans on entire categories of
weapons for law-abiding citizens. Yet these
did not stop fanatics acquiring weapons to
slaughter at least 130 people and wound
many more.
Trump went on to say, “If those people
in Paris had guns in that room, there would
have been a shootout and very few people
would have been hurt in comparison to the
number that were hurt.”
That is a sweeping, presumptuous and
highly controversial statement. I can only
imagine that if an armed citizenry opened
fire on the attackers in a dark venue with
flashing lights, the ensuing shootout would
almost certainly kill and injure innocent
bystanders. The public outcry would be
massive and a ban on all handguns would
probably follow. It is always easy to find a
theoretical solution in retrospect, but real-
ity is much more cruel and unforgiving,
and unfortunately we hear of few recorded
cases of armed citizens stopping or pre-
venting violent crime. Nevertheless, I am
sure that if criminals know Average Joe is
armed, they will think twice.
This brings me to our situation. We
live in one of the most violent countries
in the world and any citizen who qualifies
is allowed to possess a handgun for self-
defence. I have spent most of the last two
decades in the hunting field, finding little
time to spend at shooting ranges, espe-
cially handgun ranges. Lately my situation
has changed and I am more frequently in
contact with those “carrying a piece”.
I have found myself uncomfortable in
some such circles – please note I say some
– due to the lack of application of proper
safety rules, and because some individuals
seem to think a handgun is the solution to
all problems.
We who “carry” should think carefully
about our attitude, preparedness and will-
ingness to use a firearm in a defensive
situation. The impression some individuals
give (or at least vocalize) suggests their
willingness – almost eagerness – to pull
the trigger when encountering an alleged
perpetrator. These same individuals seem
unaware or unconcerned about the enor-
mous responsibility and potential conse-
quences that attend such an act. In addi-
tion, some of these keepers and bearers of
arms seem never to have heard of safety
by PHILLIP HAYES
rules, manifesting dangerous negligence
when surrounded by friendly bystanders.
I once read that a gun affords its owner
a sense of safety and security. Too often,
this is a false sense of security. In a vio-
lent society, too many see a handgun as a
simple solution; but it is far from simple.
The gun-owner must be thoroughly famil-
iar with the circumstances in which a
defensive firearm may be legally used,
and must know the consequences of its
misuse. He must also be aware of the con-
sequences of killing or injuring innocent
bystanders and the far-reaching effects
this can have – families can lose bread-
winners, lives can be ruined, and the
resulting lawsuits can ruin yours.
The gun-owner should also have in
place additional comprehensive security
facilities and a practised plan of action to
avoid having to shoot an attacker if at all
possible. Shooting should be a last resort
to protect human life. The gung-ho confi-
dence of some handgun carriers is actually
more of a danger than a security meas-
ure. Opening fire at two or more perpet-
rators armed with guns can get not only
you killed but also innocent bystanders,
including your own family. These are but
a few of the many considerations when it
comes to pulling the trigger.
I am not advocating that law-abiding
citizens should not carry arms for personal
defence. On the contrary, I carry a handgun
and believe that we should all have the right
to do so. However, the seemingly casual
and gung-ho attitudes, and the ignorance
pertaining to gun safety I see in some “gun
circles” worries me. This is something that
range-officers and gun club officials need
to address – as should we fellow gun users
when we encounter such behaviour.
On a different note, the whole debacle
surrounding Cecil, the lion that was killed in
Zimbabwe by a Minnesota dentist, has now
led to the US administration placing African
lions under the protection of the Endan-
gered Species Act. Lions in central and West
Africa will be listed as endangered; lions in
southern and East Africa will be classified
as threatened, with a special rule that moti-
vates countries to regulate sport hunting
of lions in ways that promote conservation.
Hopefully this will lead to greater em-
phasis on conservation and the true spirit
of hunting – the heart of the matter.
 CanikTP9SA
by ANDRÉ GROBLER
THE POLYMER-FRAMED Turkish Canik TP9SA is a
striker-fired, locked breech 9mmP pistol which has
ac
been adopted by the Turkish police. Striker-fired ac-
tions use a spring-loaded firing-pin which, owing to
built-in safeties and a firing-pin block, cannot accidentally
fire a chambered round. These disengage only when the
trigger is pulled and the firing-pin released to strike the
primer, making these pistols extremely safe for service use.
Examples of pre-set striker-fired pistols are the Glock,
the Smith & Wesson M&P series, Springfield Armory’s XD-S
and XD-M and the Ruger SR series.
THE CANIK TP9SA’s cold-forged steel barrel is 4.46"; the
pistol is 192mm long, 145mm high, 33mm wide and weighs
820g with an empty magazine. The two steel Mec Gar ma-
gazines, specially made and branded for Canik’s TP series
pistols, feel and look sturdy and come in 15, 18 or 20-round
options. The pistol we tested had two 18-round stag-
gered-column magazines, each with 17 inspection holes.
Both were easily loaded to full capacity. The base plate is
polymer and disassembled by pushing the small button in
the centre of the plate and sliding it forward. Empty and
fully loaded magazines dropped out freely from the pistol
during exercises.
A trigger-safety is also fitted. Other controls include
a slide-stop button, ambidextrous takedown buttons, an
8 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
ambidextrous
de-cocker and
a reversible
magazine-re-
lease button
which is ideally sit-
uated on the grip, just behind
the trigger-guard and within easy
reach without needing to turn the pis-
tol in the hand.
The thin, flat slide-release button is
lightly chequered for nonslip operation
and sits on the frame directly above
the shooting hand’s thumb, also eas-
ily reached without moving the hand
on the grip. The de-cocker is situated
on top of the slide, just ahead of the
rear sight. The polymer trigger is broad and
lightly grooved on either side of the trigger-safety blade.
TRIGGER-PULL ON THE TP9SA was the best I have test-
ed in full-size polymer pistols lately – smooth, becoming
slightly tighter before breaking crisply, and the trigger re-
set was short.
The grooved takedown buttons are situated on the
frame in slight recesses above the trigger-guard. To dis-
 Left: A 5-shot rapid-fire exercise at 5m printed
a 69mm group.

Centre: A 6-shot rapid-fire exercise at 10m

printed a 145mm group.

Right: A 5-shot group exercise printed 69mm

at 10m.

Visible here are the reversible

magazine button, flat slide-re-
lease button, take-down button,
de-cocker and picatinny rail.

assemble, remove the magazine and
ensure there is no cartridge in the
chamber. Press the de-cocking button
to de-cock the striker. Now press the
takedown buttons and move the slide
forward and off the frame. Remove
the recoil spring and lift the barrel
from the slide. The pistol is now field-
stripped and ready for cleaning.
Further safety features include a
de-cocker, a red-dotted ‘cocked’ indi-
cator at the back of the slide and a
firing-pin block. A loaded-chamber in-
dicator atop the slide just behind the
ejection port elevates slightly when a

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 9


The Canik TP9SA field stripped.
Left: Notice the ambidextrous de-cocker
ahead of the rear sight. Right: The red-dot
‘striker cocked’ indicator.
round is chambered. This doesn’t raise
an obvious red flag but is high enough
to feel in the dark.
The de-cocker lies flush with the
top of the slide and has no sharp edges
to hook on the holster or clothing to
disengage the striker accidentally. Use
your non-shooting hand to press down
the de-cocker (I tested it several times
and the button needed a solid push
each time). A clearly audible ‘click’ in-
dicates the striker is de-cocked. With
the de-cocker engaged, the trigger
10 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
Author putting the Canik
through rapid-fire exercises.
does not work. For
the pistol to be
functional, the slide
must be pulled
back some 5mm to
activate the striker.
I found the grip
comfortable and
the prominent bea-
vertail steadying. The front strap has
bold chequering. The Canik comes
with one alternative palm-swell for
the back-strap to accommodate differ-
ent size hands. These too, are boldly
chequered for a secure grip, even with
wet or oily hands. They are detached
by pressing a small pin at the bottom
of the grip, and can be fitted with a
lanyard.
THE TRIGGER-GUARD is large enough
for gloved use and is squared and
grooved for a support-hand finger
hold. The dustcover ahead of the trig-
ger-guard has a picatinny rail for at-
taching accessories.
The slide’s profile tapers from
about 2cm behind the ejection port
to the muzzle. It has broad, shallow
grooves at the back to provide a grip
for racking the slide, and has no sharp
edges. Its surface is protected by
CeraKote.
The three-dot sighting system is
bright for easy target acquisition. The
rear sight is adjustable for windage
and both sights’ edges are rounded
and smooth for a snag-free draw from
concealed carry.
The Canik sits comforably in the
hand, facilitating instinctive point on
target and superior recoil control for
faster follow-up shots. It’s a pleasure
to shoot. Accustomed as I am to my
CZ75, my thumb tends to ride up high
on the frame; with the Canik this had
me inadvertently engaging the slide-re-
lease button, so the slide sometimes
failed to lock open when the magazine
emptied. This happens when I shoot
with other similar polymer pistols, but
presents no real problem.
A 5-SHOT deliberate exercise grouped
into 42mm at 10m. A 5-shot rapid-fire
exercise at 5m printed into 69mm,
four shots within 36mm. Six-shots
fired rapidly at a 10m target grouped
into 145mm. The Canik had no fail-
ures during the test and the empty
cartridge cases had no dents or marks
to worry about.
The pistol comes in a hard plastic
case, with extra magazine and palm-
swell, plus mag-loading tool.
The Canik TP9SA pistol is reliable,
accurate and comfortable to shoot.
In 2013, Canik was awarded a con-
tract to supply 25 000 TP9 pistols to
the Turkish police force and another
25 000 TP9SF pistols for use in 2015.
The TP9SF is Canik’s new pistol in the
TP9 series without the de-cocker. If
you want an affordable full-size poly-
mer pistol for personal protection,
sport shooting and general plinking,
the TP9SA is well worth considering.
Suggested retail price is R8 000.
Contact Selwels on 032-551-1350
for a dealer near you. We thank Sel-
wels for supplying the pistol and am-
munition.
 Garb for the
Pragmatic ‘Gun’
HUNTING OR SAFARI jacket, shooting
vest, waistcoat or coat, upland vest, gilet,
jupon – there are almost as many names
for this essential bit of gear as there are
styles. Well, not really, because there are
literally hundreds of different designs
available, especially now with the world-
wide web. These are items of clothing
which generate intense personal likes and
dislikes so it’s not surprising that there
are so many styles.
CONCENTRATING on what’s used in
wingshooting substantially cuts down the
choices. If we begin with the sleeveless
type of vest/waistcoat, firstly there is the
skeet shooting/clay pigeon vest. Usually
this is a pretty lightweight affair, most
have netting backs and even sides to keep
the wearer cool. All are mid-thigh length.
Two, or four, commodious front pockets
for cartridges and a substantial leather
shoulder/recoil pad, usually brought down
12 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
by CHARLES DUFF
A study of various clay-pigeon shooting vests. L-r: Jarl in Holland & Holland (£600+!); James D
in old Carr Clays rendering; Doug in Beretta; James M in Browning camo; Dieter in bespoke ver-
sion with Highveld Taxidermy logo on breast pocket.
quite low towards the waist, are the most suede leather patches on the shoulders
salient features. A ‘gun mounting line’ to are rather short so I had a longer piece
show the umpire that your gun position of suede sewn over the right-hand one. A
isn’t cheating, is another accepted essen- medium-sized waterproof cartridge/bird
tial. Both left- and right-handed shooters bag with Velcro closures is at the back.
are usually catered for – a definite bonus. The top left-hand pocket, so often omit-
ted in vests, is useful for cellphone, dark
COLOURS TEND towards the brighter glasses, etc. There are eight cartridge
tones; greens, blues and blacks predom- loops above each good-sized front pocket.
inate, though camouflage is rarely seen. These I would omit as the cartridge rims
A thrifty soul will opt for brown or khaki are likely to scrunch your gunstock.
as it can then do double duty during the There’s a polymer ring for bird-hangers
pigeon shooting season. The pockets are under each armpit. Apart from being a bit
well designed and unlikely to dump cart- short it is a well thought-out garment and
ridges. All in all, it’s a pretty thoroughly I use mine for both clays and hot weather
thought-out and well-evolved garment. hunting. Price-wise it is very reasonable.
Then there’s a dark green netting vest My dedicated hunting vests are of
by Gamo; the front is closed with buttons widely differing styles and materials,
which are better than a ‘one-way’ zip. The and all have good and bad features.
For example the Barbour ‘Keepers vest’
can be used for clay pigeon shooting, is
nicely padded for colder weather, but is
far too flimsy for our thorns and barbed
wire, so a rough hunting vest it is not. It
has a couple of hand-warmer pockets in
the front which are badly placed and too
small to be effective, hence never used,
but it has no top or inside pocket. The
back pouch is fine for empty cartridges,
but will only hold three or four birds and
is unlined. Also, its green colour doesn’t
blend in with our winter countryside,
consequently I tend to use mine for the
snoottier and more thorn-free shoots.
However the ‘both-ways’ zipper is a real
plus, especially when you’re sitting down.

NEXT IS AN ‘AGRED’ vest, which was avail-
able in ‘Bushflek’ camo or plain khaki. Made
by Dave Fowler of very durable thick can-
vas material, it has a modicum of padding
at both shoulders. The front bellows-type
main pockets are very big and have Vel-
cro fasteners but have been known to shed
El Gamo showing cartridge loops.
cartridges in a crouch as they do gape
badly at the tops if left unfastened. A
zippered inside pocket on the right-hand
side provides security for hunting and gun
licences, etc. A really big, lined back-pouch,
Barbour “Keepers” vest.
accessible from either side through more
Velcro patches, is great for empty cart-
ridges and for birds.
Under each arm is a plastic eye on
which is a ‘Y’ shaped metal bird-hanger.

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 13

 Left: The Advantage Wetlands hooded parka
with neoprene waders make for a water-fow-
ling suit that rocks!
For walked-up rough shooting it really
does come quite close to the ideal and
I’ve used mine for donkey’s years. It is
a great pity they are no longer available;
someone should copy the concept.
YET ANOTHER much-used item is a long-
sleeved camo netting parka, with hood,
which I bought from Camo Joe’s in Johan-
nesburg. This goes over whatever else I’m
wearing at the time, has no pockets, but
has proved its worth many times during
pigeon and dove shoots. It is relatively
inexpensive and worth every penny –
definitely recommended.
Dave Fowler also used to make a ‘bare
essentials’ vest consisting of shoulder
straps, front pockets and a big, lined rear
pouch. Closures were all Velcro and it was
available in green or ‘Bushflek’ camo. This
goes over a camo net parka very nicely and
you then have all the pockets you require.
I don’t know if they are still available; I’ve
seen similar in Cabela’s catalogues.
Up to four medium-sized birds can be Also from Camo Joe’s came a camo
accommodated per side and their weight parka with hood in parachute material
is remarkably non-interfering with one’s which rolls up into a very small pouch and
swing. The zipper is ‘one-way’ only, and lives in the cubby-hole of my car. This has
the vest reaches just to the waist, another kept me dry on many occasions during
two personal dislikes. It also lacks a top highveld thunderstorms and showers.
pocket, but then it does cater for lefties. Cheap and convenient, it is a ‘must-buy’.
Below: The rather old AGRED hunting vest I’m wearing is being
pulled off my shoulders by the weight of the birds.
Inset: Under-arm view of the AGRED Dave Fowler-designed vest
showing the “V” shaped bird hanger under each arm.
14 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
A visit to the ‘Gander Mountain’ store
in Milwaukee years ago opened up a cor-
nucopia of delights. A gear-freak’s heaven!
I bought a ‘4 in 1’ Waterfowler’s Parka in
‘Advantage Wetlands’ camouflage. It has
a Cordura outer skin, Thinsulate insulation
and Gore-Tex backing; what more could a
chilly duck-hunter need? Well, you also get
two lower front bellows pockets that can
each accommodate 50 cartridges (gee, the
Yanks must be bad shots – 100 cartridges
for a four-bird limit!). Two upper pockets
with four elastic shell loops (make that 108
cartridges). Inside is a zip-closed security
pocket. Add an extra-large, visored face-
mask-style detachable hood, Velcro seal-
able cuffs and a heavy duty ‘both ways’
zip, backed up by a snap-closed storm
flap. Not to mention the inner lining which
is a separate camo bunny jacket for use
with waders; it zips into place. Sheer bliss,
and wearing it makes you disappear into
the background – absolutely ideal for cold
weather bird shooting.
To my mind, the ideal shooting waistcoat
would have the following features:
• Durable canvas material, the tougher
the better.
• Mid-thigh length.
• Plain khaki or South African friendly
camo such as ‘BushFlek’, ‘Desert Storm’,
‘Advantage Wetlands’, or ‘Fall Flight’.
• Two large bellows type front pockets
with secure double stud openings.
• “Y” shaped AGRED style bird hangers
under each arm.
• An outside left hand top pocket.
• An inside zippered security pocket, on
the left, below the top pocket.
• Side-opening hand-warmer pockets
behind the main front pockets.
• An unlined back pouch for spent cases.
• Diamond quilted recoil pad on the
shoulders.
• A mandarin-styled collar, to keep out
the early morning breeze.
• A durable ‘both ways’ front zipper in
plastic, not metal, with storm-flap.
• Press stud closures, not Velcro.
• Matching trousers with thorn-proof
fronts.
And if I ever find one, I’ll buy two, so
that I’ve got a spare when the first one
wears out!
 Lynx LX3 1-6x24mm 3GS rifle scope is fitted
with a close quarters / tactical reticle which is
ideal for military and simulated military type sport
shooting as well as big bore rifle hunting. With
magnification set to 1 the bright red-illuminated
centre circle and dot performs as an effective
zero-magnification red dot or holographic
weapon sight. At 6x the reticle is good for longer
range precision shooting; the bottom vertical
post has a twelve-step mil ranging scale and the
Lynx Optics (Pty) Ltd • www.lynx.co.za • info@lynx.co.za • tel 011 792 6644 • fax 011 792 8923
centre circle and dot simultaneously provides
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depending on the immediate situation. At 6x,
when the centre aiming dot is zeroed at 200
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Letters
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PUBLICATION’ all letters are considered and are edited for length and/or clarity. Pen-names may be used, provided that your full name, address
and daytime phone number are furnished. Please try to keep your letters short and to the point.
Colt Correction
I would like to amend a statement
in my article on Colt’s Pocket Pistols
that appeared in the December 2015
issue. I said it was a mystery as to
who actually bought and used Sam
Colt’s best-selling percussion revolver.
Well since the article appeared I have
had the great pleasure of examining
the wonderful book Colt’s Pocket ‘49
– Its Evolution written by Robert M.
Jordan and Darrow M. Watt. The book
features numerous old photographs
showing American Civil War soldiers
posing with the Pocket Colts they used
to back up their single shot infantry
muzzle-loading rifles. It would appear
that thousands of Pocket Colts were
privately purchased by Union soldiers
and used in close combat.
– Robin Barkes, Eastern Cape
An Old Friend Departs
I would like to share my sorrow over
the passing of a dear friend. He joined
me in 1992 at a cost of $410; we
spent many hunting seasons together
in the Okavango, Zambezi Valley,
Chete, Kalahari, Matetsi, Caprivi and
Eastern Cape. It was dirty, sweaty,
stained, smelly, scratched and shabby
after 10 years and 300 days of hunt-
ing when I sent it for refurbishment
and it returned refreshed and beau-
tiful at no charge. We continued to
form an unstoppable team; elephant,
buffalo, lion, kudu, sable, eland,
van rooyen
16 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
waterbuck and many more species
fell to our combined efforts over
the years. After a further 13 years
and 400 days of hunting I sent it off
again for refurbishment, to return
yesterday… I opened the box and to
my shock my dear friend of 23 years
and 700 days of sweat, fear, adren-
alin and excitement was gone. In his
place lay wrapped a brand new pair of
Swarovski 8x30 SLC Gen II binoculars.
This youngster lies now on the cor-
ner of my desk like an excited young
puppy, ready to take over from his
master of yore. I have only memo-
ries and photos of my dear departed
comrade in arms; and an astonished
sense of gratitude to the amazing cus-
tomer service at Swarovski Optic who
replaced my old binoculars for free.
– Chris Rance, East London
Of Lions & Pigeons
I greatly enjoyed Ganyana’s two
articles “Learning to hunt Lions”
(November 2015) and “How not to
hunt Lions” (December 2015). Both
are thought provoking, the one sober-
ing and the other hilarious. They cap-
ture the essence of life on the margins
of the wilder parts of Africa.
I was impressed by the fact that
Ganyana shared his bounty fairly
with his San helpers, to the extent
that Jan was able to buy a shotgun,
a revolver and a monkey-bike out of
his share of the proceeds. How many
of us properly and fairly reward the
trackers whose abundant field skills
contribute so much to what we do
– be it for pleasure or as part of our
work? It is also pleasing to hear that
he and Jan remain close friends 35 or
so years later.
Also, in the August 2015 issue
in the article on the Rock Pigeon
by André Grobler, he says this bird
doesn’t occur in the Kalahari region of
Botswana. It does! It is one of several
species expanding into the Kalahari as
a result of developmental changes. A
pair took over the barn owls’ nesting
site under the eaves of my house out-
side Tsabong about four years ago and
they are becoming quite common. The
other evening there were seven in my
yard, drinking at a leaking tap.
The construction of more modern
masonry buildings is creating nesting
for them. Personally, I would rather
have the barn owls. Other species
invading the Kalahari are the pied
crow, which arrived here about 15
years ago, and the common mynah
which got here about 5 years after,
both a consequence of denser human
settlement and more edible garbage
due to increasing wealth and west-
ernising lifestyles. Also, we now have
hadeda ibis which have been around
for the past six years following the
construction of evaporation ponds at
the reverse osmosis plant in Tsabong.
– Richard White, Botswana
 My First
Elephant
by The Late DON HEATH (GANYANA)
illu stration ALAN WALKER

DURING THE 1980s I worked tem-

porarily for Zimbabwe’s Veterinary
Department, specifically trying to
control a rabies outbreak. I was
about to leave on a three-day excur-
sion to collect wild animals for test-
ing, when old John Davis came over
from the National Parks office. “Don,
I hear you are going out towards
Point 222? We have a problem ele-
phant there; killed three villagers
so far. Would you mind shooting it
for me? My PAC officer is out after
a rabid lion, and my only available
ranger is down with malaria.”
I was reluctant, but I agreed
because John Davis, who was very
old, was currently suffering from a
bout of malaria himself. However, I
had only my 7x57 Mauser, and the
Vet Department scouts with me car-
ried Lee Enfield .303s. “I’d better
give you a heavy rifle then,” said
John. “And I’ll send a Parks game
scout with you. I’ll give you my own
man.” John staggered off and reap-
peared with a rifle and belt of cart-
ridges, followed by Mlausi carrying
his pack and wearing his usual evil
grin. “Sorry it’s a .458,” said John.
“Everything else is out. Mlausi will
track for you.”

MLAUSI WAS a legend. His front

teeth were filed to sharp points and
he had massive holes in each ear
lobe which usually held two snuff
boxes made out of old .577NE cart-
ridge cases. He had three deco-
rations for bravery and a fourth in
the pipeline following a buffalo cull,
which was the first occasion I had

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 17

worked with him. His first gong was a
DCM he’d earned during the Korean war,
which my father had cited him for, and
the last was for walking into a minefield
to pick up a badly injured child. He had
been cashiered from the army, thrown
out of the police force and done at
least two jail terms for theft. His crime
record would have been considerably
longer but for old John, who preferred
to administer his own justice with a
hippo hide whip. Having Mlausi in town
for more than two days was asking for
trouble, but out in the bush there were
few better men to have at your side.
WE SET OFF on the six-hour drive to
Point 222, a desolate spot named for its
aircraft radio beacon at map reference
222. The area is semi-desert; surface
water is scarce at best, and most of the
villages in the area depend on wells.
I drove, and as we approached Point
222, Mlausi shouted the directions to
me from the back. The rough dirt-road
became a donkey track and then little
more than a well-worn footpath.
We halted at a village where Mlausi
struck up the inevitable African pleas-
antries about rain, cattle and crops
before turning to business. Mean-
while I went off and set up a make-
shift target to check the sights on the
.458 that John Davis had loaned me.
They were pretty-much on, so I wan-
dered back, greeted the headman and
passed around my pack of cigarettes.
Mlausi waited until last, then took his
cigarette and smoothly pocketed the
box. He wouldn’t have been Mlausi if
he didn’t steal anything he could, or try
and arrange a ‘bush date’ with every
woman in the village.
We were told this elephant had
turned rogue due to an unusual injury
– it had a rusty old 20-litre drum stuck
onto its left forefoot. It was monopoliz-
ing the water point, refusing access to
humans and cattle, and living mainly by
raiding the corn-bins in the nearby vil-
lages. The elephant was very near, the
headman assured me using the words
“duzi-duzi” – close-close – but I had
long learned that in rural Africa, time
18 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
and distance are relative. Duzi-duzi
could mean an 8-hour walk, and it was
already past noon.
“SHALL WE TAKE the Cruiser?” I
asked. “No,” said the headman, “the
path is bad. My son will show you the
way.” I gave the vehicle keys to the
headman and asked him to look after
the truck. I had learned that if you
locked the truck and took the keys,
everyone would feel free to break in and
steal whatever they could. If you didn’t
lock it, but left the keys, then you were
entrusting it to their safe-keeping and it
became a matter of honour. The Ndebele
(or ‘Matebele’) held honour very highly.
A shrill trumpeting
announced that
the elephant had
smelled us at the
very least
I told my men to take their packs
as we could well be out for the night.
We set off, Mlausi carrying my 7mm
Mauser. I had switched the soft-nosed
rounds in the magazine for solids. “Kar-
amojo” Bell, who had been my dad’s
God-father, had shot several hundred
bull elephants with his 7x57. My dad
had used nothing but an 8x57 as a pro-
fessional ivory hunter and for shooting
problem elephants on our ranch, so I
knew that, in a pinch, my 7x57 with
solids would work. Mlausi was a ter-
rible shot and had brought only his
issue revolver. Shooting was my job.
Finding things to shoot was his.
IN THIS INSTANCE, “duzi-duzi”
turned out to be only about 5km fur-
ther than was comfortable; the after-
noon was well-advanced by the time
we reached the water point. At this
stage our local guide saw fit to mention
the coming darkness and the threat of
rabies, and expressed a very urgent
desire to be indoors before dark. He
left us at a fast run back along the path.
There was spoor everywhere. The
millet field and vegetable garden next to
the waterhole had been completely dev-
astated. Mlausi’s keen eyes picked up
the freshest tracks and we set off. After
walking about a kilometre, we came to
another devastated field bordered by a
patch of really thick Dichrostachys thorn
scrub. “He’ll be in there,” announced
Mlausi, pointing to the thorns. “Just walk
along the field, not too close, and he will
come out to meet you.” We dropped our
packs and I set off slowly about 20m
away from the scrub. Mlausi walked
beside me, watching intently. The two
Vet Department men were a good 20m
further into the field.
A SHRILL TRUMPETING announced
that the elephant had smelled us at the
very least, so I halted and made sure
I had each foot in a separate furrow
in the field. You cannot shoot straight
from an unsteady position. There was
almost total silence apart from the
buzzing of mopane bees trying to get
moisture from our eyes. It was incred-
ibly difficult to resist taking my hand
off my rifle to brush them away; I just
had to squint and keep blinking. Noth-
ing happened. After a few minutes I
lowered my rifle and waved away the
mopane bees.
“Do you think we have to go in
there?” I asked Mlausi. “Or should we
go back to the water and wait for him
there?” Mlausi shook his head. He had
pulled a brass snuff container from his
ear lobe and taken a pinch. When he’d
snorted the snuff he pointed to one of
the bigger bushes. “He’s just behind
that bush, trying to make us out before
he charges.” Mlausi then called to the
Vet men behind us, telling them to
start moving back to our packs. “The
elephant will see their movement and
charge,” he stated confidently, “so get
ready, boy.”
I had barely shouldered the rifle
when the elephant burst through the
brush, heading for the retreating Vet
men, its head down and ears back – the
signs of an all-out charge. I aimed for
the eye and fired. This served only to
make the bull swerve towards me. I fired
again, with no effect other than to draw
a loud scream of rage as the elephant
bore down on me. I fired a third shot
which at last had some effect: he pulled
up for a moment and shook his head vio-
lently then lowered it again to renew the
charge. I fired the fourth and last shot in
the rifle. The recoil did seem rather mild
and the elephant certainly didn’t notice.
I lowered the rifle to reload, when a
strong hand grabbed the .458 and thrust
my own 7mm in front of me, the safety
already off. I grabbed the little Mauser
and fired with the bull no more than a
pace or so away, and then the massive
head collided with my rifle’s muzzle,
driving the butt back into my shoulder
and sending me spinning around. I lost
my footing and went down. I hit the
ground hard, but being eighteen and
fit, bounced up again pretty smartly and
frantically worked the bolt.
THE ELEPHANT was down and motion-
less. Mlausi was at my side the instant I
was up. “Put in a couple of heart shots,
Seh! Just to be sure. Ammunition is
cheap.” That was rich, coming from a
man who had never bought a cartridge
in his life and had near-perfected the
art of never paying for anything. Still, it
was sensible advice, so I moved further
around the elephant’s left flank, aimed
where I thought the heart should be,
and fired. “Lower, Seh.” I fired lower.
“Better. Now again.” I fired and then
asked for some more cartridges. I
wasn’t going to use the last round in
the rifle unless I had to. Mlausi handed
me a stripper clip full of solids. When
we’d left the village, all the stripper
clips had been full of soft-points, but
Mlausi, brilliant as always in the bush,
had stripped some of these out and
replaced them with solids.
With the fully-loaded rifle in my
hands, I asked Mlausi to reload the
.458. “Already done, Seh.” I glanced
down, and indeed, there were four
empty loops on the cartridge belt – I
hadn’t even felt the rounds being
removed!
THE MASSIVE adrenaline rush was
subsiding and I must have looked a
bit shaky, for Mlausi kindly offered me
a cigarette from my own pack which
he’d stolen earlier, and selected one for
himself. I lit mine and then his, with-
out letting go of my Zippo lighter – he
had tried before to take that off me.
We stood there smoking and watching
the fallen elephant. With no sign of life,
and no rush of blood from the trunk
following the heart shots, Mlausi felt
sure it was dead, so we walked up and
I kicked some sand into the eye. Noth-
ing moved. “Got your camera in your
pack, Seh?” asked Mlausi. “Your first
man-killer, I think.” Mlausi took a few
photos and then cut off the bull’s tail –
the elephant hunter’s mark claiming it
as his elephant.
It was too late to walk back, so we
removed what we needed from our
packs and built a fire under a nearby
marula tree. Two men helped a third,
carrying a rope, up into the marula
tree then passed him our packs which
he secured high in the branches.
Then he tied one end of the rope to
a sturdy branch, dangling the rope to
the ground. We cooked and ate a meal,
then climbed the rope to spend a pain-
ful and uncomfortable night in the tree,
safely away from the hideous laughs of
the hyena sniffing around the elephant
carcass.
Within an hour of dawn people
started to materialize out of the bush.
They’d heard the shots and there was
free meat to be had. I had to account
for the tusks, so Mlausi, in his element
as chief organizer, soon had these cut
out, the skin off, and a line of tribesmen
carrying it all to the Land Cruiser. He
then promptly disappeared with some-
body’s wife.
MY FIRST SHOT had gone above the
brain. I dug out a couple of .458 bul-
lets. Two had failed to penetrate very
far at all; a third had cut a path along-
side the brain (clearly the one that
stunned him a little). The 7mm bullet
had found the brain. I have never used
a .458 since. I know the ammunition
issues have long since been resolved,
but even so…
Two years after this incident, old
John Davis died following up a wounded
buffalo. The priest conducting his
funeral service said John had been
“about 82”.
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 19
 MKA 1919
Match
Turkish Semi-auto
The MKA 1919 Match,
ready to compete right
Shotgun
out of the box.
by PHILLIP HAYES
AT FIRST GLANCE, this box-mag-
azine fed, gas-operated semi-auto-
matic shotgun could be mistaken for
a rifle. With its carry-handle atop the
receiver, the Turkish-made MKA 1919
Match looks like an M16 and has all
the regular AR-style characteristics.
It is only when looking closer at the
barrel and magazine that you realize
it must be of larger calibre than the
popular 5.56mm or .308.
If you are already well-versed in
the use of an AR type rifle, this 12ga
will certainly reduce training time for
sport shooting or security work. All
the buttons and levers are where you
would expect them on an assault rifle.
I tested the Match model, which
has several modifications to make it
ready for competition straight from
the box. Inside the well-constructed
box were the shotgun, a box with
chokes, two 5-round magazines, a
muzzle-brake and a very well-illus-
trated manual. The first impression
is that of a lightweight firearm that
is well constructed. Closer inspection
revealed neat machining.
The overall length is determined
by barrel choice: 13, 18, 20, and 24
inch barrels are available. The test
model was fitted with a chrome-lined
20 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
18-incher. Unloaded weight is 3.69kg.
The upper receiver is aluminium with
a Picatinny rail milled into the top. The
lower receiver is polymer with a pistol
grip and adjustable stock.
The sights are removable AR15-
style. The carry-handle has the rear
sight mounted on the upper part clos-
est to the shooter’s eye, with a choice
of notch or ghost-ring, adjustable for
windage and elevation per two large
dials. The front sight is a non-adjust-
able A2 protected post.
TO REMOVE the carry-handle with
the integral back sight, simply hand-
loosen two nuts and lift it off the rail.
This takes only seconds. Fitting a red-
dot or other sight is simply a matter of
attaching it to the fairly long Picatinny
rail. The front sight is clamped to the
barrel and can be removed by loos-
ening two screws and sliding it off the
front of the barrel.
Two screw-in chokes, modified
(½) and cylinder, and a muzzle-brake
are supplied. The chokes and choke
tool come in a separate sturdy plastic
box.
The two metal 5-round maga-
zines were easy to load. From there
the procedure was typical AR: point

the muzzle in a safe direction, insert
the magazine, rack the slide, work the
safety and pull the trigger. The bolt
handle is mounted on the right side of
the receiver and is big enough to pro-
vide a good grip.
The slide locks open on an empty
magazine. There is an ambidextrous
safety, enlarged mag release and
enlarged slide-release. With the slide
open, simply eject the empty maga-
zine, insert a loaded mag, press the
slide-release button, aim and fire. After-
market magazines of 2 and 10 cartridge
capacity are available. According to the
brochure the two-round magazine is
for hunting.
During competition shooting I have
seen various speed-loaders being used
on traditional tube-fed shotguns. To
most firearm owners this is a new and
somewhat strange reloading technique
that takes some practice to master. The
MKA definitely has the advantage here:
no new technique is involved; reloading
is a simple mag change.
Easy on the shoulder, quick on
target and the poppers are falling.
Both the gas system and barrel are
covered by a factory-fitted handguard
long enough to facilitate different sup-
port-hand positions. I experimented
by moving my support-hand further
along the handguard and quickly found
a comfortable grip. Stock length is
adjusted in seconds by pressing a lever
and sliding the stock along a rail. Being
On the left side of the
receiver are the safe-
ty (ambidextrous) and
the slide release.
of larger-than-normal build I started
out with the stock fully extended, but
when aiming, found the sights pointing
to the right of the target. Shortening
the stock fixed that.
The brand-new shotgun suffered
several jams during the first few shots
– mostly feeding problems. After about
25 rounds, however, the MKA was oper-
ating without a hitch. The Match is fit-
ted with a floating metal feeding ramp
that is polished smooth. This definitely
played a role in the smooth feeding of
various brands of cartridges. All the
controls were still very stiff and hard
to operate, but running in will fix that.
Using the standard ghost-ring sight
it was easy to hit poppers as fast as I
could bring the sights on target. A
quick pattern test revealed an excel-
lent spread of shot at 20 paces, but the
shot printed low, despite the rear sight

THE MKA’s conventional gas-operated

action is located around the support
tube that runs below the barrel. The
return spring fits around the same sup-
port tube. This system necessitates
the use of friction rings, and light-load
and heavy-load gas rings are supplied.
I tried the light-load ring only (which
is black in colour, the heavy-load ring The right-hand view: safety,
cocking lever, mag release and
being silver). The manual states that
the handle removed to expose
this ring is good for 2¾ inch field and the Picatinny rail.
trap loads. For heavy 2¾ inch loads and
3-inch magnum cartridges, use of the
silver ring is advised.

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 21

 Left: Two steel
5-round magazines
are supplied. Two and
10-round capacity
magazines are after-
market options.

Left: The back sight on top of the carry-handle with the notch selected. Pushing the notch sight
down automatically raises a peep-sight.
Right: The fixed front sight cannot be adjusted, but can be removed by undoing two screws.

being at full elevation. Presumably the

The MKA can be
ordered in various higher-than-normal sights on the carry-
colours; this one in handle played a role. This lower point of
desert cammo. impact will make no practical difference
in a normal 3 Gun competition. Remov-
ing the carry-handle in favour of a Pica-
tinny-mounted red-dot or other sight
would also fix this. I found the standard
metal sights a bit high and would pre-
fer a red-dot sight anyway, which would
also afford faster target acquisition.
The empty magazines dropped
free with a push on the mag release.
Inserting a new mag wasn’t always
as smooth as I would like, but prac-
tice should fix this, failing which you
could have a gunsmith bevel the mag-
azine-well a tad.
I OWN semi-automatic shotguns with
tubular magazines, so I am familiar
with their use. However, I took to the
MKA like a duck to water. I had no need
to think about using it; everything
came naturally after having used
AR-style rifles. There is no denying
that this shotgun offers an out-the-box
advantage amounting to more than just
larger release-buttons and polished
feeding ramp.
To me, the recoil felt milder than
that of an AR rifle in .308, though
heavier than one in 5.56mm. The thick
recoil-pad definitely helped to reduce
perceived recoil – I could fire accurate
The muzzle-brake
(top) like one
of the chokes
(bottom) screws
into the barrel.
shots as fast as I could align the sights
on a target.
This is a well-manufactured shot-
gun. Various locally-available after-
market accessories include the afore-
mentioned 10-shot magazines, differ-
ent handguards and different config-
urations of Picatinny rails. I was also
impressed by the manual; written in
clear English, it gives, inter alia, lucid
instructions for disassembly, photo-il-
lustrated. I found it easy to understand
and use.
The MKA Match is one of very few
shotguns that come ready for com-
petition straight out of the box. The
only change I would make would be to
switch the carry-handle for a red-dot
sight, but that’s a personal preference.
At R13 500, I deem it good value for
money. Contact the importer, Selwels,
on 032-551-1350 to find your nearest
dealer.

22 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

 Prepare for
Success
by IZAK STOLTZ
AN HOUR AFTER our plane from
Lanseria touched down on an air-
strip close to Alldays in the Limpopo
Province, we were getting ready for
our first session out in the bush. It was
mid-May, 2015, but the afternoon tem-
peratures were still very high. This was
the first corporate hunt I’d been invited
to, and though I wasn’t sure yet which
species we’d be hunting, I was hoping
for an opportunity to go after my first
blue wildebeest. I’d heard tales of their
tenaciousness and had formed a men-
tal picture of hunting battle tanks.
My preparation had begun back in
December 2013 when I bought a used
Ruger No1 in .375H&H with a Leupold
1-4x20 scope in excellent condition
and at a bargain price. Four months
later I had my licence and began
experimenting with loads. At first I
struggled to find an accurate load,
24 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
hence tended rather to reach for my
CZ .270Win. However, I have a self-im-
posed rule not to shoot anything big-
ger than a black wildebeest with the
.270, even with the 150gr bullet. I’ve
always preferred heavy-for-calibre bul-
lets. I try to know my own limitations
and have learned not to take risks. But
now I wanted to hunt the “poor man’s
buffalo” – the blue wildebeest – and
needed a bigger calibre.
IN PREPARATION I had to spend more
time on the range developing an accu-
rate load. I spent even more time
studying the anatomy of game ani-
mals, watching DVDs on the subject,
and reading books on shot placement.
This definitely helped, as I managed to
bag a black wildebeest cow, a couple
of impala and blesbuck with my .270,
achieving improved shot placement
I never dreamed of getting an eland on the
first hunt with my Ruger No 1 in .375H&H.
over considerably longer distances
than before. The Ruger, however, stood
in my safe for a year, taken out only for
range work and routine maintenance.
Then, in January 2015, I was in-
vited to join the corporate hunt during
mid-May. I had heard reports about
these hunts and realised I would have
to double my efforts to find a suit-
able load for my .375H&H if I planned
to hunt my first blue wildebeest.
I swapped the 1-4x20 scope for a
3.5-10x50 and immediately found
myself shooting smaller groups. On
my brother’s advice I bought a pack
of 300gr Barnes TSX bullets, which
worked well in my rifle. I was finally
achieving my goal of 1-inch groups at
100m. However, even with my new-
found confidence in the Ruger, I still
took the tried-and-tested .270 along
just in case things went wrong.
 Author with his blue
wildebeest.

There were five hunters in our party and all hunting was
to be done on foot on the 5500ha farm. Game roams freely
on this farm as there are no internal fences. Vehicles were
used only to drop us off, pick us up again afterwards, and
for recovering the carcases. Shooting from a vehicle was not
allowed. The species available to us were impala, warthog,
blue wildebeest, gemsbuck and eland. Driving out for our first
session on the day we arrived, we saw everything from sable,
roan and tsessebe to duiker, though the bush was extremely
thick due to heavy, late-season rain.

WE STARTED HUNTING just after 2pm and I soon got to know

the irritating little Mopani bees; I focussed on keeping them
out of my nose, ears and eyes while avoiding the numerous
orb webs of spiders. On subsequent outings I covered my
head and wore sunglasses to keep the bees out. At about 5pm
the sun disappeared over the horizon and my guide Hendrik
and I called it a day. Back at camp I was the only hunter to
return empty-handed and had to endure a little good-natured
teasing around the campfire.

THE NEXT MORNING we left camp at 6am. Four very hot

hours later Hendrik told me he had seen a herd of impala
further down the road. We increased our pace as we were
downwind and the sun was at our backs. Just before we were
within shooting distance we heard a loud hiss. I immediately
backed up as fast as I could while Hendrik leapt forward.
A large puff adder slithered between us. Realising that I’d
almost stepped on it, I felt adrenaline surging through me.
Fifty metres further on we were within shooting distance of
the impala. I selected a large ewe standing in the middle
of the road quartering slightly towards me, took aim on her
shoulder and fired. We found her a short distance away – my
first animal bagged with my .375.
That afternoon and the following morning saw me return
empty-handed again. In the afternoon, after a quiet, une-
ventful walk, Hendrik said we should walk faster as he was
trying to get us ahead of a herd of zebra which he was worried
might scare off any blue wildebeest. We changed direction

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 25

 Loading
the eland.
Right: The author
with his impala.
and carried on, when Hendrik sud-
denly pointed ahead and whispered,
“Eland!” In an instant my heart was
pounding in my chest. We rounded a
bush and Hendrik set up the shoot-
ing sticks for me. For a moment I
was awestruck by this huge animal
grazing towards me about 100 paces
away. The wind was perfect but the
glare of the late afternoon sun was making aiming difficult.
DURING MY PRE-HUNT preparation I had not studied eland
anatomy, but I could determine where to place the bullet
thanks to having studied that of other animals. The 300gr
Barnes struck the cow where I had aimed on the shoulder.
At the impact she arched her back slightly, turned right and
bolted. In the midst of the dust from the herd of eland run-
ning off I managed to reload the single shot Ruger without
fumbling. Less than 30m from where she’d taken the shot
she went down in a cloud of dust. We ran closer to reposition
ourselves should she get up again, but it was unnecessary.
26 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
The cow was lying on her side, quite still. I touched my rifle
barrel against her eye and there was no corneal reflex. The
emotional rollercoaster was almost too much for me. Never
in my wildest dreams had I imagined I would bag an eland
during this hunt.
Never in my wildest dreams
did I imagine that I would
be adding an eland to my
list during this hunt
Back at the slaughter facility, the cow tipped the scales at
just under 400kgs on the hoof and yielded a 220kg carcass.
That night, after handshakes and pats on the back, we took
stock of the animals we could still hunt on our last day. It
turned out we had three blue wildebeest still available to us.
Next morning we were out of camp
early again. We could only hunt until 11:00
and it was starting to get quite late when
we noticed a couple of wildebeest in a
clearing about a kilometre away. Hendrik
and I took cover in the bush and stayed
parallel with a road trying to keep down-
wind and hoping the herd would not move
off. These were the first wildebeest we
had seen while on foot and time was run-
ning out. Fortunately, the bush was fairly
open and the ground was quite hard with
almost no loose gravel and twigs to make
a noise.
WE SLOWLY EMERGED from the bush
about 100m from the herd and Hendrik
set up the shooting sticks. My heart was
beating in my throat when I took aim at
a big bull standing in the shade, almost perfectly broadside
to me. Through the scope I found the elbow of the front leg
and squeezed the trigger. The bull staggered to the left and
took off. The shot felt good, and I’d heard the impact. I was
hoping to find a good blood spoor. However, to my dismay we
found what appeared to be some partly digested grass where
the bull had been standing. After following the spoor for 10
minutes we found the 223kg bull lying dead just a couple of
metres into the bush. The entry wound was exactly where
I had aimed and the bullet had gone through the heart and
exited the far side. I was happy, for my hours of preparation
had paid off.
 Handloading Series Part 9
WhenThings
GoWrong
MOST HANDLOADING problems stem
from incorrect setting of the dies or
poor case preparation. Here is a list of
the most common glitches, with sug-
gestions for remedying them. Some
of these problems could be attribut-
able to a defective firearm rather than
to defective handloads. The following
assumes that your firearm is in perfect
condition, has no headspace problems
and is inherently accurate.
Case-head won’t fit into the shell-holder
Check that you are using the correct
shell-holder for the cartridge. Then
measure the diameter of the case-head
on the rim to see if it is within specs or
compare it with that of a new, unfired
case. If it is oversized, this was probably
caused by an overload which bulged the
28 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
by GREGOR WOODS
case-head. Measure all the case-heads
in that batch, discard the oversized
ones, and reduce the load responsible.
Another possibility is that the fire-
arm’s ejector has gouged the case
rim, raising a tiny jag of brass which
is impeding its passage into the shell-
holder. File or sandpaper it off. A spent
primer which has slightly extruded from
its pocket can also prevent the case-
head from sliding into the shell-holder.
This could be the result of a slightly
stretched or over-worked primer
pocket. Discard the cases and reduce
your load if too ‘hot’.
Sizer-die not pushing out spent primers
Check that the de-capping-pin is not
broken or missing – if so, replace it.
Then check the adjustment of the
To determine whether a bullet is seated
slightly out of alignment with the case body,
place the cartridge on a fairly large, flat sur-
face (preferably a mirror) then very slightly
tilt the surface. Watch the tip of the bullet
as the cartridge rolls; if it follows a straight
line, all is well, but if it yaws (describes a
small circle) the bullet is out of alignment.
The mirror image ‘doubles’ the discrepancy,
helping you to spot the slightest yaw.
de-capping/expander unit in the die – it
may not be screwed down far enough.
The bottom of the de-capping-pin collet
(holder) should be about 5mm above
the bottom of the die body.
Sizer-die de-caps but doesn’t fully resize
the case
The decapping/expander plug is set too
low in the die, so the pin-holder is stop-
ping against the web of the case.
Dents forming in the case shoulder
Re-read Part 4 of this series.
Case goes into the sizer-die alright,
but is hard to get out, requiring undue
upward pressure on the handle
You forgot to lubricate the inside of the
case neck.

Case enters sizer-die with difficulty,
then jams and remains stuck fast in
the die
You probably missed that one when
lubricating the cases. You are now in
a pickle: you cannot remove the stuck
case from the die without lowering the
ram; you cannot lower the ram while
the stuck case remains gripped by
shell-holder, and you cannot slide the
case out of the shell-holder while the
case remains stuck in the die. The only
course open to you involves destroying
the case. Force the press handle upward
until the case rim is ripped out of the
shell-holder (the brass is soft, so this
won’t damage the steel shell-holder).
Now, borrow or buy a stuck-case
remover kit such as made by RCBS,
and follow the instructions. If you can’t
locate one, remove the locknut of the
expander/decapping unit, as well as
the main die locknut. Remove the die
from the press and take it to a friendly
gunsmith. DON’T get the bright idea of
removing the expander/decapping unit
from the die while it is in the press and
then fitting a punch of similar diameter
into the die to pound out the case from
the top with a hammer – you’ll wreck
your sizer-die. (You might mention this
to the gunsmith if he hasn’t handled
this problem before. The primer pocket
has to be drilled out and tapped with a
¼-inch tap for an Allen screw. A steel
cap with a 7mm hole in its centre is then
placed over the die base as an anchor
for the head of the Allen screw, and then
the Allen screw is turned with an Allen
key until the stuck case is drawn free.)
Left: The components
of a stuck case remover
(photo ex RCBS cata-
logue). You’ll need an
electric or hand-drill.
See text.
Right: Special “accur-
acy” bullet seating dies
are available with a
precision-fitted, sliding
cylinder within the
die body. The cylinder
has a calibre-size tun-
nel through its centre,
which supports the
bullet during seating,
to ensure precise
alignment.
using the wrong seater plug for that ing procedure more
particular bullet configuration. The slowly and gently.
problem usually shows up as a bulge on This can also occur
one side of the case wall after the bul- with rifle cartridges, in which case it
let has been seated. Try to obtain the is less obvious on cursory inspection,
appropriate seater plug or switch to a and is usually indicated by consistently
bullet configuration appropriate to your poor groups despite elimination of all
existing seater plug. Ensure the bullets other possible causes. Place a loaded
are precisely upright in the case mouth cartridge (preferably with spitzer bul-
when seating, and carry out the seat- let) on a smooth, flat surface (ideally
RCBS
inside
neck
reamers.

Below: RCBS tool reams out the inside of the case neck and turns down the outside in one operation.
Primers seating too easily (no resist-
ance or ‘drag’ is offered by the primer
pocket); some may even slip partially
out again
The primer pockets are stretched as
a result of overly heavy loads or too
many firings; discard the cases and
reduce your load if too ‘hot’.

Bullet seated slightly lopsided in the

case neck
This is more commonly a handgun cart-
ridge problem, usually the result of

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 29


Above: The‘kinetic’ or‘inertia’ type bullet puller with two shell-holders.
With the cartridge inside, its rim held by the appropriate-sized shell-hol-
der, and the cap screwed on, you strike the ‘head’ of the ‘hammer’ on a
hard surface, and the bullet’s own momentum extrudes it.
Right: The ‘inertia’ bullet puller disassembled showing how the cart-
ridge fits in.
a mirror) and roll it, watching the bullet-tip closely. If it
yaws (wobbles) the bullet is not seated concentrically with
the cartridge’s axis. The mirror-image doubles the discrep-
ancy, making it easier to notice. Such misalignment might
be caused by the seater die being positioned too high in the
press (see Part 6). It’s possible that your seater die was not
concentrically machined. Special seater dies are available
with a calibre-sized sliding cylinder within, which ensures
perfect alignment.
Pistol bullets being ‘swallowed’ by the cases during recoil or
when thumb pressure is applied to the bullet
This is a fairly common problem with slightly tapered
semi-auto pistol cases (which cannot be roll-crimped,
and which are fired in pistols with parallel-sided cham-
bers). The die is not re-sizing the case sufficiently to get a
decent grip on the bullet. Round nose bullet designs seem
especially prone to it. Check your seater-die adjustment
and case lengths, and if okay, buy a separate taper-crimp
die to put a final taper-crimp on the loaded rounds. If you
can’t locate one, you can improvise by using a .308 Win
sizer-die to size the .45ACP and a .380 Auto sizer-die to size
the 9mm Para.
Rifle case shoulders distorting, or necks not gripping the bul-
lets tightly enough
Either your seater die is not properly adjusted or your cases
are too long, or both. See Parts 4 and 6 of this series.
Difficulty in seating the bullets
You have not chamfered the trimmed case-mouths inside and
out; extraneous brass is preventing the entry of the bullet
into the case neck. This can also cause the shoulders or case
walls to distort or collapse. If using cast lead bullets, you may
not have belled (flared) the case mouths. See Part 4.
30 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
Rifle bolt meets resistance (‘tight-
ness’) when closing on the cartridge
(possibly accompanied by inexplica-
bly high pressure signs)
Did you trim the case necks? If not,
and if you full-length resized the
cases, these are now too long for your
chamber. Forcing the bolt closed dis-
torts the cartridge slightly, potentially
increasing pressures and adversely
affecting accuracy.
If you did trim the necks, but for-
got to chamfer the insides, the extra-
neous brass causes the case-mouth
to expand more than usual when the
bullet is seated. If you also failed
to chamfer the outside of the case-
mouth, this extraneous brass creates
a slight rim around it. On chamber-
ing, these two factors together can
result in the case neck fitting too tightly in the chamber-neck.
This creates an extra-tight grip on the bullet and allows for no
case neck expansion within the chamber, resulting in pres-
sures rocketing and peaking too early.
If you are neck-sizing only, or partially resizing, the die
can cause brass to ‘flow’ down to the junction of neck and
shoulder, causing a ‘doughnut’ effect, i.e. a slight bulge of
extra brass forming a ring around the bottom of the neck,
inside, outside or both. This has the same effect as un-cham-
fered case-mouths (see paragraph above) only at the base of
the neck. ‘Inside neck reamers’ and ‘outside neck turners’ are
available to get rid of this, or you could just discard the cases.
Bullets need ‘pulling’
Bullets may need pulling if seated too deeply (see Part 6) or
when you realize you have used the wrong bullet, propellant
or primer, or the wrong powder-charge. Note that after bullet
pulling, the case neck must be resized if you want optimum
accuracy (first empty the case of powder, and remember to
remove the decapping pin from the full-length re-sizing die
or you’ll have to re-prime as well).
Bullet pullers come in two designs. The ‘kinetic’, aka ‘iner-
tia’ type is in the form of a plastic container shaped like a
hammer. You put the cartridge inside and hit the ‘hammer’ on
a hard surface – the bullet’s momentum causes it to extrude.
These often fail to work if the bullet is roll-crimped or tight.
Also, the powder is dumped inside the device and often spills
on opening. Their advantage is that the bullet is generally
reusable.
Then there is the collet type which screws into the reload-
ing press like a die, and comes with different sized collets for
various calibres. Place the cartridge in the shell-holder, raise
it until the bullet is inside the collet with the case-mouth
almost touching the collet mouth, and screw the collet tightly
onto the bullet. Lower the ram to pull
the case neck off the bullet. With rifle
cartridges, the pulled bullet is usually
reusable for rough sighting-in or as a
The RCBS bullet puller in the
barrel-fouler, but don’t trust it for accu-
press, ready to operate.
racy. Collets usually destroy cast bullets
and won’t work for round-nose hand-
gun bullets, or for tapered rifle bullets
seated so deeply as to leave no parallel
walls to grip.
If you don’t mind destroying the bul-
let, there are other methods. Put the
cartridge in the shell-holder and raise
it until the bullet protrudes above the
threaded hole in the press top. Use a pair
of side-cutting pliers to grip the bullet,
biting into its walls, then lower the ram.
The pliers will anchor on the top of the
press, holding the bullet while the ram
draws the case-neck down off the bul-
Right: RCBS bullet puller kit: the body
let. If you can’t get a suitable grip, drill a
screws into the press; the appropriate collet
hole laterally through the bullet, and find is inserted from below and the crank handle
a nail that will fit through the hole and is screwed into it from the top.
long enough to span the threaded hole
in the top of the press. Put the cartridge
in the shell-holder, raise it until the bullet check the barrel after a hang-fire, in
protrudes above the press top, push the case the bullet is lodged in the bore.
nail through the hole, lower the ram and
the nail will anchor the bullet until the Uneven bright rings forming around
case is pulled free. the case walls about a centimetre
above the rims of rifle cases, or com- stamp; ringed tooling marks from the
Misfires plete separation of the case-heads on bolt-face imprinted on the face of the
If a misfire occurs, wait ten seconds firing case-head
before opening the firearm in case it’s See Part 4 of this series. Discard the Excessive pressures due to overload-
a hang-fire. Assuming no firing pin entire batch of cases. In future, try ing. See Part 8.
problem, you have either allowed the neck sizing or partial resizing of the
primer to become contaminated with cases (see Part 10). Cracks in the case necks or walls
oil or some other deactivating sub- Usually the result of over-worked brass
stance, or you have not seated the Primers severely flattened, cratered (fired and resized too often). Reducing
primer properly. It may not be seated or punctured, having black sooty rings your load will prolong case life. Some-
deeply enough, meaning the firing pin around them, or falling out of the times old cases crack even though
is expending most of its energy seat- primer pocket after firing little-used, as brass becomes brittle
ing the primer instead of igniting it. Or Usually a sign of overly high pressures with age.
the primer may be seated too deeply, (see Part 8). If your loads are well
meaning the firing pin may not be dent- below published maximums have the Poor accuracy, bullet yawing or tum-
ing it sufficiently to crush the priming firearm’s headspace checked. bling (oval shaped or elongated holes
compound against the anvil, or the in the target, i.e. key-holing)
priming compound may have been Rifle bolt stiff to open or revolver cases There could be any number of reasons,
crushed during the primer seating pro- difficult to extract among which may be bullets that are
cess, and crumbled away. See Part 5. Usually a result of excessively high too heavy or too light for your par-
pressure; see Part 8. ticular rifling twist, or bullets not pre-
Hang-fires cisely aligned with the case-neck axis.
Same as for misfires. Powder contam- Expanded case-head; gouges in the Your powder may be the wrong type.
ination could also be a factor. Always rim; bright scrapes over the head- Re-read this entire series.

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 31

 Om Koedoe
te Jag
Koedoes, laat oggend, noord van Leonard-
ville. Die Nossobrivier in die agtergrond.
OP DIE BRAAIROOSTER lê twee koe-
doefilette saam met ʼn klompie vet
Karoo lamtjops en sis. Dit is winter en
dit is koud. Ek en ʼn groepie vriende
staan met skrefies oë in die braaivuur
se rook wat na geskroeide olyfolie en
vet ruik. Teen die muur hang ʼn groot
stel koedoehorings en een van die kui-
ergaste vra: “Hoe jag jy ʼn koedoe?”
Soms is daar vrae waarvoor die ant-
woorde nie onmiddellik beskikbaar is
nie. Ek maak eers of ek dit nie gehoor
het nie. Om ʼn braaivleisvuur hoef mens
mos nie altyd alles te hoor nie. Buiten-
dien dit was ʼn diep vraag en boonop
een waarvoor jy ook tyd nodig het om
te dink voordat jy praat. “Man, ek kan
32 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
deur SCHALK VAN DER MERWE
nie vir jou sê hoe jag ʼn mens koedoes
nie, maar ek kan vir jou sê hoe ek dit
geleer het,” antwoord ek.
Die meeste wildsoorte het die ver-
moeë om ʼn jagter te ontglip met hulle
‘skelmstreke’. ʼn Koedoe is moontlik dié
een bok wat ʼn jagter kan laat kopkrap
met sy ‘truuks’.
OM ʼn OU KOEDOEBUL suksesvol te
jag moet jy hom tot ʼn mate verstaan,
anders sal hy vir jou die magiese bok
bly, met die vermoë om soos mis voor
die son te verdamp. ʼn Koedoejag is die
een jagervaring waaroor jagters drome
droom. Vir my is min dinge méér indruk-
wekkend as ʼn ou blou koedoebul. Die
“Grys Skim” met ʼn groot blounek, waar
daar sulke knoppe uitstaan onder die
ore, was al die oorsaak van vele bok-
koors ervarings by my. ʼn Koedoebul,
wat jou oor sy neus staan en kyk, met
horings wat soos trappe hemel toe klim,
is ʼn gesig wat vir ewig in jou geheue
vasgebrand word.
My eerste alleen koedoebul jag te
voet is iets wat ek nie sommer gou sal
vergeet nie. Ek was in die veld saam met
my pa, noord van Okahandja in Namibië.
Dié oggend was ons, soos gewoonlik,
douvoordag reeds in die veld. Laatog-
gend vat ek ʼn swaar bul se spoor van
waar hy in die son die nag se erge koue
staan en afskud het. Die bul het van waar
hy gerus het in die naaste swarthaak
ruigte ingedraf en verdwyn. Om tus-
sen swarthaakbosse te beweeg is nooit
maklik nie, maar ek was vol hoop en is
met die grooste sorg agterna. Die bul
was alleen. Koeie kry dit reg om die bulle
saam met hulle te laat hardloop wanneer
hulle in ʼn trop is; maar ou alleenloper
bulle verloor gou stoom en hardloop nie
graag ver nie. Ek weet ook sonder koeie
is dit ook net een stel oë en een stel ore
waaroor ek besorg moet wees.
Na ʼn harde twee ure se spoorsny
sien ek hom uiteindelik vanaf ʼn hoë
miershoop raak. Dit het gevoel my bloed
Laatmiddag in die berge noord-
vries in die are toe ons mekaar in die
wes van Beaufort-Wes op soek na
oë kyk. Hy was sowat 80m van my af koedoes in die klowe.
en onseker oor wat daar op die miers-
hoop roer. Ek het deur ʼn swarthaakbos, verwag om hulle in die straat anderkant kol bosse staan, reg langs ʼn rivierloop.
waarvan net die dikste takke ʼn onlangse die duin te sien. Dit werk nie so met ʼn Ons hou stil en met die swaai die bul
veldbrand oorleef het, aangelê en oom- koedoe nie. Dit is asof ʼn koedoe presies sy kop om en met ʼn wit stert spring hy
blikke later vorentoe gedraf na waar weet wanneer jy hom nie meer kan sien weg. Mens sou dink hy hardloop nou
my bul in sy spore neergeslaan het. Ek nie en dis net dan wat hy ʼn rigting in- Namib toe, maar die bul het net enkele
het sy are gesteek, my geweer teen die slaan wat ʼn mens verstom. tree gegee voordat hy in ʼn standbeeld
naaste kameeldoringboom staange- verander. Gelukkig het die bok die
maak en by die bul kom sit en stil word. EK HET AL GESIEN hoe skroef ʼn bul sy ruigte effe onderskat en kon ons die
Ek het die hele jag weer in my gedagtes horings tussen die takke van ʼn witgat- hele affêre sien gebeur, maar as die bos
herleef. Dit was ʼn groot bul; sy nek was boom in en hoe hy sy groot lyf skaars ʼn bietjie meer dig was, sou jy niemand
een groot vleismassa. Hy was egter maak agter die boomstam. Soveel so kwalik neem wat in daardie stadium
gehawend; sy lyf vol letsels met sy nek dat indien jy hom sou ignoreer jy ʼn kort sou besluit om verder te loop of ry nie.
glad en haarloos. Die bul se beste jare klipgooi van hom verby kan stap sonder Ons het vir mekaar geglimlag en hom
was agter hom en hy het nie veel meer dat hy roer. net daar gelos.
winters oorgehad nie. Een vroegoggend is pa en ek met Met donkermaan is koedoes
sonsopkoms op pad na ʼn gebied naby gewoonlik vir die eerste twee ure
EK WAS IN DAARDIE stadium reeds Windhoek waar ons ʼn paar bokke moes ná sonsopkoms en die laaste uur
baie saam met pa te voet agter koe- skiet. Ons sien ʼn groot koedoebul in ʼn of wat voor donker op hulle aktief-
does aan en het al ʼn mooi klomp gems-
bokke en rooihartbeeste alleen te voet Koedoebul, gejag noord van Okahandja.
gejag, maar nog nie ʼn koedoe nie. Dit
is moeilik om te beskryf, maar daardie
jag was vir my iets besonders, ʼn soort
waterskeiding vanaf ʼn jong jagter na ʼn
jagter in eie reg.
Ek kon ook iets daarvan in my pa se
oë sien toe hy ʼn uur of wat later voor
die bakkie uit deur die veld na my toe
aangestap kom na waar ek vir hulle by
die bul gewag het.
Die meeste vlakte wild se gedrag
en bewegings kan jy tot ʼn mate voor-
spel. As gemsbokke of springbokke
byvoorbeeld ʼn Kalahari duin oorsteek
en jy oomblikke later agter hulle aan
dieselfde doen kan jy met redelikheid

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 33

 Koedoebul, gejag suid-
ste. Uit gewoonte kyk ek soggens met eerste lig twee oos van Dordabis.
keer na ʼn skadukol en dieper die swarthaak takke in vir
die blink van ʼn horing. Op koue wintersoggende is hulle
lief vir die sonkolle in die relatiewe ooptes voordat die
ruigtes hulle insluk, terwyl hulle laatmiddag dikwels weer
na die ooptes terugkeer om te wei. Ek het egter al talle
koedoes in die middag in die ooptes raakgeloop. Wan-
neer die laatmiddag son die bosveld in goud kleur, herin-
ner pa en ek mekaar altyd daaraan dat dit nou hulle tyd is.

EK JAG MEESTAL koedoes in Namibië en in die Karoo. Vroeër

het ons jaarliks talle groot bulle in die kameeldoringsveld plat-
getrek. Die afgelope vyf jaar het ek egter baie selektief met
koedoes geraak en net op die ou alleenbulle jag gemaak. Die
rede hiervoor is dat die koedoes so erg deur hondsdolheid afge-
maai word dat jou gewete jou nie toelaat om soos in die verlede
te jag nie. Daar is talle tragiese stories van besmette koedoes
wat helder oor dag tot op die plaaswerf kom waar hulle noodge-
dwonge van kant gemaak moet word. Ek wonder waarom daar
nog nie ʼn volhoubare oplossing vir die enorme epidemie gevind
is nie. Koedoes, en veral die manjifieke ou bulle, is nie veronder-
stel om op so ʼn onwaardige manier dood te gaan nie.
In die ruigtes van Namibië is elke bos of boom ʼn koedoe-
skuiling. In die Karoo werk dit anders. ʼn Karoo koedoe is slink- ser. Ek moes al die aftog blaas op plekke in die Karoo, iets
waaroor ek nie graag praat nie. Hier het die koedoe die kuns
vervolmaak om in die kleinste kloof, nouste rivierloop of kol
soetdorings net weg te raak. Op ʼn plaas teenaan die Karoo
Nasionale Park, naby Beaufort-Wes, is heelwat koedoes as
mens na die spore kyk, om hul te sien is egter ʼn ander storie.
In die Karoo moet jy meer selektief wees oor waar jy
koedoes soek. Jou beste kanse bly die toegegroeide klofies
en rivierlope. Ek sê nie jy sal nie deur ʼn koedoe êrens op ʼn
Full range of Ruger Rifles and Handguns available. vlakte verras word nie, maar gee jouself die beste kans en
Dealer enquiries welcome. soek die klowe en rivierlope deur. Kyk vir die plekke waar ʼn
For information on models/calibres and availability, contact
Mark/Carlo or Emmy. koedoe sy teenwoordigheid geheim kan hou.

AMERICAN VIR ELKE KOEDOEBUL wat ek al platgetrek het, kan ek boeke

skryf oor die myle wat geloop is, berge wat geklim is, klowe,
M77 HAWKEYE
rivierlope en ruigtes wat ek deurgesoek het, dikwels van sonop
tot sononder sonder om die geweer se slot toe te druk. Baie
GUN GUIDE
dae het ek ʼn patroon, soos ek hom ure gelede in die geweer
se kamer ingestoot het, weer net so uitgehaal en in my sak
GUNSITE SCOUT gesteek. ʼn Koedoe jag vra iets van jou en jy betaal ʼn prys,
een van sweet, stukkende knieë en elmboë, rooi hale waar die
swarthaak en wag-ʼn-bietjies jou gehaak het en nie wou los nie.
10/22 TAKE DOWN ʼn Koedoe, meer as ander wild, sal die vertroue wat jy in
jou jag en veldkuns vermoëns het toets en dikwels jou ego ʼn
SR22RDS
elmboog in die ribbes gee ná dae se mislukte pogings. Aan die
anderkant, wanneer daardie koedoebul voor jou in die gras
lê, is daar ʼn bitter-soet in my wat woorde nie kan beskryf nie.
SR556 Dit is stil langs die vuur teen die tyd. Ek sny een van
die bruingebraaide koedoefilette se punte in dun skyfies en
deel dit uit. Iemand lig sy glas en stel ʼn heildronk in op die
Phone: (021) 949-2891 or Fax: (021) 949-2701 ‘Grys Skim’.
Email: mark@gunsbows.co.za

34 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

 White-Faced Duck
(Dendrocygnaviduata)
Photo by Phillip Hayes.
THE WHITE-FACED duck (Afrikaans:
Nonnetjie-eend), also known as the
white-faced whistling duck, is com-
mon in Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpu-
malanga and north into Mozambique,
the eastern parts of Zimbabwe and
eastern Botswana. They are less com-
mon in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal
and Northwest Province.
This is a medium-sized duck, sim-
ilar in body-size to the redbilled duck,
but with longer neck and legs which
make it appear bigger. The white face
stands out against the dark, brown to
black of the head and neck. The belly
and tail are also dark brown to black;
the sides barred black and white. The
lower neck, upper back, front and un-
derside of the wings are chestnut with
a white patch on the front of the neck.
The bill, legs and feet are dark grey.
They have an upright posture, wheth-
er standing on land or swimming, and
strain their necks when alarmed.
White-faced duck prefer open bod-
ies of water such as wetlands, vleis,
by ANDRÉ GROBLER
large dams, rivers and farm dams.
They like to spend time in the shal-
lows which have a fair amount of wa-
ter-plant and shore vegetation. The
dense shore growth provides cover for
the birds during their moulting period.
White-faced duck are gregarious and
will gather in huge flocks when there
is enough open water and food. They
spend most of their time on the mud-
flats and sandbars eating or resting.
THEIR FOOD includes water-plants,
seeds, larvae and insects. On land
they also eat various types of grass,
seeds and wild fruit. Recently har-
vested grain-fields, or fields recently
established with young plants are fa-
vourites. White-faced duck fly to feed-
ing places during the late afternoon
and early mornings.
Compared to other ducks they
are easily hunted because, when dis-
turbed, they take flight and usually
circle around the same place, present-
ing the hunter with a second chance.
Their white faces make them easily
recognisable even in low light condi-
tions. Another characteristic is their
feet which stick out behind the body
in flight.
HUNTERS CAN USE the scrub around
dams and rivers to stalk these birds if
close to the shore. A couple of days be-
fore the planned shoot, visit the dams
where the birds gather, and determine
the flight paths, then place the hides
accordingly. Remember, flight paths
can vary daily. These ducks are not
as vigilant as other ducks and geese
when resting or feeding, so decoys
aren’t really necessary to entice them
closer. However, since most hunters
target more than one waterfowl spe-
cies during a shoot, decoys will be in
use anyway, and camouflage cloth is
needed for concealment. While in the
hide, keep movement to a minimum.
Don’t shoot directly towards the water
or in the direction of other hides.
TARGET THOSE that are part of a large
flock and not a passing pair as they
may be breeding. The white-faced
duck is not a fast flyer. Inexperienced
hunters should wait until the birds
are within 25m from the hide before
shooting. This also makes it easier to
identify the bird. Number 4 or 5 shot
is popular; use dogs to retrieve fallen
birds.
CHECK WITH LOCAL authorities about
hunting regulations for these birds in
the province where you’ll be shooting –
seasonal hunting dates, bag limits and
the licence and permits required.
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 35
 Ruger’s .22 Charger
Takedown Pistol
by PAUL SCARLATA
photos ELAINE SANDBERG & BECKY SCARLATA

THE .22 LONG RIFLE is the most

popular cartridge in the world.
More .22lrs are manu-
factured, sold and
fired each year
than any other
non-military
cartridge. And
the reasons for
its popularity are
simple to under-
stand.
Firstly, .22 ammo is
inexpensive. The whole
family can enjoy an af-
ternoon’s plinking with-
out putting a dent in
the weekly budget or
upsetting your bank
manager. Then, .22s
don’t make much
noise and produce Ruger .22 Charger Takedown pistol
almost no recoil, with laminated wood and polymer
making them a stock, with standard 10/22 ten-round
perfect choice magazine in place.
for teaching new
shooters and ammo in my storage cabinet. My first
enabling expe- .22 pistol was a Ruger .22/45 which
rienced shoot- over the decades has accounted for in-
ers to practise numerable empty drink cans, squirrels,
more. Moreover, rabbits and various vermin. In addition it
the .22lr is very has helped me introduce numerous people
accurate, making it a – young and old, male and female – to the fun
favourite of target and silhou- of handgun shooting.
ette shooters, and it produces suffi
suffi- Ruger’s first firearm was a .22 pistol, the Standard
cient power for taking small vermin. Model, which hit the American market in 1949 and set
I cut my handgunning teeth on a the standard for high-quality but affordable .22 auto-
.22 revolver. My gun safe contains a loaders. It proved popular for serious target shooting,
number of .22 handguns and there small game hunting and – the most important role for any
is always a goodly supply of .22lr .22 firearm – plinking. Shortly after the ‘plastic revolution’ arrived,

36 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

Ruger introduced their .22/45 pistol,
which mated a Mark III receiver and
barrel to a Zytel Polymer frame with
removable grip panels that simulated
the shape and feel of a 1911 pistol.
In 2007, Ruger introduced a
slightly different .22 pistol – the .22
Charger. I say different because, while
indeed a pistol, it employed the re-
ceiver of their immensely popular
10/22 rifle. The 10/22’s alloy receiver
was compact and light, making it eas-
ily adaptable to pistol format.
THE CHARGER featured a 10 inch
precision-rifled barrel mounted in an
ergonomically designed, warp-proof,
laminated stock. Intended as a
multi-tasker
adaptable for hunting,
target-shooting and plink-
ing, the Charger came standard
with a Picatinny rail mounted atop the
receiver instead of iron sights, facil-
itating scoped use or electronic sights.
An extended magazine release afford- SPECIFICATIONS:
Ruger .22 Charger Takedown Pistol
ed easy removal of the 10/22 ten-shot
Calibre .22 lr
rotary magazine. Each pistol came Overall length 472mm
with an adjustable bipod for added Barrel length 254mm
control and stability. Weight 1.45kg (without bipod)
Sights Picatinny rail
Magazine 15 rounds
FOUR YEARS LATER Ruger re-engin- Materials receiver – alloy
eered the Charger, giving its bar- barrel – stainless steel
Finish Matte black
rel a 1/2"-28 thread to accept most Stock Polymer
commercial suppressors and muzzle- Grips A2-style
brakes and a choice of redesigned Features Threaded muzzle, adjust-
able bipod, optional 10-round magazine, padded
stocks in polymer or brown laminated carrying case, lock & owner’s manual
with A2-style pistol grips and extend-
TEST FIRING RESULTS:
ed 15-round BX-15 magazines. Ammunition Group size Velocity (fps)
Given the popularity of their 10/22 Remington 40gr
Takedown rifle, it came as no sur- Thunderbolt 34mm 1091
Federal 40gr
prise when Ruger adapted their take- Lightning 33mm 1146
down system to the Charger pistol. CCI 40gr Pistol Match 22mm 1048
This version came with a distinctive Winchester 40gr T22 25mm 1204
Group size is the smallest of three 5-shot groups
dual-tone laminated wood stock and fired from a bipod at 25m. Velocity is the aver-
age of five rounds chronographed 4m from the
muzzle.
2. Loosen the
adjustment col-
lar by turning it
clockwise as far
as possible with
finger pressure.
3. Insert the
fore-end. Ruger barrel assembly into
announced it in 2015 the receiver and rotate it clockwise
and kindly sent me one until it locks into place.
to test. 4. Tighten the adjustment knob by
The quality of materials, fit turning it counterclockwise as far as
and assembly of the Charger Take- possible with finger pressure.
down pistol were above reproach, as I Note: The friction-fit lockup of the
would expect of a Ruger product. assembly joint is simple to adjust and
To install the barrel assembly: will rarely need re-adjustment after
1. Remove the magazine, lock the the first assembly.
bolt open and vis- To remove the barrel assembly:
ually check that 1. Remove the magazine, lock the
the chamber is bolt open and visually check that the
empty. chamber is empty.
Left: The supplied bipod is
extremely stable and provides
a comfortable rest from any
normal shooting position.
Right: Standard Charger pistols come
with laminated wood and
polymer stocks.
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 37
 The Charger’s barrel assembly is simple to fit.

2. Push the locking lever towards

the muzzle, rotate the barrel assembly
counterclockwise and pull it out of the
receiver.
3. Tighten the adjustment collar
by rotating it counterclockwise one or
two or more clicks.
Note: You should feel some resist-
ance when turning the barrel assembly,
but it should not be difficult. If further
adjustment is needed, remove the bar- Left: The Leupold DeltaPoint red dot sight was easy to mount and allowed fast and accurate shot
rel assembly and ‘tighten’ or ‘loosen’ placement. Right (top & bottom): The Charger’s barrel is threaded for attaching muzzle-brakes,
the adjustment knob accordingly. suppressors etc. For normal use, a protective sleeve screws onto the muzzle.

NEVER A FAN of telescopic sights
on handguns, I mounted a Leupold
DeltaPoint red dot sight. My wife
commented that this, with the BX-15
magazine, made the Charger look like
something out of a Star Wars movie.
The supplied bipod provided an ex-
tremely comfortable and stable shoot-
ing position. After zeroing the Leupold
sight at 25m we shot for score with
four different brands of ammunition
and produced some very good groups
– several in the 25mm region.
Moving to a berm with steel plate
racks set out at 25, 40 and 50m, we
used up the remainder of our ammu-
nition. We experienced a few feeding
failures involving the first round out
of the fully loaded BX-15 magazine,
but the problem seemed to resolve it-
self after we’d fired fifty or so rounds,
leaving us to ring plates at a steady
cadence for the next 45 minutes.
The Charger is a rather long and
heavy pistol and I doubt you’ll do
much, if any, one-handed shooting
from a standing position with it. But
for small pest-animal control (where
legal) it’s just the ticket, and it’s a
natural for Rimfire Metallic Silhouette
competition, assuming it complies
with the standards for this sport in
SA. Or, if you and your kids enjoy rap-
id-fire plinking at moderate distances,
Ruger’s Charger nicely fits the bill. And
it fits into a compact carrying case for
easy storage. Now, if you can just find
someone to clean it for you…
The suggested retail price for the
Charger Takedown is R9 800. Contact
Guns and Bows on 021-949-2891 for
a dealer near you.

Test firing the Charger on Groups fired from a

my club’s 25m range. bench-rest at 25m.

38 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

 Expensive
Pig
by CHRIS TROSKIE
illu stration FRED MOUTON

MOST OF THE time there is enough
meat from hunting excursions to pro-
vide rations for the staff, but it had run
low and Samson, the tracker, asked me
to shoot a warthog for them. This would
not be difficult as in winter the stretch
of marshland right behind our house
is frequented by numerous warthogs.
They visit the vlei during the early
morning or late afternoon, and over the
years I’ve shot quite a few, both with
clients and for rations. I told Samson to
keep a lookout for a suitable warthog.
A few days later, I was still in bed
having a second cup of coffee when
the radio crackled into life. “Come
quick. There’s a big pig in the vlei!”
I burnt my tongue as I hurriedly fin-
ished my coffee, tore my jeans as
I pulled them on and scratched my
trusty old .30-06 as I pulled it from
the safe. These mishaps should have
served as an omen telling me to leave
the pig for another day; nevertheless,
I was soon on my way to the vlei.
I found Samson crouched in the
treeline next to the vlei and he pointed
to a warthog some distance off. It was
a decent pig – not a trophy, but cer-
tainly big enough to qualify for rations.
I set up the shooting sticks and peeked
through the riflescope. The warthog
suddenly became agitated and looked

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 39

up in our direction. Knowing I didn’t have much time before
he dashed for safer terrain, I took aim. He stood quartering
towards me and it flashed through my mind as I applied the
final pressure to the trigger that this was not an ideal stance
for a shot at this distance. Aiming for the chest, I heard
the 180gr bullet strike as the shot broke the early morning
silence. The pig’s reaction was as I would expect, but I had a
feeling the shot was not good. At the angle the pig was stand-
ing, he should have dropped in his tracks, but he didn’t…
Instead, he made a 90º turn and headed off at full speed for
the treeline on the other side of the vlei. Before I could gather
my senses, he was out of sight. “Sammy, we’ve got trouble.
Go and fetch Walker.”
A SHORT WHILE LATER Sammy, Walker (my Jack Russel) and
I were heading to the spot where the pig had disappeared
into the trees. Walker seemed to find a trail soon enough
but my heart sank when I saw the first specks of blood. It
appeared the bullet had not gone through the vitals. Minutes
later Walker disturbed the pig where it was lying down. I
rushed up to put an end to things, but by the time I got close
enough the pig was up and running for the boundary fence.
It went through the obstacle as if it was not even there. Now,
the simple task of getting meat at a familiar and easy hunting
spot had turned into a mission. I had to inform the neighbour
40 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
and ask his permission to continue, while the morning’s other
activities had to be put on hold while we sought the wounded
pig and finished what we’d started.
AS IT TURNED OUT, the neighbour was the least of my wor-
ries. Back on the tracks, Sammy, Walker and I slowly but
surely made progress following the minuscule drops of blood
until the trail disappeared into an aardvark hole. The ‘hole’
proved to be connected to a network of tunnels and various
other entrances around a huge termite mound. The pig could
have been anywhere inside or it may have already departed
through one of the other exits. We could not find any positive
sign of it having exited and had to assume it was still inside
the maze of tunnels. Walker had lost interest and the seri-
ousness of the situation began to sink in. We would not be
able to extricate the pig anytime soon – not without serious
earth-moving equipment.
WALKING BACK TO MY vehicle, my conscience went into
overdrive as I contemplated my wife’s reaction to my hav-
ing wounded a warthog and left it alive in a hole. Then
suddenly a warthog appeared in front of me. My mind had
been looking for a way out of this predicament and there it
stood – not the wounded one, but who would know that? I
could return home with a pig, my staff would have meat,
and my wife wouldn’t be any the wiser. I could avoid the
recriminations for having left a wounded pig in an aard-
vark hole. The rifle was up and the crosshair was steady at
20m; the pig dropped in his tracks from a bullet between
the eyes. With the pig loaded, I took off towards home. To
further soothe my conscience I decided I would make it right
with the neighbour for having shot a pig on his property.
While this thought was still fresh in my mind, the Land Rover
struck a deep aardvark hole I had not seen.
MY HEAD HIT THE steering wheel. Sammy, who had been
sitting on the back with the dead pig, was suddenly sitting
on the bonnet. The old Land Rover’s engine was screaming
at top revs while we were engulfed in a large cloud of dust!
Cursing, I turned off the engine. On opening the bonnet it
took me one glance to confirm what I already suspected: two
engine mountings had been torn off. The Land Rover was no
youngster and spare parts had become hard to find lately. I
turned around and there, just a metre in front of the vehicle,
lay a dead warthog. It had a bullet hole in its chest!
WITH NO SMALL EFFORT we managed to get the vehicle out
of the hole and crawled home at a snail’s pace. When I got
home I saw that my expensive shooting sticks’s rifle rest had
come off somewhere in the bush. I later found out that the
spares to fix the Land Rover would cost me a few thousand
rand, and I paid the neighbour for the pig I had shot on his
property. The cost of the staff rations procured that morn-
ing amounted to about R9 000 – pretty expensive for what
should have been ‘easy meat’.
 Modern Man’s
Magic
by TERRY IRWIN
OVER THE YEARS, while working with
tribal Africans in remote areas bey-
ond the influence of western civiliza-
tion, I have often been surprised by
their perceptions and beliefs about the
workings of what we regard as every-
day items. The compass, known as
a dira in Swahili, was one such item
which was regarded as having powers
far beyond its simple ability to point to
the North Pole.
INTHESELOUSGameReserveof
Tanganyika (now Tanzania)
the area south of the
Rufiji river was gener-
ally referred to as the
Southern Selous. It
was a wilderness with
very few access roads
and the only method of
transport was the foot
safari employing native
The Wa’nderobo morani with my elephant.
porters. It was on one such safari, prior
to the Selous being opened up for
hunting, that I encountered tribal be-
lief in the magical powers of the dira.
IT WAS THE height of the dry sea-
son and water was scarce in the vast
Miombo forests separating the numer-
ous sand rivers such as the Njenge,
Mbarangandu and Luwego. We were
traversing the tinder-dry forest en
route to the Njenge river, hoping to
find water along the way by
digging in the sandy beds of
the tributaries we came
to. We had already
passed two, both
bone-dry. Of elephant
there was no sign,
indicating lack of wa-
ter. Elephant are past
masters at locating and
digging for water, and it
was fascinating to watch. Having dug
a deep hole in the sand, they would
patiently stand by while the water per-
colated up. Then they’d drink all that
was available and stand waiting for
more water to well up. This ongoing
procedure could take hours.
The porters were thirsty and tired,
having carried their loads much longer
than usual that day as we searched for
water. Finally the lead porter put down
his load, stopping the whole line. He
approached me and after expressing
how thirsty they all were he asked me
if I had a dira. I pulled my compass
from my pocket and handed it to him,
wondering what he was going to do
with it. After inspecting it closely he
handed it back and instructed me to
hold it and ask it to show us where the
water is.
“A DIRA CANNOT direct you to wa-
ter,” I replied, explaining the sole cap-
ability of a compass. “Why cannot your
dira show the way to water like the
others do?” he asked. I asked him if
he had ever seen a compass before;
he replied he had not, but it was com-
mon knowledge that the white man’s
dira indicates not only the way you
want to go, but also leads you to water
and even to the animals you are hunt-
ing. He said my dira must not have the
same powers as others because many
people had told of how white men, after
consulting their compasses, had found
water or the animal they were hunt-
ing. Disappointed, he explained to the
other porters that my compass lacked
the proper powers, then fell back in
line and we proceeded on our way.
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 41
 These people held similar beliefs regarding
darubini (binoculars). I first learned this dur-
ing an exhausting elephant hunt. My ele-
phant licence was due to expire in just a
few days, and having heard there were big
elephant in an area of Southern Masailand
that I’d never hunted, I decided to try there.
It was sparsely inhabited by a few Wakamba
people, a Kenyan tribe well-known as hunters
who used poisonous arrows. However, the local
Wa’nderobo with whom I usually hunted informed
me that the Kamba arrow poison was the most potent.
The Wa’nderobo, a primitive tribe of hunter-gatherers, was
the only people allowed by law to hunt without a licence,
provided they used only their traditional bows and arrows. I
found it strange that such renowned hunters would rely on
other people – the Wakamba – to provide the most essen-
tial item, arrow poison, for their success at hunting.
My Wa’nderobo trackers.
I pitched camp at a freshwater spring at the base of
a large hill. Soon some Wakamba arrived to ask if I was
looking for elephant. Their spokesman informed me he
was very experienced in guiding Wazungu, white men, and
knew where the elephant were, some enormous tuskers
among them. We arranged that he would return at first light
next morning. Full of enthusiasm and anticipation I turned
in for an early night.
Dawn was a bright red glow on the horizon when
the tracker and I set off. As was my habit, I carried my
Mannlicher-Schönauer .458 myself rather than trusting a
tracker or ‘gun-bearer’ to carry it. It was mid dry season
42 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
and the earth was parched. I pre-
sumed I was being led to an-
other water source where we
would find the tracks of ele-
phant which had drunk there
during the night. But it was
not to be. The tracker was
following a direct course and I
noticed there was no fresh ele-
phant sign in the area we passed
through. The country was very flat
and covered by a fairly dense acacia thick-
et; there were no erosion drains or water courses that may
have contained water. When I enquired where we were go-
ing my guide replied that we were heading for a certain hill,
the name of which I do not recall.
ON WE TRUDGED through dry dusty terrain for hours. It
was approaching midday, and I was hot and thirsty, hav-
ing carried no water with us, when the tracker stopped.
Pointing to a distant hill he said that was where we were
heading and we were sure to find elephant there.
It was after midday when, exhausted, I finally climbed
the hill and found myself overlooking a vast area of flat
scrub thicket as far as the eye could see. Having seen no
sign of elephant the whole way, I now asked the tracker
where the elephant were. “Look with your darubini, there
are many in the bush,” he said. Scanning the area with my
binoculars I could see only dense bush high enough to hide
an elephant. “I can see only bush; it is not possible to see
an elephant if he is hidden in the trees,” I said. “Why can
your darubini not see the elephant in the bush?” he asked,
frowning. “Other darubini can see things that you cannot
see with your eyes,” he insisted.
I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD brought me all this way to climb
this hill, in the hope that we would see an elephant. I was
furious when he replied that he was sure there were ele-
phant out there in the bush and it was not his fault that my
binoculars had failed to see them! When I asked him if he
had ever used a darubini to see elephant that were con-
cealed by bush he admitted that he had “not seen with his
own eyes” such a thing, but it was well known among the
people that it could.
A long, exhausting walk back to camp brought to a close
the most trying hunt I had ever experienced without seeing
even fresh sign of elephant.
I arrived back at camp to find two Wa’nderobo morani
waiting for me. They had come to hunt with me, they said,
adding that all the elephant had moved out of the area to
where some recent rain had fallen. The next day we trav-
elled a long distance by car and on arrival at the place I
noticed elephant tracks everywhere. Two days later I shot
a seventy pounder and the Wa’nderobo had not relied on a
darubini to find it.
 I shot a 70-pounder.

Their rifles appeared to be WWII Italian relics, but when

I attempted to take a cartridge from them to try to iden-
tify it they shied away and I was advised not to persist.
I then said I would put up a target and they and I could
shoot to see who was the better shooter. They shook their
heads and, smiling broadly, told me through the interpret-
er that their cartridges had no gunpowder. They explained
that they had eaten it! To convince me one of them pulled
the bullet from a cartridge and showed me it was empty.
Such African belief in the power of a compass or binoc- Gunpowder was a well-known medicine which gave the user
ulars was based on pure hearsay that had probably spread great energy and strength.
following a single incident where some hunter, immedi-
ately after consulting his compass, had found a big tusker FOR A LAUGH I GAVE one of them a shot with my .458.
at a waterhole, while another, atop a hill, had spotted a From the way he handled the rifle, and his utter surprise and
herd of elephant too far away to be seen with the naked amazement when he yanked the trigger and the shot went
eye. And with the telling, these ‘magical powers’ became off, it was obvious he had never fired a rifle before. Needless
exaggerated. to say his shot did not hit anywhere near the target.
During all these discussions I was given the impression
WHILE TRAINING Game Scouts for elephant control, I that I was the ignorant one. Nothing I said or did changed
learned around the campfire one night of their strange be- their way of thinking. They remained convinced that my com-
lief as to how a bullet killed an animal. I was told it was the pass and binoculars were inferior instruments which did not
baruti (gunpowder) that actually killed the animal. They ex- work as they should. It is said that a little knowledge is a
plained that the bullet merely punched a hole in the animal dangerous thing; fortunately, in my case, no danger was
through which the baruti could enter and burn the animal, involved.
causing its death. Evidence of this, they said, is obvious
when a shot animal is opened – you could see where the or-
gans had been burned and the blood had boiled. They were
referring to bloodshot tissue found along the wound channel
and the jelly-like congealed blood. They refused to accept
that such a small missile could kill a big elephant.
As I could not convince them otherwise, I used their be-
liefs as a training aid when they came to shoot an elephant.
I told them it was essential to get very close to the elephant
before shooting, otherwise the baruti would cool down be-
fore it reached the animal. Also, African hunters using poi-
soned arrows widely believed that the best place to hit an
animal to ensure the most rapid effect of the poison was in
the stomach. So I told them that, if they shot an elephant
in the stomach with a rifle, the water in the stomach would
quench the ‘fire’ of the baruti. They seemed pleased that I
finally understood how these things worked!

WHEN HUNTING IN Southern Ethiopia, along the Omo

river, I was introduced to another use for gunpowder. The
Bumi people were the most primitive I have come across.
The men are all stark naked except for bracelets on their
arms. To them, the use of animal skins, or anything else,
to cover any part of their bodies seemed completely unnec-
essary. One day a group of young men with rifles and ban-
doliers of ammunition slung over their shoulders came into
camp. My men were very nervous of them and some ran
away and hid. I had learned that in such circumstances a
broad smile and a handshake works wonders, as it did with
them, and soon we were speaking through an interpreter.

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 43

Tech Talk by GREGOR WOODS

Terminal Ballistic
Theories
The late Don Heath (‘Ganyana’) about to pull
the trigger on a charging elephant during a
cull. In this situation you would be very silly
to rely on ‘Knock-Out Values’ – you must place
your bullet in the brain.

44 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

Tech Talk
A STATEMENT IN “Uncle John’s Story”
by Jan de Man (November 2015)
evoked questions from readers con-
cerning ‘Uncle’ John Keenan’s seem-
ingly inexplicable statement that his
.72" muzzle-loader has “better terminal
ballistics” than modern high-powered
cartridges such as the .458 Lott and
.505 Gibbs. Uncle John had referred
to John “Pondoro” Taylor’s “Knock-Out
Values” (KOV) and my own “Relative
Destruction Potential” (RDP) values as
the basis of his statement. One reader
also queried Taylor’s use of the num-
ber 7000 as a denominator in the cal-
culations, pointing out that 7000 is the
number of grains in one pound.
THIS ISSUE IS overdue a revisit, given
that so many people misinterpret and
misuse these ballistic ‘formulae’. Let’s
begin by clarifying Taylor’s use of the
number 7000. This number is used in
calculations requiring pounds to be
converted to grains, but Taylor’s use of
it had nothing to do with that. Taylor
recognised that bullet energy was not
a valid representation of a cartridge’s
terminal performance; rather that
momentum (mass X velocity) was far
more important. He also felt that bullet
diameter was equally important (big-
ger is better) so he simply multiplied
the bullet’s momentum by the ‘calibre’
in inches. However, this left him with
a numerical factor that was so big as
to be impractical. He needed to use a
common denominator to bring these
huge numbers down to a manageable
size. My guess is that he’d seen 7000
used as a denominator in other ballistic
calculations so he simply adopted it. He
could have chosen 5000 and it would
have made no difference to the com-
parability of his KOV factors. It was a
thumb-suck, but perfectly legitimate.
For the record, Taylor made the mis-
take, firstly, of assuming that the nom-
inal ‘calibres’ of cartridges were their
actual bullet diameters, for example,
he assumed the .404 Jeffery to have a
bullet diameter of .404" when in fact it
is .421". Most actual bullet diameters
differ from their nominal calibre des-
ignations. His second mistake was to
use bullet diameter (as he perceived it)
when he should have used the bullet’s
cross-sectional area (frontal impact
area, i.e. the size of the hole made in
the animal) which is far more impor-
tant. The linear measurement is decep-
tive: a bullet of .600" diameter does not
have twice the frontal impact area of a
.300" bullet, but four times as much.
IT WAS FOR these reasons that I
adjusted Taylor’s ‘formula’ and drew
up a table of what I called RDP values
based on the bullets’ cross-sectional
area, which in turn I based on the
actual bullet diameter, not the nominal
calibre. The amount of tissue destruc-
tion, i.e. the total size of the permanent
cavitation (wound channel) through the
vital area, is the most important factor
for a quick kill, hence the description
RDP (relative damage potential) values.
I consider terms like ‘knock-out values’,
‘knock-down power’, ‘stopping power’
and ‘killing power’ to be misleading.
The RDP calculation is M x V x A ÷ 7000
(‘A’ being the bullet’s cross-sectional
area, while the arbitrary number 7000
was chosen for the same reason Taylor
chose it). Determining cross-sectional
area involves calculating the area of a
circle of the bullet’s diameter, and the
formula for this is π (pi or 3.14286)
multiplied by the radius squared (half
the bullet diameter multiplied by itself).
The only reason I published this
(in my book, Rifles for Africa, and in
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 45
Tech Talk
Magnum January 2004 edition) was
because our readers were perpetu-
ally quoting or asking about Taylor’s
Knock-Out Values: clearly a great many
hunters put much store in them. I fig-
ured if they insisted on doing this, they
should know that Taylor’s KOV formula
was mathematically flawed, and have
access to one that was a bit more accu-
rate – though equally theoretical, and
as such, not to be relied on. I made this
point in both those publications, and
again (very strongly) in Magnum’s Feb-
ruary 2007 edition. It seems my cau-
tioning had little effect – KOV and RDP
values remain popular and many take
them seriously.
In Jan de Man’s article, Uncle John
shows that his .72 calibre’s 770gr
lead Minié bullet at 1050fps scored
higher KOV and RDP values than
the .375H&H, .416 Rigby, .458 Lott,
.470NE and .505 Gibbs. This is true –
and it perfectly illustrates the flaws in
these ‘formulae’.
WE CHOSE NOT TO edit out Uncle
John’s statement because of the con-
text in which it was written. His load
was much like a 12ga Brenneke slug
– same calibre, only weighing 770gr
compared to the Brenneke’s 500gr
– and with another important differ-
ence: his muzzle-loader was rifled, so
his Minié bullet was spinning, hence
more stable and more penetrative
than a Brenneke slug. This made it an
adequate buffalo load at Uncle John’s
chosen range of 25 to 30m, given that
his son-in-law was backing him up with
an appropriate modern rifle, and Uncle
John had stated that he knew never
to try any shot that would encounter
shoulder bone – he went for a rib-cage
shot into the heart-lung area, and it
was very effective. However, as a reg-
ular buffalo hunting load, an all-lead
.72" bullet certainly cannot compare
with those powerful nitro cartridges
using steel-jacketed or ‘monolithic’
solids. And, irrespective of its theoret-
ical KOV and RDP values, under no cir-
cumstances is it adequate for use on
pachyderms.
46 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
This is precisely where these ballis-
tic recipes fall down – they cannot fac-
tor in bullet construction. Uncle John
was correct in his statement, but the
fact that the .72 muzzle-loader fires an
all-lead bullet which, if striking heavy
bone such as a buffalo’s humerus,
would likely flatten and fail to reach the
vital organs, renders it incomparable to
modern bullets for general hunting use.
Taylor intended his
Knock-Out Values to be
used in an extremely
limited context
What so many readers lose sight
of is that Taylor intended his Knock-
Out Values to be used in an extremely
limited context – that of representing
a cartridge’s potential to render a bull
elephant unconscious with a single shot
that narrowly missed the brain. Since
this involves head-shots only, it implies
‘solid’ bullets only.
TAYLOR WAS A professional ivory
poacher who would get among a herd
of bulls and fell as many as he could
in quick time before they fled. In this
context, power was of primary impor-
tance and perfect shot placement not
always possible. He relied (if he is to
be believed) on his cartridge’s ability
to literally knock out large bulls (hence
the term ‘Knock-Out Values’) for a short
period, allowing him time to shoot more
bulls, then he would go around and fin-
ish off those that were merely uncon-
scious. He claimed (fatuously, in my
opinion) that a .600NE could knock a
bull out for 30 minutes, a .577NE for 20
minutes, the large bores only for a few
minutes, and the .416 and .404 not at
all. You don’t have to be a 1000-ele-
phant slayer to know that these things
just aren’t that definitive.
It was on this principle that he
devised his KOV formula. Such val-
ues, if accepted as valid, might also be
applicable to heart-lung shots at very
close range, but solely in that context,
and solely with indestructible solid
(non-expanding) bullets.
IT IS VERY important to note Taylor’s
statement in African Rifles and Cart-
ridges that his formula was to permit
comparison of any two rifles in terms
of their bullets’ effect on “heavy mas-
sive-boned animals which are almost
invariably shot at close quarters…”.
That’s his context. He also wrote, “I
have only worked out the Knock-Out
Value of certain small bores [anything
below 9.3x62 - GW] to show that they
cannot be considered safe weapons to
take against dangerous game at close
quarters…”. Therefore, to apply KOV
or RDP values to calibres smaller than
those normally used on pachyderms
and buffalo, OR to hunting situations
A bullet of .600 calibre has twice
the diameter of a .300 calibre, but
has very much more than twice its
cross-sectional area. Note the two
adjacent circles in the diagram, seen
within a third circle of a diameter
equal to the sum of the two smaller
ones. The considerable amount of
extra cross-sectional area appearing
above and below the smaller circles
represents extra frontal bullet area
for destroying vital organ tissue and
severing arteries. Cross-sectional
area is a much more telling factor
than diameter.
 Tech Talk
that involve shooting distances further
than “close quarters”, OR to any form
of expanding bullet, is to take these
‘formulae’ outside of Taylor’s (and my)
intended context.
IT IS QUITE pointless to apply these
values to expanding bullets (or to bul-
lets which can distort) because bullet
expansion is not constant. You have
to compare apples with apples, not
with oranges. Taylor’s context applied
to ‘solid’ bullets which, by his own
description, must show no distortion
Don’t forget, an
expanding bullet’s
sectional density factor
changes from its moment
of impact: its diameter
increases while its weight/
mass decreases
other than the engraving of the rifling
lands on the surface, irrespective of
bone encountered, in particular the
skulls of big bull elephants. Without
that constant, the comparison is mean-
ingless. No two bullets expand in the
same manner. Take, for example, the
.375H&H with 300gr bullets: the for-
mula will ascribe the same value to
a brass monolithic solid, a Barnes-X
all-copper expanding bullet, a PMP
standard-grade (conventional design)
jacketed lead-core soft-nose bullet, and
a cast pure-lead bullet. I don’t need to
tell you how differently these projectiles
perform terminally, all else being equal.
IT HAS BEEN suggested that sectional
density (SD) should be factored into
the formula. The sectional density
factor expresses the ratio of a bul-
48 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
let’s mass (weight) to its cross-sec-
tional area, and indicates its potential
for velocity-retention, trajectory and
penetration – all important factors for
longer range shooting. Again, however,
in Taylor’s “close quarters” context,
velocity-retention and trajectory are
inconsequential. And while penetration
is crucial, according to Taylor, all of the
‘classic’ African dangerous game cart-
ridges from 9.3x62 up, given bullets
that do not distort, have enough pen-
etration potential to reach and destroy
a bull elephant’s brain, and likewise its
heart-lung area, “from any reasonable
angle”. By extension, this will also apply
to the more recent American dangerous
game cartridges from .375 up. Thus SD
factors are academic in this context.
LONGER RANGE shooting implies thin-
skinned game, for which expanding
bullets are normally used, and we have
seen that KOV and RDP formulae do not
apply to these as bullet expansion is not
constant. Nor, for that matter, is sec-
tional density when it comes to bullet
expansion. Don’t forget, an expanding
bullet’s sectional density factor changes
from its moment of impact: its diam-
eter increases while its weight/mass
decreases. And bullets of differing con-
struction will expand and lose weight
at widely differing rates. So, again,
because bullet construction cannot be
factored in, sectional density becomes
meaningless.
Terminal ballistic values are fun for
academic comparisons of cartridges and
make for lively fireside debates, but I
must stress that they are entirely the-
oretical and not to be taken seriously.
In Rifles for Africa, and in my January
2004 Magnum article on this subject,
I gave examples of .577NE, .600NE
and even .700NE cartridges delivering
head-shots to elephants and failing
even to knock them down, let alone
unconscious. Likewise I gave examples
of elephants being knocked unconscious
by .375, 9.3x62 and even 7x57 bullets
that narrowly missed the brain. These
formulae are not reliable – nothing in
hunting is that definitive.
 Dangerous
Game
by JOHN COLEMAN

TO MOST AFRICAN hunters, ‘dangerous

game’ means the Big Five, and rightly so.
Photo by Philip Huebsch.
But many large antelope can be dangerous
if cornered or feeling threatened. This main-
ly applies to male animals with horns. Also,
most hand-reared male antelope, even the
smaller species, usually become very ag-
gressive once they mature, and have to be
kept away from people.
In my experience the antelope most like-
ly to attack when wounded and cornered are
roan, gemsbuck, blue and black wildebeest,
sable and waterbuck. All these species have
gone for me on occasion. Of the smaller ante-
lope, many are the tales of wounded bush-
buck rams goring and even killing people and
dogs when followed into thick bush. Nyala
also occasionally attack. Warthog and bush-
pigs are pretty aggressive when wounded or
cornered and have killed many a dog. Female
warthog are very protective of their young.
Wounded zebra have been known to attack
and sometimes kill hunters. A man I knew,
Koen Prinsloo, was killed by a zebra stallion
he was trying to train.

GEMSBUCK ARE SAID to have killed lion on

occasions. They are very accurate with their
long, straight horns and can skewer a man
if within two metres. Occasionally, if ap-
proached, a wounded roan will charge, even
from about fifty paces. Sable very seldom
charge, but hook with their curved horns if
the attacker is within reach, as do roan, and
have killed many a dog this way.
Probably, wildebeest (both blue and
black) are responsible for most attacks, per-
haps since more of these are hunted than
other species. An old friend of mine, Uncle
Ernest Glover, was out hunting blue wilde-
beest one day and approached a big bull,
believing it was dead. It suddenly got up and

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came across a small herd with a very good
bull among them. My client took a shot,
hitting the bull a little too far back from
the shoulder. The country was quite open
and we could see the roan running off to
enter a small clump of bushes. We slowly
approached within about fifty paces of the
bushes and the bull took off into the open
for about 100m then stopped, head down.
We waited for him to fall, but he kept
standing, so we walked up and stopped a
short distance away. As my client was aim-
ing, the roan snorted and charged straight
at us. The client fired and missed; I shot
it when it was almost upon us. I have no
doubt this roan meant to attack us. Other
hunters have reported occasional similar
experiences with roan.
hooked him through his thigh, wildly carry- WARTHOG AND bushpig have very sharp
ing him around. Fortunately I was near and cutting teeth and can inflict serious
heard the screaming; I ran over and shot wounds on dogs and people. Often, when
the animal. Uncle Ernest spent a few days dogs chase bushpig, some in the pack re-
in hospital and was lucky he wasn’t killed. turn badly gashed and need stitching up.
Once, when cropping blue wildebeest, Some don’t come back at all. Occasionally,
I wounded a big bull which took off into people who get too close to warthog or
the bush. I followed the blood-spoor and bushpig receive gashes – usually around
came across him standing in some thick the legs. Believing it to be dead, I once
undergrowth, looking at me. I moved to
the right to get a better view and he took
off as if perfectly healthy. There was plen-
ty of blood now; any other animal would
probably have been down already. After
about 200m he again went into a thicket
and stood looking back at me. I walked
to within thirty paces of him and the
darned animal put his head down and
came right at me. I knelt down and
shot him in the chest, between the neck
and shoulder, and he tumbled down a
couple of paces from me, trying to get
up. A head-shot finished the job. That
was pretty close and I was quite shaken.
BLACK WILDEBEEST have been known
to attack when wounded and ap-
proached too closely, and a couple of
hand-raised bulls have
attacked and killed
farm-workers.
In Botswana, in
the days when roan
were on licence, an
American client and I
grabbed a big male
warthog by the
tusks to load it onto
the vehicle and it bit
me on the thumb;
I carry the scar
through my thumb-
nail to this day.
My own dog has
been has been bad-
ly ripped a couple
of times when chas-
ing a wounded wart-
hog. Fortunately, he
learned the hard way
and thereafter took Photo by Philip Hu
more care. Here on the
farm where I live in the
Eastern Cape, my wife and daughter
were out walking with our dogs, when
they came across a mother warthog
with four little piglets. The dogs took
chase and shortly there was much
barking, then yelping from one of
the dogs. Then they all came haring
back to Win and Jill with the mother
warthog in hot pursuit! Fortunately
she turned and ran off when she saw
humans. Our old bitch, Lily, had some
bad gashes on her hindquarters from
the warthog’s cutting teeth.
A CLIENT AND I were hunting nyala
on a ranch near Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-
Natal. Fairly late in the afternoon, the
tracker spotted two bulls in thick bush.
Through the binoculars I saw that one
was pretty good, so we stalked clos-
er and when in shooting distance, I
told the client to shoot. The bull was
half-facing us, so a shot between neck
and shoulder should have put him
down right there. Yes, you guessed
it – the client’s 300gr .375 solid hit
a big branch directly in front of the
nyala. The bull reared back, turned
and fled deeper into the thick bush.
We took the spoor and found quite
a lot of blood and intermittent drag-
marks indicating a broken foreleg.
Tracking was quite difficult and were
it not for the blood smears on branch-
es, we may not have found the ani-
mal. While we were following, it heard
us a couple of times
and ran off. Finally, it
went into some real-
ly dense undergrowth
and stood. Not ex-
pecting any prob-
lems, I went ahead,
following the blood
trail into the thick
stuff. Fortunately,
I had swapped my
light rifle for my
.458 to reduce the
risk of bullet deflec-
tion in bush.
ebsch.
As I was push-
ing my way through
the undergrowth I heard a gruff bark
and the bull appeared a few paces
from me, intent on hammering me. I
just pointed the rifle and fired, drop-
ping him with a 510gr soft nosed bul-
let right in front of me. Those sharp,
ivory-tipped horns would have gone
right through me had he reached me.
That taught me never to underesti-
mate any horned animal.
Of course, Big Five animals are
generally the most dangerous if pro-
voked or wounded, but otherwise
they try to avoid confrontation. If
an elephant, hippo, rhino or buffalo
gets hold of you, it is likely to be fa-
tal. Nowadays, thanks to antibiotics,
many people survive being mauled by
lion and leopard.
I REGARD BUFFALO as somewhat
overrated by hunters. I have found
that if you carry an adequate rifle,
keep your wits about you and go in
cautiously, you can normally locate
and shoot the buffalo before it attacks.
Even in a charge, you normally have
time to give it a killing shot. Lion and
leopard can conceal themselves better
and move extremely fast – as a rule
you have time for only one quick shot.
Provided you don’t panic you can nor-
mally put the shot in the right place.
Panic and carelessness are the main
causes of people getting hurt or killed.
Conditions permitting, the use of
small dogs like fox-terriers or Jack
Russells is an ideal way of locating a
wounded, dangerous animal before
you are too close. However, in tset-
se-fly areas, dogs cannot survive, and
in some countries the law prohibits the
use of dogs for hunting.
Remember, the object is to locate
and identify the animal before it at-
tacks, so don’t go recklessly barging
in after any dangerous animal. Take it
slowly and carefully.
ELEPHANT SELDOM attack unpro-
voked and are great bluffers, often
backing off if you stand your ground.
Cows with small calves are more like-
ly to carry out an attack, so it’s best
to keep your distance from them.
Hippos are pretty dangerous, par-
ticularly in water, and tend to attack
slow canoes and rowing boats. I have
shot three hippos on the Chobe river
in Botswana which had bitten human
victims in pieces.
Many hunters have been killed be-
cause they let charging animals get
too close, thinking they’ll back off, or
they are reluctant to shoot, fearing
repercussions from the authorities.
My advice is to kill any charging ani-
mal if it comes closer than ten paces.
That way you will survive, even if you
have to face the authorities. There
are two rules to follow in hunting: if
it has horns or teeth, it can be dan-
gerous and caution is imperative when
approaching any wounded or cornered
animal. Also, carry a big-game rifle
when walking in big-game country and
be ready to use it.
IT HORRIFIES ME to see game-reserve
tour-guides in vehicles filled with tour-
ists approaching big game too closely.
The open car usually has a seat on the
front fender, with a tracker sitting on
it. The guide drives within a few paces
of elephant, lion and buffalo and stops
to view and discuss the animals. If
any of these dangerous animals at-
tack, there is just no avoiding injury
or tragedy for the unfortunate tracker
and passengers. Remember, all wild
animals are potentially dangerous.
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 51
 The Lee Loader
THE LEE LOADER? What’s that? For
you younger shooters, a Lee Loader
is a very handy little reloading tool-kit
invented by Richard Lee back in 1958.
Each set is capable of completely re-
loading ammunition for any specific
rifle or handgun calibre.
The entire set comes in a small box
which fits easily into a coat pocket. All
the parts are hand-held and comprise
52 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
by KOBUS VAN DEN BERG
a single die body with accessories. You
start by depriming the case over a lit-
tle cup. You then use a plastic hammer
to drive the case into the die which
neck-sizes it, then you drive the case
out again by means of a separate rod.
Now place the case onto a little anvil
to receive the primer.
Using the dipper, scoop up the
powder-charge and pour it into the
The plastic hammer, Lee plastic and
home-made powder scoops. Note the
priming anvil and decapping pin.
The way everything lines up to
assemble the cartridge.
case, then seat the bullet using an
adjustable attachment in conjunction
with the die body – again by gently
tapping with the hammer. Voila, a
complete cartridge loaded with a tool
costing maybe R500, if you can im-
port one today. It takes longer to read
about it than to do it.
LEE RELOADING manuals used to
have stories about town boys reload-
ing ammo in pubs while trying to get
permission from farmers to hunt. I
wonder if quality control slackened as
the session progressed? Fortunately,
it’s impossible to overcharge a case
using the powder dipper with the ap-
propriate American-made propellant
(adjustments are required for our
Somchem powders).
A FEW LEE LOADER sets might still be
available from dealers in South Africa
but going second-hand might be your
best bet if you are interested in one
of these little gems. They can still
be ordered from Lee in America, but
that country’s new export restrictions
might make this illegal now – an email
to Lee should clear this up.
 Everything you need fits in this
Nowadays we tend to take reload- little red plastic box. The earlier
boxes were cardboard with Sty-
ing for granted but I can vividly recall
rofoam compartments. Note
my first reloading experience. I had the instructions and complete
just bought a beautiful little .32 S&W reloading info applying to the
calibre revolver, which in those days yellow plastic powder scoops.
was considered adequate for self-de- Data is for foreign propellants
– informed substitution of local
fence. It was a Ruby – a close copy
powders is required.
of a Smith and Wesson and a joy to
shoot. After a bit of practice we quick-
ly discovered that the ammo was hid-
eously expensive, even for those days.
I was a young teacher with children;
funds were scarce and regular practice
and plinking was out of the question.
However, being an avid reader of Guns
& Ammo magazine, I soon realized
that the answer to my problem was
handloading.
Nicolas Yale was the only well-
known supplier of reloading equip-
ment and their friendly staff provided
me with a Lyman reloading catalogue. equipment, even though the Dollar-to- means, so I bought one, plus a bullet
It was immediately apparent that my Rand exchange rate was one-to-one at mould and bullet sizing die. A tin of
pocket was not deep enough to buy a that time. Nicholas Yale recommended MP200 and 100 SP primers completed
bench-mounted press, dies and other the Lee Loader which was within my my kit. Yale’s worked out a .32 S&W

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February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 53


load using this powder and the 90gr
bullet. I enlisted the help of a science
teacher friend to calibrate the dipper
for use with MP200.
I ALWAYS CHUCKLE when I think
back on how I fired my first reloads.
It was on a friend’s farm and I was
more than a bit apprehensive be-
cause reloading was then still a Black
Art to me. I hugged a large pine tree
tight, holding the revolver around the
opposite side. Just before I pulled the
trigger a thought flashed through my
mind – what if this thing explodes
in my hand? Me being a handicraft
teacher!
I quickly shifted the gun to my left
hand and fired the first shot before my
courage could fail me. After the bang,
I examined my hand, the gun and the
spent case. Then I started to enjoy
myself firing off the rest of my reloads.
I was hooked for life and have hardly
fired a store-bought cartridge since,
other than to acquire more cases.
I NOW PRESENT reloading courses for
our local Hunting Association and on
mentioning how simple and cheap re-
loading can be with a Lee Loader, I was
met with murmurs of disbelief. Since
I still have a few of these handy little
sets, I demonstrated how quick and
easy they were to use. More than one
student has remarked that if they had
known about the little pocket set, they
would never have bothered with the
expensive bench press and all the rest.
A few expressed doubts about the
accuracy of the reloads. After assur-
ing them that the reloaded ammuni-
tion was accurate because the Loader
neck-sizes only, there were still a few
doubting Thomases, so I did a test
54 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
The die for resizing and seating the bullets.
to see how these loads compared
to those assembled with a reloading
press. I have an ex-military 8mm
Mauser capable of shooting excellent
groups when equipped with a 12x
scope. Unfortunately, at that time, it
had an old 4x32 Tasco scope mounted,
but I went ahead anyway.
I didn’t have the correct dipper size
in the set, so I quickly made one from
a cartridge case, cutting it down to the
precise capacity of the required charge
of S355. Using the Lee, I loaded a few
rounds from the same powder-lot I
had used when loading on my RCBS
press using charges carefully weighed
on a scale.
Lee Loader group compared with one from
RCBS dies.
CONDITIONS AT the range were not
perfect, but I shot a 30mm group with
the RCBS reloads – the 4x scope not
really being conducive to precise aim-
ing. Then I fired the Lee loads; unfor-
tunately an adjustment error landed
that group very close to the RCBS
group – see photo – but they are very
similar in size.
I concluded that the Lee Loader
had produced ammo at least as good
as that from a bench-mounted press
This was the way Lee initially packaged the
Lee Loader, in a cardboard box with a black lid.
Apparently all Lee Loaders in cardboard boxes
were made by Lee Custom Engineering, who
went out of business in the 80s. Those in the
see-through red plastic boxes were made by
Lee Precision.
outfit costing roughly 15 times the
price, and at least as good as can be
expected from factory ammo. The
fact that it neck-sizes only makes it
accurate. I know that two groups do
not really prove much, but these test
results, together with my experience
with a Lee Loader in .243 Win, indic-
ate that for normal hunting, the Lee
Loader can indeed do the job, and the
cost factor is a huge advantage.
IF YOU CAN FIND one in SA, and you
only load for one calibre, this is all you’ll
need, apart from a small plastic ham-
mer and your components. The instruc-
tions are well written and easy to follow.
You may need some assistance to work
out the correct load for your calibre
using local propellant, and to adjust the
powder dipper accordingly (or make a
dedicated scoop from a cartridge case)
but after that it’s plain sailing.
Lee estimates that, with experi-
ence, you can load more than two
boxes of ammo per hour. Granted,
some shooters don’t have the time,
and others need large quantities of
ammunition for their sport. But for
hunting, how many rounds do you re-
ally need in a normal year?
 ‘Wildcat’for a
Vintage Drilling
by TOM CACECI

FOR A COUPLE OF years now, I’ve been
using a drilling as my main hunting arm.
These three-barrelled, break-open guns
have side-by-side shotgun barrels (usu-
ally 16- or 12-gauge) in combination
with a rifled under-barrel in any one of
a variety of European metric calibres.
Virtually all of the older drillings in the
United States were brought home as
souvenirs by returning American sol-
diers at the end of the Second World
War. Not only are they versatile, they’re
exceptional examples of craftsmanship,
irrespective of the maker.
My first drilling’s rifle barrel is cham-
bered in 8x57JR, the rimmed equiva-
lent of the 8x57mm Mauser round,
which is very useful for medium game.
I liked it so much I bought a second
drilling, one with external hammers.
It’s quite handsome, ‘retro’-looking in
Teutonic style. This ‘new’ piece’s rifle
barrel is chambered for the venerable
9.3x72R rifle round. In power this is
about equivalent to the old .38-55 cali-
bre, making it suitable for thin-skinned
North American animals. Only one
manufacturer, Sellier & Bellot makes it;
though the price per round is high, I
ordered a couple of boxes and took the
gun out to shoot it.
THE GENTLEMAN I’d bought it from
had never fired it. When I fired it I
discovered a problem. Spent cases
would not extract without undue force.
I actually needed a pair of pliers to get
them out. The very powerfully-lever-
aged primary extractor hook would
pull a case partly out of the chamber,
but removing it fully required tools –
obviously not an ideal field situation.
I began to hunt for the reason and a
solution. Along the way I consulted
many collectors of German guns with
regard to a possible cause. One sug-
gestion was overly ‘hot’ ammunition
generating excessive pressure.
Deciphering an older drilling’s rifle
calibre often presents a challenge.
My hammer gun is actually marked
“8.8mm/72” and bears proper proof
marks. It’s generally accepted among
drilling shooters that this really means it

A sidelock hammer drilling made in Germany sometime in

the mid-1920s. This gun has a “Roux underlever” locking
system; the lever on the tang is not to break open the gun,
but to select the rifle barrel. The shotgun barrels are 16-bore;
the rifle barrel is nominally 9.3x72R calibre.

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 55

shoots the 9.3x72R. A barrel with a bore
diameter of 8.8 mm (0.346457") and
a groove depth of 0.25mm (0.0098")
should have a groove diameter of
9.3mm (0.366142"). Indeed, the bullet
in the S&B ammunition is .366 - .367 in
diameter. German proof law standard-
izes the 9.3x72R at these dimensions:
in fact it was one of
the very first rounds
to be so ‘normalized’.
Before that was done,
the 9.3x72R came
in several variations,
often varying from
gunsmith to gun -
smith.
GERMANY DIDN’ T
standardize ammu-
nition or institute a
proof law until fairly
late – 1891 – and
even after that, a lot
of the smaller gun-
smiths who made
drillings more or less
to order ‘did their own
thing’ in respect of bore sizes, following
the same practices and using the same
tools they’d employed for decades. Alas,
many of them used bore diameter, not
groove diameter, in their calibre desig-
nations, and some made their own sets
of gauges. Thus the calibre marked on
the gun is a rough guide as to where to
start to determine what it actually is.
WHOEVER MADE my gun (it has no
maker’s mark, a fairly common sit-
uation) apparently preferred doing
things the way he always had. It seems
likely that a moss-backed old-timer
gunsmith simply continued to use the
existing tooling and machinery he had
in the shop. Doubtless he figured he
knew better than the guys at the Proof
House: hadn’t all his customers always
been satisfied in the past?
Nor is it unusual to find a “9.3x72R”
with an odd-sized barrel. Consultation
with several collectors who specialize
in German guns told me they too had
encountered many drillings with under-
56 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
Below (L-r): Two vintage rounds of 9.3x72R dating from the
1920s; two current production S&B rounds in this calibre;
two of the“9x54R”wildcat rounds loaded with 200gr bullets.
Right: An unaltered 9.3x72R case (left) shown with my cut-
down “9x54” case.
sized bores. I slugged the bore and it
came out as .358"!
Some of the collectors I spoke to
suggested that the oversized bullets of
the factory ammunition I’d bought was
causing high pressures and sticking
cases. This made sense, so I made up
some mild reloads using a hollow-based
bullet of .358" but those cases stuck
too, so it clearly wasn’t strictly an
excess-pressure situation.
My first thought
was that the rifle
may have a fouled
or rough chamber,
so obviously the
next step was to
clean it thoroughly
My first thought
was that the
rifle may have a
fouled or rough
chamber, so obvi-
ously the next
step was to clean
it thoroughly, and
follow up by pol-
ishing with a mild
abrasive. These measures helped, but
not much; though there was no visi-
ble roughness, full-length fired cases,
even with the smaller bullets, simply
wouldn’t come out.
I THEN BEGAN t o t h i n k a b o u t a
deformed chamber: a bulge or
non-concentricity would certainly
cause hard extraction. Accordingly I
made a chamber cast with a very low
melting point bismuth alloy specifically
designed for this purpose. But then
I found that the cast wouldn’t come
out, no matter what I did: I ended up
having to melt it out with a heat gun.
Obviously there was something wrong
with the chamber even if I couldn’t see
it. I postulated that there was an invis-
ible bulge into which the case would
naturally expand upon firing, rendering
it difficult to extract. In my experience,
if a chamber has a problem, it usually
has it in the front: such a deformity
might have been due to throat erosion
or perhaps an oversized round that

Left to right: two .366" JSPs from the S&B factory product; two of the 163gr hollow-base
round-nose bullets used in initial tests; two 200gr gas-checked lead bullets in .357". These are a
close match in weight and profile to the original 9.3mm bullet.
generated enough pressure to deform
the chamber slightly.
There are a couple of possible solu-
tions to this problem if, as in this case,
polishing didn’t fix it. Re-chambering
or lining the barrel to a smaller cali-
bre was ruled out due to cost and the
fact that chamber-reamers in 9.3x72R,
though obtainable, are pretty thin
on the ground. Nor would re-cutting
the chamber address the issue of the
undersized barrel. Another option –
the one I chose – was to cut the cases
back far enough to clear the problem
area of the chamber: although the
damage wasn’t visible it must have
been there.
I CUT 18MM off the original cases using
a case trimmer adapted for use with a
cordless electric drill: this made short
work of buzzing off the excess brass.
It was pretty drastic surgery, but the
straight-walled case of the 9.3x72R
really makes this no different from
shooting a .22 Short in a .22 Long Rifle
chamber: other than the length, all
other dimensions are the same.
My barrel required a bullet of
smaller diameter, but since the internal
case-neck diameter is too big (being
designed for a .366" bullet) I had to
resize the neck of each case. A little
nosing about in dimensional tables
showed me that the diameter of a .38
S&W case, of all things, was correct:
and I have a set of dies for this calibre.
Not only does the sizer die, properly
adjusted for length, squeeze the neck
down to the right dimension, the same
die set has a seater plug that will seat
the bullets to exactly the right depth
and crimp them in place. A Lee #3 shell
holder works with the rim of the case,
so I didn’t need a special holder.
Behold: the shortened cases solved
the extraction problem completely. I
could extract the spent cases smoothly
using only the tips of my fingers.
The breech of the rifle barrel is plainly mar-
ked “8.8/72,” and bears post-1891 German
proof marks. No maker’s name is on the gun.
I looked at bullets again: factory
specs for the S&B ammunition include
a 193gr JSP bullet, but my preliminary
trials had been made with one that was
substantially lighter at 163gr. I prefer
heavier bullets for better penetration,
and wanted to stick with lead projec-
tiles to minimize wear and tear on
the 90-year-old barrel. A 200gr gas-
checked flat-nosed lead bullet in .357"
diameter seemed just the ticket. Even
heavier bullets (250gr) are available
but those might raise issues with rifling
twist rate.
I also ran into an odd difficulty with
primer pockets. The S&B cases use
Boxer primers, but the primer pockets
were too small for regular American
Large primers, and too big for Small
primers. No problem: they were easily
reamed out to the right diameter for
an American Large primer using a tool
designed to remove stab crimps from
military cases. (Interestingly enough,
I hadn’t encountered this phenomenon
with S&B’s 8x57JR cases.)
I NOW HAD what amounted to a ‘wild-
cat’ cartridge which, in effect, is a .38-
55 with case extended by 1mm. SAAMI
chamber pressure for the .38-55 is
30 000 CUP – well within my drilling’s
capacity. Other than the slightly smaller
case rim and bullet (the .38-55 uses a
.377" bullet, much too large) the dif-
ferences are minimal. In keeping with
the European origins of the gun and
the ammunition, “9x54R” seemed to
be the right name for what I’d come up
with. I used loading data for the .38-55
derived from Barnes’ Cartridges of the
World. The charge is 25.5 grains of
Accurate Arms XMP5744, a load which
COTW rates at 1853fps. This will be
entirely adequate for my purposes: the
.38-55 has a respectable reputation on
deer, especially with heavy bullets.
I still need to do range testing and
further load development, but I’ve
solved the extraction problem and can
use the gun. I may try using cases
cut back by less in the next go-round,
to see just how long a case has to be
before it gets ‘sticky’. But as it is, I’m
ready to go once I get the gun sighted
in. I don’t anticipate any real issues
with the 0.001" under-sized bullet,
either. In most cases, a lead bullet will
‘bump up’ that much on firing.
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 57
Test Report
NiteCore Flashlights
A RECENT ADDITION to NiteCore’s
range of tactical and outdoor flashlights
is the Tiny Monster 16. A ‘monster’ it is,
with its 4000 lumen LED output, casting
a beam out to about 700m. The TM16’s
body is made of aircraft grade alumin-
ium. The head, which covers the palm of
an average sized hand, houses the four
LEDs which produce a focused beam
achieved by specially-made reflective
mirrors. The glass cover that protects
the LEDs and mirrors is scratch proof.
The TM16 is 182mm long; the head
diameter is 89mm and the body 53mm
wide. It weighs 506g without batter-
ies and fits snugly into my hand. A
knurled tail cap screws onto the body
and seals the power unit housing four
3.7V (18650) rechargeable batteries.
It takes some effort to unscrew the tail
cap as it closes very tight to ensure the
flashlight’s 2m submersible grading.
The tail cap has three points where
a lanyard can be attached and has a
threaded hole for attachment to a cam-
era tripod.
The power button is just behind the
head, conveniently under the thumb
when held. A second button for select-
ing a specific mode is situated behind
the first. It has five brightness settings
and three special light modes. To switch
on, press both buttons simultane-
ously. Pressing the mode button again
increases the brightness levels from 5
Tiny Monster 26.
58 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
Tiny Monster 16.
lumen to 280, 680, 1780
and 4000 respectively.
The mode button is also used to acti-
vate the strobe, beacon or SOS beams.
This is done by pressing the button for
two seconds to move through the vari-
ous special modes. The strobe, beacon
and SOS settings use the flashlight’s
brightest beam. Do not look directly
into these light beams; they can hurt
your eyes. To switch off, press both
control buttons for about two seconds.
The TM16 has a battery power-level
indicator. The four batteries must be
removed from the body to be charged.
I tested the flashlight on a cloudy
night, using a pair of binoculars. At
280 lumen the beam was sufficiently
powerful to identify objects at 100m.
Using 680 lumen I could see a rocky
outcrop in the veld near my house and
larger rocks were noticeable. At 1780
lumens the plants around the outcrop
could be identified and at 4000 lumen
the outcrop was almost as
clear as during the day.
Eager to see what
the 4000 lumen out-
put was capable of, I
positioned the flash-
light on a garden
wall facing another
outcrop much further
away. Using my binoculars I
marked an identifiable rock and paced
the distance out: an impressive 670
paces.
by GERHARD VERDOORN
NITECORE’S OTHER 4000 lumen flash-
light in the Tiny Monster series is the
TM26 that delivers a concentrated light
beam up to 415m away. The TM26 is
142mm long, the head diameter is
57mm and the body is 50mm wide.
It weighs 438g without bwatteries. It
has a single multi-functional button, a
charging socket on the body and comes
supplied with a 220V/12V charger. The
TM26 also has a digital display panel
that gives a reading of the power-level,
lumens, temperature, voltage and bat-
tery status. It produces sufficient light
to see objects clearly to 360m when
using binoculars. Both these flashlights
come with four NiteCore rechargeable
18650 batteries. The TM16 is simple
to operate, more compact and lighter
when compared to the TM26.
I also tested two other NiteCore
models. The TM36, which is a huge
flashlight with an 1800 lumen beam
reaching to 1100m. It weighs 1.344kg
and is 278mm long. Due to its size the
TM36 is not a flashlight you will gener-
ally carry around during normal night
activity; it is a serious tool for people
working at night and comes with a
shoulder strap.
The NiteCore Ci6 uses a CREE XP-G2
LED, and has an additional 1500mW
850nm Infrared LED. The Ci6 has five
different white light settings and has a
red, green or blue light capability, using
two additional multi-coloured LEDs. The
body is well-shaped for a good grip. It
Test Report
is 143mm long, the body is
25.4mm wide and the
diameter is 40mm.
The Ci6 produces a
440 lumen white light-
beam, but I was sur-
prised by its infrared capability. The 440
lumen white light gives good visibility
Test Report
Kamakura AD7
8x42
Binoculars
THE KAMAKURA Koki company was
founded in Japan in 1950 and is a major
manufacturer of binoculars and spot-
ting scopes sold under various names
all over the world. The company has a
reputation for offering excellent prod-
ucts, especially in the medium price
range, and they also produce high
specification glass at premium prices.
The model I tested bears the com-
pany’s own name. I found the 8x42
binoculars compact and lightweight,
making all-day carry a pleasure. It
comes with a sturdy neck strap, a case
and covers for lenses and eyepieces.
It has a light and durable magnesium/
aluminium body of roof-prism design,
filled with nitrogen gas. The body is
waterproof and coated with rubber that
affords a comfortable grip in dry and
wet conditions.
The lenses are fully multi-coated
and focus internally. The twist-type
eyepieces are instantly adjustable for
use with or without spectacles. The
dioptre adjustment dial is on one of
to 190 meters.
A l l N i t e C o r e ’s
flashlights carry a
A NiteCore five-year warranty.
rechargeable If anything should
18650 battery.
go wrong during
the first two years of ownership the
flashlight will be replaced. The TM16
the eyepieces and there is
a large centre focus ring.
Adjustments on both dials
were easy while offering
just enough resistance to
provide that ‘firm’ feel of quality.
I tested these binos on a bright
sunny day. All images were crisp and
sharp with high definition. I could eas-
ily see small details in the shadows of
some big trees 400m away, and could
just as easily study birds in detail as
close as 2m away. Use at dusk deliv-
ered similar results with surprisingly
bright images.
The only negative factor was
unmistakable chromatic aberration at
the edges of the field of view. This is
also called “colour fringing” and is a
common optical problem that occurs
when a lens is either unable to bring
all wavelengths of colour to the same
focal plane, and/or when wavelengths
of colour are focused at different posi-
tions in the focal plane. This contrast in
optical quality was more evident in the
with its D4 Digi-Charger retails for R5
495, the TM26 with charger for R5 995,
the TM36 with charger for R6 595 and
the Ci6 and charger for R2 095. For
more information look on NiteCore’s
website at http://nitecoresa.co.za. The
local supplier can be contacted on 082-
825-8442 or 083-410-6005.
by PHILLIP HAYES
Kamakura simply because of the high
image quality at the centre of the glass.
This, however, is not much of a con-
cern since the centre is used for normal
viewing. To upgrade from this level of
centre-image quality one would have to
step up to binos like Leica or Swarovski,
obviously at a much higher price.
These binoculars offer good value
for birding, hunting or game viewing.
For professional hunters I would sug-
gest the 10x42 rather than the 8x42,
since the higher magnification would
make it easier to judge the circumfer-
ence of the bases of horns over longer
distances. The Kamakura binos have a
quality feel to them and are comfort-
able to hold to the eyes for extended
periods. Retail price is around R4 700.
Contact MPhoto on 021-465-6355 for a
dealer near you.
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 59
 Does Firearms
FingerprintingWork?
by MALCOLM COBB

Four random fired bullets. (L-r:) a

‘monolithic’ showing rifling marks
but overlaid with scratch marks from
impact, removing individual charac-
teristics; a hard lead bullet out of a
Metford rifle, with two sets of scratch
marks spiralling in opposite direc-
tions; a .30-calibre bullet with distor-
tion, weight loss and little remaining
rifling, could be anything. Right, a .45
calibre bullet with few distinguishing
rifling marks at all.

DOUBTLESS READERS are aware of old statistic, but the police say it is arms, stolen firearms owned by defence
proposed legislation requiring all civilian about 0.04%.” The remaining 99.96% force and police service members, fire-
firearms in this country to be ballistically of criminal convictions therefore relate arms lost by or stolen from civilians,
tested, so their “firearms fingerprint” to illegally possessed firearms. and the arms left over from the various
can be recorded at the Central Firearms ‘struggles’ over the past thirty or forty
Registry (CFR). In theory, anyone com- HOW MANY ILLEGAL firearms are years, we begin to get close to the lower
mitting a crime with a registered fire- there in SA? No one knows, but esti- 500 000 figure. The point is that these
arm would be identified immediately. mates run between 500 000 and five firearms are the most likely source of
To the uninstructed taxpayer (and our million. Where do they come from? crime weapons, but since none are
less well-informed legislators) this must According to various sources, they come available for “fingerprinting”, this exer-
seem like a very attractive time saver from the theft of state-controlled fire- cise begins to look like a waste of time.
for law enforcement agencies. It sounds
marvellous, but is this true? A test piece of steel rough-bored to show tool marks equivalent to the“individual characteristics”
If a crime-scene bullet or cartridge required for“fingerprinting”. After polishing with medium grade emery paper for two minutes to
simulate a moderate amount of firing, most of the “individual characteristics” have gone, leav-
case could be linked to a “fingerprinted”
ing only the deeper gouges, which replicate the “class characteristics” of rifling.
firearm, what would it produce? At
best, the name of the registered owner
of the firearm; this is unlikely to be
helpful in catching the criminals. Why?
Because the vast majority of crimes
are committed with firearms possessed
illegally. Reliable statistics on this are
scarce but one source states, “The con-
viction rates for legal gunowners using
firearms are actually very low. It’s an

60 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016


L–r: A lead bullet drifted through a rusted bore, showing typical
lengthwise striations. The second bullet comes out cleaner and begins
to show the underlying rifling pattern. The third bullet now reveals
octagonal, flat-sided rifling allowing a “class” identification, which
demonstrates that the individual “fingerprints” of a rusted or dirty
bore can change in a few shots.
BALLISTICS EVIDENCE on its own rarely produces a con-
viction. The defence can claim the shots were fired by acci-
dent, in self-defence or by someone else altogether. After
all, it is the citizen that is on trial, not the firearm. Our best
current example is the killing of Reeva Steenkamp, where the
courts are more concerned with the “intent” of the assailant
than with ballistic “fingerprinting.”
Ballistics testing can be flawed. Heard (Forensic Ballistics
in Court) cites many instances of shaky ballistics work: one
man was convicted of murder and only later was it discovered
that the murder weapon was actually the next weapon in a
particular consignment and the two weapons shared many
characteristics.
WE ARE NOT SAYING there is no merit in ballistics evi-
dence. If there is a crime-scene bullet or cartridge case avail-
able, the police can at least know what type of firearm to
look for. A .45 ACP full metal jacket bullet is different to a .44
Magnum lead bullet or a .22 rimfire or a .375H&H Magnum.
This determination doesn’t need any sort of a reference to a
central database.
IF THE RIFLING MARKS are visible it is also possible to
determine “class characteristics”, which narrows the search
still further. A bullet measuring .357" in diameter, with five
grooves, right-hand twist, could have come from a Smith
& Wesson revolver. If it had six grooves, with a left-hand
twist, it could maybe have been fired from a Colt, or at least
a clone, which would rule out other handguns. A bullet of
around .312" in diameter with five grooves, left-hand twist
points towards an old Lee-Enfield and not a .308. That is quite
a lot to go on; furthermore, the database we already have at
the Central Firearms Register can indicate the owner of the
category of weapon involved, which may provide a further
link in the investigation.
Below: Two cases fired in the same rifle. Left: a soft pistol primer sho-
wing a curved profile and two firing-pin characteristic marks at side
and bottom of indentation. Right: A magnum primer showing ‘crate-
ring’ or flow-back into the firing-pin hole, but the harder metal doesn’t
show the same firing-pin imprint. Both cases originally showed scrape
marks from the breech block but these disappeared after a quick clean-
up for photography. Can it be proven that these cases came from the
same rifle and would they still match a fingerprint taken, perhaps,
years previously, using different ammunition?
Advocates of the individual “fingerprinting” process may
say that this “class characteristics” information is of very little
value because something like six million Lee-Enfields were
produced over the last hundred years and the number of
Colts and Smith & Wessons can’t be far behind. To be of any
real use, the database must have the “individual characteris-
tics” of an arm on file, to distinguish a specific registered arm
from the millions of look-alikes.
SO, WHAT ARE THESE individual characteristics? In the-
ory, any mass-produced firearm will have extra nicks and
tool marks from manufacture and handling. If these are in
the barrel, then it is quite possible that they will produce
markings on a bullet, unique to that firearm. A firing-pin may
strike off-centre, or the tip may not be perfectly smooth, or
the breech face may be rough so that under the pressure of
firing, the cartridge case is marked in a way that applies to
that firearm alone.
The “fingerprinting” argument holds that if all these indi-
vidual markings can be available on file, then it is worthwhile
spending the money to create the database. This argument
doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Statistically, any match-up will
still produce only the registered owner, who is 99.6% unlikely
to be the culprit.
THE REALLY BAD NEWS is that the rifling in firearms like
the Glock and Z88 pistols, R4 and R5 rifles and similar Euro-
pean weapons have hammer-forged rifling which is virtually
identical in every weapon rifled in a particular factory. It is
almost impossible to distinguish individual weapons with this
type of rifling.
In any event, crime-scene bullets and cartridge cases
aren’t always available, or not always in a good enough
condition to make a match-up. With a revolver, the fired
cases aren’t necessarily ejected at the crime scene. A semi-
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 61

A Lee-Enfield bolt head may be changed
in under a minute, altering the identifying
characteristics of the fired cartridge case.
automatic weapon may leave ejected
cases, but it is quite possible that in a
planned crime, the empty cases from
someone else’s weapon could be scat-
tered around to plant a false lead for
the police. Lucian Cary, the American
gunwriter, wrote a short story in which
the killer implicated an innocent rifle-
man by digging out his expended bul-
lets from the shooting-range backstop.
The killer then selected an undamaged
example and encased it in a sabot
designed for a larger calibre weapon
with which he shot the victim, giving
the police complete ballistic evidence
against the wrong man.
Fired bullets often
pick up extra mark-
ings which can wipe
out the original
“fingerprints”
Ballistic evidence can be destroyed
or changed, since fired bullets often
pick up extra markings from whatever
they are fired into, be it solid bone or
dirt backstops. These extra marks can
wipe out the original “fingerprints”, if
they were ever recorded.
Most hollow-point bullets, on the
other hand, hardly ever leave enough
bullet material intact within the victim
to identify a weapon since they are
62 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
designed to expand, even in soft tar-
gets, which destroys their identifying
characteristics.
Getting any sort of ballistic match
with a shotgun is just about imposs-
ible because there is no rifling to impart
marks onto shot, so the investigators
are left with wads and examples of the
shot, which can indicate class charac-
teristics, but that is all. On this basis we
must ask if there is any point in trying
to fingerprint a shotgun, of which there
are some 400 000 examples registered
in this country, according to statistics.
There are many other technical
arguments to be advanced against “fin-
gerprinting.”
The paradoxical “Magic Bullet” found after
the Kennedy assassination. Although it mat-
ched Oswald’s Mannlicher Carcano, critics
have stated that its condition was too good
for it to have passed through both Presi-
dent Kennedy and Governor Connally. The
paradox, therefore, is that a bullet must be
in good condition to match a fingerprinted
firearm, but a murder bullet should show
more distortion from impact.
Ballistics testing must be carried out
with ammunition with the same char-
acteristics as the “crime” ammunition,
because substitute cartridge cases
may otherwise be harder or softer and
not pick up breech or firing-pin mark-
ings. For “fingerprinting” to be of any
use it must also match characteristics
obtained at the time of the original
test, which may have been years ear-
lier. That’s a three-way match – easy to
contest in court.
A firing-pin tip may be altered or a
new one substituted. Lee-Enfields have
interchangeable bolt-heads and Mauser
98s can accept bolts from other Mauser
98s, changing their breech-marking
characteristics in moments. If reloaded
cartridges have been used, the case will
have the impressions of several recoil
plates or bolt-faces on the head, which
makes it impossible to link the fired
case to one particular weapon.
BARRELS FROM firearms used exten-
sively for competition wear out in
about 4 000 rounds. While this may
not change the class characteristics
of the rifling, it is likely that any fine
tool-marks giving the rifle its indi-
vidual characteristics have gone too.
This is to say nothing of any additional
scrapes and bumps induced during
the course of a lifetime which will add
other marks not present at the finger-
printing stage.
WHAT ABOUT firearms left undis-
turbed over a number of years, as in
a safe, or a stolen arm buried in a wall
cavity full of brick dust? The crime may
well be carried out with a barrel full of
rust or grit, which is blasted out over a
number of shots. If the gun is subse-
quently cleaned out for ballistic testing,
then it is quite possible that a different
set of results would be produced which
may resemble neither the crime scene
evidence nor the original “fingerprint.”
Any of this could be challenged in court
(Casserly, 1938).
Heard (Forensic Ballistics in Court)
states that “the individual character-
istics in the bore of a weapon are con-
stantly evolving.”
There really is no point in spend-
ing taxpayers’ money on testing the
three million registered arms in this
country, based on a notion that seems
unproven from the outset, and at best
would address less than one percent of
criminal activity.
MAYBE THE LAST word should go to
the State of Maryland, which spent 15
years and US$ 5 million on firearms
“fingerprinting” without ever producing
a single “hit” leading to a conviction.
The system is now scrapped.
 Early Reloading
Tools
by ROBIN BARKES
This handheld‘all-in-one’reloading tool is my favou-
rite. Once the over-shot card is seated the cartridge
is pushed into the cup seen below the de-capping
pin and turned by hand to roll-crimp it closed.
IN 1812, SWISS gunmaker Johannes
Samuel Pauly developed a self-con-
tained cartridge that could be loaded
into the breech of his drop-down bar-
rel pistol. Unfortunately Pauly’s idea
was years ahead of its time and was
virtually ignored, leaving this true pi-
oneer of the modern shotgun and its
self-contained cartridge to die almost
forgotten.
In 1832 French gunmaker Casim-
er Lefaucheux experimented with a
drop-barrel breech-loading shotgun
for his cleverly designed pin-fire cart-
ridge until he had perfected it. In
1855 Charles Lancaster patented a
centre-fire cartridge and gun. In 1861
George Daw introduced his design for
improved self-contained cartridges.
Times were changing and the days
of the faithful old muzzle-loader were
drawing to a close.
Sportsmen everywhere soon saw
the advantage of the breech-loader. No
more lugging around separate powder,
Below: A palm-sized de-capper and re-cap-
per. Once the pin has removed the spent
primer, the case is put into the hole in the
handle and pressed against the stud on the
left side to seat a fresh primer.
shot and wads or trying to get the little
percussion-caps onto nipples with fro-
zen fingers or sinking the butt of the
gun into the mud while you rammed a
fresh charge down the barrel.
Gun actions were also constantly
improved. Joseph Lang introduced his
under-lever system and Dougall his
“Lockfast” with forward moving bar-
rels; Westley Richards came up with
his snap-action bolt with “doll’s head”
locking mechanism and James Purd-
ey introduced his thumb-lever to open
the breech.
IN ADDITION TO these wonderful de-
velopments, in 1860, William Pape ex-
perimented with choked barrels and
the great WW Greener improved on
the design which produced tighter pat-
terns, enabling shooters to put more
pellets into birds at longer ranges. The
marvellous days of posh shooting par-
ties on sprawling estates or wild heath-
er-covered moors had arrived.
This was jolly good for the rich
who bought their guns in pairs and
their cartridges by the case, but what
about the farmer and rough shooter,
or the colonists living on the far flung
frontiers in distant lands? Once their
hard-earned box of cartridges was
used up, they had to re-load the fired
cardboard cases. This was actually
very easy to do, provided they had
a supply of fresh primers. All it took
was a long nail to knock out the spent
primer. Then you stood a fresh primer
upright on a hard surface, inserted a
short, ½-inch diameter (for a 12-bore)
wooden dowel into the spent case,
turned the case upright and lowered it
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 63
 Three examples of hand-
with its primer-pocket aligned with the turned roll-crimping tools.
mouth of the fresh primer. On contact,
you used the dowel rod to tap the case
head down onto the primer to seat it.
Then you poured a measured charge
of powder (usually three drams) into
the case, followed by a felt wad column
which you seated firmly using the dow-
el. Adding the measured shot charge
(usually 11/8 ounces) you then sealed
off the cartridge with a cardboard
disc-wad and turned the case-mouth’s
crimp back inward with your thumb-
nail. Assuming everything was seated
firmly inside the case with no airspace
between the components, of which the
final disc-wad was close enough to the
case mouth to be held in place by the
roll crimp, your cartridge was ready.

DURING MUZZLE-LOADER times, a

much larger percentage of the gener-
al population owned guns than today,
hence powder and lead shot were rea-
sonably cheap. Thus, with the advent
of breech-loaders, it was far cheaper
for shooters to buy a few hundred
primers than a case of factory-made
cartridges. Some suppliers of the day
began making special handloading
tools that made the task much quicker Two different styles
of self-standing
de-capping and
re-capping tools.

A neatly-rolled crimp on my reloaded black
powder cartridges.
and easier. Like powder and shot, the
punches to make felt and cardboard
wads were readily available, and the
end product was just as good as a
factory-loaded cartridge. Shotgun re-
loading tools appear to have been very
popular in South Africa for they
are to be found in many collec-
tions, lying around in old farm
houses and in antique shops.
Interestingly, antique tools
for handloading rifle cartridges
are scarce and I have only ever
seen a handful – mostly Mar-
tini-Henry and No2 Musket. This
was probably because most of
the breech-loading rifles used loc-
ally by colonial farmers and hunters
of that era were chambered for mil-
itary cartridges (.577 Snider, .450
Martini-Henry and .450 No2 Musket) –
they chose them specifically because
ex-military ammo was plentiful and
cheap; no doubt this rendered hand-
loading scarcely worth the trouble.
For an Eastern Cape frontier farmer
in 1870, a full set of shotshell reload-
ing equipment would simply com-
prise a de-capper and re-capper and
a roll-crimping device. Powder, shot
and wads he already had for his muz-
zle-loading shotgun, plus powder- and
shot-measures, either in ladle form
or built into the adjustable pouring
spouts of the muzzle-loader flasks.
THE DE-CAPPER and re-capper came
in the form of a little stand with a le-
ver over two upright brass posts or
tubes. You pressed the empty case
over a pin on the one post, which
popped the spent primer out. The
case was then moved to the other
tube and the same lever was used to

64 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

 Front view of the large
bench-mounted ‘all-in-
one’ shotshell reloading
device. The empty case
fits into the cut-out at the
bottom of the loading
tube next to the little
re-capping handle.
press in the fresh primer. The photographs illustrate two
such devices, while another photo shows a little handheld
brass de-capper and re-capper that could be carried in the
pocket and used in the field.
Black powder is poured into the re-primed case using a
ladle type measure. These adjustable measures are marked
for both powder, given in drams, and the shot charge given
in ounces or fractions thereof. This is followed by the wad
column – usually a thick felt wad between two cardboard
wads, then by the measured shot charge, followed by the
over-shot wad. The cartridge is then placed into the crimper
and pressed in firmly with the lever while the handle on the
other end is turned to re-roll the crimp. And that’s all there
is to loading a black powder shotgun cartridge.
Rear view of the bench-moun-
ted‘all-in-one’ reloading device
showing the roll-crimper.
Also illustrated is a smaller handheld version of an ‘all-
in-one reloading tool’ that also produces a finished cartridge
from beginning to end. On this, the crimping cup below the
de-capping pin and tube has no handle, and the mouth of
the reloaded case is merely pressed in and twisted by hand
to re-roll the crimp. Note also that once the case is re-
primed in the main body of the tool, it remains there for the
addition of the powder and shot through the funnel shown
here with the wooden ram in place. It’s ingenious and of all
the tools, this one is my favourite.
Ladle or scoop-type powder and shot measures were adjustable to
throw different loads.

ALSO ILLUSTRATED HERE is what I call the ‘all-in-one’

shotgun reloading tool, the forerunner of the modern
bench-mounted reloading press. This old and well-used
British-made device is cleverly designed to carry out all
the steps needed to turn an empty shotshell into a loaded
cartridge. With the ‘machine’ firmly screwed onto a work
bench, an empty case is stood upright in the cut-out recess
at the bottom of the tubular body. The spring-loaded brass
plunger is pushed downwards and the pin on its end pops
out the spent primer. The pin is then removed and the hol-
low plunger becomes both a funnel and a ram. The case is Collecting shotgun reloading tools is a fascinating hob-
then inverted and a fresh primer seated by means of the by and to actually use them in order to hunt with an old
little lever mounted on the side. black powder hammer gun is, to me, the most satisfying
The case is turned upright again to receive the powder of all shooting activities. Just seeing a gamebird cartwheel
charge, followed by the wads which are rammed down by to the ground through a cloud of white smoke is thrilling.
the plunger, then the shot charge followed by the over-shot There is also nothing to compare with the aroma of burnt
wad. The cartridge is then removed and slipped into the black powder combined with the fresh earthy smell of a
side mounted crimper and neatly finished off. crisp winter’s morning.

February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 65

Readers’ Market
For Sale
n Bushnell first strike
Reflex red-dot scope,
brand-new condition,
R2200. 072-402-0355
(044).
n Remington stainless
700, .30-06 sintetiese
kolf, uitstekende
toestand, R9300;
6.5x55 RCBS die,
nuut, R500 posgeld
uitgesluit. John 063-
034-0078, 015-013-
0060.
n Registered Rowland
Ward trophies (skulls):
tsessebe, blesbuck,
waterbuck, mountain
reedbuck, common
reedbuck, springbuck,
nyala, bushbuck, eland,
fallow deer. Gina 031-
572-6551.
Rock Pigeon Decoys
083 270 4970 • www.decoys.co.za
n .375WM Pre-64,
R16,000; Sako .22-
250, with peep-sight,
R16,000; both as new;
n 24x Woodleigh .458" .22 Krico, R2000; Atis
480gr FMJ bullets, 12B pump, R2000.
R350; 140x Remington Johann 083-740-7173
soft point .458" 450gr (051).
bullets (for .45/.70), n Book: The Modern
R550. 082-923-8069 Shotgun by Major
(021). Gerald Burrard, 1931
n .451 Hawken Match Volume I & II, R1400
1:20, plus many extras, including p&p. Richard
as new, R9000, value White 00267-72424641,
R12,000. H de Beer rhwhite@btccmail.
082-855-7323 (011). co.bw
n .308 bullets: 160x n Old hunter
168gr PMP, R585; 100x downsizing, lots
168gr Berger VLD, of items available,
R775 plus postage. .375H&H, .303 Lee
082-493-0904 (022). Enfield, gun safes, Lee
n .357 Astra 6", puik, loading press etc. Sms
R2000; .357 Astra 3", email address for price
goeie toestand, R1200; list. 082-920-6504 (034).
CBC 12G enkelloop, n RCBS 5.0.2 scale,
goeie toestand, R600. Lee Perfect powder
076-129-6289 (011). measure, instruction
manual, .357
Durachrome dies, 2x
loading trays, brass,
cast bullets. Fanie 082-
400-3822 (051).
n Geweerversameling:
.22-250; .270 Sabi;
7x57; .300H&H; .338
Winchester Magnum.
Alle gewere gebou
deur Sabi rifles. Ruan
van Dyk 084-393-8803
(013).

Hunting Opportunities 2016

FOR HUNTERS & SHOOTERS

• Magnum is again offering FREE ADVERTISING to land- ENSURE THE FUTURE OF HUNTING. • Email addresses & websites count as two words each.
owners who have hunting for sale to South Africans. • Adverts must not exceed 30 words. • Readers cannot contact every advertiser, and they
• Adverts will be published online at www.magnum. • Include name district and details of species available. constantly request that game prices be included in ads –
com. Online submissions welcome. • Provide your contact details – include the postal and DOING SO MAY GET YOU THE BUSINESS.
• Our readers find this feature invaluable when looking for phone area codes. • Telephone ad bookings cannot be accepted.
places to hunt. HELP THEM, HELP YOURSELF AND HELP PLEASE NOTE: ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS ARE PREFERABLE
Complete the form in type or block letters, one word per block. Please ensure your contact details are clearly written.
email: mail@manmagnum.co.za Tel: 031-572-6551 Fax: 031-562-8389
HUNTING FOR SALE • HUNTING FOR SALE • HUNTING FOR SALE

PERSON TO CONTACT: TEL:

We need your Your name:

postal & physical
address for our records. Your postal address:
This information will
be handled in the strictest Your email:
confidence. It will not appear
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66 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

Readers’ Market
n .375H&H Mag
Zastava, like new, glass
bed, recoil pad, 6x Lynx
scope, 50x shots fired,
R11,000. 082-414-7677
(012).
n BSA .303BR, mint,
R3000 onco; 9mmP
Walther P38, mint,
R3000 onco. 014-715-
2427, 083-564-4156.
n Merkel 12-Bore o/u
shotgun, Model 203EL,
hand detachable
side-lock ejectors, 2 ¾
chambers, 26" barrels,
single selective trigger,
R55,000. Paul 011-883-
6032.
THE YEARS GO BY SO FAST ...
DON'T WAIT TO GET YOUR PIECE OF THE LEGEND!
WINCHESTER MOD 70 PRE '64 SUPER GRADE RIFLE
Grade IV/V Walnut stocked investment grade rifle.
CALIBRES AVAILABLE:
30-06 Sprg, 300 Win Mag, 338 Win Mag.
53 HUNTER ST
DURBAN
Tel: 031 337 6424
info@kings-firearms.co.za
n Lever action rifle,
mint condition. Rossi
Mod 92 357 Mag.
38 Spl fitted with
imported Volquartsen
folding tang aperture
sight. Unusually
attractive stock. 076-
525-2465 (021).
Wanted
n Collector seeks any
firearms manufactured
by FN, Browning, Colt,
Winchester, Marlin, any
condition. Charles 082-
447-8131 (031).
Scope, bases and rings not included.
From
R23 000
n Arms collector
buying old guns,
swords, bayonets, in
any condition, free
valuations and advice.
Peter 031-562-9591,
083-415-5627.
n Any spares and
grips for FN, Browning
Models 1900, 1906,
1910, 1922, Baby
Browning. Neil 072-
220-1531, 031-701-
3084.
n 28" barrel for MT
586P 12ga pump-
action shotgun, with
choke if available.
072-511-7965, 035-
474-2864.
22 WINSTON RD
PIETERMARITZBURG
Tel: 033 342 0137
General TRADING POST
MINIMUM CHARGE PER ADVERT: R73,00 (incl) for
n Man Magnum
twelve words; thereafter R4,80 per word. Hyphenated
magazines from 1981
(and compound) words are counted as separate words.
to present, other gun
Payment must be enclosed – adverts that are not paid
magazines available
as well, all good for in advance cannot be published.
TRADING POST, Box 35204, Northway 4065
condition. Free, but
have to come collect classifieds@manmagnum.co.za • fax 031-562-8389
them. Alex 082-674-
3634 (044). ELEPHANT LEATHER INYATHI TAXIDERMY
RIFLE BAGS (0105): STUDIO (0102):
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big game rifles. The commission and
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Denonanje Safaris. Cell Albert 082-854-
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dawie@denonanje.com inyathistudio.com
Web: www.denonanje. Cell: 082-419-7486
com (036).
SAGA 1985-2015: 30 Years of Dedicated Service
SAGA is celebrating
celebrating a major milestone
in 2015 – we are turning 30!
SAGA was founded in 1985,
and has, since then, protected
the rights of legitimate
firearm owners and
users in South Africa.
Why not join us in our The South African
fight for firearm Gunowners’ Association
ownership rights?
Tel: 031-562-9951 • Fax 086-553-9615
JOIN TODAY. saga@saga.org.za • www.saga.org.za
Application form on website. PO Box 35203 Northway 4065
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 67
 Readers’ Market
BEST KEPT SECRET KNIFEMAKERS!! (0106): THE PERFECT BULLET
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ARMTEC SYNTHETIC STOCKS
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Name: _____________________________________________ AND HORNS (0103):
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Address: ___________________________________________ We are buying legally
fax 0866 284 893 • www.armtec.co.za
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68 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016

Gallery
Rhino Horn
THE SALE OF RHINO horn in South
Africa is still prohibited despite a
recent Pretoria High Court judgment
lifting a local sale moratorium. The
Department of Environmental Affairs
has filed papers appealing the court’s
decision that lifted the six-year
ban on the domestic trade of rhino
horn. The Centre for Criminology at
the University of Cape Town (UCT)
indicated that the High Court’s finding
was halted the moment the notice of
leave to appeal was filed at the court
by the department.
This followed after the Pretoria
High Court found in favour of two
game farmers Johan Krüger and
John Hume that there had not been
sufficient consultation prior to the
imposition of the government’s
memorandum on 13 February 2009.
The court found, among other
things, that the memorandum was
“irrational, arbitrary and unreasona-
ble” as it was incapable of stopping
rhino poaching. It further held in
essence “non-compliance with consul-
tative” processes.
The court’s decision has no
effect on the international ban of
commercial trade in rhino horn.
International trade in rhino horn was
banned under the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) regulations in 1977.
However, it remained legal in
South Africa after 1977 for citizens to
sell and exchange rhino horns as long
as they had permits. It was found
that this ‘legal trade’ was misused for
illegal purposes to smuggle horns out
of the country.
The department then placed
a moratorium on the sale of rhino
horn and products thereof to try to
stop legally obtained horn ending
up in the illegal trade. It seems the
moratorium was intended to be a
temporary solution but it remained
enforced until challenged by the two
men. The appeal process now has to
be finalized. André Grobler
Hunters Care
THE PROFESSIONAL Hunters Asso-
ciation of South Africa (PHASA) has
launched a new humanitarian pro-
gramme as part of its Empowerment
and Conservation Fund. The “Hunters
Care” initiative is aimed at con-
solidating the existing social
responsibility initiatives of all
its members under a single
umbrella. In doing so PHASA
hopes a clearer picture of the
professional hunting industry’s
contribution to community de-
velopment, food security and
rural education will appear.
Fund chairman Johann Com-
brink said the total contribution
of professional hunting to com-
munity upliftment in South Afri-
ca had been significantly understated.
“In the wake of increasing criticism
levelled at our profession, which is
taking place against a background of
a general misunderstanding of what
we do and how it benefits both con-
servation and empowerment, it is no
longer feasible to talk about our hu-
manitarian efforts in terms of rands
and cents alone,” he said.
Combrink said the schools, roads,
clinics and crèches members have
built, the monetary donations, jobs
and dependants’ support, and all
the game carcasses given to those
in need must be considered. This is
important to clear misperceptions
that professional hunting is a waste-
ful activity. Spin-offs of hunting are
more evident in communities living
in hunting areas than in cities. Com-
brink said public opinion on hunting
is unfortunately mostly driven by city
dwellers. PHASA members need to
accurately account for their human-
itarian work to ensure the future of
the profession and those whose liveli-
hoods depend on hunting.
André Grobler
PHASA Leaders
STAN BURGER IS the new President
of the Professional Hunters’ Asso-
ciation of South Africa (PHASA).
Burger was elected during the 38th
annual meeting of PHASA. He takes
over from Hermann Meyeridricks
who finished a two-year term. Burg-
er has been a professional hunter
and outfitter for
the past 30 years.
He studied phar-
macy and worked
at a shaft-sinking
company before
choosing a career
in profession-
al hunting. He
served on various
PHASA executive
committees and
as vice president.
The association
also appointed Tharia Unwin as its
new chief executive. She replaces
Adri Kitshoff who joined Wildlife
Ranching South Africa. Unwin is a
founding member of the Associa-
tion of Mozambique Hunting Safari
Operators (AMOS) and has been
actively involved in anti-poaching
programmes in that country’s Niassa
National Reserve for more than a
decade. She obtained her profes-
sional hunting licence in the Free
State province while serving as the
marketing manager for one of Afri-
ca’s largest elephant hunting outfit-
ters. André Grobler
February 2016 | ManMAGNUM | 69
Gallery
Brown house
snake. Photo by
Johan Marais.
Snake Activity
A LIMPOPO FARMER recently said it seemed as if his farm,
and the region, had been invaded by snakes. He got rid
of 14 snakes within a couple of months and, in a letter to
Magnum, queried the reason for this phenomenon.
Snakes do not really hibernate in South Africa. They do
become far less active in winter and do not eat, but may
emerge to bask on warm winter days. Some snakes, such
as the puff adder, may remain above ground throughout
winter and in Gauteng they mate during this time.
When the weather warms up, snakes start appearing
above ground and every year this emergence results in
people claiming to have suddenly had an influx of snakes.
This is not the case. The snakes are around anyway, and
because of their secretive nature and excellent camouflage
they are not often seen.
Fortunately, none of our snakes, including the black
mamba, attack people unprovoked and if you are five me-
tres or more from any snake you are perfectly safe.
The main snakebite season in southern Africa is from
January to May when the summer rains get the snakes
moving. Up to 80% of snakebites are reported during this
period. The majority of bites occur when people accidental-
ly step on a snake while working barefoot in the fields.
Snakes are more active during this period because
they do not risk dehydration and the rain brings out prey
such as frogs. Many snakes are also snake-eating and will
feast on other snakes. Dehydration is a real danger for
snakes and during very warm and dry conditions they will
remain underground where there is enough humidity and
temperatures are about 23 to 24º Celsius. In the middle of
a warm summer snakes can stay underground for long pe-
riods while waiting for rain. These habits are supported by
observations during many snake surveys.
In the course of one such survey in Mozambique’s
Niassa Nature Reserve, during a six-week period in the
middle of summer, three scientists found almost no snakes.
However, after a rainy period we found various snakes.
Johan Marais
70 | ManMAGNUM | February 2016
Index to Advertisers –
February 2016
Action Adverts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Alpine Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
ATA Shotguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
ATN X-Sight Weapon Scope . . . . . . 3
Benelli Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Berger Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Browning Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Camdix Wapens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Camo Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Canicom Dog Training Products . . 27
Classic Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
CZ Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Digital Magnum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Durban Easter Knife Show . . . . . . . 66
ECM Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Eley Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Federal Premium Ammunition . . . . . 5
Formalito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Franchi Shotguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Frontier Guns & Ammo . . . . . . . . . . 23
Glock Pistols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Guerrilla Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Guns & Bows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Hornady Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/25
Hornady Lock-N-Load Reloading
Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Hot Power Wapens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
HuntEx 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Hunting Opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . 66
Inter-Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Kaydex Holsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Lapua Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Legally Armed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Life-size Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Lynx LX3 Rifle Scopes . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Lynx Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Magnum’s Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Marlin Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Martin Hood & Associates . . . . . . . 48
My Subs (Magnum Digital) . . . . . . . 5
National Cartridge Company . . . . 53
Nosler Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25/53
NSN Guns & Ammo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Optics International . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Peregrine Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
PH-School (Northern Cape) . . . . . . 68
PPU Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Ranyati Firearm Motivations . . . . . 67
Readers’ Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Remington Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
RS Sport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Ruger Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Sabatti Shotguns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Safari & Outdoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
SAGA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Sako Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Savuti Wapens & Ammunisie . . . . . 25
Sierra Bullets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Skietwinkel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Smith & Wesson Firearms . . . . . . . 27
Sniper Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Specialist Hunting Cameras . . . . . . 50
Steyer Mannlicher Rifles . . . . . . . . . . 7
STI Pistols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Subscriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Swarovski Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Tactical Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Take Aim Safaris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Tikka Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Trading Post . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
TwinBore Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Nico Van Rooyen Taxidermy . . . . . 16
Vixen Optics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Voere Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Whylo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Winchester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Willburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Xtreme Hunting & Outdoor . . . . . . 43