John Alexander Hunter "White Hunter"

SAFARIKIDD said:

All so interesting and wish I had a time machine! Colonial Africa at the turn of the century with such fine firearms too..Send me back with a Holland 500 Double or better yet 577 or 600...
I am not much of a reader now but which of his books would you Gents recommend to be the best ?[emoji208][emoji208]

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Shakka said:

He is a very special person to me because he ignited my passion for Africa.
One day while in elementary school, I found "Hunter" in the bookmobile that used to visit our school....That started it all

I have an original copy of Hunter from 1952

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Rare Breed said:

I have just finished shunted by J. A. Hunter. What an incredible classic. @kevinpeacock should add it to our list given the excellent writing. I was very impressed with it and recommend it highly!!!

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Hunter-Habib said:

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I feel that it’s important. I recently went through both of John Alexander Hunter’s books today- Hunter (1952) & Hunter‘s Tracks (1957).

In many circles, a Charles Boswell boxlock ejector in .500 Nitro Express has recently been floating around… With people claiming that this rifle used to belong to J.A Hunter. For the life of me, I can’t understand how this story ever began to circulate.

The books are in front of me, right now. According to both of his books, Mr. Hunter’s .500 Nitro Express was a Holland & Holland Royal sidelock ejector with 24” barrels. He makes absolutely no mention of any Charles Boswell firearms in any of his books.

As a matter of fact, here’s a comprehensive list of every firearm that Mr. Hunter ever writes about using:

Double Rifles
.500 Nitro Express Holland & Holland Royal Sidelock Ejector
.500 Nitro Express W.J Jeffery Boxlock Ejector
.475 Nitro Express #2 W.J Jeffery Sidelock Ejector

Magazine Rifles
.505 Gibbs George Gibbs Mauser
.416 Rigby John Rigby Mauser
.375 Holland & Holland Magnum Holland & Holland Mauser
.30-06 Springfield Winchester Model 70

Shotguns
James Purdey Side By Side (Unknown caliber)

Whoever is going around claiming that the Charles Boswell .500 Nitro Express used to belong to J.A Hunter, is either:
a) Lying
Or
b) Very confused

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Pondoro said:

Tony Sanchez Arino was a friend of Hunter...he mentioned that one of the regrets in his life was not to be able to buy Hunter´s last .500 (he could not afford it then..). he never mentioned wich brand it was though..

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jb1069 said:

Just started reading "Hunter" this weekend and was surprised to see this thread reappear this morning. The book "Shunted" was mentioned in a previous post but through a few quick searches I cannot find a book by this title by J A Hunter. Any help or a link to this book would be appreciated. Thanks

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monish said:

"White Hunter" John Alexander Hunter (1887 – 1963)

J. A. Hunter made his living as a PH for fifty years

John Alexander Hunter was born near Shearington, Dumfries-shire, Scotland, also known as J. A. Hunter was a "white hunter" in Africa from the early 1900s through the 1950s who led many notable safaris. His father had intended for him to be a farmer, but by his own account he grew up far more interested in hunting than farming. He moved permanently to British East Africa (Kenya) in 1908 with his father's old Purdey shotgun and a 7x57 Mauser, where he later led the Livermore expedition, with the aid of A.P.de K.Fourie, that opened up the Ngorongoro Crater to European hunters.

During his career J.A. hunted and guided a mixture of people, from titled Europeans, wealthy industrialists, personalities like Colonel Sandy McNab and Denys Finch-Hatton and to others who scrimped and saved to afford their one safari. Like Percival and Selby, Hunter was very good at his trade, but probably no better than dozens of others. He, however, was not made famous by one of his clients.

It happens that J.A. Hunter was as good a storyteller as he was a hunter. His timing was also perfect. Even the very best hunting book today will only be published by a specialty publisher, and its readership will be limited to the hunting community. Mainstream publisher Harper & Brothers published J.A. Hunter's second book, Hunter, in 1952. It was a Book of the Month Club selection that year, and just a few years later, it came to school libraries, given the first taste of Africa to kids.

J.A. Hunter held several world records for Big Game at various times, and lead a group that killed 1000 rhinos in a single year in Kenya, most of them in the Makueni hunting, which the Government needed to get rid of these animals in that area, in order to give these lands for re-settlement of the Wa-kamba people. He regretted the necessity, but he accomplished the mission and lived to tell of it. He is credited with more than 1,400 elephants, which puts him on a very short list of the great ivory hunters along with Jimmy Sutherland and Karamoja Bell. Throughout much of his career, Hunter was a game control officer called upon to handle some of the most difficult assignments, but he also spent twenty years taking clients on safari. He used several rifles in different calibers for his hunting, including 416 Rigby, 500 Nitro Express and 505 Gibbs.

John Alexander Hunter with a pair of fine Elephant tusks

John Alexander Hunter returns from a recent ivory hunt

In later years, he became concerned about the possible extinction of the wildlife he had so assiduously hunted, and spoke in favor of conservation. His writings were also notable for betraying his colonialist attitude, although his writings similarly betrayed a genuine respect and affection for the locals and peoples that he interacted with.

In 1918 he married Hilda Bunbury. J.A. had 6 children, Doreen, Sheila, Lesley, Gordon, Dennis and David.

Hunter, an autobiography - front cover

Hunter, an autobiography - back cover

He was also a friend and contemporary of Denys Finch-Hatton, who was portrayed by Robert Redford in the movie "Out of Africa". In his published writings Hunter wrote of his friend and fellow professional hunter, and the tragic circumstances of Hattons' death.

In 1958 he built the Hunters Lodge hotel in Makindu, Kenya where he died in 1963.

He wrote several books, some autobiographical, some fiction based on his life experiences:
• Hunter, an autobiography
• Hunter's Tracks, story of John Hunter's efforts to capture the shady headman of a gang of ivory poachers and smugglers
• White Hunter, specifically about his safaris before World War II
• Tales Of The African Frontier, the early days of East Africa is the subject of this John Hunter book

Based on John Hunter:
• African Hunter, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1954
• African Bush Adventures, Hamish Hamilton, London, 1952
• Killers of Kilimanjaro, made into a movie in 1959

J.A. Hunter (left) and his trackers and clients with a very fine Leopard

J.A. Hunter (right) and his client with an exceptionally fine bull Elephant

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Hunter-Habib said:

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I feel that it’s important. I recently went through both of John Alexander Hunter’s books today- Hunter (1952) & Hunter‘s Tracks (1957).

In many circles, a Charles Boswell boxlock ejector in .500 Nitro Express has recently been floating around… With people claiming that this rifle used to belong to J.A Hunter. For the life of me, I can’t understand how this story ever began to circulate.

The books are in front of me, right now. According to both of his books, Mr. Hunter’s .500 Nitro Express was a Holland & Holland Royal sidelock ejector with 24” barrels. He makes absolutely no mention of any Charles Boswell firearms in any of his books.

As a matter of fact, here’s a comprehensive list of every firearm that Mr. Hunter ever writes about using:

Double Rifles
.500 Nitro Express Holland & Holland Royal Sidelock Ejector
.500 Nitro Express W.J Jeffery Boxlock Ejector
.475 Nitro Express #2 W.J Jeffery Sidelock Ejector

Magazine Rifles
.505 Gibbs George Gibbs Mauser
.416 Rigby John Rigby Mauser
.375 Holland & Holland Magnum Holland & Holland Mauser
.30-06 Springfield Winchester Model 70

Shotguns
James Purdey Side By Side (Unknown caliber)

Whoever is going around claiming that the Charles Boswell .500 Nitro Express used to belong to J.A Hunter, is either:
a) Lying
Or
b) Very confused

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jb1069 said:

Just started reading "Hunter" this weekend and was surprised to see this thread reappear this morning. The book "Shunted" was mentioned in a previous post but through a few quick searches I cannot find a book by this title by J A Hunter. Any help or a link to this book would be appreciated. Thanks

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Jason Miller said:

So, I spent last Thursday at the Forest Road cemetery again, so sad, this place is a dump, filled with broken down graves of the early pioneers and tons of homeless living in the cemetery. I had a police escort with me as they stated it was too dangerous for me to spend the day their alone. These guys were helpful and we went through about 60% of the graves but still I failed to find John Boyes grave. Perhaps its been vandalized to the point it no longer exists. Many of these stones were busted or removed all together, overgrown with weeds and covered with trash. This is an old cemetery (one of the oldest in Nairobi) so the only graves that get attention are the new parts. When the day was drawing near I gave up on my search but left the two police the name of the grave and a promise of a reward if they find it and whatsapp me the location for when I return next month. Part of me would like to raise some funds and go over with a small team and repair these graves and clean the cemetery, Five guys and one week of work would be enough to last another 100 years.


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JD Noblin said:

When I think about it, I am astonished how the direction of a person's life can be completely changed by a chance event. For me, that chance event occurred when my father was in a small-town furniture store and found a display book called.....you guessed it......"Hunter", by John. A. Hunter. He went back home, grabbed a useless book he had and traded the furniture store for "Hunter", which turned out to be a first edition printing.

As a young child I grew up reading and re-reading "Hunter" and many other books containing grand stories of Africa....but it was "Hunter" that started it all for me. I credit that book with leading me to what I do now as well as my love of hunting Africa...it is also the sole reason I hunt with a 500 Nitro Express. Mr. John A. Hunter has definitely had a major impact on my life. I wish I could have met him.

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