The World Of Hunting : Then And Now

I second that the Rhino monolitics are good....I have shot a couple of elephants with a bolt rifle in .375H&H with 300 grainers...very good penetration..

A friend tried the frontal brain shot on elephant with same caliber/bullet, missed the brain (low..), but the bullet kept on and hit the spine...thus anchoring the animal.. (!)

Will try Barnes banded 500 grainers in my .470NE..
 
I suppose the "beat" is alive and well in the European "driven hunt" where you have a number of hunters at assigned positions, and people and/or dogs driving the animals towards them. I think it is mainly done for various species of deer and wild boar.

A drive is one of the usual methods for hunting Moose in my corner of Europe. Typically, the "drivers" are spaced at least 50 meters apart. The hunt manager needs to set it up carefully to ensure the "drivers" do not end up in the line of fire.

You mean the cartridge 375 H&H Magnum with this very light bullet ?

The point is to get an increased velocity out of a big classic cartridge. You can argue about the meaning , or you really have only one rifle and it has to serve for the chamois in the mountains at 300m as well as for the elephant in the bush at 30m. The cartridge does not seem to me so ideal for the drive hunting.

https://www.sax-munition.de/sax-_-kjg-munition_2015/53-_-sax-.375-h_h-kjg-sr-patronen.html
 
You mean the cartridge 375 H&H Magnum with this very light bullet ?

The point is to get an increased velocity out of a big classic cartridge. You can argue about the meaning , or you really have only one rifle and it has to serve for the chamois in the mountains at 300m as well as for the elephant in the bush at 30m. The cartridge does not seem to me so ideal for the drive hunting.

https://www.sax-munition.de/sax-_-kjg-munition_2015/53-_-sax-.375-h_h-kjg-sr-patronen.html

My only rifle besides a 22lr is a Zastava 375 H&H. This light bullet I am using for hunting roe deer. But I would think it would be An excellent PG cartridge and for every big game species in Europe. With An exception maybe for wisent. What do you think?
 
My only rifle besides a 22lr is a Zastava 375 H&H. This light bullet I am using for hunting roe deer. But I would think it would be An excellent PG cartridge and for every big game species in Europe. With An exception maybe for wisent. What do you think?

For our light western european game , like roe-deers or small wild boars , sure it is a good cartridge. I don't know when it comes to heavier game species like red-deers , big wild boars or heavy PG in Africa. The bullet seems to be soft and the risk of a leak of penetration seems to me great. Wisent is excluded , that is a buffalo that you have to shot with the appropriate cartridges. Unfortunately , I cannot say more , I have no experience with such light bullets of big calibers.
 
Rifles

In the last 50 years since l retired from being a professional shikaree , the rifles used for shikar have changed so much and yet so little...
During my time , metal fatigue on the magazine follower springs of bolt rifles was a very real problem and users of double barreled rifles could actually get away with saying that “ double barreled rifles are inherently more reliable than bolt rifles . “ I have seen quite a few bolt rifles in my career , which failed to extract the expended cartridge case . I have also seen quite a few bolt rifles which had their magazine floor plates pop open after a shot was fired , dumping out all of the remaining cartridges on the ground .
I lived in an era when PFP ( push feed phobia ) was very much prevalent , yet all of the big fire arms manufacturers were shifting their focus from control round feed rifles to push feed rifles . Winchester had altered the design of their Model 70 from control round feed into push feed in 1964 . The Remington Model 700 had just hit the market and it was a push feed . In around 1969 or 1970 , FN Mauser rifles or Browning High Power bolt rifles stopped being manufactured with a bolt guide and the .375 Holland & Holland magnum and .458 Winchester magnum calibre variants became push feed rifles . The .458 Winchester magnum calibre bolt rifles manufactured by Birmingham Small Arms in the 1950s were control round feed . However , in the 1960s these became push feed rifles .
If you wanted a control round feed large calibre rifle back in the 1960s choices were fairly limited. Your best bet ( and my personal favorite) was if you could get a Winchester Model 70 made prior to 1964. Indeed , my personal favorite bolt rifle of all time would have to be a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum.
As much as l loved these fine items , perfect they were not . The stocks of the pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifles were highly susceptible to cracking and indeed in my career , l have seen many pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifles which had horribly split stocks held together by bolts and adhesive . A gentleman with fore sight who owned a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 would always have the stock of the rifle reinforced with cross bolts before taking it out into the field . The next thing to do was to have the stock re bedded with a suitable compound . The best compound for this work would be fiber glass. I recall an American client who came to Nagpur for an Asian Sloth Bear shikar in 1962 with a new .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle . The rifle's stock unfortunately cracked during the shikar itself . My late shikar partner , the innovative Tobin Stakkatz took the rifle to a local auto shop named " Golden Gear " in Nagpur where he had the stock re bedded with fiber glass which he purchased from the auto shop. Another issue with the pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifles was that some work needed to be done to the feeding ramp , in order to ensure flawless feeding with soft point cartridges such as old stock ICI Kynoch .375 Holland & Holland magnum 300 grain soft point cartridges. Once these few minor modifications were implemented , there could not be a more flawless and smooth functioning rifle than a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 . They were robust , reliable and damned accurate ( even with iron sights. ) Never could a finer piece of old school American craftsmanship ever exist.

Then , you could try getting your hands on 1 of those early FN Mauser bolt rifles chambered in .375 Holland & Holland magnum or .458 Winchester magnum. A word of warning is mandatory here , in regards to the early FN Mauser or Browning High Power bolt rifles . In the larger calibres , like .458 Winchester magnum the magazine floor plate of these FN Mauser / Browning High Power bolt rifles had a tendency to pop open some times after a shot was fired , dumping the remaining cartridges on the ground . Both Kawshik and l were unfortunate enough to have at least 1 of our clients experience this phenomenon at the most unfortunate of times ( In Kawshik’s case , it was a gaur . In my case , it was a royal Bengal tiger. ). What these rifles really needed was a heavier coil spring or at the very least some more overlap in the catch.

Your other option was to get a rifle custom made on a control round feed action. During the 1960s several gun smiths turned out custom made rifles built on military surplus Mauser 98 actions . A considerable number of these rifles were prone to suffering miserable failures , especially those chambered in large calibres such as .375 Holland & Holland magnum and .458 Winchester magnum . Feeding problems were common occurrences , as were extraction problems. Metal fatigue was a very real problem during our time and the magazine follower springs of these military surplus Mauser 98 actions were prone to breaking , sometimes at the most inconvenient of scenarios . In my mind , this is hardly surprising. Think about it this way . The military surplus Mauser 98 actions were originally designed for 7 ×57 mm Mauser and 8 × 57 mm Mauser cartridges. You cannot merely take a military surplus Mauser action originally designed for 7×57 mm Mauser cartridges and re barrel it to .458 Winchester magnum , expecting it to work. Extensive work needs to be done to the feed rails , bolt face and stock dimensions ( in order to account for the increased recoil of the larger calibre cartridges . )

Yet another popular military surplus action on which custom bolt rifles were made during our time , was the Springfield Model 1903 action . Originally chambered in the venerable .30-06 Springfield cartridge ( the former service cartridge of the American Army . ) , these rifle actions were an extremely popular platform to build custom rifles on , especially by American gun smiths. My good friend , Tobin Stakkatz , upon returning to Wisconsin ( America ) in 1972 actually had a gun smith build him a custom .458 Winchester magnum calibre rifle on a Springfield Model 1903 military surplus action and he was extremely happy with the rifle , using it even for the largest of Kodiak bears .
Here is Tobin in 1976 after a successful shikar of an American Black Bear , with his .458 Winchester magnum calibre custom made Springfield Model 1903 action bolt rifle . I had gone to America to spend the holidays with Tobin and his family and l had taken this photograph. Even a missing kidney could not slow down Tobin Stakkatz 1 bit.
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Another popular military action was the Pattern 14 Enfield action . Originally designed for the former British service .303 cartridge , it used to be an extremely popular platform for American gun smiths to build custom rifles on . After the pre 64 Winchester Model 70 action , my favorite action would have to be the pattern 14 rifle action .

Yet another popular military action to build custom rifles on, was the Enfield Model 1917 . Originally chambered in .30-06 Springfield, it was realized soon by innovative American gun smiths that the Enfield 1917 action was a magnum length action , requiring minimal internal alteration to accept large cartridges such as the .375 Holland & Holland magnum cartridge. The Enfield 1917 action was economical , rugged and reliable . However , a great deal of external modification and magazine work was needed in order to build a functional dangerous game rifle on the Enfield 1917 action.

Perhaps the creme de la creme of rifle actions back in our time was the Brevex magnum Mauser action , designed by that innovative European gentleman , M . Polonsky . These actions were even bulkier than the rare ( for our time ) pre war magnum Mauser actions and they were strong . Very strong . However , they were as rare as hen’s teeth even in our time and if any of you gentlemen ever come across 1 for sale , do not let it escape under any circumstances . You will regret it if you do. It was a .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre Brevex magnum Mauser action custom bolt rifle belonging to a Middle Eastern client , which made my good friend and fellow forum member, Sergeant Kawshik Rahman fall in love with the Brevex magnum Mauser action so much . Here is Kawshik's Middle Eastern client with the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre Brevex magnum Mauser action custom bolt rifle , next to the .348 Winchester calibre Model 71 lever rifle.
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Up to around 1966 , the wooden stocks of many American custom rifles were quite prone to splitting or developing cracks . This was because the woods used for these stocks were invariably open grained American walnut wood stocks ( such as Claro ) which were unwise choices for heavy recoiling rifles. After 1966 , however French Walnut wood stocks and mesquite stocks appeared on the scene which were far more resistant to splitting. The single recoil lug on the receiver was abandoned in favor of the dual recoil lugs , 1 attached to the barrel and set into the fore end , with both often epoxy bedded. This largely put an end to the problems of wooden stocks splitting.


Today , however the choices are endless ! I had conducted a survey on another thread on these forums 3 days back about the favorite rifle actions of each forum member and their responses were most diverse . Here are my findings .
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Excuse my foul writing . Here is a breakdown down for convenience of all my dear readers. In order to simplify things , l chose to keep the tally limited to bolt rifles .

Out of all of my dear forum members who had responded to the survey ,
19 opted for the Mauser 98 action.
17 opted for the Winchester Model 70 action.
8 opted for the BRNO ZKK 600 series rifle actions.
5 opted for the Blaser R 8 action.
4 opted for the CZ Model 550 Safari magnum action.
4 opted for the Ruger Model 77 action.
3 opted for the FN Mauser action.
3 opted for the Enfield 1917 action.
3 opted for the Springfield Model 1903 action.
3 opted for the Remington Model 700 action .
2 opted for the Sako action.
2 opted for the Weatherby action.
2 opted for the Kimber action .
2 opted for the Savage Model 110 action.
2 opted for custom rifle actions.
1 opted for the Brevex magnum Mauser action ( I think that we all know who that person is . )
1 opted for the Montana Rifle Company action
1 opted for the Mannlicher Model 1903 action
1 opted for the Zastava Serbian Mauser action.


It comes as no surprise to me that the age old Mauser 98 action still reigns as the champion of all rifle actions. I feel incredibly relieved that my personal favorite the Winchester Model 70 ranked as the 2nd most popular choice . I suppose that l am not an out dated fossil after all , since my own choice has held it’s own admirably amongst so many more modern actions. The BRNO ZKK 600 series came as a 3rd most popular choice . I am not surprised . I have had the opportunity to handle and fire a beautiful pre ‘75 BRNO ZKK 600 bolt rifle , chambered in the classic 7x 57 mm Mauser cartridge , which belongs to my good friend , Kawshik. It is 1 of the most beautiful , accurate and reliable rifles which l have ever seen . Here is Kawshik's prized new possession.
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The Blaser R 8 ranked as a 5th most popular choice , which surprised me a little , because from what l gather based on my readings on the internet , the Blaser R 8 is a push feed configuration rifle . I am an old school shikari and l typically do not associate the push feed configuration rifle with dangerous game rifles , because l like the Mauser style extractor as an added insurance for extracting expended cartridge cases . However , if I hope to be be a continuing contributing member to the international hunting community , then l must be willing to adapt to change and l must approach the subject with an open mind. If the modern sports man is confident of the use of push feed rifles for dangerous game , then there must have a solid reasoning behind it. While l have seen 3 post 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifles have extraction issues , during my career as a professional shikaree , l must also understand that the push feed rifles of today , are undoubtedly better constructed than the push feed rifles of my time. While many modern sports men favor the control round feed rifle more , just like l do , it would appear to me that in the 21st century , push feed phobia is largely gone. And l cannot tell a lie. While l personally am not a fan of push feed rifles for dangerous game ... hundreds , if not thousands of dangerous game have been slain over the years with push feed rifles . And they will probably continue to do so until the end of time .
Here is 1 of Kawshik's clients , who used a single shot from his 7 mm Remington magnum calibre Remington Model 700 push feed bolt rifle to slay a forest panther . He used 175 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point cartridges .
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I made another interesting observation. While there is a greater availability of control round feed actions on the market today ,than there were during my time

The survey was actually extremely enlightening to me , because it got be introduced to a new make of rifle , known as the Dakota Model 76 bolt rifle . When 1 of my dear readers made a passing mention of this rifle , l was most intrigued by it and l immediately did an internet research. I immediately fell in love with the Dakota Model 76 bolt rifle and l hope to learn more about this fascinating rifle from my fellow forum members. I apologize for the delay in writing this section . It took me a full day to check and re check the survey , before l got down to writing this part.

Coming up next... “ Costs “ .
 
Costs

It goes without saying that inflation means that the costs of everything has risen over the years . Here is a scanned copy of 1 of the original brochure cards of Allwyn Cooper Limited , advertising all the species of game , which we had available for shikar until 1972.
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Our classic Allwyn Cooper Limited " Fur & Feather " package deal cost $ 5000 American Dollars . This package allowed a foreign client shikaree the opportunity to hunt 2 dozen water fowl / land fowl and a royal Bengal tiger . For the royal Bengal tiger , the client had the option to order a beat to be organized or the option to bait the royal Bengal tiger .
We had a budget " Fur & Feather " package deal which cost $4800 American Dollars . This was identical to our classic " Fur & Feather " package deal , except that the option to order a beat for the royal Bengal tiger was not available .
Our " Fur & Feather " package deal also allowed room for customizations. You could replace the royal Bengal tiger with a forest panther , a gaur , a water buffalo , an Asian Sloth Bear or a wild bush boar and the price would go down accordingly . If dangerous game was not your fancy , then you could always opt for a nice sambhur , cheetal , Muntjac, hog or swamp deer , Nilgai , black buck , 4 horned buck or Chinkara .

Our other package was the " Fur & Fangs " package deal which which essentially omitted the option for shooting birds and replaced the birds with another mammal. An example of our classic " Fur & Fangs " package would have allowed a foreign client shikaree with the option to hunt a sambhur deer and a forest panther .
Here is a client of Kawshik's named Don Fernando Delgado ( Manuel Delgado's father ) who booked a " Fur & Fang " package deal with Kawshik's outfitters , Sundar Raj Shikar Limited . The Don had booked a shikar for a sambhur deer and a large forest panther . I understand that his grand son is a member of these forums.
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A classic " Fur & Fang " package deal at Allwyn Cooper Limited would cost $6500 American Dollars ( All Inclusive ) .
Kawshik's outfitters , Sundar Raj Shikar Limited offered the same package at a more economical price of $ 5700 American Dollars ( All Inclusive ) .

Our most expensive package deal at Allwyn Cooper Limited was the " Trophy Room Special " package. This allowed a foreign client shikaree to shoot 1 of every species available for shikar in India . Such a package deal would cost $25,000 American Dollars ( All Inclusive ) . A " Trophy Room " package deal allowed a client shikaree to shoot :
1 royal Bengal tiger
1 forest panther
1 Asian Sloth Bear
1 gaur
1 water buffalo
1 bush boar
1 Ganges river crocodile
1 sambhur deer
1 cheetal deer
1 hog deer
1 barking deer
1 4 horned buck
1 Chinkara
1 swamp deer
1 Neelgai
1 black buck
2 mouse deer
1 dozen hares
1 dozen water fowl ( assorted)
1 dozen jungle fowl ( assorted )

Needless to say , it was the very rare client who opted for such an extravagant package deal. During the 10 years that l worked as a professional shikaree in Allwyn Cooper Limited , l only ever guided 3 clients who opted for the " Trophy Room Special " package deal , including Mr Tom Bolack . Infact , since Allwyn Cooper Limited's establishment in 1954 all the way until 1972 , only 14 clients in total ever opted for the "Trophy Room Special " package deal .
Here is Mr. Bolack in 1963 , when he received Allwyn Cooper Limited's " Tiger of the year " award. What is flat out terrifying about Mr. Tom Bolack's shooting skills is that he managed to secure EVERY game in his " Trophy Room Special " package deal , by using nothing , but a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle , chambered in .270 Winchester and a 28 calibre side by side double barreled shot gun , made by the English company , W W Greener . Kawshik took this photograph.
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Indeed , the bulk of my clients were elitists and white collar gentlemen , usually above 40 years old .



Now , as my learned fellow forum member , @Ridgewalker states ... $ 5000 American Dollars in 1963 was a great deal of money ( l am not even going to begin talking about $ 25,000 American Dollars ) . Today , fortunately more cost effective package deals exist for the modern sports man travelling to Africa . This can only be a good thing , because ( while still quite costly ) an African safari is nowadays no longer a distant dream for the average man who works hard and saves appropriate funds for his dream safari . I understand that plains game Safaris are more economical than dangerous game Safaris . All in all , l think that the costs of African Safaris in modern times are more favorable for the average man , than the Indian shikar of yesteryear .

Coming up next... " Resources "
 
Great story major!
I thoroughly enjoy your writing and systematic approach!

Moreover,

African safari is nowadays no longer a distant dream for the average man who works hard and saves appropriate funds for his dream safari . I understand that plains game Safaris are more economical than dangerous game Safaris .

I can add to this: there is also a bird shooting, cull & management hunt options which make modern African safaris more affordable.
 
A bit more about costs in that era. In the early 1970s in Fort Worth, Texas, a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath, single car garage home was $12,000. I only made $15,000 a year as a young tool design engineer with a master’s degree.
 
Resources

It goes without saying that a much greater amount of resources are available to the modern sports man in the 21st century than the sports man of the 1960s . When l used to be a professional shikaree in Nagpur , India from 1961 to 1970 , resources were fairly limited .

Back in those days , a victim attacked by a panther had a significant risk of dying from infection to his wounds , because medical facilities were usually pretty far away. Most towns and in India in the 1960s would only have 1 or 2 Doctors residing in them . All of us professional shikarees used to keep a 1st aid kit in our satchels at all times to deliver 1st aid to anyone in our shikar party , should the need arise.
During my career as a professional shikaree , l have seen and partaken in many emergency medical practices which would seem downright terrifying today.

I was present in 1970 in the Syedabaad tea gardens , when Captain Newaz’s elderly Garo tribal servant , Wani lost a hand trying to protect Newaz from a man eating royal Bengal tiger . The poor , but brave fellow had his hand dangling by a single tendon by the time that royal Bengal tiger was shot off him. We had to amputate the mutilated hand with a ram dao ( a large Indian locally made butcher knife made from the spring steel from vehicular leaf springs and sharpened to a 0 edge .)
Then a crude tourniquet made from a gamchaa ( a local Indian Bandana worn by villagers ) was tied tightly just above the severed stump while copious amounts of ethanol were poured over the heavily bleeding wound. A ram dao’s blade was heated red hot over a quickly lit fire and used to cauterize the stump . The pain of the entire ordeal was naturally so extreme that the poor man had to be held down forcibly while this procedure took place. During the cauterization , he passed out into unconsciousness.
Here is the beastly royal Bengal tiger which took away Wani's hand .
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A coolie in our shikar party was once bitten in the foot by an Indian cobra snake ( a massive problem in India and Bangladesh , even in modern times . ) My late shikar partner , Tobin Stakkatz immediately tied a piece of twine around the foot quickly , right above the snake bite in order to prevent the venom from circulating into the poor coolie’s blood stream . Then , he used his 440 C stainless steel Buck Model 110 lock back folding knife to cut 2 incisions into the wound , before ordering another cookie to suck the venom out of the wound . I took a vial of potash out from from my pocket and rubbed the potash crystals into the wound . Tobin then used his folding knife to break open 1 of his .423 Mauser solid metal covered cartridges and dumped the propellant powder into the coolie’s wound . He lit his zippo cigarette lighter and ignited the gun powder . The pain which the cookie suffered was immense and his screams were blood curling . However , he survived the ordeal.


When we used to guide clients for shikar in many of those far off regions of South India , finding a good taxidermist was some times a chore in an of itself . Therefore , all of the professional shikarees working in Allwyn Cooper Limited were taught by our lead shikaree , Mr. Rao Naidu how to carry out basic taxidermy .
Allow me to teach you all some rudimentary taxidermy , in case it is of interest to anyone .
With a pair of scissors, a sharp ( preferably carbon steel ) knife, pliers, salt or alum with ash, one can dabble in some amateur skinning. To those who are interested from an academic perspective, this is how it is done : The first and foremost thing is to measure the animal, as quite often after it has been skinned and stretched, the resulting specimen is often larger than the original, and some shikarees actually prefer it this way . 1stly , with charcoal, spots on the animal must be marked out, after turning it on its back. Starting from the lower lip, all the way to the tail, the next cuts are from the inside of the fore and hind legs, through its pads. Now the skin can be taken off, although around the head, extreme care must be taken. It’s not for the squeamish and many a time I have had friends who vommitted, seeing such a sight .
Carnivora take a longer time to decompose but also give off an offensive odour and hence it is always better to have your nose and mouth covered with a handkerchief. The skin is cleaned to remove blood and then stretched out, with pegs if one has carried them, over a carpet of dried grass, and liberally mixed with ash. There should be extra support under the head and the ears must be turned inside out. It is then treated with an equal amount of salt and ash, to get the moisture out. This has to be repeated multiple times for the next 48 hours, after which it is ready to be mounted by your taxidermist. This is, of course, how my Nana taught me, and he was always passionate for this sort of thing. In south India, there is always moisture in the air, hence parts of the skin, which do not feel the effects of the preservative at the time, will simply decompose taking the hair along with it, leaving unsightly bald patches on the skin. In places where the skin is thick, it must be thinned down with a sharp knife so that the curing agent reaches the roots of the hair and hardens the whole skin.
Here is a panther skin which was field treated in the 1960s by the employees of Kawshik's outfitters , Sundar Raj Shikar Limited.
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Today , all these things sound extremely bizarre due the the increased availability of many life saving resources . The thought of amputating a mutilated limb today is a thing of the past . Doctors these days can even re attach severed limbs , according to some documentaries which l have seen on television. Modern medicine and it’s marvels have , by the grace of God / Allah successfully reduced the number of fatalities which occur during ill fated accidents while hunting dangerous game . Access to nearby high quality medical facilities have greatly helped in ensuring the rates of survivability in worst case scenarios where grisly accidents occur .Here is a local Bangladeshi hunter and a friend of Captain Newaz’s , who survived having a wounded man eating forest panther pounce on him in 2017 near the Sundarban forests . He made a complete recovery in 2 weeks. To be fair , the panther was only able to get on top of this poor man for 5 seconds , before the good captain shot the brute to death with his .338 Winchester magnum calibre FN Mauser action custom bolt rifle and a 250 grain Remington Core Lokt soft point bullet .
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Today , the chances of anyone other than a professional taxidermist carrying out taxidermy is rather uncommon . With so many good taxidermists present to cater to the needs of the modern sports man , it is unusual for the White Hunter in Africa to have to resort to field treating freshly removed trophy skins .

Coming up next and last " General Remarks "
 
General Remarks

Many smaller things have changed over the years .

During our time , hand loading cartridges was a relatively new innovation practiced almost exclusively by our American clients . Our non American clients ( especially English clients ) tended to look down upon hand loading as some thing carried out only by " Cheap Americans trying to save a few pennies . ". Today , fortunately hand loading is recognized for all of it's virtues by modern sports men world wide. I do believe that this changing attitude was , in part caused by the 7 × 57 mm Mauser cartridges loaded by American companies into the 1980s. American companies , such as Winchester and Federal tended to load the 7 × 57 mm Mauser cartridges to lower velocities than it's true potential out of fear for destroying the old ( often pre World War 2 ) military surplus Mauser 98 actions still in circulation among sports men at the time ( Tobin once told me that in America you could even mail order military surplus Mauser 98 rifles for a very decent price during the 1960s . ) .


Kawshik has also kindly informed me that hand loaders in modern times have successfully found various methods to increase the velocities of .458 Winchester magnum cartridges to make it a slightly more acceptable calibre for dangerous game . I trust Kawshik's information wholeheartedly . However , l hope that he is correct .

During our time , some English clients were often condescending towards American clients and they did not tend to get along well with each other ( generally speaking ) , even though all our clients were always perfect gentlemen who treated me with utmost respect . I believe that this is largely due to the differences in ideology between the English man and the American man in regards to hunting .
In the 1960s , the average English client always believed that hunting was a sport reserved only for men of means and not men of modest back grounds or " new money " as they called most Americans .
The average American client , however believed that hunting was a God given right for every common man.


Today , l strongly believe that these philosophies have contributed to shaping the general perception of hunting in America and Great Britain. In America , the world of hunting remains just as strong and as prevalent as ever . Despite attacks from the vegan sons of bitches and anti hunting swines on social media , the noble sport of hunting is protected and prevalent in America . This is because it is recognized as the right of the common man .

In Great Britain , however ( if you can call it " Great " anymore , that is . ) what few hunters remain are always constantly under attack by the rancid number of politically correct pathetic vegans who have sadly come to represent the country. Labour party constantly paints hunting as an " elitist and cruel sport " carried out by selfish aristocrats and media makes hunters look like serial killers born into wealthy families . Even something as basic as driven grouse shooting is under attack in the once great nation . All because of the way that vegan and anti hunting propaganda have been allowed to spread through the country like a viral disease.

Well , that concludes another article. I will now reply to all the comments made by my dear readers .
Now , it is time for me to ask all of the questions :
What happened to Trophy Bonded Bear Claw soft point bullets and Trophy Bonded Sledge Hammer solid bullets ? Have any of you fine gentlemen ever seen them in use ? Where are they now ?

Has anyone here ever used a Dakota Model 76 bolt rifle ? If so , did you like yours and what did you hunt with it ? I got introduced to the design of this most intriguing rifle merely 4 days ago .

Finally , is the .375 Holland & Holland magnum calibre also the minimum legally permissible calibre for hunting African lions ? Because l certainly think that the .338 Winchester magnum calibre could do the trick nicely on African lions with good shot placement and a premium expanding bullet , like a 300 grain Woodleigh soft point .

I hope that this article has proven enjoyable . I will be off for the next 2 days to the Bangladesh Export Fair 2020 to pay old Kawshik a visit , purchase some new button down collar dress shirts and try some of the snacks at the Export Fair food stalls . Our tea planter friend is having the busiest time of his year , show casing his excellent products and enjoying the Export Fair. It is not fair that he should have all the fun .
I will write my next article on these forums 3 days later. I offer you all a choice of 1 of 3 articles which l can write next :
1) The art of culling the Indian boar
or
2) The client's royal Bengal tiger which almost got away .
or
3) The 1st & last time l ever followed a crocodile into the water .

Until the next time , dear readers.
 
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I think that commercial hunting has a lot to do with modern ethics.

First, if a hunter pays for hunt (sometimes top dollar), and usually same full fee is paid for wounded and lost game, certainly every effort will be taken to collect the animal.

Secondly, in modern times of online mass media, and antihunting NGO waiting for a chance to act, PR is another reason.
No sane hunting organisation will allow wounding of animals to be supported, or ignored, and this will be implemented in each hunting organisation code of ethics.

Following all this, then we have modern rules for minimum calibers, developed an implemented hunting methods, to avoid wounding, etc.

Once, when behind wounding and loosing animal, there is no any kind of consequence, financial or social responsibility, things can degrade fast.
Illegal poaching, is extreme example, but there are many shades in between. Like hunting for food, in rural areas where proper fire arms are not available, or too expensive, or hunting is banned for some reason, etc.
That is an extremely sound explanation , Mark Hunter . What ever the reason may be , l am relieved that modern sports men give such priority to recovering wounded game.
 
The main reason why i am follow a wounded animal is neither financially nor politically but has to do with the fact that it is a living being , a creature whose agony I have to end as soon as possible. Nowadays , that should be THE reason why something is done. So far on the subject of ethics !

In Africa it is self-evident as it seems. Unfortunately, it is not yet the case all over the world ...and by trophy hunting. I am afraid that there is a black list and that some hunters worldwide have not told the truth. A delicate topic , I don't want to say more.
You are an extremely ethical gentleman , Kurpfalzjager. If only l had more clients who used to think like you in the old days .
 
Enjoying the article so far.

On hunting at night.
While not hunted boar (yet) , it is legal to hunt them at night. Although not in every province. Only have hunted a hog while at holiday in Florida.
Thank you so much for educating me , Die Jager. Hunting at night is a different sort of enjoyable experience . I often hunt foxes at night , even now.
 
Thank you Major Kahn. I really enjoy the format of trying to complete a comprehensive overview of your subject. You are succeeding admirably! As a relatively new rifle hunter, growing up in a primarily shotgun only area, I am benefitting from the teaching going on in your writing. Thanks. Your friend, Brian
I am immensely grateful for having such an enthusiastic and appreciative friend in you , Brian . Like you , l predominantly hunt with my old Belgian shot gun . However , l am an old creature of habit. I am glad that you have made the transaction to a proper centre fire rifle .
 
Poton, I'm hanging on to every word. So far you have outlined my experiences exactly and or confirmed what other PH(s) like IvW have been saying. Even though I've never shot Dangerous Game I'm aware that the transition from soft points to solids for follow up shots was at one time the thing to do. But thanks to modern bullet selection and technology it is no longer preferred or necessary.
I am glad that you are being such an enthusiastic reader , Shootist43. I have completed the article and l do hope that you will enjoy the rest. It is a God send I modern times , that the modern sports man only needs to load his rifle magazine with 1 kind of ammunition. Loading soft nose bullets and solid metal covered bullets in the same rifle magazine can lead to grave consequences if the cartridges are loaded I the wrong order.
 

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Black wildebeest hunted this week!
Cwoody wrote on Woodcarver's profile.
Shot me email if Beretta 28 ga DU is available
Thank you
Pancho wrote on Safari Dave's profile.
Enjoyed reading your post again. Believe this is the 3rd time. I am scheduled to hunt w/ Legadema in Sep. Really looking forward to it.
check out our Buff hunt deal!
Because of some clients having to move their dates I have 2 prime time slots open if anyone is interested to do a hunt
5-15 May
or 5-15 June is open!
shoot me a message for a good deal!
 
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