Letting some hot air out of Robert Ruark

[steve white]

Perhaps I should have noted that while having read The Old Man and the Boy, Something of Value, and Use Enough Gun.....this is my first time going through Horn of the Hunter.
Still becoming a bit maddening as so far no heart/lung shot has been taken, nor recommended. Virginia shot a beast in the neck, later blew off a jaw on another. Ruark blew a Hyena's head off, presumably at the neck.
Ruark goes for neck shot first on second lion, then another attempt at behind the ear, only to be told by PH to place another behind the ear with the 220 Swift to make sure it didn't get up.
Does this sound normal?

 

[Rafiki]

Well, this will likely sling a skunk into the room, and not saying that Ruark did not exhibit a masterful use of the English language, but what I am suggesting is that he had not earned the right to the use of such language in Horn of the Hunter!
Just keepin' it real, as they say:
Ruark admits that he had never so much as fired a rifle, especially HIS rifles prior to the safari. Abomination!
He has zero grasp of the basics of marksmanship when firing upon his first animals, striking one antelope in the foot! Disrespectful of game.
His choice of a 220 swift is not explained, but he abandons it after seeing dismal results in blowing a ham off a warthog.
He gets talked into immediately going after a lion and "places the shot right behind the ear" a low odds horrible first shot choice, especially given the sloping skull, topped by hair.
He turns down a free leopard! (Should he have been properly prepared to hunt, this alone would constitute a reason to commit him to asylum)
He talks about how incompetent hunters place the PH at risk, while himself embodying said incompetent hunters.
He idol worships his PH as ALL first timers do when they come back as instant experts.
He proceeds to give us all sage advice, written like a thriller, while he is still wet behind the ears, and repeating good advice he's heard/just learned.
He describes armchair bullshit like facing buffalo stampedes by shooting one, then standing on it while the others stream by, really? (does he know just how rare an actual oncoming stampede is--not just the jostling forward to see whats of danger? Or how hard it is to instantly "drop" a buff?)

Entertaining reading, written about others level of experience/expertise which he adopted, as any learner should, but not authoritative. Colorful description of a beautiful land and experience which doubtlessly helped the safari industry then and now by evoking wonder and appreciation.

Still, beginner gushing, all dressed up. Your comments?

Loved the way he could "turn a phrase".

 

[Rafiki]

Maybe that let a little hot air out of my viewpoint. Still, I cannot recommend anyone at any time taking a safari without ever having fired their rifle.

Well that is certainly true ....

 

[matt85]

Judging the past by modern standards will always leave a sour taste in your mouth. What was acceptable to a hunter in the 1890s would be wildly unacceptable today. Most of the famous hunters durring the golden age of African hunting would be despised criminals today.

In the future, people will judge our actions by their standards and likely be unimpressed.

 

[rifletuner]

I enjoyed reading Ruark & Hemmingway. Never warmed to Chapstick. He always seemed a bit pompous. Like when they made the "Sportsmen on Film" series of videos and Chapstick walks in frame wearing a set of football shoulder guards & helmet with face guard and explains thats how he always follows up a wounded leopard.

 

[Jack Stevens]

I enjoyed reading Ruark & Hemmingway. Never warmed to Chapstick. He always seemed a bit pompous. Like when they made the "Sportsmen on Film" series of videos and Chapstick walks in frame wearing a set of football shoulder guards & helmet with face guard and explains thats how he always follows up a wounded leopard.

That’s something you’d never see Francis Macomber do.

 

[Doug3006]

The need to tear down our own heroes is an interesting phenomenon. I can think of no figure of importance that has escaped it. Even Mother Theresa has been the target of the “Yeah, but” crowd. Can we not just enjoy the writings of the most acclaimed outdoor sports writers without all the scrutiny?

 

[C.W. Richter]

I've said the same, prior, many times. His writing style does not sit well with me. I suspect why that is, is that he was given orders to fulfill...just weave a long, luring tale for the big sale. So many other, more skillful hunters wrote much better stuff (in much greater, skillful detail that you could learn from)! I felt the same way reading the other guy's prose, you know-the man tasked with selling the .270 to the masses. It was forced. Coerced, etc. Blatantly obvious. "Here's your commissions (on top of your free trips), guys!"

Well, this will likely sling a skunk into the room, and not saying that Ruark did not exhibit a masterful use of the English language, but what I am suggesting is that he had not earned the right to the use of such language in Horn of the Hunter!
Just keepin' it real, as they say:
Ruark admits that he had never so much as fired a rifle, especially HIS rifles prior to the safari. Abomination!
He has zero grasp of the basics of marksmanship when firing upon his first animals, striking one antelope in the foot! Disrespectful of game.
His choice of a 220 swift is not explained, but he abandons it after seeing dismal results in blowing a ham off a warthog.
He gets talked into immediately going after a lion and "places the shot right behind the ear" a low odds horrible first shot choice, especially given the sloping skull, topped by hair.
He turns down a free leopard! (Should he have been properly prepared to hunt, this alone would constitute a reason to commit him to asylum)
He talks about how incompetent hunters place the PH at risk, while himself embodying said incompetent hunters.
He idol worships his PH as ALL first timers do when they come back as instant experts.
He proceeds to give us all sage advice, written like a thriller, while he is still wet behind the ears, and repeating good advice he's heard/just learned.
He describes armchair bullshit like facing buffalo stampedes by shooting one, then standing on it while the others stream by, really? (does he know just how rare an actual oncoming stampede is--not just the jostling forward to see whats of danger? Or how hard it is to instantly "drop" a buff?)

Entertaining reading, written about others level of experience/expertise which he adopted, as any learner should, but not authoritative. Colorful description of a beautiful land and experience which doubtlessly helped the safari industry then and now by evoking wonder and appreciation.

Still, beginner gushing, all dressed up. Your comment

 

[C.W. Richter]

Ruark wasn't selling the books, the Press was (Doubleday, McMillan, Safari Press, Peterson's et. al.) A works for industry. Not too much different than most magazine writers (which is precisely what Ruark and O'Connor originally did for a buck). Sell the industry! Sell the products!! lol I far prefer no mind control and free will (freedom of choice,) rather than being force fed. Iget it, I just don't subscribe to it. I laugh every time I read or hear someone say "Why, You MUST read Horn....before going to Africa!!" LOL My poor friend laid out $105 decades ago to present me with a copy (as I was resistant.) It put me to sleep. All that said, I did find his B&W videos entertaining (the sights were, and still are-Incredible!) Would anyone like to purchase a like-new copy of his black and white covered prose?? PM me! I'll refund the $$$ to my childhood friend during deer season.

 

[Rafiki]

I really don't understand, it's a frick'n book, enjoy it or not. I much prefer Horn of the Hunter to the [pick your favorite] reloading manual.

 

[C.W. Richter]

To learn much more about African Hunting, read books from seasoned professionals like Robertson and Chuck Adams (not only a skilled hunter but an excellent writer that keeps your attention!!) just to name a couple, plus all the predecessors of Ruark (the Greats-Bell, Lyell, et. al.) And, Hemmingway paved the way for Ruark, but he was a much more seasoned (less mechanical) writer that kept your attention with the stories! I'm surprised Adams didn't do much more, media-wise, but I think he was less interested in commerce and simply more geared toward passing valuable hunting skills unto the generations. Everyone that wants to improve their hunting skills (great for beginners and kids too!) needs to read one of Adams' Bibles on this very subject! The guy that sneaks up on record book bighorn sheep, mountain goats, big bear, deer/elk in the wide open-knows what he's doing, and in doing so and writing about it he's stepped up a lot of "average Nimrods'" games!

 

[Russ16]

To learn much more about African Hunting, read books from seasoned professionals like Robertson and Chuck Adams (not only a skilled hunter but an excellent writer that keeps your attention!!) just to name a couple, plus all the predecessors of Ruark (the Greats-Bell, Lyell, et. al.) And, Hemmingway paved the way for Ruark, but he was a much more seasoned (less mechanical) writer that kept your attention with the stories! I'm surprised Adams didn't do much more, media-wise, but I think he was less interested in commerce and simply more geared toward passing valuable hunting skills unto the generations. Everyone that wants to improve their hunting skills (great for beginners and kids too!) needs to read one of Adams' Bibles on this very subject! The guy that sneaks up on record book bighorn sheep, mountain goats, big bear, deer/elk in the wide open-knows what he's doing, and in doing so and writing about it he's stepped up a lot of "average Nimrods'" games!

I'll agree with that. But I don't read only to learn about African hunting. I read for the entertainment and the way emotions can be captured by a skilled writer.

 

[Rafiki]

To learn much more about African Hunting, read books from seasoned professionals like Robertson and Chuck Adams (not only a skilled hunter but an excellent writer that keeps your attention!!) just to name a couple, plus all the predecessors of Ruark (the Greats-Bell, Lyell, et. al.) And, Hemmingway paved the way for Ruark, but he was a much more seasoned (less mechanical) writer that kept your attention with the stories! I'm surprised Adams didn't do much more, media-wise, but I think he was less interested in commerce and simply more geared toward passing valuable hunting skills unto the generations. Everyone that wants to improve their hunting skills (great for beginners and kids too!) needs to read one of Adams' Bibles on this very subject! The guy that sneaks up on record book bighorn sheep, mountain goats, big bear, deer/elk in the wide open-knows what he's doing, and in doing so and writing about it he's stepped up a lot of "average Nimrods'" games!

I took like to read the older first accounts, Bell and Roosevelt for instance, but I never completely get through them because the ones I've read seem to degenerate into the "killing fields"; something like l killed 5 over there, then killed 14 over here, ran down an antelope on a horse and finally killed that sucker. I just find it distasteful and boring. That's not what I found in "The Horn ...". Into Africa is a fantastic first person account; lMO.

 

[dogcat1]

He is a heck of a lot better than Boddington and many others that call themselves writers.
First, he was not selling anything, no products, no used clothes or bullets. He was selling the story in book form.
Second, virtually none of us will remotely experience what he experienced. At least he told what appears to be the truth.
Third, unlike Peter Capstick, he did not claim to be a PH or a hunter extraordinaire. He did not add stories that were not his.
Fourth - totally different era. Read Teddy Roosevelt's diary/book on his 14 month hunt. He and his son took over 500 animals. All shot with open sights and many more wounded. Roosevelt was an outdoorsman of some reknown but not an African hunter, yet he wrote eloquently about it.
My favorite is Gene Hill on his trips to Africa - you can "feel" him, the same as Ruark. I don't get that from Hemingway and others.

If you don't like Ruark's writing, I get it. I don't like Hemingway or Steinbeck.

His skills are were less than you would expect, but I have seen far worse on deer hunts that I hosted for customers....

 

[Hunt anything]

@dogcat1 , to your third point. According to Geoff Broom in his autobiography I think, he stated that Capstick did work for him in Matetsi.

I don’t know if he was a game ranger as claimed or not but I’ve always read more for entertainment and to learn a bit.
Capstick did often times tell stories of others but usually gave credit to them. Sometimes not identifying them by name due to privacy reasons. This is not to say he took credit for some stuff he shouldnt have or not. He probably did in my opinion.

 

[dogcat1]

Hunt anything - you are right as I had forgotten. Capstick was a fun writer. I have read all of his books and enjoy them. On Ruark, I read most of his books but found the last couple very dark and forebodiing. I never liked Hemingway but think that Ruark tried to be Hemingway and failed.

 

[Hunt anything]

@dogcat1 , I’m glad Ruark failed at being a second Hemingway, I much prefer Ruark.

 

[Russ16]

Hunt anything - you are right as I had forgotten. Capstick was a fun writer. I have read all of his books and enjoy them. On Ruark, I read most of his books but found the last couple very dark and forebodiing. I never liked Hemingway but think that Ruark tried to be Hemingway and failed.

I actually love Hemmingway but think his best writing is not his hunting related books.

 

[Hunt anything]

I actually love Hemmingway but think his best writing is not his hunting related books.

I like Hemingways short stories a lot.

 

[PerH]

If you read through the lines one get more understanding about what he saw or went with . All the tough work days and war in the convoy escorte .

Sad but about the smoke and booze which took so many good people in his profession .

Sadly no meeting between him and Truman Capote is recorded , that would been a good one . ( as Ann Woodward would understood what he meant with the tiger shoot in India )