Mike LaGrange's rifles

[Hoss Delgado]

Hey , everybody. During a previous thread , l mentioned a problem animal control officer by the name of Mr. Mike LaGrange . I read his book " Ballistics in Perspective " 10 years ago . Does anybody remember what rifles he used during his Elephant Culling ?
I seem to vaguely remember he used a an M1 Garand loaded with .30-06 A Square Monolithic solids , to cull Elephant. He also voiced mixed opinions about the .458 WINCHESTER MAGNUM.
I am hoping someone here either knew him or read his book to know what his battery exactly was.
Kind regards,
Hoss Delgado

 

[Bullthrower338]

Wow, I know the Old M1 culled a lot of enemy soldier and it was excellent for that! Never heard of it for Ele! Quite interesting

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Wow, I know the Old M1 culled a lot of enemy soldier and it was excellent for that! Never heard of it for Ele! Quite interesting

Yeah ! I know Mike has shot more Elephant than WDM Bell . Would love more info on the guy's battery !

 

[sestoppelman]

I just had a look at my copy and find no mention of the Garand in any context. He was a big proponent of the .375, didn't think much of the .458 and was a big fan of the '06 for medium soft skin game. He was a fan of the Hatcher killing power formula and sees a use for just about any round for the proper sized game.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

I just had a look at my copy and find no mention of the Garand in any context. He was a big proponent of the .375, didn't think much of the .458 and was a big fan of the '06 for medium soft skin game. He was a fan of the Hatcher killing power formula and sees a use for just about any round for the proper sized game.

Hey , thank you so much ! So could you lay down the calibres he used and recommended for Elephant ?
I thought he dispatched Elephant with his .30-06 ? And the M1 Garand thing was not true then ?

 

[Bullthrower338]

Dammit, now I got to put my M1 back in the other gun area, I had just moved it next to the 505 Gibbs in the elephant area of the safe! Lol

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Dammit, now I got to put my M1 back in the other gun area, I had just moved it next to the 505 Gibbs in the elephant area of the safe! Lol

Hey , you got a .505 ? Which maker ?

 

[sestoppelman]

He recommends a .300 mag for most soft skin game, or the '06.. The .375 for an all around rifle, especially for the visiting sportsman. He does recommend the .458 Win (with suitable ammo) for large game for the PH or more experienced hunters. And likes a smaller cal for the smaller species, .243 etc.

Without re reading the whole book, I don't see where he used the '06 for ele at all but he may well have, though obviously not on a regular basis or on purpose. On the M1, again, I don't see it in the book, but that's not to say it never happened but it seems doubtful given where he hunted and the other rifles available. Working for the game dept, an M1 or any '06 would probably not be anything like an issue rifle or caliber for elephant control.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

He recommends a .300 mag for most soft skin game, or the '06.. The .375 for an all around rifle, especially for the visiting sportsman. He does recommend the .458 Win (with suitable ammo) for large game for the PH or more experienced hunters. And likes a smaller cal for the smaller species, .243 etc.

Without re reading the whole book, I don't see where he used the '06 for ele at all but he may well have, though obviously not on a regular basis or on purpose. On the M1, again, I don't see it in the book, but that's not to say it never happened but it seems doubtful given where he hunted and the other rifles available. Working for the game dept, an M1 or any '06 would probably not be anything like an issue rifle or caliber for elephant control.

Thank you for your Indepth reply
I take it then , that the .30-06 was used by him for soft skin game , while he used a .458 Win Mag for Elephant and recommended a .375 HH Magnum to clients

 

[sestoppelman]

I should think he used all manner of rifles depending on the game and situation. He seemed to prefer a .300 mag, Winchester in particular but felt the '06 was also suitable. It doesn't really sound like he used anything exclusively or within such specific parameters.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

I should think he used all manner of rifles depending on the game and situation. He seemed to prefer a .300 mag, Winchester in particular but felt the '06 was also suitable. It doesn't really sound like he used anything exclusively or within such specific parameters.

Sestoppelman , l cannot thank you enough for your help l have one last question . For Elephant , he recommends only the .375 and the .458 , yes ?

 

[sestoppelman]

No, not really. He likes all sorts of rounds for large game.
I would suggest you find another copy of this neat book so you can more closely study it and come to your own conclusions. He doesn't really make hard and fast statements or recommendations, but gives more broad suggestions.

 

[Bullthrower338]

Hey , you got a .505 ? Which maker ?

MRC

 

[Pondoro]

Elephant was culled in large numbers in Zimbabwe with 7,62x54R armour piercing ammo due to lack of anything better...it worked..

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Elephant was culled in large numbers in Zimbabwe with 7,62x54R armour piercing ammo due to lack of anything better...it worked..

Dragunovs ! I read Ganyana's article

 

[sestoppelman]

Elephant was culled in large numbers in Zimbabwe with 7,62x54R armour piercing ammo due to lack of anything better...it worked..

What is called "field expedient", certainly not ideal or desired.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

So , l just spoke to someone who was in the same station as Mike LaGrange !
HERE ARE THE SPECIFICS:
1) He never did use an M1 Garand loaded with .30-06 A Square Monolithic solids. It seems to be a rumour somebody on an online thread started .
( Ganyana , AKA Don Heath mentions that his men used to use M1 Garands loaded with A Square Monolithic solids to cull cow and calf Elephants , but that their barrel life was less than 500 rounds . Some body must have confused Mike with Don Heath )
2. He Personally never used a .375 HH Magnum ( much ) for Culls , although he highly recommended it for Visiting sportsmen.
3) On ONE cull , he used an FN loaded with .30-06 Military surplus full metal jacket rounds for Elephant , but didn't like it's penetration.
4) Other than this , he always used a Department Issue .458 Winchester Magnum BSA rifle ( l believe they were pushfeed ) for Elephant and an FN in 7.62 for smaller game .
Well , that was informative

 

[sestoppelman]

Curious as to your apparent intense interest in what LaGrange hunted with.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

Curious as to your apparent intense interest in what LaGrange hunted with.

I have always been an avid reader of hunting books since l was a child
I have a Note book with the batteries of famous hunters compiled in it :
Harry Manners , Harry Selby , Samuel Baker , F C Sealous , WDM Bell , Wally Johnson , Finn Aagaard , Tony Sanchez Arino , Ivan Carter , Mark Sullivan ... You name it . Whenever l read about a hunter , l take the specifics down
Currently the batteries of Mike LaGrange and a Gentleman called David Enderby Blunt intrigue me . I mean... There are worse ways a guy could spend his free time , right ?

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Hoss Delgado
You are right about the magnum .458 Winchester calibre rifle made by Birmingham Small Arms . The one which l saw and had fired did not have a mauser type extracting claw device. It was also rather light for such a big calibre rifle.