Ruark on African Rifles

[Guy Miner]

"Horn of the Hunter" is Ruark's tale of his first Safari, and the one I've read most often. On that trip he takes four rifles: .220 Swift, Remington in .30-06, Winchester in .375 H&H, .470 double. Quickly decides that the .220 Swift is useless, and proceeds to do most of his hunting with the .30-06 & .375 rifles, as one might expect.

Later, he made many return trips to Africa, on long safaris. I'm reading "Far-Out Safari" now and was struck by his comments & rifle recommendations - this is after he was a veteran hunter. A few quotes, some of which may surprise, and some which may delight!

On a large kudu: "I broke that neck with a tiny 100 grain bullet from a pipsqueak gun, a Holland & Holland tailor-made .244, which isn't much bigger than a hopped up .22.

This rifle, I must say, has changed my entire concept of weaponry. The Kenya boys tend heavily to brutish double rifles and solid bullets. There is atually nothing that can't be killed with a Winchester .375 - and very little that can't be put down permanently with my .244. That's to say, I have killed a forty one inch sable with it, and the record here is fourty four inches. The sable was shot at a good 300 yards, and last year I stoned an enormous kudu at about 400 yards with a bullet no bigger than a sharpened point of a pencil. A waterbuck is as big as a mule I must have killed a score over the last few years with this kickless marvel of machinery. Nyala - here go the braggies again - half a dozen, and the last was 29 inches, almost the local record.

I've shot a bull buffalo, wighing something just under a ton, with my mild marvel. You have to hold tight, but a hit between the eyes or behind the ear, or even behind the shoulder, will induce him to wind that last sad bellow..."

Wow - great praise for the .244 H&H! This was written back in the 1960's.

More in a bit.

Guy

 

[Guy Miner]

"The old time white hunter wouldn'g go up against a buffalo with anything much less than a .470 double, which throws a bullet as big as a cucumber and kicks like home cultured gin."

I love his writing!

Guy

 

[Guy Miner]

"Except for elephant, and possibly rhino, the solid bullet is really part of the buggy-whip age. Winchester's Silvertip, which I think is the best bullet ever mass produced, is deadly in the .30-06 and murderous in the .375. You can hear a solid bullet whistle as it passes clean through a buffalo, but the Silvertip, which mushrooms perfectly and penetrates deeply, will knock him over like a bowling strike."

"The trouble, I think, about new hunters and their guns is that they've read too many articles by hand-loading gun nuts, seen too much advertising and read too many books by amateur safari hands."

"Too many guns, like the legendary cooks, spoil the broth. The ammunition gets mixed up, the weights of the guns change according to caliber, and the shooter never really becomes comfortable with his rifle. In this respect - comfort - a rifle is very much like a woman."

"I owned weapons for all occasions and was pretty lousy with all of them."

"The little .244 is good enough for anything except elephant and rhino. I keep a battered .375 as an insurance gun for the big stuff. I shoot a feather-light 20 gauge shotgun, and that's it. There is a big double somewhere, and I vaguely rememer a Hornet or a Swift. God knows what's happened to all the assorted shotguns; most likely I gave them away."

"If I had to settle for just one weapon, I'd choose the .375. Put a solid in it, and you can kill an elephant or rhino. You can also shoot a bird without damaging the carcass, because the bullet goes clean through. With expansible bullets, you can shoot anything else in the animal world and drop it in its tracks."

That's all for now!

Guy

 

[salmonchaser]

As a fire arms instructor for many years I borrowed from Ruark, Hemingway and others as appropriate. I cobbled the two together and came up with, " the only thing that gets better with time is a good woman or a bottle of wine. Sight pictures go to hell.
Ended up in sensitivity training, go figure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gerry]

Interesting reading Guy, thanks. I have started to come to the same place as well, namely you don't really need a cannon to kill big game animals

 

[Guy Miner]

Gerry - I just moved on to another story of his, hunting tigers in India... With a .470 double rifle... :grin:

 

[Africa Huntress]

Interesting reading Guy, thanks. I have started to come to the same place as well, namely you don't really need a cannon to kill big game animals

my sentiments exactly Gerry

Guy, I also have enjoyed reading Ruark. I have never used the 244 H & H and I must be honest and tell you that I have never seen it used. But the reverse of that is I have used the 375 H & H and have seen it in use often. If you were to take only one rifle to Africa for both DG and PG, the 375 H & H was an excellent choice in the Ruark era and is an excellent choice today.

An open comment to those who were unhappy with my first post on this subject. Although I deleted it, I have since spoken to Guy and he was not offended. I only mentioned the other authors, as I though perhaps some of them might have been unknown to some forum members and some of them, like Ruark, wrote some interesting books.

Best Regards

Jamila

 

[Europe]

Guy I did enjoy reading the Ruark stories about his days hunting Africa and India. Tiger hunting would have been an interesting hunt, for sure.

Jamila, I also have never used the 244, but I, like Guy, and others loved hunting with the 375.

Guy, have you always been a reader or did that passion come with retirement ? I find that I read more now and actually enjoy it more now, as I don't feel guilty when doing so. I always enjoyed reading but felt I should be helping my husband with the business or the children with whatever they were doing. But now, I have nothing to do, no where to go and no one to meet, so reading interrupts nothing lol

Salmon chaser, my husband always said Tom T Hall had it right--younger women, older whiskey, faster horses and more money

Gerry, the first time we went to Africa I was hell bent on shooting the 416 Rigby, but after that trip the largest caliber I ever shot was the 375 H & H. Two of my favorite calibers are the 257 weatherby and the 6.5 x 55. In all honesty, I do feel that the improvement in bullets have allowed us to shoot smaller calibers, but either way, I agree with you.

 

[Guy Miner]

I've always been a reader. My parents, especially my mother, encouraged me, and I took to it. At different times of my life, I've had more time or less time to read. Right now, it's a mix - since "retirement" I seem to have exploded into the outdoor world, cycling or hiking almost every day! And, of course now we have the internet, which is good and bad, and I find myself spending too much "reading time" on the computer instead of with a good book.

"Retirement" is in quotes as I find myself rather busy with different clients and their requirements.

Regards, Guy

 

[Rigbymauser]

Gerry - I just moved on to another story of his, hunting tigers in India... With a .470 double rifle... :grin:

That´s more like it..I like reading huntingbooks from the 1890-1910s from India where it´s were of the golden age. It´s also a transitionperiod where they came from borerifle, blackpowder express rifles to smokeless nitro express. Most of the writes of that period mentions this also.