African Hunting Gazette

I enjoyed the article on zebra hunting in the recent issue, and Craig Boddington's piece "A Matter of Stripes." I took a Hartmann's Mountain Zebra in Namibia's range of hills, and it was one of the toughest hunts of my life. They may not be the rocki

I have corresponded with James who has contributed to AHG over the year. It is always a wonderful surprise to see such a well-researched interesting book touching on so many points pertinent to Africa today. This book considers some of the human-orig

In 1892, James Rowland Ward (1848–1912), a British taxidermist, well-known publisher of natural history books and big-game hunting narratives, and the founder of the firm Rowland Ward Limited of Piccadilly, London, published the first of what has bec

These days one reads all kinds of articles in the media, and hears debates on TV, about banning the international trade in wildlife products because of disease risks to humans. This is particularly topical at present, because of the COVID-19 pandemic

English: Grey Rhebok Latin: Pelea capreolus German: Rehantilope French: Péléa Spanish: Antílope cabrío Total length: 1.1 – 1.4 m (3.6‘– 4.6‘ Tail: 10 cm (3.9”) Shoulder Height: 75 cm (2.5‘) Weight: 20 kg (44 lb) A graceful, small and slender ant

Many months before my 12th birthday my father asked if I wanted to hunt a Cape buffalo. Can you imagine my response? I was jumping up and down inside, but then knowing him, I asked - “Really?” With my father, a challenge was always ahead of a reward,

It was my 26th trip to Africa, and among the countries I have visited are South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Botswana, and Namibia. Most of my trips have been hunting dangerous game with bow and arrow. I have taken lion, leopard, and Cape

The scenery enveloping you is vast, diverse and postcard-perfect. The game that challenges you is big, fast and wild. And the bond you’ll form with nature is life-changing. This is the spirit of Aru Game Lodges—a family-run safari company with an imp

Being the keen gun nut that I was those early 80s, I had read many articles about the quality guns Freedom Arms produced. They were not cheap, but boy they were a top-quality handgun. If you ever have the privilege to hold and shoot one, you will kno

After a pleasant exchange, I mentioned to Dirk that friends and I were considering another safari. Rather than trying to sell me a second hunt with his operation, he recommended a change of scenery and took me over to another booth to meet his friend

Karoo hoping to shoot a Cape buffalo. Rob and Laura Birch, by now old friends, met us in Port Elizabeth for the two-hour drive to their lodge. We arrived mid-afternoon, settled in, and still had time for an evening game drive. The hunt would not s

I have several friends that have been on safari, all with great experiences and great stories, but I never thought I would one day make the trip. Then it happened - just like that - and I was the winning bidder of a hunting trip at a charity auction

We had driven about 30 miles from the Africa Maximum Safaris main camp to a large concession just north of Swartruggens, about 100 miles northeast of Joburg, SA. Entering the gate of the huge enclosure, I climbed into the back of the Toyota, placed m

as well. Wow, it felt as if it would be great to hunt with. But I said I wanted to get my hands on the beautiful vintage 1898 sidelock English shotgun made by James Woodward, in fantastic condition and such an exceptional gun to shoot. I had added a

It was on my third safari with my son Scott that I fell prey to the Alpha-gal syndrome. Not caused by an enraged elephant or an angry lioness, this was perpetrated by minute creatures that affected my whole system – ticks! The locals call them pepper

Once more with my PH and friend Izak Vos from Vos Safaris, I was on a farm in the Limpopo Province. It was middle of August, South African wintertime, and a little crisp in the morning, but at 7:00 it was already 20 degrees Celsius. By 8:00 we were s

Though often overshadowed by the Big Five, with much attention focused on hunting the large and glamorous African species like kudu, gemsbok or wildebeest, hunting the tiny 10 species of pygmy antelope in Africa can be an extremely challenging and fu

As a teen, I couldn’t wait to buy my first shotgun. It would truly be mine, and not just another hand-me-down. When I’d finally saved enough shekels, I marched down to the local big box store and picked out a pump-action Winchester 1200. In those day

A dog freezes - a point - it’s my pup Bess. I glance right and Sadie is honoring the point. Stumbling forward, I notice a network of greywing tracks and scratchings in among the tussocks. “There are plenty birds.” Tim advances slowly/knowingly from b

Heatherside, Worplesdon, Surrey, England 12 October, 1907. Many thanks for your continued interest in my book, and especially for the most remarkable letter and photographs of Max Fleischmann, showing what can only be a rhinoceros being attacked by

Both my parents emigrated to then Rhodesia from Mauritius. My father was only 20 years old in 1964 when he left Mauritius to come and work in the sugar industry in a place called Hippo Valley, in south-eastern Rhodesia. He started as an assistant sec

My ancestors were from the two original de Villiers brothers who came to the Cape in the 1670s and started Boschendal Wine Farm. I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1959. We ranched at Matetsi in Zimbabwe. In the 1950s and 1960s in that area, my father

A family-owned and run business, Kent-based TEG was established in 1987 by Ian Tomlin. It is now run by his talented 27-year-old son Joe who assumed the role of managing director in July this year. As suppliers to Britain’s top London gunmakers such

I was born in 1968 in the small farming community of Bedford in the Eastern Cape where my grandparents farmed apricots and peaches on our family farm, so I was privileged to have been exposed to, and to get to love, the great outdoors from a very you

I was born 10 March 1985 in Windhoek, Namibia, and was raised on a cattle ranch in central Namibia where hunting was part of growing up. When I was in primary school, our cattle ranch was converted into a game ranch where various well-known professio

The decision on exactly which caliber big-bore rifle to buy is a complex one, more so for the occasional African safari hunter than for the one with endless means who can afford a whole arsenal of rifles. For the sake of this article I will assume th

It was the British Army’s first self-contained breech-loading cartridge, developed in the 1860s to fit the Snider conversion of the 1853 Enfield muzzle-loading rifle. It was also the first British centerfire rifle cartridge, and as such it spawned a

“The big bull, rocking to and fro, his ears flapping flies with the sound of handclaps … he stood, lonely and huge and the color of the red ocher in the naked patch of dusty clay …. ‘Take a rest on the hill here,’ Brian whispered. ‘Hold it steady on

To the uninitiated, “the jesse” sounds like just another hunting environment like “the bushveld.” Of course, those who have hunted in the jesse soon realized that it can be most unpleasant indeed, especially during the heat of the day and when chasin

On a trip into Newcastle, I went into a book store, browsed the shelves, and enquired of the pony-tailed young man behind the counter if he had anything by Stuart Cloete. He looked at me blankly. Stuart who? Figuring I’d mispronounced the name, I wro