January 2020

Man Magnum

The leading magazine for the South African hunting and conservation fraternity.

Man Magnum4 min read
An Israeli Mauser
TESTING THE MAUSER M18 for the Jan 2019 edition brought back many memories of pleasant moments in my life inspired by the iconic Mauser company. While pondering this, I realised that few of these memories related to fancy or expensive Mausers; on the
Man Magnum3 min read
Letters
I much enjoyed Gregor Woods’s article on Kitchener and the Tech Talk on Barrel Length in the November 2019 edition – they were so well researched and easy to read. The one about Kitchener is particularly interesting. Some years ago Professor Louis Ch
Man Magnum3 min read
The Old Man and the Boy
THE CRAK OF the breaking branch was explosive in the still, dark night. This wa nmistakably the deliberate removal of a limb from a living tree, some 100m from where the old man and the y were seated at the fire. The night was suddenly still, but for
Man Magnum5 min read
Tisaş Zig 14 9mmP Pistol
THE BROWNING H -POWER pistol needs no introduction. John Moses Browning ented the design in 1927 and production began in 1935; the pistol earned iconic status and is still in service in several countries. Tisas of Turkey no ake near-identical copies.
Man Magnum6 min read
Cattle Killers
IT WAS 1956, and we were farming on the Mwese Highlands, about 60km east of Lake Tanganyika. We had acquired a small herd of cattle which we corralled in a thorn boma at night, until we had time to build a proper pole and wire ma. Up until then, we h
Man Magnum6 min read
Two-Gun Hombres
I R NTLY WATCHED an actionpac ed movie scene wherein an actor, Bre n Fraser, blazes away with a revolver in each hand. As far as I could make out, the guns Fraser used to knock bad s over like tin cans were Merwin and bert cartridge-revolvers. Clint
Man Magnum3 min readMedical
Vario Revolution 6 Electronic Hearing Protection
DUE TO YEARS of shooting I suffer from partial hearing loss and am always on the lookout for quality hearing protection equipment. At Huntex 2019 I encountered Super Ears, the local distributor of Vario Hearables, a new player in the electronic heari
Man Magnum5 min read
Mr Warthog
HU NG WARTHOG (PHACOCHOERUS AFRICANUS) can be a real challe and hence very satisfying, yet I find that many opportunities occur quite by chance. It should be fairly easy to find warthog, considering their use f burrows whic ch a e normally in areas w
Man Magnum5 min read
The Thrill of Fear
SOME OF THEM still live among you, those lucky few who were young men in 1950s, and had the good fortune to have lived in remote, wild and unsettled areas. Such a place was the playground off my own youth – the remote veld of the e hodesian high plat
Man Magnum5 min read
Easy Choice 9.3x62
BUYING A 9.3X62 will instantly get you into a cult-like fan club in South Africa, especially in the northern parts of the country. I realised this year At a new hunting venue outside Dendron in Limpopo Province. When I scouted the property on Google
Man Magnum3 min read
Hungarian Avtomat Kalashnikova
LIKE OTHER WARSAW Pact countries, Hungary made military versions of the iconic Russian AK47 rifle designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. These included the upgraded AKM version. AKM stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovannyi and is the designation c
Man Magnum5 min read
Mauser M18 Bolt-action
MANY SOUTH AFRICAN hunters and shooters have an n emotional attachment to user rifle No doubt the high y suc sfu use of Mausers by the Boe s during the 1899 902 War, com-bin d with the impec cca le reputation earned by Mauser sporters in the hunting
Man Magnum7 min read
Hunting Scopes
TRENDS INTRIGUE ME. What is it that compels the human race to follow trends? Marketing managers are continually reminding designers that people don’t buy what is practical or sensible; they buy according to trends. Why? I suspect it’s the illusion th
Man Magnum6 min read
Thomas Wilson’s Breech-Loading Rifle
OVER THE LAST 160 years the African continent has had the fortune to receive a wide range of firearms exported from Great Britain and Europe. Many were exports of well-known gunmakers from Birmingham, London, Liège, and Suhl, facilitated by their tra
Man Magnum3 min read
Els & Co Leather Products
ABOUT A YEAR ago, Els & Co sent me an assortment of leather products to test and evaluate in Magnum. Each item is handmade by skilled craftswomen who undergo an extended training program at the Els & Co studio in Stellenbosch before they are allowed
Man Magnum7 min read
Cartridge Case Design
Some early cartridges. Case design may influence propellant burning dynamics and thus ballistics. IN OUR SHOOTING world there has alw ys been a divergence of opinion when it comes to preferred calibres, bullet weights, loads and, last but not leas
Man Magnum4 min read
Reminiscences Of An Elephant Hunter
WHAT A STORY! It’s been many years since I was so utterly absorbed in a book, riveted from the first page. In last month’s Magnum I reviewed Incidents from an Elephant Hunter’s Diary, the first volume of stories by WDM ‘Karamojo’ Bell, famous for his
Man Magnum4 min read
Burris XTR II 5–25x50 FFP Scope
THIS SCOPE IS intended for long-range and tactical shooting. It is 414mm long (without the supplied sunshade) and weighs 910g. It has a 34mm diameter tube, a massive 90MOA of elevation adjustment and is fitted with Burris’s proprietary SCR reticle in
Man Magnum5 min readCooking, Food & Wine
Blessed Are The Biltong Makers
HUNTING SEASON IS biltong time. I prefer home-produced dried meat and ha gone e to o extremes to perfect my reci much to the amusement of my friends. Biltong mak ng s a culinary art and all have our own tastes. Some like smadewit ybasicingredients wh
Man Magnum5 min read
SIG Sauer Range-finding Binoculars
THE SIG SAUER Kilo3000BDX is a 10x42mm range-finding binocular with a ballistics data exchange ability using Bluetooth connectivity. It is 146mm long, 127mm wide, 63mm high and weighs 880g (battery included). The housing is magnesium covered with har
Man Magnum5 min read
Die Koedoebul
DIE EDOEBUL, Tsy groot draai horings, is volgens een van die mooiste diere in Afrika. As daar ’n koning onder die w ldsbokke moet we sou hy sekerrlik e kroon beide let k én figuurlik dra. Om ’n koed ul te jag is nie maklik nie, jy moet op die regte t
Man Magnum2 min read
Free State Chicken Pie
BY THIS TIME of the year, our freezers are usually running low on game meat, so here is a chicken recipe to try. In the Free State, chicken pie is always on the menu at Christmas, and each year we endeavour to make it a bit different and exciting.
Man Magnum7 min read
Gallery
INTEREST IN BORDER WAR collectables has grown considerably in recent years. This is true not only of weapons used by the South African Forces – many collectors focus on weapons from the former Soviet Union and her allies. Recently a batch of Russian-
Man Magnum2 min read
Man Magnum People
Kevan Healey of Bloemfontein Custom Rifles started his apprenticeship with Musgrave and Sons, a small gunsmithing business in Bloemfontein, and qualified in 1972 as a gunsmith. He specialises in large calibre rifles for hunting large and dangerous ga

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