TOOLS OF THE TRADE

The .416 Rigby evokes the romance of the African safari like no other with the possible exception of the .375 Holland & Holland. Introduced in 1911 it was the first cartridge to use a .416” bullet. Sending a 400 gr projectile out at 2300 fps, the Rigby gets high marks in any comparison of stopping rounds. While its impressive dimensions demand a true magnum action, it is interesting to note that perhaps the most famous .416 rifle - that of PH Harry Selby - was built on a standard Mauser action. This CZ 550 is a variant of the true magnum Mauser properly proportioned to accept the modern big game cartridges. 

Feeding Bushpig

The bushveld has just now started its drastic transformation from a dry, almost empty space, frequented by fires and wind transported waves of dust to the blossoming lush habitat captured in the many images that all the travel journals depict. 

Rain has arrived and the promise of abundance is ever more present. For most herbivores and omnivores the pantry has however not yet been fully unpacked and they still take full advantage of rich nutrient sources like the pile of sour unprocessed maize strategically placed by a hunter like myself.  This specific bait was visited by no less than 3 separate sounders in the same night but it’s this imposing Boar that captures my interest most. His confidence and surety of presence is a trusty sign that he will be a capable adversary for both hunter and hounds.  Physical identifications of his gender are the pronounced warts on his snout – absent in the sow on his left. Although his size is larger, this we find is often not the norm with sows regularly weighing more than the boars – field dressed.

One morning in the future the keen hounds will be de-coupled onto the scent track, and should this brute be brought to bay and felled by a hunter, it will no doubt be memorable and most challenging.

Xosha bushveld hounds