GUNS Magazine September 1959

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WHITE HUNTER SAYS AFRICA'S MOST DANGEROUS BEAST IS-THE ONE THAT COMES CLOSEST TO KILLING YOU! FACE ANY ONE OF THEM, AND hen Be Charges, 22 GUNS • SEPTEMBER 1959
Magnificent African black-maned lion is first prize for sportsmen on safari, who find placid beast can spring to charge in 30' leaps in seconds. You Hit-Or Else! M ANY YEARS AGO, old professional hunter T. Murray Smith told me, "One learns something new on every safari; if not about game, then about people." He was right. I have found that one can add an "est" to nearly every safari, too. Either about the safari itself, or about the clients or the game, a safari will be remembered as the longest, the shortest, the best, the worst, the closest, the hardest, the easiest-or something. These stories are about "the closest" ... the close calls with death. Every professional hunter has been asked what animal he thinks is most dangerous: elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, or buffalo? With most, the title probably goes to the animal which came nearest to "getting" the hunter concerned. The old pre-historic looking rhino comes well down on most professionals' list. It has the weight and speed, but lacks in brain power. But, and here is a point: given the right circumstance he can be as deadly as any! The above mentioned Capt. Murray Smith can testify to this, and did. Two incidents moved old jaru from low to high on Smith's list. By WILLIAM M. JENVEY The first incident happened down in the Yaida Valley in the days when only the bold ventured over the valley rim and faced the appalling, boulder strewn track. Few safaris got down without bursting at least a tyre, and none got back up without trouble. Since then, a decent road has been made, and bush clearing for tsetse fly -control has altered the valley's appearance; but in those days it was truly wild. It was from a camp in this valley that Murray led his client up to a rhino as it fed along between clumps of thick bush. He worked his way carefully to one side and, when a clear shot presented itself, told the sportsman to shoot. On the shot, the rhino took off, snorting loudly and bearing to the right around a thick clump of bush which hid it from view. Murray, then an agile 65 or so, dived around the other side of the bush, expecting to wham it as it went past. But things didn't work out as planned. The rhino was diving around the bush too, real close, hugging the bush like Murray. was. They met head on. Murray had guessed wrong once, and he guessed wrong again as he frantically GUNS SEPTEMBER 1959 23
Page 6 and 7: MODEL 30 The action's fast! ... you
Page 8 and 9: SURE AS SHOOTIN' ;;»C 3 SHOTS P RI
Page 14 and 15: Four times National Fast Draw Champ
Page 16 and 17: Safe for fast draw since gas blast
Page 19: RIFLE SAGA Single shot loading proc
Page 24: Old faru moved to top of white hunt
Page 27 and 28: worked well ahead of the guns, and
Page 29 and 30: Small town officers who are nut bou
Page 32 and 33: Big sheep trophies, highly prized b
Page 35: James guns at Huntington are New Mo
Page 53: $ • • • •••••••

GUNS Magazine September 1959

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