Best classic Africa hunting books

nof60 said:
For those who remember the .475 Ackley, it is similar to the 470 Capstick, except that the Capstick has a ghost shoulder which allows the cartridge to achieve excellent accuracy.
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Perhaps you would like to quote the rest of Wikipedia.................it is nothing more than the 475 Ackley and the amount of shoulder is completely irrelevant to aligning the bullet to the bore, a properly done straight case chamber is every bit as accurate as a shouldered cartridge. You are lapping up too much of Col. Alphin's propaganda.
I have in my life time, between shows, hunting and associating with PHs, spoken to literally hundreds of them and yes, more than a dozen who had met and spoken with Capstick. I'm not sure why you would find that difficult to believe...........I know and have had drinks and conversation with the 2 gentlemen holding SA PH licenses #1 and #2 in fact I stayed with #2 license holder for a week and have hunted with #1 license holders company for more than a total of six weeks.
I quit bringing up Capstick once I learned how poorly he was regarded in southern Africa, God knows I may even have spoken with 2 dozen who knew and had met him, but he never came up in conversation. I was sitting in a bar in Bulawayo with my PH and 4 others after the hunt, all of whom had spoken at length with Capstick and some of who's stories he had placed into print. You have to realize that Capstick made a point of meeting and conversing with every PH he could. He did this by hanging out in the known PH bars all over Southern Africa, most of which I too have hit when the hunt was over or when transiting through. I can also tell you that when you walk into a bar in southern Africa with a PH you invariably end up sitting with anywhere from 4 to 12 of them, depending on how the hunting is going and the time of year. You also must remember that my first safari was nearly 30 years ago and my second 25 years ago. Capstick's writings were just then coming out and I believe he only had about 4 books out when my second safari happened.........he was still very well known amongst the PHs in those days and the older ones still.
 
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Your a bigger blowhard than PHC.

Good grief the OP wanted good books about Africa. PHC wrote the best even if he did liberate some of the stories. I don't understand why you seem to have to try and bash a dead guy? Or say he never guided or cropped when it is quite obvious he did? Or make stuff up about a cartridge? Or brag about how many times you have been to Africa or how many hundred rifles you own? Over compensate much? Heck, buy us a few rounds and I will let you sit with me and my guide friends and we will tell you whatever you want to hear too. You can "associate" with real live Yukon guides.




Wanna bash Boddington or Doctari now?
 
First a liar then a blowhard............guess someone didn't like getting caught plagiarizing Wikipedia, or being wrong about the 475 Ackley/470 Capstick, or being wrong about calling me a liar. I wouldn't drink with you if you were buying and I know most of the real Yukon guides and outfitters, and they know me...........ask around smart mouth.........and while you're asking around, you may want to ask them who it is you have just insulted and called a liar and a blowhard.
Obviously a newcomer to the Yukon............I look forward to seeing you at the Outfitters Ball next Nov, PLEASE make a point of introducing yourself to me.
 
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Cam1936..........google Safari press, they have almost all the old classics in reprint and have new ones every month. It is an amazing company for hunting and shooting books and videos. I have bought 100s of their books and they are relatively cheap as new books go.
They have (or did have) all the Capstick books available as well as his re-edited series of books, plus Hemmingway, Finn AAgard, Tony Sanchez Arino, Boddington, Bell, Ruark and all the great hunting writers right back to Cornwallis Harris in the 1700s in SA. They are the absolute best book company when it comes to hunting books, in the world, that I have found.
If there is anything in particular you would like to read and it is not available PM me as I may very well have it and could lend it to you for a read.

Sorry about the previous derail, I felt it necessary to address the derisive comments aimed at me, my apologies.
 
nof60 said:
Your a bigger blowhard than PHC.

Good grief the OP wanted good books about Africa. PHC wrote the best even if he did liberate some of the stories. I don't understand why you seem to have to try and bash a dead guy? Or say he never guided or cropped when it is quite obvious he did? Or make stuff up about a cartridge? Or brag about how many times you have been to Africa or how many hundred rifles you own? Over compensate much? Heck, buy us a few rounds and I will let you sit with me and my guide friends and we will tell you whatever you want to hear too. You can "associate" with real live Yukon guides.




Wanna bash Boddington or Doctari now?
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i dont know you and maybe you know me but i know a little Doug ... he can be everything you want or wanted, Doug has strong opinions but that doesnt mean he is a show man ....

maybe you should dig into the word humour ...

if i was you i will try to avoid to speak what you have no clue ... tell us more about real live yukon guides lol ... dont you know that they make verything possible to stop grizzly hunting under the special guided permit .... just to say a few words about those real live yukon guides ... lol btw most of them dont live year round here .... nor the outfitters.

sorry for the op and Doug.

enjoy yours day.

Phil
 
I enjoy the writing of Ron Thomson who was a Game Warden and Wildlife Manager. He tells stories of the early days of dart and capture hunts for black rhino in the Zambezi Valley. He has written several books including Mahoboh, God Created Man The Hunter, The Adventures of Shadrek, A Hunters Trails (vol 1-4). He is also very knowledgeable in the area of game conservation and has also written books on that subject including Managing our Wildlife Heritage and A Game Warden's Report. Very good writer and a contemporary look at wildlife in Africa.

Also good reads, if you can find them, are:
In Africa, John T. McCutcheon
In The Heart Of Africa, Samuel White Baker
Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Samuel White Baker
Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa, David Livingstone
 
9.3mauser said:
Wanderings of an Elephant Hunter
Karamojo Safari ** this is the best account of what it was like on an early foot safari**
Bell of Africa
all by W.D.M. "Karamojo" Bell
Horn of the Hunter, Robert Ruark
Green Hills of Africa, Hemmingway
No More the Tusker, George Rushby
Adventures of an Elephant Hunter, James Sutherland
Elephant, D.E. Blunt
The Last of Old Africa, Brian Nicholson
Hunting the Dangerous Game of Africa, John Kingsley-Heath
African Hunter, Bror von Blixen-Finnecke
African Hunter, again, but this one by James Mellon
Maneaters of Tsavo, J.H. Patterson
Jungle Man, P.J. Pretorius
Hunter, J.A. Hunter
Pondoro, John Taylor, but take it with a grain of salt
Kambaku, Harry Manners
Horned Death, John Burger

Not so much hunting, but interesting Africana;
End of the Game, Peter Beard
Eyelids of Morning, Alistair Graham and Peter Beard
Sand Rivers, Peter Matthieson
Out of Africa, Karen Blixen (Isak Dineson)
Flame Trees of Thika, Elspeth Huxley

... and it could go on and on.
can't recommend anything by Alexander Lake, guy is full of it.
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If Maneaters of Tsavo was the account that the movie The Ghost and the Darkness was based on, I read it in school. It was a great book. The Ghost and the Darkness is a really good movie too... When I was a teen, I saw those stuffed lions in Chicago...
 
Thanks for the info. Finished Death in the Silent Places on the Kobo. Great read. Looks like there are some strong opinions about the author on both sides, but I won't weigh in considering my complete lack of knowledge on his life.

Looks like I have a good list to take to the local library. Thanks CGN.
 
2 books I found very interesting
The Ivory Trail by TV Bulpin (hard to find ) My most valued book since I was a young boy with big hunting dreams.
Heat Thirst and Ivory by Fred Everett
Must have over 30 books on Africa but these ones are my favourites
 
Although not strictly about Africa, Heart of the Hunter by Edison Marshall is an excellent book.
 
c-fbmi said:
Yep BUM you know how it is............I can't even discuss books without pissing people off. Surely you have heard of MY book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People"?
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Aah, eventually they'll come around. Give 'em a couple of years. You're half-way to a hunting trip with Gatehouse after three years...anything's possible!
 
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