Hi Fellow members,
Hoping you are fine. I am placing some notes here, rather than in the "Hunting" or "General discussion" section. Hope the Moderators feel it fits.
22 Short on “Big Game”?
These notes were written on 17 April 2020, hoping to bring interesting information/facts/fiction to fellow firearms enthusiasts/ legal firearms owners. It is not intended as advice, ethics for hunting or any illegal activity. If you have had enough Covid-19 news and facts and fiction, feel free to read on.
As a post graduate student in 1979, a friend gave me a copy of the book “Survival Guns”, written by Mel Tappan (1977). In it was written much about the usefulness of the 22LR cartridge. I did not own one, and living in a big city (Johannesburg) at the time, made it almost impossible to “prove” that I needed a “poacher’s rifle”. It was not until 1984 that I was able to buy a 22LR firearm. It was a beautiful BRNO Mod 11, which I bought with money from my Mother’s estate. It was a sad time, but the rifle kept her memory with me, reminding me of the great, but simple, caring and loving mother she was. Since then, I have always owned firearms chambered in 22LR, and try to keep adequate supplies. After all, Mel Tappan wrote that these cartridges will never lose their value, and could always be traded for other stuff.
So how useful is the 22LR? An extreme example comes to mind: In the book “The Sports Afield book of hunting and shooting records and facts”, 2015, on page 123, there is the story of a “girl” named Bella Twin from Lesser Slave Lake in Alberta, who shot a big grizzly with her 22LR rifle. One shot to the head brought the bear down. She shot it several more times in the head while it was down and “…jerking for a while”. This bear apparently was the “Boone and Crockett record and stood for many years”. Makes my mind boggle!
Now, a lesser known fact/story is a recording of court proceedings from a case of elephant poaching in Kenya, circa 1936. The story and details were published in the Man/Magnum magazine of January 2003, p61-63. It refers to a man that was tried in court for hunting elephant without a licence. He was arrested with five [5] sets of tusks. The accused claimed he did not have an “elephant rifle”, and swore that he had hunted the elephant with his 22Short (yes 22 SHORT!) rifle. The court asked Game Warden Thomas Carr Hartley to use the rifle and 22 Short ammunition to verify the story of the accused. Warden “Carr” shot a total of five (5) elephant as part of his “elephant control duties” to verify the accused’s story. This involved shooting for the top of the heart, as the elephant moved its front leg forward, aiming between the ribs. Shots to the top of the heart were more effective than shots lower in the heart. “On this evidence the accused was convicted of poaching. This was on record at the Kenya game department” (page 63).
So, there you have it; You forgot about Covid-19 for a few minutes.
Regards,
RSA1
Hoping you are fine. I am placing some notes here, rather than in the "Hunting" or "General discussion" section. Hope the Moderators feel it fits.
22 Short on “Big Game”?
These notes were written on 17 April 2020, hoping to bring interesting information/facts/fiction to fellow firearms enthusiasts/ legal firearms owners. It is not intended as advice, ethics for hunting or any illegal activity. If you have had enough Covid-19 news and facts and fiction, feel free to read on.
As a post graduate student in 1979, a friend gave me a copy of the book “Survival Guns”, written by Mel Tappan (1977). In it was written much about the usefulness of the 22LR cartridge. I did not own one, and living in a big city (Johannesburg) at the time, made it almost impossible to “prove” that I needed a “poacher’s rifle”. It was not until 1984 that I was able to buy a 22LR firearm. It was a beautiful BRNO Mod 11, which I bought with money from my Mother’s estate. It was a sad time, but the rifle kept her memory with me, reminding me of the great, but simple, caring and loving mother she was. Since then, I have always owned firearms chambered in 22LR, and try to keep adequate supplies. After all, Mel Tappan wrote that these cartridges will never lose their value, and could always be traded for other stuff.
So how useful is the 22LR? An extreme example comes to mind: In the book “The Sports Afield book of hunting and shooting records and facts”, 2015, on page 123, there is the story of a “girl” named Bella Twin from Lesser Slave Lake in Alberta, who shot a big grizzly with her 22LR rifle. One shot to the head brought the bear down. She shot it several more times in the head while it was down and “…jerking for a while”. This bear apparently was the “Boone and Crockett record and stood for many years”. Makes my mind boggle!
Now, a lesser known fact/story is a recording of court proceedings from a case of elephant poaching in Kenya, circa 1936. The story and details were published in the Man/Magnum magazine of January 2003, p61-63. It refers to a man that was tried in court for hunting elephant without a licence. He was arrested with five [5] sets of tusks. The accused claimed he did not have an “elephant rifle”, and swore that he had hunted the elephant with his 22Short (yes 22 SHORT!) rifle. The court asked Game Warden Thomas Carr Hartley to use the rifle and 22 Short ammunition to verify the story of the accused. Warden “Carr” shot a total of five (5) elephant as part of his “elephant control duties” to verify the accused’s story. This involved shooting for the top of the heart, as the elephant moved its front leg forward, aiming between the ribs. Shots to the top of the heart were more effective than shots lower in the heart. “On this evidence the accused was convicted of poaching. This was on record at the Kenya game department” (page 63).
So, there you have it; You forgot about Covid-19 for a few minutes.
Regards,
RSA1
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