Guiding A Classic Shikar For A Royal Bengal Tiger

[mark-hunter]

@WAB,
I agree.
I just sent an article from gun digest year 2014 on subject of new and old pre 64 win 70 to both gentlemen, by pm.
I am not sure if that can be posted on public part of forum, so i just pm-ed it. Article is by wayne van zwoll.

 

[buck wild]

I was interested in how that would value given today's monetary rate

 

[Major Khan]

Major Khan and Sgt. Rahman,

Your accounts are outstanding. I’ve always felt that I was born 100 years to late and these tales are reinforcing that belief! You should bind up all of these stories in a book. Doing so would be a great service to the hunting fraternity and help us remember and honor these wonderful times and adventures.

As a side note, a number of years ago Winchester realized the error of their ways and returned to a controlled round feed design in the model 70. In my opinion, the new design surpasses the original design. I have had four custom rifles built and chose this action for all of them.

With great respect,

WAB

Dear WAB ,
Thank you for being so appreciative of my articles. I suppose l may write a book someday , then. I never really thought much about it till now. I just read an excellent article provided to me by Mark Hunter about the new and improved Winchester Model 70. Having read it thoroughly , l am much inclined to believe you when you say that the modern Winchester Model 70 has some improvements over the original pre 64 Winchester Model 70 rifles of my time. May l ask what calibres your 4 custom made rifles are chambered in ?
Yours sincerely,
Major Poton Khan ( Retired )

 

[mark-hunter]

With reference to above value conversions, cca 42k usd would not be too much for royal bengal tiger in modern world

If black rhino is valued between 300k to 600k usd, my educated guess would be that if ever legally allowed to hunt, bengal tiger could reach easily a price tag, of over 500k usd, on limited number of tags, legally exportable to western countries, under cites blessings, etc.

 

[gillettehunter]

Another well written article. We are enjoying your efforts a great deal. Thanks
Bruce

 

[WAB]

Dear WAB ,
Thank you for being so appreciative of my articles. I suppose l may write a book someday , then. I never really thought much about it till now. I just read an excellent article provided to me by Mark Hunter about the new and improved Winchester Model 70. Having read it thoroughly , l am much inclined to believe you when you say that the modern Winchester Model 70 has some improvements over the original pre 64 Winchester Model 70 rifles of my time. May l ask what calibres your 4 custom made rifles are chambered in ?
Yours sincerely,
Major Poton Khan ( Retired )

Most certainly, they are chambered in 7x57, .325 WSM, .375 H&H and .458 Lott.

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Most certainly, they are chambered in 7x57, .325 WSM, .375 H&H and .458 Lott.

Sweet list there WAB! How do you like the 325 as a cartridge?

 

[IvW]

I was interested in how that would value given today's monetary rate

View attachment 317110

Value of 1962 South African Rand today

R5,000 in 1962


R426,375.83 in 2019

The inflation rate in South Africa between 1962 and today has been 8,427.52%, which translates into a total increase of R421,375.83. This means that 5,000 rand in 1962 are equivalent to 426,375.83 rand in 2019. In other words, the purchasing power of R5,000 in 1962 equals R426,375.83 today. The average annual inflation rate has been 7.97%.

 

[WAB]

Sweet list there WAB! How do you like the 325 as a cartridge?

Mine has a mid weight match barrel and an outstanding trigger. It will punch one hole groups at 100 every time. I like the ballistics of the cartridge, but honestly, I do not like these new short fat cartridges. They severely restrict magazine capacity. Although it is a great rifle, I would likely go with a .338-06 if I were doing it over again. With the new Rigby in 9.3x62 in the safe I don’t know that it will see a lot of use.

 

[WAB]

@WAB,
I agree.
I just sent an article from gun digest year 2014 on subject of new and old pre 64 win 70 to both gentlemen, by pm.
I am not sure if that can be posted on public part of forum, so i just pm-ed it. Article is by wayne van zwoll.

I would like to see the article if you do t mind sending it to me. Thanks!

 

[jeff]

Thank you for another great article. You are a valued member here with great contrbutions! I have been enjoying the writing of your experiences. Thanks

 

[Major Khan]

Another well written article. We are enjoying your efforts a great deal. Thanks
Bruce

Thank you so much for being so appreciative . I am glad.

 

[Major Khan]

Thank you for another great article. You are a valued member here with great contrbutions! I have been enjoying the writing of your experiences. Thanks

Thank you so much for being such an appreciative reader . I consider myself fortunate.

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Another fine and exciting story! Great reading, Major.

 

[mark-hunter]

I would like to see the article if you do t mind sending it to me. Thanks!

PM sent!

 

[AGNK]

Fascinating stories of hunting in old India, please do not stop as I’m addicted!
On a side note......
You and Sargeant Rahman mentioned in one of your earlier posts that in 1972 the Indian Government confiscated hunting trophies from the general public?
Well....back between 1978-81 I was working at a grocery store where I personally delivered the weekly groceries to the ambassadors residence (Indian ambassador)....in the foyer of the main entrance there was a full mount of a bangle tiger!!...
Obviously that law didn’t apply to the elite!

 

[Major Khan]

Fascinating stories of hunting in old India, please do not stop as I’m addicted!
On a side note......
You and Sargeant Rahman mentioned in one of your earlier posts that in 1972 the Indian Government confiscated hunting trophies from the general public?
Well....back between 1978-81 I was working at a grocery store where I personally delivered the weekly groceries to the ambassadors residence (Indian ambassador)....in the foyer of the main entrance there was a full mount of a bangle tiger!!...
Obviously that law didn’t apply to the elite!

Thank you so much for reading my article.
Firstly , you are 100 % correct that the law was not enforced on the elite . As an example , many politicians and their sons still kept shooting royal Bengal tigers after the 1972 ban on hunting . The same applies for corrupt forest department officers . Even today such people continue to shoot royal Bengal tigers in private and then still publicly blame licensed hunters from 50 years ago for " upsetting the ecological balance " .
Secondly , was this ambassador's residence in America ? If so , then l am speculating that the tiger skin was exported to America before 1972 .

To my knowledge , there are a few tiger trophies still in America.
Below , is a photograph taken by Kawshik of one of our most high profile clients .

This is Tom Bolack whom Kawshik and l guided in 1963 . Mr. Bolack was a politician in America ( Governor of New Mexico , if my memory serves me correctly ) . He won the 1963 Allwyn Cooper Limited award for largest tiger of the year .
To the best of my knowledge , the tiger mount in the photograph is still in America .

 

[AGNK]

.....always the hunters take the blame and the corrupt go on their merry way!
This was in Australia...in the national capital (Canberra)

 

[Major Khan]

Another fine and exciting story! Great reading, Major.

Thank you for enjoying it , Uncle Sauce.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Tobin and me were tipped handsomely by our clients , who were extremely satisfied with the shikar. We each received 1000 Rupees , which was a great deal of money in those days . Tobin used that money to buy his wife , a muslin cotton saree ( Indian dress for females ) , which was one of the most expensive fabrics in India . I had not met my girlfriend yet at the time , and so l used my share to blow away on my various hobbies ,such as eating at gourmet restaurants and cinemas . Sir Sean Connery's excellent 007 James Bond film " Dr. No " would be showing at every cinema hall in India soon .
Upon doing a post mortem on the tigress , we learnt that the first bullet had expanded perfectly inside her heart and that the second bullet was rather unnecessary . However , as they say in English " It is wiser to err on the side of caution " . Our American client was not going to take any chances .

As the years went by and more clients came and went , l fell in love with the Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle . Such a rifle , burning the .375 Holland and Holland magnum cartridge is ( in my old fashioned and obsolete views) the perfect rifle for hunting any game ( dangerous or otherwise ) in India
. If the shooter does his bit , then everything from a petite 4 horned buck , to the beastly gaur can be taken with a .375 Holland and Holland magnum Winchester Model 70 bolt rifle ( using appropriate bullets for each game of course )
My good friend , Kawshik describes the Winchester Model 70 as " The United States of America's greatest contribution to the world of shikar " . And l am very much inclined to agree with my friend .
With the exception of going after wounded panthers in the dense thickets ( where a double barreled rifle with short muzzles , twin triggers and no automatic safety and a bore size of at least 9.3 millimeter is required ) , a shikaree with a Winchester Model 70 , burning a .375 Holland and Holland magnum cartridge can do it all , with authority .

Unfortunately in 1964 , Winchester committed a cardinal sin by removing the much beloved Mauser style extractor from their Model 70 . Why they would tamper with perfection is beyond me . If their goal was to be economical , then they compromised quality and reliability in the field . To be fair , however , the number of times when the " modern " Winchester Model 70 experienced extraction problems was very rare , based on my experiences with my clients. Nevertheless , l have personally seen it happen 5 times in the field and much prefer the Winchester model 70 bolt rifles manufactured prior to 1964 , over their modern counterparts .The extra security afforded by that Mauser style extractor was a godsend . I would highly recommend to my readers that if you ever find a Winchester Model 70 built prior to 1964 , using a .375 Holland and Holland magnum cartridge , snatch it immediately . For all purpose shikar , no finer rifle was ever designed . The versions with the heavy barrel are even better in my views , because they helped to control the recoil of the large calibre rifle .

Around this time , l also developed a fondness for the Winchester Silvertip soft nosed 300 grain cartridge . No cartridge in my time , could ever surpass the Winchester Silvertip , for folding a royal Bengal tiger or a panther , or the various deer varieties or wild boars . It is truly a testament to American first class workmanship .
I hope that the account proved enjoyable . For my next article , l offer you all a choice of story . I can either write about the 7th man eating royal Bengal tiger l had taken which had killed 16 innocent people , or l can write about how Tobin and l were almost overrun by a group of ferocious wild boars in the outskirts of Nagpur . Please choose , and l will value your choice .

Friend Ponton
Another excellent adventure my friend. Please do not ask us to choose what you write. All your adventures will always be read.
I am advised by another dear friend of yours that friend Rahman and yourself are currently in isolation on friend Kawshick s estate and are enjoying the hunting at this time. I am very envious of you if this is so.
Please see if you can convince friend Kawshick Rahman to continue his writing as he is missed by many.
In regards to having his beloved Hollis shotgun stolen in my humble opinion his father gave him a gift far greater than that shotgun could ever provide. That is the gift of a love of hunting passed on from a father to their son. This gift can be passed on many times over without the fear of it ever being taken and it will never wear out like a shot gun and many people can also share in that love of hunting.
Keep safe and well in these times my friend.
All the best to yourself and fried Rahman.
Your humble friend and reader
Bob Nelson