Is Capstick real or fake?

[fourfive8]

Yes, I remember the post but can't remember his name. Seemed legit but somewhat cautious about becoming too much involved. Didn't seem negative.

I believe that a lot of the negative statements people make about some popular authors/writers reflects a lack of ability to understand their writing style or method of communicating ideas. In many ways Hemingway was likely a type of mentor for Capstick. I find those with a limited abstract imagination really struggle with authors like Hemingway and to some degree Capstick. Others simply may be jealous of an ability to write as they deflect away from their own inability.

 

[C.W. Richter]

I have no idea what he is talking about with regard to most of the posting. But then I was born in 1952 and experienced the seventies rather up close and personal.

However, most of the planet acknowledges that Edward Hillary and Tenzig Norgay were the first humans to surmount Everest in 1953. I, and virtually all of those other people, could care less about the oxygen.

And none of this has anything to do with Capstick and the quality of his writing.

Is it possible there were many more casks (out in the open air)??? lol

 

[C.W. Richter]

He was a great supporter of the African safari industry. His writing was very good, based upon his real, on-the-ground experience. Hemmingway's style was even better, but he could simply go home to Key West or Sun Valley and have gimlets with the latest trophy. LOL O'Conner's writing i could not stand (it was NOT his forte.) I believe Peter was related to the Roosevelts ancestrally, and if you take a look at Anne Hathaway the lovely actress, they have the same facial features....He was a good man, and no PH will disagree with that! Art Alphin (A-Sq) created and standardized a cartridge featuring his good name (470 Capstick, based on a blown-out 375.) Good Stuff, indeed!!! As said above, read ALL of his books. Also read all of Kevin Robertson's books, because i see way too many arguments on here about his profound knowledge, that could be solved by doing so. lol "Do not re-invent the wheel."

 

[Hunter-Habib]

My thoughts:

1) His contribution to the safari industry is immense and his books practically singlehandedly reignited a love for African hunting amongst American outdoorsmen.

2) He was definitely a licensed white hunter, because we have at least 1 other author (the brutally honest Col. Charles Askins) who can testify to that (see photo below).

3) He greatly exaggerated about his dangerous game hunting experiences. An acquaintance of mine, Mr. Jeff Rann (of Botswana fame) actually took Mr. Capstick out to hunt dangerous game in Botswana and they filmed the hunt. Jeff actually shot most of the dangerous game in the film made of that safari. I believe Jeff completely. If you watch the film, then you will see that Mr. Capstick was absolutely shaky and terrified when they approached a hippopotamus.

4) He clearly lied about following up wounded leopards. In “Death In The Long Grass” (1977), he claims his leopard shotgun of choice was an old model Winchester M12. In “The Last Safari” (1984), he claims that it was a multi choke Winchester Model 1200. He also (more than once) gives different accounts of what shot size he used. Sometimes, it’s #1 Buck. Sometimes it’s S.S.G (which is #3 Buck and Mr. Capstick specifically says so). An old saying that my father taught me, is this: “If you ever want to find out whether someone is lying, ask them to repeat their account a few times after certain periods of intervals. If they are telling the truth, no details of the story will change. If they are making anything up, none of the stories will be 100% identical to each other”.

To conclude, Peter H. Capstick was definitely real. But his accounts weren’t always, and should be treated as interesting thrillers rather than as a “How to” guide for hunting dangerous game.

 

[OxfordTheCat]

My thoughts:

1) His contribution to the safari industry is immense and his books practically singlehandedly reignited a love for African hunting amongst American outdoorsmen.

2) He was definitely a licensed white hunter, because we have at least 1 other author (the brutally honest Col. Charles Askins) who can testify to that (see photo below).
View attachment 529826

3) He greatly exaggerated about his dangerous game hunting experiences. An acquaintance of mine, Mr. Jeff Rann (of Botswana fame) actually took Mr. Capstick out to hunt dangerous game in Botswana and they filmed the hunt. Jeff actually shot most of the dangerous game in the film made of that safari. I believe Jeff completely. If you watch the film, then you will see that Mr. Capstick was absolutely shaky and terrified when they approached a hippopotamus.

4) He clearly lied about following up wounded leopards. In “Death In The Long Grass” (1977), he claims his leopard shotgun of choice was an old model Winchester M12. In “The Last Safari” (1984), he claims that it was a multi choke Winchester Model 1200. He also (more than once) gives different accounts of what shot size he used. Sometimes, it’s #1 Buck. Sometimes it’s S.S.G (which is #3 Buck and Mr. Capstick specifically says so). An old saying that my father taught me, is this: “If you ever want to find out whether someone is lying, ask them to repeat their account a few times after certain periods of intervals. If they are telling the truth, no details of the story will change. If they are making anything up, none of the stories will be 100% identical to each other”.

To conclude, Peter H. Capstick was definitely real. But his accounts weren’t always, and should be treated as interesting thrillers rather than as a “How to” guide for hunting dangerous game.

Appreciate in particular the photo here. An interesting find that should put to rest the most egregious of the claims that suggest he just tended bar, etc.

I for one have never had any particular doubts when it comes to Capstick, mostly because when it comes to things like his account of having to follow up that wounded leopard with that mentioned 12 gauge, he's hardly making himself out to be the hero or with any kind of bravado - in general, I feel like most of those afflicted by wannabe syndrome would probably omit the portion of the story where they admit to pissing themselves in fright.

The only thing I wanted to note, and while I'm not discounting your father's wisdom, it's actually the reverse that is most often true, to the point where criminal investigators are trained to be on the watch for it:

A story that is repeated, iron clad and without deviation is more likely to be manufactured. The human memory drifts, little details are forgotten or confused, and recollection naturally 'alters' remembered tales over time. Manufactured stories on the other hand, they are often unwaveringly correct. The well rehearsed and well thought out lie has a script like consistency that organic human memory can't seem to match.

In any case, he's consistent in mentioning a Model 12 in both Death in the Long Grass, and Death of the Dark Continent. In both books, he mentions them loaded with SSG. He does however, dedicate a half dozen or so paragraphs to defending the virtues of no 1 buck as opposed to 00, challenging what he called the American "love affair with "double oh", which is supposed to solve all problems... " by mentioning that no 1 actually offers 'more' to the shooter, because the shot size of 00 and the limitations of the shell preclude it from holding much shot; and that for a 13 grains reduction in shot size you actually get 75 percent more pellets...

"No. 1 buck is .30 caliber, only ten percent less in diameter than 00 buck and but thirteen grains per pellet lighter. However, because of the way the pellet mass fits into the shotshell, the same shell can fire an incredible seventy-five percent more pellets than the Magnum 00 load! What this means is that when you need help in a big way, you’re launching eight hundred grains of lead at better than three thousand foot-pounds at the muzzle with No. 1 buck compared with a bit over six hundred grains and not quite twenty-four hundred foot-pounds with the 00 buck. If you don’t reckon that can make a significant difference, you’ve never had something try to eat you.

Reasoning makes sense to me!

I had just finished up another reread of Death on the Dark Continent, so pleased to come back to the forum and get to browse through Capstick tales from members here. Pleasure as always.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Appreciate in particular the photo here. An interesting find that should put to rest the most egregious of the claims that suggest he just tended bar, etc.

I for one have never had any particular doubts when it comes to Capstick, mostly because when it comes to things like his account of having to follow up that wounded leopard with that mentioned 12 gauge, he's hardly making himself out to be the hero or with any kind of bravado - in general, I feel like most of those afflicted by wannabe syndrome would probably omit the portion of the story where they admit to pissing themselves in fright.

The only thing I wanted to note, and while I'm not discounting your father's wisdom, it's actually the reverse that is most often true, to the point where criminal investigators are trained to be on the watch for it:

A story that is repeated, iron clad and without deviation is more likely to be manufactured. The human memory drifts, little details are forgotten or confused, and recollection naturally 'alters' remembered tales over time. Manufactured stories on the other hand, they are often unwaveringly correct. The well rehearsed and well thought out lie has a script like consistency that organic human memory can't seem to match.

In any case, he's consistent in mentioning a Model 12 in both Death in the Long Grass, and Death of the Dark Continent. In both books, he mentions them loaded with SSG. He does however, dedicate a half dozen or so paragraphs to defending the virtues of no 1 buck as opposed to 00, challenging what he called the American "love affair with "double oh", which is supposed to solve all problems... " by mentioning that no 1 actually offers 'more' to the shooter, because the shot size of 00 and the limitations of the shell preclude it from holding much shot; and that for a 13 grains reduction in shot size you actually get 75 percent more pellets...

"No. 1 buck is .30 caliber, only ten percent less in diameter than 00 buck and but thirteen grains per pellet lighter. However, because of the way the pellet mass fits into the shotshell, the same shell can fire an incredible seventy-five percent more pellets than the Magnum 00 load! What this means is that when you need help in a big way, you’re launching eight hundred grains of lead at better than three thousand foot-pounds at the muzzle with No. 1 buck compared with a bit over six hundred grains and not quite twenty-four hundred foot-pounds with the 00 buck. If you don’t reckon that can make a significant difference, you’ve never had something try to eat you.

Reasoning makes sense to me!

I had just finished up another reread of Death on the Dark Continent, so pleased to come back to the forum and get to browse through Capstick tales from members here. Pleasure as always.

Thank you very much for your very valuable insight. I had concluded long ago that I will not participate anymore, in any forum topics involving Mr. Peter Capstick. It tends to generate much controversy amongst hunters and many members (not you) get incredibly defensive regarding their views. The gentlemanly & dignified thing for me to do, is to avoid this topic altogether.

 

[mark-hunter]

Jeff actually shot most of the dangerous game in the film made of that safari. I believe Jeff completely.

I can say (without prjudice) that hunting is one thing, and hunting for quality documentary is another thing, much much more demanding, challenging and difficult.

When someone hunts, he hunts for himself, but hunting for quality footage, where everything matters, not making a shot if camera is not ready and aligned, in field conditions when game is moving, and wind changes, It is difficult, both for cameraman an exhausting and challenging for hunter.

So, we can only suspect what were going on there "behind the scenes"

I will try to look for this movie, thank you for bringing it up!

 

[OxfordTheCat]

Thank you very much for your very valuable insight. I had concluded long ago that I will not participate anymore, in any forum topics involving Mr. Peter Capstick. It tends to generate much controversy amongst hunters and many members (not you) get incredibly defensive regarding their views. The gentlemanly & dignified thing for me to do, is to avoid this topic altogether.

@Hunter-Habib Understood!

Appreciate you sharing what you did, and mentioning Mr. Rann's experiences as well.

+1 on @mark-hunter, it will be an interesting watch if the video pops up.

Thanks!

 

[John Wasmuth]

Thank you very much for your very valuable insight. I had concluded long ago that I will not participate anymore, in any forum topics involving Mr. Peter Capstick. It tends to generate much controversy amongst hunters and many members (not you) get incredibly defensive regarding their views. The gentlemanly & dignified thing for me to do, is to avoid this topic altogether.

Please don’t do that. Your insight is valued and I for one enjoy the interaction with you in regards to Peter. Controversy is a good thing. If we don’t ask we will never know.

 

[dogcat1]

Real or fake??? Both. Great writer and story teller. Enjoy his work and don't worry fact and fiction too much.

 

[Tradmark]

The ph i have hunted with 3 times and in 2 months a fourth. He was an elephant cropping officer in zimbabwe and cool in the most dangerous situations. One a shootout with poachers. I asked him about capstick and he said “he was really a ph and some of the best ph’s vouch for him. I never met him but if he didnt sell so many books i bet no one would be talking. Jealousy is a bad thing.”

 

[C.W. Richter]

Better Peter Hathaway capstick for the industry than Joe Biden and company! He did nothing wrong for the sport. We have no way of corroborating any of the tales above. I have his complete writings and VHS videos... Only one older English pH and famous Botswana lion hunter pokes fun at him and all find it funny. His job was to sensationalize and boost the Safari industry. No need to speak down upon the Dead.

 

[Tradmark]

True, i dont much seriously when it comes to his videos. As a doc i can tell the signs of alcoholism in the skin and especially the legs vs age and he was clearly out of “shape” both physically and hint skills-wise on his videos. I dont denigrate him for that. I appreciate being able to see the books on film so to speak. Wouldnt surprise me if another ph shot alot on those videos in the condition he was in at that time. To me
Doesnt reflect his earlier years.

 

[mark-hunter]

There are some people who were notable in history of hunting (or other areas, like art) and in the same time were functional alcoholics. Hemingway comes to mind as well.
I guess this comes with their identity and territory. I dont mind. They would never be great, if this was not part of them. I respect them more then sober mediocres.

 

[Sideshow]

Ask him if he believes the Bible has no embellishments and is 100% factually correct.

LOL that made me laugh...In boarding school we had this young falla teaching us religious studies. At 14/15 we were ruthless, (having just steeped out of biology). When asking him how the virgin Mary got up the duff! He made the mistake of saying heavy petting. The roar of laughter brought the headmaster running......best earned caning I ever got

I like Capstick.....But it Wilbur Smith that I need to thank most.

 

[Sideshow]

Just to clarify Im dyslexic. Always had a love affair with Africa. My Dad recognised that and got me into reading Wilbur Smith.
With out him and Mr Smiths help, I would not be where I am today.
Still I enjoy PHC books. How often do you read a hunting report. Where its a really good hunter but not such a great writer. To do both is hard. Why else do you have all these so called sport starts having there biography ghost written.

 

[C.W. Richter]

True, i dont much seriously when it comes to his videos. As a doc i can tell the signs of alcoholism in the skin and especially the legs vs age and he was clearly out of “shape” both physically and hint skills-wise on his videos. I dont denigrate him for that. I appreciate being able to see the books on film so to speak. Wouldnt surprise me if another ph shot alot on those videos in the condition he was in at that time. To me
Doesnt reflect his earlier years.

IF you watch his videos, you will see him hit an elephant, perfectly, twice at 100 yds (follow-up running) using a 470 or 577 double with open sights. It was near the end of his career with (also RIP) PH Volker Grellmann in Namibia and another in Botswana. He could "handle" up until he could not. I like the way he gave up his Wall Street career to follow his dreams and enjoy life! (I think he was a consultant for Winchester, et. al. when his writing career was heating up.) He did a great service to the hunting/shooting sports industry, steeped in his adoration for that kind of life! I get it. And, I've seen more people enjoying drinks on Safari than not. Perhaps not healthy, but it's a time-honored tradition. The only times I see he's (somewhat) impaired is when they're trying to interview him after evening drinks (and he's very entertaining and funny!) Hollyweird/Disney/LibDemMSM-types are much worse in every way.

 

[C.W. Richter]

There are some people who were notable in history of hunting (or other areas, like art) and in the same time were functional alcoholics. Hemingway comes to mind as well.
I guess this comes with their identity and territory. I dont mind. They would never be great, if this was not part of them. I respect them more then sober mediocres.

Winston Churchill. Exhibit A! LOL Did his job (and said some of the funniest comments to his opponents!!!)

Bessie Braddock MP: “Winston, you are drunk, and what’s more you are disgustingly drunk.”

WSC: “Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow
I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly.”

I know it was a few days ago, but both Ghengis and Kublai Khan drank like fiends when the important decisions were made re: taking over 1/2 the world and ruling the spice route. That said, the son in-between died young due to liver disease and never really accomplished much.

 

[BJH65]

I read most of Mr. Capstick‘s books before our first Safari to both SA and recently reopened Mozambique in 1997, a year after Mr. Capstick died. I very much enjoyed his books and it seemed an excellent primer for our African Safari! I was quite surprised to find that all four of our African PH’s, both in SA and Mozambique, all very accomplished, had a somewhat low opinion of Mr. Capstick, two even referring to him as “Crapstick.”

None I believe had ever hunted with him and several had met or interacted with him at various social events only. I must admit I was somewhat taken aback since I had built him up in my mind. I got the impression they felt Mr. Capstick was great for the african hunting industry but none respected his abilities as a PH, just as a writer. Whether their negative opinions of Mr. Capstick were justified or just jealousy, I couldn’t say. Of course I all but wore out my VHS tape of “Black Death” by Mark Sullivan as well before our hunt. The PH’s also had a negative opinion of Mr. Sullivan too as a “showboat” but grudgingly respected his abilities.

Whether these 4 African PH’s opinions reflected the sentiment of most African PH’s in 1997, I couldn’t say, I’m just sharing what I was told back then. I still re-read Mr. Capstick’s books and still get great enjoyment out of them, he’s a great writer. Have never met Mr. Sullivan, seems like a very likable guy that I would enjoy hunting with. Even one of my favorite writers, Louis L’amour, embellished some of his own personal exploits according to his own son, but I still enjoy his writing very much. Does it even serve a purpose in mentioning this? Perhaps not, but it was a sentiment shared by other PH contemporaries PH’s back then.

 

[Longwalker]

I first read Peter Capstick's Death in the Long Grass as an impressionable teenager in the 1970's. His exploits defined my own early longings for hunting adventures in a distant land. As a somewhat feral rural child living in the unpopulated Western plains of Canada, I spent most of my teenage years with a hunting firearm in hand, even if it was usually only a .22. Besides enjoying our abundance of small game, waterfowl and deer, or dreaming of soon to be realized Canadian wilderness hunts for Moose, Elk, Bears, Caribou and Sheep, I mentally incorporated Elephant and Eland and Buffalo in my must-do adventures.
Capstick's Death in the Long Grass really was the seed that lured me to Africa first. My first African trip encouraged me to go back again five times. I have two more trips booked for the future. The record of my travels seems like a pretty good marketing success by the author.
I've become mature enough in my literary appreciation to recognize an author's embellishment. But so what? Capstick was writing for the readers' entertainment, he was not making a documentary.
Reading about Capstick's and other people's experiences with dangerous African game provided me with the mental preparation and presence of mind to conduct myself properly and without embarrassment when a Zimbabwean bull elephant tried to kill me and our crew while hunting in Zimbabwe last March.
Had I not read of other's exploits, embellished or not, I may not have been so prepared or so minimally competent.
In an ideal world, writers would only write their own truth, and would not need to embellish the facts to sell a story. However very few people have lived such a perfect and interesting life that the complete truth of their own experiences is entertaining or marketable to the masses. Writers are sadly required by the mundane necessities of life to make a living. Personal experience stories often need a little "extra presentation".
I will also admit to adding a little bit of flair to a personal story or two to make them more appealing to the few who admire me retelling my personal exploits. That's part of what makes us human, and interesting, and makes a story worth telling.
I like Capstick. And recommend most of his books.