What brand 375 H&H did Peter Capstick shoot?

[Wheels]

No problem , @baxterb . Out of all the questions my fellow hunting friends ask me , the second most popular one is “ How was Kenya during the good old days ? “ . My white hunter’s name was J. Cheffings and we hunted near Rift Valley . You can see some of my photos on my “ Media “ page .

When I went on my second Safari in 1978 , I was already told that hunting in Kenya got banned .

Really enjoyed looking through your media. Love the old photos.

@Hunter-Habib thanks! I’ll check out your pics.

I’m not familiar with Cheffings, I’ll have to look him up. Yes, I bet you are asked a lot about Kenya. Plenty of safari history for sure.

I am unfamiliar with Cheffings too. Neat to learn something new.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Really enjoyed looking through your media. Love the old photos.




I am unfamiliar with Cheffings too. Neat to learn something new.

I'm glad you liked them , Wheels . Kenya's a prime example of how Western leftist anti hunting policies can destroy a country's once rich biodiversity . And now , they have the nerve to blame us hunters . But then again , what's new ?

 

[baxterb]

@Wheels

I'm seeing a Michael Cheffings at Bateleur safaris here: http://www.bateleursafaris.com/about.html

Finn Aagaard used to run Bataleur hunting safaris before things closed, so... I wonder if they were connected.


Also seeinfg Joe Cheffings' son here: https://onsafarikenya.com/anthony-cheffings/


Good stuff...

 

[Wheels]

When I looked at the title to this post I figured I could add to the thread by saying, Capstick had a Bloemfontein Musgrave 375 in his later years.

Obviously my comment was not needed. The cumulative knowledge of AH members across all disciplines never ceases to amaze me.

 

[Wheels]

@Wheels

I'm seeing a Michael Cheffings at Bateleur safaris here: http://www.bateleursafaris.com/about.html

Finn Aagaard used to run Bataleur hunting safaris before things closed, so... I wonder if they were connected.


Also seeinfg Joe Cheffings' son here: https://onsafarikenya.com/anthony-cheffings/


Good stuff...

Great stuff Baxter.

You pull neat stuff out of your hat all the time.

 

[xausa]

@Hunter-Habib Just curious who you hunted with (and where) in Kenya in 1974? You snuck in just before they closed.

I hunted in Kenya in 1974. I had scheduled a hunt for 1973, but a ban on elephant hunting had been imposed and I was hoping it would be repealed. My hunter, David Williams of Ker, Downey and Selby, had told me that residents were still allowed elephant licenses and that it might be possible to purchase one from a recipient. That proved not to be the case, but I went anyway and am glad I did.

 

[baxterb]

Yes, that 73-74 timeframe would have been most complicated as I am sure there was a lot of uncertainty all around.

Dave Williams also previously hunted with Tanganyika Tours and Safaris as well as U.W.D. (Uganda Wildlife Development.)

 

[baxterb]

As an aside, i happened to look at a picture Joe Coogan sent me last year of his copy of African Hunter that is full of PH autographs and what signature popped out?

Joe Cheffings.

 

[Wheels]

If memory serves me correct, Tanzania had shut down hunting by 72 or so and didn't reopen until late 70's. Some of the Tanzania ph's went to Kenya, Zambia and Botswana.

@baxterb , do you happen to know the dates that Tanzania was shut down?

 

[baxterb]

@Wheels it closed in 1973 and reopened in 1977.

Funny enough I have a letter on Ker Downey & Selby letterhead from John Bade (must have been a local director?) to a former client right during the closure as he informs the client of the closure and that he had three big safaries afield including Baron Thyssen! He mentions hunting 'might' resume the following year, but since the letter has no date its hard to say where in the closure period it was written. He also mentions closing KD&S (which merged with Safari South in 1978) so it's probably toward the end of the closure.

Along with this letter (also on KD&S stationery) is a hand-drawn sketch of the Selous hunting blocks with other notes from a safari. neat!

 

[Wheels]

@Wheels it closed in 1973 and reopened in 1977.

Funny enough I have a letter on Ker Downey & Selby letterhead from John Bade (must have been a local director?) to a former client right during the closure as he informs the client of the closure and that he had three big safaries afield including Baron Thyssen! He mentions hunting 'might' resume the following year, but since the letter has no date its hard to say where in the closure period it was written. He also mentions closing KD&S (which merged with Safari South in 1978) so it's probably toward the end of the closure.

Along with this letter (also on KD&S stationery) is a hand-drawn sketch of the Selous hunting blocks with other notes from a safari. neat!

Thanks for the info. I wasn't to far off.

You are a great resource!

If I remember correct, around the late 60's, the Tanzania government made all ph's become members of the national association. Many ph's that only hunted Tanzania left the EAPHA. When Tanzania shut down some that hunted Kenya rejoined. When Kenya shut down, the EAPHA disbanded. We had an amazing resource in @JudyB , unfortunately I don't think she has posted for three years or so. Hopefully she is okay and will check back in at some point.

 

[baxterb]

I remember seeing Judy’s posts - wonderful information. Also hope she’s well.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I went through all of my Peter Hathaway Capstick books and I found the answer . Peter had a five firearm battery :
- A .275 Rigby
- A .375 Holland & Holland Magnum
- A .470 Nitro Express Boxlock Ejector
- A 12 Gauge
- A handgun

We don’t know if the .275 Rigby was really made by John Rigby & Co. or if it was a generic 7x57 mm Mauser .

His first .375 Holland & Holland Magnum was built by Continental Arms in New York , on an early control round feed FN Mauser action . Magazine capacity was five rounds . The extractor wasn’t beveled , because Peter couldn’t load a round directly into the chamber ( by snapping the extractor over the rim ) without risking breaking the ejector . In 1989 , he bought a second .375 from the Musgrave factory in South Africa which was built on a military surplus Mauser 98 action , with an octagonal barrel and a Timney adjustable trigger . It had Peter’s personal serial number ( PHC-1 ) engraved on the action in gold .

His first .470 Nitro Express was a William Evans Boxlock Ejector , which was stolen from his Florida home in 1974 . His second .470 Nitro Express was bought from George Caswell ( of Champlin Arms ) at an SCI convention at Las Vegas , while he was signing leather bound copies of “ Death In The Long Grass “ . This one was an Italian Champlin-Famars Boxlock Ejector ( serial number 763 ) .

His first shotgun was a Beretta 12 Gauge 3 “ Magnum Over & Under , which was also stolen from his Florida home in 1974 . After that , he shifted to a 12 Gauge 3 “ Magnum Winchester Model 1200 with the Win-Choke interchangeable tubes .

His handgun of choice was initially a 9x19 mm Browning Hi Power semi automatic . Later , he switched to a .38 Special Ruger revolver .

Until 1984 , Peter preferred 300 Gr Winchester Silver Tip soft points and 300 Gr Remington round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids for his .375 Holland & Holland Magnum . He eventually switched to A Square ammunition for his .375 Holland & Holland Magnum In 1989 .

For his .470 Nitro Express , he initially preferred using old stock ICI Kynoch 500 Gr soft points and round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids , which were loaded with 150 grains of cordite . After BELL Brass began to produce factory loaded .470 Nitro Express ammunition in 1983 , this is what he began to use until 1989 ( when BELL Brass closed down ) .

For following up wounded leopards , he initially used British brass cased SSG shotgun shells ( SSG is # 3 Buckshot with a 6.8 mm pellet diameter) . He later shifted to # 1 Buckshot , after conducting some ballistics tests in 1976 . I don’t think that he mentions the brand of buckshot . But it was probably Remington , since he didn’t like buckshot shells which lacked shot cups . And the Winchester buckshot shells never had any shot cups .

Even though he didn’t personally own it , Peter also used a Game Department issued Winchester Model 70 in .458 Winchester Magnum for elephant cropping work ( no mention is made as to whether it was a pre 64 control round feed action or a post 64 push feed action ) . For this , he used Game Department issued Winchester Super Speed 500 Gr round nosed FMJ solids ( most likely copper jacketed , which was what Winchester was using during the 1970s until they began to use Hornady round nosed steel jacketed FMJ solids from 1983 ) .

Well , that’s basically it .

 

[Wyatt Smith]

That’s very comprehensive @Hunter-Habib thank you.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

That’s very comprehensive @Hunter-Habib thank you.

You’re welcome , Wyatt Smith .

 

[Laniarius]

I just came across this thread and, while not about the original question, I have a clarification about one of Capstick's revolvers. I don't recall which book for sure, I think it was Peter Capstick's Africa, but I wrote down the following quote a few years ago from Capstick: "In those days, during the bush war, I carried a Ruger .38/.357/9mm revolver for self-defense, just to keep international relations reasonable. It was with that revolver that I shot the cobra." This was presumably a single action convertible Blackhawk.