http://www.vintageguns.co.uk/news/news-augustWe just got back from the Free State, where we have been with Shooting Sportsman, hosting the readers & Writers shoot. Africa is a great bird shooting venue and we had a fantastic time. A lovely group dynamic and plenty of ribbing and laughs.
I was very happy to shoot with sportsmen from The US, Scotland and England, all of whom were safe, excellent shots and great company. We are off for another trip on September 8th. The photos give a taste of the action.
That is great stuff!!!
What did you guys do hunt all day and eat all night?
We got up at 06.45, had coffee and rusks, then went out to walk up game birds over pointers.
Return to the lodge for lunch around 12.15.
Out to shoot pigeons on the sunflower fields from 13.00 until 16.30 and then hunting game birds again until dusk.
We picked up a few ducks on isolated pans (ponds) and had a dedicated day snipe shooting and wildfowling on some big lakes.
Kiri was great at the brai - we ate some of everything and Alan shot a wildebeest to provide a change from birds. We did not eat meat other than what we shot all week.
A really good bunch of guys. One guy (Alan) shot faultlessly with a 23" barreled vierling (four barrels - side-by-side 16-bore with a .22 hornet above and a 8x57R below. Who says short barrels don't work?!
Life is short, we need days like these! A few more photos here
http://www.facebook.com/diggory.hadoke/photos_albums
Dig, I really enjoy your pictures, Thank You!!
I think I've solved my 16 gauge (Bore) problem with Gaugemates in 20 gauge so I am one step closer.
What was everyone else shooting?
Me: J. Thompson (Trusty Rusty) 12-bore hammer gun.
Kiri: Browning o/u 12-bore
Alan: Vierling and William Evans BLE 12-bore
Ed: Winchester Model 21 20-bore
Ralph: Rizzini o/u 12-bore
Phil: Browning o/u 20-bore
Jack: Rizzini o/u 12 bore.
Three guns had mechanical faults during the trip. Not mine!
Hmm, well the William Evans is English so that's good, the Winchester I would be surprised if it had mechanical problems, the Brownings I would accept as having problems but a Rizzini?
Must NOT be from F.lli. Rizzini!!
Thanks for the pictures and report.
When is the new book due?
Does anyone shoot shorebirds in Africa?I just got a new book that shows they have a lot of different ones there and I'm now making shorebird decoys for amusement and to burn up some cedar and cypress wood.
Very nice photos. Thanks for sharing!
Adam
Not sure about shorebirds. What do you have in mind? Our wildfowling was on shallow lakes called 'pans' by the locals.
Actually, I'm expecting the first copy of the new book through the door this morning. quie looking forward to seeing how it came out.
BTW
The guns which had problems:
Winchester Model 21 - single trigger irregularity.
Rizzini O/U - Cocking problem, also a soft strike failed to fire on occasion.
Rizzini O/U - Trigger selector malfunction.
Which Rizzini manufacturer were the guns that malfunctioned?
I have to admit that I did not look closely enough to notice.
My interest in such things is decidedly limited.
You guys are killing me with this African wingshooting. I've spoken with my friend who's always willing to travel, we're going to book something for next summer. I'm not getting any younger, it's time to go.
DLH
Should have known better, a single trigger Model 21, happens every time.
You and me both Destry!!! Right now I’m trying to get all my ducks in a row plus a good airline gun case and of course a good outfitter.
Come with us next June. The more the merrier.
My spare Boyt case in in Houston. You can use that!
Hey Guys,
The trip was great. Considering that we had a drought to deal with and a lack of cover to hold guineas, we did exceptionally well and none of the guys even thought there might be a struggle on!!
I have a couple of weeks back in the UK before I head out for the national shooting championships in Mpumalanga, and another two weeks of bird shooting!! I'm missing Africa already.
I've decided that I will stop hunting in Africa when I come home thinner than when I started the hunt...
Rgds,
Kiri
Dig, that sounds like a plan. Dig and Kiri, I’m sure there is a lot of paperwork involved so when do you need to know?
I've often wondered about the shorebirds in Africa as well. There's got to be somewhere besides Scotland and Ireland where you can still legally shoot them.
Destry
Paperwork is easy. We can do it all for you. We are going again on Sept 8th for two back-to-back trips. Next year we will probably to three trips.
Dig, is it possible to compare the two types of hunting between South America and South Africa? Such as how many rounds per day, how many shotguns would you recommend to bring? Are there 'Camp’ shotguns that can be used if everything goes wrong for the traveler?
I know there are a lot more guys on this Board that have been to Africa to bird hunt, where the heck are they?
Never been to South America.
Africa is Africa.
The birds are wild and you have to hunt them.
You can't just stand in the open and expect them to fly overhead, you have to be smart.
Two guys who came this time had just been in South America and really enjoyed the Africa trip.
The key to the trip is the variety of shooting. I'm personally not interested in shooting 1000 doves a day, though the early season pigeon shooting guys were shooting as many shell as they wanted to - typically about 600 a day.
The mixed game bird, waterfowl and pigeon shoots will usually find a shooter using about 2000 shells in a week.
We can supply guns but prefer people to bring their own - whenever I lend someone a gun, they tent to drop it on the floor. Never seems to happen to their own guns! We do have back-ups.
I only ever take one gun - but it is one of those super-reliable 130 year old English things with two hammers, two trigers and no ejectors! Take foreign crap at your own risk!!!
Excellent stuff Dig and thank you for the invitation!!!
I take it this is a doubles only party and I'll bring my super reliable American box-lock, complete with two triggers and no ejectors.
I guess no one else is going to chime in here though.
I have not been to South America but am currently planning a trip there for next summer to shoot Perdiz, quail and duck. From my take on it compared to my South African hunt,it can be way more high volume shooting due to a large percentage of your shooting is dove and duck whereas South Africa can have good dove shooting but not in the volume that a good place in Argentina would have. I enjoy hunting over dogs so that is why I spend very little time hunting doves. Nothing wrong with it, just not where my interests are. I think for strictly uplands Africa has South America beat by a long shot due to the variety of species you can encounter in a given day. I would gladly shoot a few birds of several species in a day than a 1,000 of the same. Much more fun for me to roam the country and see all the other wildlife in addition to shooting a variety of pointed birds. I would and will go back to Africa again, but I want to hunt Perdiz, so I figure I will do it this coming year. Then it is back to Africa and maybe Scotland for a Driven shoot.
Small Bore - you should probably be a little more descreet when talking publicly about gun problems that your "clients" experience. "M21 Ed" is a well known tort lawyer in the area and is going to take a lot of heat at the local gun clubs (not to mention the M21 forum) over your post. Sounds like the makings of a lawsuit to me. As long as you have opened the subject, we would all like to hear your assessment of M21 Ed's shooting skills.
They were not my clients! I had no financial interest in this at all - I was just along for the ride.
Ed not only shoots very well (especially high ducks) but he can actually walk in a straight line.
I have a photo of me with the M21. It will never be seen in public, of course. Unless Vic has other ideas!
What a great trip -- shoot of a lifetime for me in many ways. It's not about volume but good company and wild birds and a great diversity of them -- friends and birds.
My Beretta performed flawlessly -- its owner did not.
M21 Ed lent me his M 21 12-ga one day for pigeon and doves. I shot it a lot better than my my B gun. I liked it.
In all fairness it only acted up once.
I am not used to single-trigger 21s and once when pulling-squeezing the trigger I pushed the selector half-way between settings and it locked up. A simple flick and all was well.
BTW, I do have several photos of Smallbore admiring Ed's 21 and for the right price I can be tempted into posting them ....
I can be had for cheap, maybe a beer ... If Ed doesn't sue me for teaching his gun bad habits I'll do it for free.
Please, please post the pictures
Finding out it was a single trigger Model 21 I can understand the problems. Does anyone really build a good single trigger?
Small Bore - Well said. M21 Ed outshoots us more often than not on clays and rarely has any mechanical issues. He promised to take lots of pictures and we all await his safe return.
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Diggory & The M-21, or An Unrequited Love Story
Help Diggory caption this photo:
A) Wow, this isn't as bad as I thought.
B) Ed! I'll trade you my Purdey for it.
C) Oh for F#$#'s sake don't snap that picture.
The expression on Dig's face communicates answer A; that a M-21 in 20 gauge isn't as bad as I thought...
I was thinking it had more in common with a guy who picked up an interesting rock, and realized, a second before the shutter snapped, that the rock was actually elephant dung, to the laughing of his mates.
In all fairness, a 21 single trigger is very comparable to an English single trigger-for reliablility.
Great photo, looks like a grand time.
Best,
Ted
I don't know... to me Dig on this pic looks exactly like Clint Eastwood in one of these old spaghetti westerns. You know, the famous "Yeah" right before having to gunfight an extra large crowd of extra bad stunts
Humpty,
You don't know how close to the truth you are on the western analogy. The only difference being that Eastwood smoked rolled up tree bark cigars, and Dig generally has a fat Cuban in his mouth...
To be fair is is also faster on the draw than most.
Rgds,
K
BTW,
I can also vouch for Eds shooting. Generally the shooting was of a very high standard all round, although Alan did miss a Francolin on Thursday.
We let him off though as it was snowing at the time!!
K
