Casting lead bullets for the .257 Roberts Low-cost practice before the hunting season
Think like a fish Food, sex food.
Dangerous animals up close
Surviving a close African encounter of the dangerous kind
LandShark in Gonarhezhou
Palanca Report 1st Trimester 2014
The Maneating lions of Tsavo A night after hippo-
Make a Plan
Fire without matches or a lighter
contents 2 | Volume 6 Issue 2
10 Casting lead bullets for the .257 Roberts Low-cost practice before the hunting season
21 Think like a fish Food, sex food.
32 Dangerous animals up close Surviving a close African encounter of the dangerous kind
54 Palanca Report 1st Trimester 2014
60 LandShark in Gonarhezhou
71 Rookie Writers Trees: Silent Assasins?
85 The Maneating lions of Tsavo A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO
112 Make a Plan Fire without matches or a lighter
116 True North Dismissal and cynicism
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AFRICAN
Published by Safari Media Africa Editors United States of America Editor: Alan Bunn editorusa@africanxmag.com Associate editor: Galen Geer ggeer@africanxmag.com Europe Hans Jochen Wild editoreurope@africanxmag.com Africa Southern Africa: Mitch Mitchell editorafrica@africanxmag.com Central Africa: Cam Crieg cam@africanxmag.com Financial Thea Mitchell Layout & Design Xtasis Media and Digital Wind Advertising and Marketing South Africa: T. Mitchell adssa@africanxmag.com Phone +27 13-7125246 Fax 0866104466 USA: Alan Bunn adsusa@africanxmag.com (706) 2762608 African Expedition Magazine is an independent bimonthly publication promoting fair, sustainable hunting, a protected environment and adventure sports in Africa. The African Expedition Magazine is published by Safari Media Africa
Disclaimer While all precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of advice and information provided, the Proprietor, Publisher, Editor, or Writers cannot accept responsibility for any damages, inconvenience or injury whatsoever that may result from incorrect information. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its agents. African Expedition Magazine assumes no responsibility to return graphics unsolicited editorial, or other material. All rights in unsolicited editorial, letters, emails, graphics and other material will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and material will be subject to African Expedition Magazine’s unrestricted right to edit and editorial comment. All material and/or editorial in African Expedition is the property of African Expedition and/or the various contributors. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the Publisher.,
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You can click on: • author’s names to email them (when they allow it) • articles to comment about them on our blog Volume 6 Issue 2 | 7
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Volume 6 Issue 2 | 9
Casting
lead bullets for the
.257 Roberts
10 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Leo Grazzaffi
Low-cost practice before the hunting season
O
ne advantage of being a cast lead shooter is that you can get in some pretty good practice with your hunting rifle prior and between hunting seasons without expending any amount of high priced factory ammunition. California is its’ holy wisdom has made most of the prime hunting areas in the state into nonlead zones. There are only a limited number of companies that manufacture none lead hunting bullets and most of them are in the premium price category. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 11
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My plans are to use my Pre 64 Model 70 257 Roberts this season. With this as a goal, I worked out a great shooting load using the Barnes 100 grain TSX tipped triple shock bullet with the pretty blue plastic nose caps. I usually have a preference for lead core bullets, but after finding the magic combination of Accurate Hunter powder and proper setting from the leads the Barnes shots as well or perhaps better then anything else that I have used in over 40 years of reloading. Besides, these bullets really look sexy both in the box and when loaded in your gun. No one can claim that you are not a shooter in the 21st century.
25 yards is with a charge of 7.5 grains of Unique. I have also used 9.0 grains, and could see very little difference in accuracy. I find that groups with either mixture began to open up when going above 10 grains. Since I am only looking for a load to practice with at the indoor range, I have settled on the 7.5 grain load for economy and comfort of shooting. I also find that I have less of a cleaning chore when I use a CFVENTURES soft gas check under the bullet, especially when shooting plain base bullets.
California hunting season opened on the 17th of September. Prior to opening day, I took the gun and lead loads to the Prior to hunting season I sight my rifle in indoor range and shoot 75 rounds every from the bench with my hunting load and day for 6 days. My practice session was then use a couple of hundred rounds of composed of sitting in a chair and restcast lead loads for practicing from the ing the forearm of the gun in the crouch shooting positions that I would normally of another product that is a blessing to use in the field. It is a long run to a major any field shooting, the BOGgear shooting rifle shooting range, but I have a 25 yards tripod [www.BOGgear.com]. This is one indoor shooting range about 5 minutes piece of equipment that I carry into the from my home. Their policy is to allow field with my and even carry over to Africa only handguns and firearms using pistol in order to insure that one in a lifetime cartridges up to the 500 S&W range. I shot. I did not use any type of a butt or have worked on the program of educatarm rest and believe this to be just about ing them that a light cast lead bullet in how I shoot in the field and that I would any rifle can without too much effort be be using a shooting stick or rest of some loaded to a level well with in the window sort whenever possible. I would then of today’s handgun loads.My favorite cast shoot 15 groups of five shoots each and lead load for the 257 Roberts are aswait until the barrel cooled down between sembled with a 95 grain plain base bullet each shot string. cast from a two cavity RAPINE aluminum Every night I cleaned the barrel using mold. I have in the past casted this bullet patches only and some GI WW11 bore using Linotype or Wheel Weights plus 2% cleaner that I wanted to try out. This is an tin. Both mixtures are dropped directly old formula compared to some of the new from the mold into room temperature miracle products being offered today. I water. At 25 yards I find very little differam glad to report that there was very little ence in accuracy with either of these two leading because I never let the barrel get lead mixtures. My best shooting load at too hot. Cleaning was with a wet patch Volume 6 Issue 2 | 13
left for ten minutes or so and then dry patches. After the barrel was reasonably clean, the barrel was left clean and dry for the next range session. My plans to go out into the field to hunt during the opening day of deer season fell apart for reasons out of my control. Since I had this extra time to play with the gun and the loads, I decided to see if the Barnes bullet was still on target after shooting over 450 cast lead loads and the six or seven cleaning sessions. I took off for a day to go to a 100 yard range to see how my Barnes load was holding its accuracy where it was still shooting. In the past if have found that I prefer to have a fouled barrel for my first shot on game. Since the barrel was as clean as I could make it, I decided to try something new for the first shot testing. I had received a sample of a new bore treatment from Sentry Solutions [www. sentrysolutions.com]. The product is called SMOOTH COAT and it is a liquid that you whip down a cleaned bore and allow to dry for several hours before using with either jacketed or lead bullets. The instructions are simple and the claims promised by the manufacturer were challenging stating improved first shot accuracy and easier cleaning. I had coated the bore the night before going to the range and then at the range shot four shots at 100 yards with out any additional bore preparation. These four shoots went into a tight one half inch cluster right on point of aim. I then shoot 15 five shot groups with the lead load at 50 yards and the largest group had a spread of about just over one and a quarter inch. Being very please with the gun and both 14 | Volume 6 Issue 2
the hunting and lead loads and Knowing that I would not get out deer hunting for a couple of more weeks, I then decided I should spend the time doing some more lead practice shooting. Being back to just having only a 25 yard range for practice, I again found that my eyes have a hard time focusing in most high power hunting scopes at that range . It is not the scope, but my eyes are in pretty bad shape now at age 77. Of course there are scopes available for short range shooting, but most of these scopes are for air guns and in any case I have not had a chance to use any of them. I had been using one inch black squares as aiming points on white paper. At 25 yards the lead load will shoot into less then one half inch consistently. I find that the lead load shoots at 25 yards about 2 inches lower then my point of aim. My eyes see the bullet holes in the white portion of the target better then when I am shooting holes into the black. Therefore I find that having a point of impact below my point of aim is really an advantage. I have for the last couple of month been working with a Pentax Lightseaker 30 scope 6x24x44 with their mil-dot reticule. I had never had a chance to use a Pentax scope before this project. In the past, have had several Pentax cameras that I used over seas and admired the quality highly. I am more of a shooter then a photo bug and the Pentax line of scopes had always been just outside of my spectrum. I decided to mount the Lightseaker on my 257 as a platform for load development and perhaps some long range shooting. When I first looked through
Leo Grizzaffi is a lifelong hunter and veteran of many African safaris. Author and reloading expert, his specialty is the care and feeding of big bore double rifles, however he also dabbles with the little calibers. Leo resides in California, where being a lawyer and judge in the City of Los Angeles sometimes interferes with his busy hunting and reloading schedule. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 15
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the scope, after mounting it on the rifle, I was amazed at how clear and shape were both the reticule and the target. This scope features a parallax adjustment knob on the left side of the scope with an adjustable range from 50 yards to infinity. It also features a quick focus adjustable eye piece that is heaven sent for those of use with older worn out eyes. Between these two adjustments, I was able to get a sharp image of the reticule and an acceptable image of the target when the scope was set at 6 power. I personally think this is exceptional for a scope of this power range that is primarily designed for long range shooting. The mil-dot reticule has four dots on each of the reticule lines and a cross hair in the center. I found that I could when using the 6 power setting use a quarter inch diameter red marking dot as an aiming point. Being lazy, I could use just one aiming point and then use each of the mil dots on the reticule as a separate sighting point. When using these programs, I was able to have a single center aiming point and then shoot 15 separate groups onto the paper. Each group was exactly spaced from each other both vertically and horizontally on the target. This speaks highly of the quality of workmanship that Pentax has put into their scope line.
a jagged cluster of less then three eights of and inch. I did not clean the barrel after firing these 75 shots and after reloading these same cases again, I went back to the range to see what would happen if I shoot another session from a dirty barrel. This time I again shot 15 5 shot groups using the mil dots, but did not let the barrel cool for the entire string. I can tell you that a barrel can get really hot even with light lead loads when you don’t let it cool. The barrel became too hot to hold on to and the last five groups opened up to over and inch and a quarter. That evening I cleaned the barrel after firing that full 150 round string and found traces of leading, but much less then I was expecting. You would think that shoot this number of rounds through a gun over two or three weeks would be a lot of work, but with the lead loads it was a ball. Secretly, I did a couple of sessions shooting at chips of spent bullet jackets that were laying on the rubber backstop, just to have some plinking fun.
I believe the use of the SMOOTH COAT through three range session had a lot to do with the performance level that I experienced and I plan to work with this bore treatment on some other calibers that I find have a propensity to foul with high I shot 15 five shot 25 yard groups allowperformance loads. Now the next chaling the barrel to cool between groups and lenge is to see if I can find a deer this the largest group was a little over three season to complete the goals of this projquarters of an inch and the smallest was ect.
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Volume 6 Issue 2 | 19
Thin
Master gamefisherman Mike Laubscher shows you how to do it right
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Mike Laubscher
nk like a fish
Food, sex food.
M
any an eager fisherman’s approach to fishing is to simply chuck his lure out there and hope to catch a fish, and it is thought that catching a fish or even a big one is luck. I call this “chuck & hope”, and it is my belief that whilst one can get a lucky fish, it was only because unknowingly you put the right lure in the right place at the right time and in the right way.
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Chartreuse is a color halfway between yellow and green that was named because of its resemblance to the green color of one of the French liqueurs called green chartreuse, introduced in 1764
22 | Volume 6 Issue 2
There should be a technical or scientific approach to the way you target fish. Hopefully you will have a better understanding of what to look for and what to throw when and where. This subject could fill a whole book; so I am only going to write a series that will allow you to think about what you are doing, and apply some thought and logic to your fishing, which in turn will hopefully allow you to catch fish more regularly and consistently, rather than by luck.
a specific movement of a lure, a specific colour, or coloured area on the lure, or even a spot, eye colour, or contrast colours and so on.
I have found that many a person is falsely under the impression that the fish are being fooled into an exact imitation of their food source, which can also be the case under certain circumstances, but the reality is that they are actually being triggered by their natural instinct to react to a specific item that they are tuned into. Most There are many factors that influence fish animal behaviour is like this, and they instinctively know some things without ever feeding behaviour, and so each and evhaving to learn them, it is after all already ery day would provide a set of new chalpre-programmed in their DNA. lenges as no two days are alike. We have a pet Macaw at home, and Mostly, fish think about food all day, and raised her up from a baby, and so she all night, it is programmed in their DNA is completely human imprinted and has and so instinct to them and so it goes never been influenced by another Mawithout saying that Fish will behave in a caw. Yet she knows what a snake is, she certain manner instinctively. This means that you need to learn about what Fish knows what a bird of prey is, not only what they look like, but even their sounds, eat, learn about how what and she knows that they are danger. We he eats benever taught her that. She behaves in haves, certain ways; that all Macaws I have seen behave in exactly the same way. Why? It is because she is programmed that way. Exactly the same goes for Fish, they will behave in certain ways because they are Fish. where it lives, when and where is breeds and so on, because where you find the Fish’s food, there you will find Fish also. If you understand the instinctive behaviour of fish, you will find that it will respond to a lure in an instinctive way, we call this a reaction bite which is usually triggered by something very simple like
Most lures on the market are focused towards this reaction, and so will imitate and even enlarge the trigger. Bait fish, crustaceans, and many other food sources that Fish feed on are masters at camouflage and so when you go under the water you need to really look more than twice to start seeing what is actually going on, and in the end what you will find is that what you see is only a small portion Volume 6 Issue 2 | 23
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of the food source. Bait fish for example can almost become invisible in the water and when you see them you usually only see a part of them, it could just be a flash, or the eyes, or a certain marking, colour or line and once your eyes and brain get accustomed to this you will start to notice more and more what is around you, and learn to see what you are looking for by identifying certain characteristics, which are the triggers that will initiate the reaction of the Fish. Some bait fish go into certain breeding colours, and the fish will hone into this colour and all you need is a lure that will imitate the same colour shape and movement of that hot spot on the bait fish. I was asked once why fish go for chartreuse lures, when you get no chartreuse fish. The answer is easy; most fish have chartreuse in them on their scales depending on what angle the sun shines on them, and so they will flash in the water, and so the chartreuse lure is merely exaggerating that colour only and not the whole fish, thereby setting off the instinctive behaviour of the Fish. This kind of bright colour works extremely well in turbid water, where as in clearer water you will need to be more subtle, like perhaps just a small stripe or dot. Many crank baits and jerk baits for example have a red spot under the “chin� which is supposed to represent the gills, and is most definitely a trigger for Fish. Some lures may even represent a bleeding fish, and many have two tone colours. That is why some lure work on some days, and others work on other days. Most bait fish are darker on top, and
lighter underneath, which is why two tone lures work so well, as this is part of the bait fish’s camouflage. Many Bait fish will have a stripe over their eyes to hide them, and some will even have a spot on their tail to represent a false eye. In my opinion, the form and movement of your lure is everything, the colour and size will be of secondary importance, and then come feel, sound and lastly smell. The form, which is the shape and size of your lure is a very important factor, and you need to consider what you are trying to represent, and do not forget that what you may be trying to represent may only be a part, or an exaggeration of a trigger. For example think about the size of the bait fish around, then check to see if they are isolated or swimming in schools. These are very important factors to consider as if the bait fish are isolated from each other then you would need to have your size and trigger exactly the same as the bait fish. If they are swimming in schools, then you need to make something about your presentation slightly different. Why? Think about humans, if I handed you an orange you would take it and eat it, but if I passed you a bowl of oranges then you would select one, maybe the biggest, the roundest, the best colour, but you would spend some time if even only a moment thinking about your choice. Fish are the same, suddenly they come across a school of bait fish, and then they have trouble deciding which one to select, but if there was one standing out a little from the school, then he would most likely go for that fish (your lure).
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The difference could be size, colour or even movement like an injured fish for example. The movement of you lure includes the speed at which is moves, the way it moves, and what it does when it pauses. The movement is very important, as this is a common trigger; watch and see how insects and baitfish move in the water, sometimes they even stand still, sometimes they dart and stop, and then dart again. Find out at what depth the food source is located, as that is where you need to have your lure. Colours that you see on the surface, will look different in the water and change as you go deeper and there is less sun for the colour to show, colours like red will disappear completely and actually become invisible, where as purples will hold their colour much deeper, check the depth and colour spectrum. Some colours will cause an instinctive reaction from Fish in certain seasons; others must match the colour of the bottom, like a green worm in green grass and so on. Predator fish are not colour blind, they can see colour very well. Colours can also be exaggerated, like a bright colour in turbid water. Lures that feel like the real thing will get the Fish to hold on longer and fool their sense of touch, other lures like crank baits will instantly feel foreign to them and they will immediately try to get it loose.. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 27
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CLICK HERE Volume 6 Issue 2 | 29
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Volume 6 Issue 2 | 31
Dangerous animals
up close Surviving a close African encounter of the dangerous kind
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W
hile on safari in Africa you may unexpectedly meet animals that can seriously endanger your continued good health. You may just be very thankful that you took a few minutes to study these few basic tips that saved your life.
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Elephant can reach a height of 4m (13ft) and can accelerate to 38km/h (25mph) in seconds, a speed which can be maintained for great distances. Elephants normally avoid confrontations with humans but may attack, especially when there are small calves in the herd when the animal has been wounded or hunted when harassed or venturing too close Old bulls make mock charges, and charge vehicles with spread ears and loud trumpeting. A mock charge normally ends only meters from the object of irritation. When such an animal is further provoked, a real charge and attack may result. A real charge is often led by the matriarch with ears flat against the body and the trunks called up to the back. Avoid herds of elephant in the veld and never disturb these peace-loving animals. A charging herd of elephant makes for an extremely dangerous situation and they are almost impossible to stop - even with rifle fire. Be alert to the sound of breaking branches, trumpeting, the sound a large bodies rubbing against branches or trees, a sound slightly like the far-off rumble of thunder, fresh elephant tracks and the rank smell of elephant. When elephants are at a safe distance and they are blocking the road or refuse to leave the camp area, a rifle shot or a continuous banging against a vehicle’s door or an axe against a tree trunk will cause the animals to leave the area. In an emergency situation when an elephant is charging, do not run upwind but turn sharply left or right. Because of its poor eyesight, the elephant may continue the charge and run past you. Unless you are really keen for your kids to get their inheritance now, the best advice is to avoid playing with elephants altogether. 34 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Elephant Volume 6 Issue 2 | 35
Buffalo 36 | Volume 6 Issue 2
When a large herd of buffalo for disturbed they normally run away a short distance but return with nose in the air to inspect the impostor. Generally they then run away amid thundering noise followed by swarms of Buffalo flies. Lone bulls that have been hunted or wounded and animals that are unnecessarily disturbed can be very dangerous. A buffalo may charge without provocation and can seldom be stopped with a single rifle shot, even by an experienced hunter. Avoid buffalo as far as possible. On warm days buffalo hide in reeds or thickets close to river beds where old bulls spend most of their time in shallow water. The warning cry of the oxpecker and the breaking of branches may be the first and only sign of a charging buffalo. It is also a fact that a wounded Buffalo will turn back on his own tracks and wait for the hunter. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 37
Rhino 38 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Of the two kinds of southern African rhino the black rhino is the most dangerous. A black rhino that suddenly becomes aware of humans in its area may become confused and attack any moving thing. Look out for tracks and middens (a large heap of dung ) which mark rhino territory boundaries. With perfect timing and a good sidestep, (or rather a sideways dive) a rhino charge may be avoided. A bunch of thorns in your backside may be preferable to an irate rhino’s horn in that specific location. The white rhino is less aggressive but should also be considered dangerous. The story that rhino are self-appointed fire wardens and kill fires at night may not be entirely untrue but seems to be an extremely rare occurrence. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 39
Lion 40 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Lions normally run away from humans. However ,when they are suddenly surprised or when getting too close being followed or harassed, or when mating or eating lions are approached on foot, a dangerous situation may result. Old, thin, or sick animals are often more aggressive and Lions pose a greater threat at night. Lions in the veld must be avoided by taking note of fresh tracks, vultures, sounds of growling and the sounds of hyenas in the area. Thickets close to watering areas must be especially watched. Study the behaviour of animals like zebra and wildebeest at a watering-holes. If they are hesitant to go and drink and stare at a specific thicket there may be a predator in hiding. Giraffe are especially good indicators of predators when they stare at thickets for extended periods. At night the startled warning cry of a plover or a dikkop may indicate an approaching lion. When a lion charges, trying to run away his signing your own death warrant - then it knows that you know you are food. Standing still and trying to stare it down is better but it requires lot of courage - and sometimes a change of shorts - and may not work. Wounding a charging lion is especially dangerous. When you meet the king of the bush tried to remain as calm as possible. The golden rule is not to attack or flee first. Let circumstances - with your sights on the lion and a prayer - guide your actions. Often such a problem situation will resolve itself when the lion, after a mock charge or two, decides to disappear in the bush. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 41
Leopard 42 | Volume 6 Issue 2
With the exception of the legendary man-eating leopards, there are very few recorded a cases of leopards attacking humans. In exceptional cases old and sick Leopards may find humans easy prey, while harassed, wounded or trapped animals will be extremely dangerous. Leopards normally avoid humans and only their tracks - often very close to the camp fire - indicate that they are present.
You really do not want to mess with this kitty. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 43
Cheetah 44 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Of the larger predators the cheetah is the least dangerous. Just don’t pat it on the head.
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Hayena 46 | Volume 6 Issue 2
The brown hyena, also known as a “wolf�, is very shy and will normally not harm anyone. The spotted hyena also avoids direct human contact. Hungry hyenas will sniff around the camp at night and a few cases are for recorded where people who slept outside were bitten or maimed by hyenas. Hyenas may sometimes damage the tires of vehicles or damage vehicles or equipment. A suitable barrier like branches of thorn trees are usually sufficient to keep hyenas at bay. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 47
Hippos cause the largest number of human fatalities in Africa. In most of the cases the animals were disturbed or harassed. Although the animal may appear very docile when floating in a waterhole, it is nevertheless a dangerous animal and may attack unexpectedly. They often hide in thickets next to water holes and fatalities occur when a human is between a hippo and the water. Serious accidents can occur when traveling at night next to rivers and surprised hippo try to escape to the water and collide with vehicles. Hippos should be considered as potentially dangerous and a safe distance should be maintained. They can move very fast in water and on dry ground and can easily overtake a running man. A friend watched a local fisherman being chased by a hippo. The fisherman run as fast as he could in one direction while watching the hippo over his shoulder. As soon as it was close and at top speed, the gutsy local made a quick dash to the left, and the momentum of the hippo carried the massive body on, while allowing the fisherman to gain a few precious meters at a time. 48 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Hippo Volume 6 Issue 2 | 49
Crocodile 50 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Anyone walking through water or swimming in a waterhole where crocodiles are present is exposing himself to the risk of being caught by a crocodile. Crocodiles or are extremely fast and powerful and seem to not differentiate between prey species. Even a powerful Buffalo is not strong enough to avoid being pulled into the water. Crocodiles have valves that close the throat and nostrils when submerged. When caught by a crocodile use knife or sharp object to a gouge the eyes or try to cut and perforate the valves that close the nostrils or the throat. The best defense is to stay away from deep water. Watch out for them - they are efficient killers.
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Snakes
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If you encounter a snake, back away slowly while keeping your eye on the snake. However, if you are so close that you are within striking distance and the snake is already engaged to strike, remain motionless until the snake withdraws. Snakes only strike at movement. This will take some guts - and you may have to change your shorts afterwards. Puff adders hiss a warning and mambas and cobras raise the front of their bodies and spread their hoods as a warning. Do not pick up a snake that appears dead - Rinkhals snakes are very venomous and play dead - and are just waiting for you to do something as stupid as that.
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Palanca
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Report 1st Trimester 2014
I
n the beginning of the year, a short break in the rains allowed a 4X4 incursion into Cangandala National Park, even though the road conditions had deteriorated substantially. It was a good opportunity to put to the test the new Land Cruiser kindly donated by Toyota Angola, and sure enough there were plenty of good challenges for us to negotiate on our way through the mud. Things seem to be evolving naturally in the sanctuary, with the animals consistently split in two groups, one comprising the old cows and most of the hybrids, and a second herd with most of the young sables. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 55
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Somewhat surprisingly, this time the second group was not accompanied by the bull Mercury, but by his younger sibling Apollo, who at age two is still very inexperienced. More worrying is the fact Mercury did not show up at the trap cameras, nor could we pick up his radio signal anywhere. Maybe he has been spending some time on his own, and it was by chance he has gone undetected, but it is a bit suspicious. With Duarte and Ivan out of the picture, and the hybrid bulls castrated, he should be enjoying a comfortable dominance without competition inside the sanctuary, and I can’t think of any reason why he would leave his girls unattended… something to be followed up in future visits. We were not able to confirm the number of sable calves, as the long grass, soft terrain and thick vegetation typical of the late rainy season, made it very hard to approach the herds. They were generously photographed in the trap cameras, but not simultaneously and similar aged calves are hardly distinguishable individually. In any case, we believe most calves have survived, and the animals look happy and healthy. Once again we could confirm the presence of several intruder roan bulls inside the sanctuary, but no females. On the other hand, the roan herds out of the sanctuary have been producing lots of calves, consistently recorded in the cameras. One curious event revealed by the trap cameras was seeing that one old female - Paula, broke her left horn. Females often interact aggressively as they establish their hierarchical positions within the herd, and sometimes it can result in traumatic lesions. The broken horn however hasn’t reached live tissue and
should bring no consequences to Paula, apart from hindering her dominance ambitions. And on the other hand it will make her much easier to be identified from now on. The trap cameras however also brought us a sweet-sour surprise. Remarkably, out most popular character – crazy Ivan “The Terrible” resurfaced! Following an absence that lasted for more than six months, we had lost hope to locate him alive and assumed he had probably been another casualty of poachers. Well, he is alive yes, but unfortunately we were not that much off target in our fears. He did fell victim of a poaching incident, having been caught in one of the many infamous snare traps that are constantly being mounted in the park and neighboring areas. He has become a shadow of the Ivan we knew, and if it wasn’t for the white ear tags and VHF collar I would find it hard to accept that he is the same individual that now appeared in photos since January 3rd. Our old Ivan, strong and proud, mighty and threatening, undefeated… is gone. He is now a poor masculine figure, humble and skinny, feeble and frightened, beaten. Ivan has lost weight and has even lost his shiny black coat, having turned brown, almost female-colored. He is certainly not the same imposing bull, and on his left front leg carries a nasty ring-shaped scar, evidence of the cable snare that almost took his life. The incident must have happened many months ago and he must have gone through hell before finally attempting a hesitant return to his territorial duties.
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It is likely that the worst has passed and he will survive, but it is hard to predict if he will make a full recovery. This was yet another shocking proof that the poaching curse is far from resolved, even in Cangandala. It is highly frustrating that in spite of all the effort put into the project by the various stakeholders and the very significant successes obtained over the past few years, we still do not seem to be winning the war against poaching and the recovery and survival of this magnificent and iconic species hangs by a thread. Photos can be viewed on Picasa Album through following Link: https://plus.google. com/photos/113384424565470443034/albums/5998067063642775489?authkey=CP bNurKwo66wuQE Volume 6 Issue 2 | 59
LandShark
in Gonarhezhou
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EV PR A O LU D ATU C e used to think a land shark is a hyaena. Or a IO T N lawyer. On recent trip to Gonarhezhou, we packed
W
the LandShark to see how useful this survival tool is.
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Cold in Africa? You bet. Africa can get much colder than you think. The Land Shark is survival shelter constructed of a micro-thin layer of aluminized film laminated to a resilient, composite reinforced, ripstop material. The aluminized coating reflects up to 80% of radiated body heat. The tightly-woven ripstop reinforcing seam construction resists tears and punctures, even from boots and sticks. The Land Shark is completely windproof, waterproof and acts as a vapor barrier. How it works ●● Heat Retention: A micro-thin layer of aluminized film reflects up to 80% of radiated body heat – highly effective in combating hypothermia on land or in the water with a life vest on. ●● Vapor Barrier: The Land Shark is completely windproof and waterproof. This barrier prevents body oils, waste and blood from exiting the bag when used in water. ●● Military-Grade Construction: Tightly woven, ripstop reinforced waterproof seams reduce punctures or tears during use. ●● Eyelets help attach the 550 paracord when making a shelter out of Land Shark. ●● High Visibility: Land Shark’s eye-catching color is visible to search & rescue teams from miles away. In water, it provides more than 20 times the visibility of a person in just a life vest. ●● Instant Shelter: simply cut a Land Shark along the seams and prop up its sides to create an incredibly visible, waterproof shelter, which also protects from the sun’s rays. Features ●● The LandShark is reversible from international orange to camo and makes an excellent emergency signal, readily visible to search & rescue teams from great distances. Digital Camo provides visual masking for avoiding detection. ●● Composite Reinforced, Ripstop Material: Strengthens Land Shark reducing punctures and tears, even while user is wearing heavy boots. ●● The Aluminized Film combats hypothermia and eliminates infrared emissions for stealth and evasion from high-tech, body heat detection equipment. The aluminized material is also radar reflective for search aircraft, search & rescue teams and high speed vessels moving at night over water. ●● The 550 Paracord drawstring can be used to create a hood or to close the shelter entirely for maximum protection and body heat retention. In the water, the closed bag helps prevent water ingestion in heavy seas. ●● Sea-Dog® Clip is and integral tether to easily link multiple survivors together Volume 6 Issue 2 | 63
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SPECS The following is a list of specifications and a summation of tests performed on the Land Shark Instant Survival Shelter. Tests are related to, but not limited to or directed by U.S. Coast Guard requirements. Specifications and test results have been provided by: Corporate Air Parts, Inc., Cadillac Products Packaging, and AeroSystems.
Specification / Test
Result
Material thickness:
10 Mils
Tensile strength:
25 lbs / inch width (MD), 25 lbs / inch width (CD)
Tear force (notched):
Warp >1600 grams, Fill >1600 grams
Color:
International Orange / Digital Camo
Body coverage:
Entire body and head
Seams class:
Stitched
Seam strength:
>50 lbs
Hardware ease of operation:
Easy, even with gloves
Sized to fit:
110 to 330 lb. person
Sized to fit:
4’11” to 6’3” person
Room for flotation device:
Yes
Thermal protection:
Yes
Low temperature resistance:
Remains Flexible No Delamination at -40° F/C, ASMT D1790
High temperature resistance:
Remains Flexible No Delamination, 4 Hours at (116º C)
In water performance:
Able to put on within one minute. Able to remove within 30 sec
Oil resistance:
Minor expansion of outer layer after submersion for 24 hrs. in diesel fuel. No degradation of material strength
Packaging / optional storage pouch:
Vacuum Sealed / Zippered bag included
Pouch attachment:
Loop / Hook / Clip / Hook and Loop
Instructions:
2 pages printed inside vacuum sealed pouch
Cold environment test:
Air body temperature was maintained at safe level during live tests within a controlled cold environment of 14° F / -10° C
Cold environment test:
Water Body temperature was maintained during 90 minute live tests. Water temperature of 50° F / 10° C
Snow camping test:
Overnight stay with sleeping bag and pad within Instant Survival Shelter. Body temperature maintained and less than expected condensation. Outside temperature in low 20°s F, and 9200 ft. altitude
Survival test:
Overnight stay at 6700 ft. altitude inside Instant Survival Shelter with regular clothing.* No sleeping bag or other aid. Body temperature drop of only 0.9° F after 5 hrs. Body temperature was recorded every 30 minutes. Ambient temperature below freezing (30° F) throughout test period. Minimum breathing opening. Low condensation
Size (Packaged):
6” x 8” x 1”
Size (Opened):
38” x 80” (96.52 cm x 203.2 cm) *T-shirt, sweater, wind-jacket, underpants, jeans, medium socks, hiking boots, gloves
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during a survival situation at sea. Creates a larger target for search & rescue teams to locate on open water. ●● The survival whistle alerts rescuers to your presence and can attract attention from great distances. Stealth The Land Shark is actually two different kinds of Instant Survival Shelter. Both sides provide you with the same lifesaving thermal protection, however, one is made to attract visual attention (International Orange), while the other keeps you hidden (Digital Camo). Evading detection can mean the difference between life and death. Land Shark’s inherent thermal cloaking abilities reduce the user’s infrared signature to undetectable levels, even while using some of the most advanced commercial and military-grade infrared detection equipment. Thermal cloaking keeps you hidden in plain sight. A 30-minute test using the highly rated FLIR, Inc. Model 2000AB helicopter-mounted IR detector, operating in the 8-14 micron wavelength range, failed to locate three individuals concealed in Land Shark bags. Soldier of Fortune magazine tested the Land Shark bag using the Life-Finder hand-held IR detector. The magazine’s testers were also unable to locate three individuals concealed in Land Shark bags during the 30-minute test. After testing, Soldier of Fortune magazine concluded that: “The new StealthBag is essential gear for those in a SERE (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape) scenario whose survival depends on their ability to hide not only from visual detection but [from] sophisticated infrared detectors as well.” With the increased use of infrared detection equipment by both military and law enforcement personnel, infrared cloaking capability has become an extremely important evasion tactic. The Land Shark Instant Survival Shelter reduces the wearer’s infrared signature to undetectable levels while remaining a compact and affordable survival tool.
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Get our RSS feed CLICK HERE Don’t you just hate it when large international magazines refuse to publish the work of budding new authors? “Give us a list of where your articles were published and we will consider you.” they write in their demoralising emails. Everybody has to start somewhere. Talk about Catch 22. Well, enough is enough. We feel rookie writers need to get a chance to strut their stuff, so we negotiated with The Ultimate Field Guide to sponsor a Rookie Writer article in our next couple of issues to help those authors who are not famous - yet.
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Rookie Writers Volume 6 Issue 2 | 71
Trees
Silent Assasins?
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Oliver T. Spedding
S
ome time ago I read a fascinating book entitled BEYOND SUPERNATURE by the South African botanist, zoologist, biologist and anthropologist Lyall Watson. Watson, who died in 20018, wrote 25 books and tried to make sense of natural and supernatural phenomena in biological terms. He was born in Johannesburg and at one time served as director of the Johannesburg Zoo. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 73
In BEYOND SUPERNATURE Watson tells of an unusual incident that took place in the early 1980s in what was then the Northern Transvaal Province of South Africa and where there had been a prolonged and extremely severe drought. This drought had a devastating effect on the local fauna and flora but wildlife management officers were surprised to learn from farmers in the area that large numbers of Kudu were dying. This was unusual as the Kudu is one of the more droughtresistant wild animals. Kudu are not gentle feeders and strip leaves and bark from branches while also breaking the surrounding twigs. Scientists went to have a closer look. They found that although the vegetation was sparse it was by no means so poor as to cause Kudu to die of starvation. In fact, most of the dead animals had adequate quantities of leaves in their digestive tracts. Upon analysis of these leaves it was discovered that they contained extremely high levels of “tannins� which are chemicals that prevent leaves from being digested by turning off the microbes that encourage normal digestion. These tannins also create a bitter taste in the leaves that usually force the browsing animals to move to another tree after a short time. What was happening was that the leaves that the Kudu were eating were passing straight through their intestines without being digested. The animals were thus burning their own body fats and this was leading to their deaths. Why though, was there such a high concentration of tannins in the leaves? And why were the Kudu eating such large quantities of the contaminated leaves? Biologists have long known that trees and browsing animals coexist by the animals not over-browsing. Farmers in the area though, had begun erecting formidable fences on their farms to protect their game from straying into areas where they might be poached and this restriction was forcing the Kudu to over-brows. The acacia trees that the Kudu browsed on didn’t like this and began to put up their chemical defences by producing the deadly tannins to discourage the browsing ani74 | Volume 6 Issue 2
mals. To test this theory the scientists quietly approached selected trees and removed some of their leaves. The chosen trees were then subjected to a “beating” with sticks and whips, damaging and stripping the leaves where-after more leaves were harvested from the hapless trees. The chemical content of the harvested leaves were then analysed. The results of this analysis showed that the leaves removed after the “beatings” contained up to 94% more tannins than those collected before the “beatings”. The scientists repeated the experiment and removed samples of leaves from the trees surrounding those that had been “beaten” and even these were found to have had a similar reaction. The scientists were thus able to conclude that the overbrowsed trees were “defending” themselves by producing the tannins that give their leaves a bitter taste and cause browsing animals to move to another tree after a short time. Unfortunately, because their freedom to browse had been restricted by the farm fences the Kudu were forced to over-browse and the overload of tannin in the leaves was killing them. So, don’t turn your back on the plants that you’ve just pruned or think for a moment that trees and shrubs are as helpless as they appear to be.
Oliver is a freelance writer, book illustrator, cartoonist and artist in Gauteng, He has published 20 e-books consisting of fiction novels, children’s picture books, golf instruction books and a book on wild animals and birds in South Africa. More of his writing and art can be seen at oliverspedding.blogspot.com and www.southafricanartists.com/home/OliverSpedding. Volume 6 Issue 2 | 75
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African hunters of yesteryear
The African hunters of days gone by have had experiences few hunters have today. In those days, the game was much more plentiful and regulations were non-existent. Hunting was more dangerous in those days - no chopper evacuation when clawed up by a wounded leopard and no protection against marauding tribesmen. We can learn something from them. In this series, we feature some of the writings of the hunters that came before us and who hunted in an era we think of with nostalgia.
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The Maneating lions of
Tsavo
A NIGHT AFTER HIPPO
by Lieut.-Col. J. H. Patterson, D.S.O.
During my stay at Tsavo I made many little excursions into the surrounding country, and used to go off on a short shooting and exploring expedition whenever I had the opportunity. I was especially anxious to bag a hippopotamus, so I made up my mind to try my luck on the banks of the Sabaki. Unfortunately, I possessed no heavy rifle, which is almost a necessity for hippo shooting, but it occurred to me to supply the deficiency by manufacturing a few cartridges for my smoothbore. In these I had double charges of powder and a hardened bullet made of lead mixed with about an eighth part of tin. I well remember the anxiety with Volume 6 Issue 2 | 85
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which I fired the first round of my homemade ammunition. As I more than half expected that the barrel would burst, I lashed the gun in the fork of a tree, tied a piece of string a hundred feet long to the trigger, and then -- taking shelter behind a friendly stump -- pulled off. To my great satisfaction the barrel stood the test perfectly. More than that, on trying the penetrative effect of my bullets, I found that they would smash through a steel plate an eighth of an inch thick at thirty yards’ range. This was quite good enough for my purpose, and gave me great confidence in the weapon. All the same, I had a very narrow escape one day while manufacturing some of this ammunition. My plan was to remove the shot from the cartridge, put in the additional powder, and ram this well in before replacing the wad and putting in the bullet. I had clamped my refilling machine to my rough-hewn table, and was stamping the double charge of powder well down into the cartridge, when suddenly, for some unknown reason, the whole charge exploded right into my face. Everything became pitch dark to me, and I groped my way about the little hut in agony of mind as well as of body, for I thought I had been blinded. I am thankful to say, however, that gleams of light soon began to return to my eyes, and in a few hours’ time I was almost all right again and able to go on with my cartridge making.
WE ARRIVED AT M’GOGO’s CAPITAL All my preparations having been made, I set out for the Sabaki, taking with me my Indian gun-bearer Mahina, my cook Mabruki, a bhisti (water-carrier), and a couple of natives to carry our odds and ends. On these occasions I usually took no tent, but bivouacked in the open. We took some bread and a few tinned provisions with us, but I could always depend upon getting a paa, guinea-fowl, partridge or rock-rabbit for the larder on the march. These rock-rabbits are more like big rats than rabbits, and are found in great numbers among the rocks along the banks of the rivers. They are not at all bad eating, but the Swahili will not touch them. They call them tupu (shameless, naked things), owing to their lack of a tail, of which indeed they possess not even a vestige. Our route lay by the always interesting Tsavo River. Along the banks everything within reach of its moisture is delightfully fresh and green. Palms and other trees, festooned with brilliant flowering creepers, flourish along its course; all kinds of monkeys chatter and jabber in the shade overhead as they swing themselves from branch to branch, while birds of the most Volume 6 Issue 2 | 87
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gorgeous plumage flutter about, giving a very tropical aspect to the scene. On the other hand, if one is tempted to stray away from the river, be it only for a few yards, one comes immediately into the parched, thorny wilderness of stunted, leafless trees. Here the sun beats down pitilessly, and makes the nyika of the Tsavo valley almost intolerable. The river has its source at the foot of snowcrowned Kilima N’jaro, whence it flows for about eighty miles in a northerly direction until it joins the Athi River, about seven miles below Tsavo Station. From this point the united streams take the name of Sabaki and flow more or less eastwards until they reach the Indian Ocean at Malindi, some seventy miles north of Mombasa.
we came upon fresh tracks both of hippo and rhino. Every now and again, also, we caught glimpses of startled bushbuck and water-buck, while occasionally the sound of a splash in the water told of a wary crocodile. We had gone about half the distance to the Sabaki when we came upon an unexpected obstacle in the shape of a great ridge of barren, rugged rock, about a hundred feet high, which extended for about a mile or so on both banks of the river. The sides of this gorge went sheer down into the water, and were quite impossible to scale.
MAKING pombe IN THE HOLLOWEDOUT STUMP OF A TREE A narrow and tortuous Masai warpath winds along its whole length, but although we followed this trail our journey was nevertheless a very slow one, owing to the overhanging branches and creepers, from which we had constantly to be disengaged. The march was full of interest, however, for it was not long before
WA TAITA MEN. I therefore determined to make a detour round it, but Mahina was confident that he could walk along in the river itself. I hinted mildly at the possibility of there Volume 6 Issue 2 | 89
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being crocodiles under the rocky ledges. Mahina declared, however, that there was no danger, and making a bundle of his lower garments, he tied it to his back and stepped into the water. For a few minutes all went well. Then, in an instant, he was lifted right off his feet by the rush of the water and whirled away. The river took a sharp bend in this gorge, and he was round it and out of our sight in no time, the last glimpse we caught of him showing him vainly trying to catch hold of an overhanging branch. Although we at once made all the haste we could to get round the ridge of rocks, it took us nearly half an hour to do it. I had almost given up hope of ever seeing Mahina again, and was much relieved, therefore, when we reached the river-side once more, to find him safe and sound, and little the worse for his adventure. Luckily he had been dashed up against a rushy bank, and had managed to scramble out with no more serious damage than a bruised shin.
M’KAMBA WOMAN.
Eventually we arrived at the junction of the rivers and proceeded some way down the Sabaki, beside which the Tsavo looks very insignificant. Several islands are dotted about in mid-stream and are overgrown with tall reeds and rushes, in which hippo find capital covert all the year round. As with the Tsavo, the banks of the Sabaki are lined with trees of various kinds, affording most welcome shade from the heat of the sun: and skirting the river is a caravan road from the interior -still used, I believe, for smuggling slaves and ivory to the coast, where dhows are in readiness to convey them to Persia or Arabia. After an early dinner, which Mabruki soon got ready, I left my followers encamped in a safe boma a mile away from the river, and started out with Mahina to find a suitable tree, near a hippo “run�, in which to spend the night. Having some difficulty in finding a likely spot, we crossed to the other side of the river -- rather a risky thing to do on account of the number of crocodiles in it: we found a fairly shallow ford, however, and managed to get safely over. Here, on what was evidently an island during flood time, we found innumerable traces of both hippo and rhino -- in fact the difficulty was to decide which track was the best and freshest. At length I picked out a tree close to the river and commanding a stretch of sand which was all flattened down and looked as if at least one hippo rolled there regularly every night. As there was still about an hour before sundown, we did not take up our station at once, but proceeded along the bank to see if any other game was about. We had not gone very far when Mahina, who was Volume 6 Issue 2 | 91
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a little way ahead, signalled to me, and on joining him I saw a splendid-looking water-buck standing in a shallow pool of the river. It was the first time I had seen one of these fine antelope, and I was delighted with the sight. I might have got twenty yards or so nearer, but I thought I had better not risk moving, so I aimed at the shoulder and fired. The buck gave one leap into the air, and then turned and galloped quickly behind an island which completely hid him from view. We waited for him to clear the rushes at the other end of this island, but as he did not appear I got impatient and plunged into the river, regardless of crocodiles or anything else. On rounding the island, however, he was nowhere to be seen, and had evidently turned off while in the shelter of the reeds and so gained the opposite bank. I was keenly disappointed at my failure, for it was impossible to follow him up: to do so we should have had to make a long detour to get across the river, and by that time darkness would have set in. This incident shows the great drawback to the .303 -- namely, that it has very little knock-down effect unless it strikes a vital part; and even then, in a bush country, an animal may manage to go far enough to be lost. On the other hand, an animal wounded with a hard bullet is likely to make a speedy recovery, which is a great blessing. Mahina was even more upset at the escape of the buck than I was, and as we trudged back through the sand to our tree, he was full of gloomy forebodings of an unlucky night. By the light of a splendid full moon we settled ourselves on a great outspreading branch, and commenced our vigil. Soon the jungle
around us began to be alive with its peculiar sounds -- a night bird would call, a crocodile shut his jaws with a snap, or a rhino or hippo crash through the bushes on its way to the water: now and again we could even hear the distant roar of the lion. Still there was nothing to be seen. After waiting for some considerable time, a great hippo at last made his appearance and came splashing along in our direction, but unfortunately took up his position behind a tree which, in the most tantalising way, completely hid him from view. Here he stood tooting and snorting and splashing about to his heart’s content. For what seemed hours I watched for this ungainly creature to emerge from his covert, but as he seemed determined not to show himself I lost patience and made up my mind to go down after him. I therefore handed my rifle to Mahina to lower to me on reaching the ground, and began to descend carefully, holding on by the creepers which encircled the tree. To my intense vexation and disappointment, just as I was in this helpless condition, half-way to the ground, the great hippo suddenly came out from his shelter and calmly lumbered along right underneath me. I bitterly lamented my ill-luck and want of patience, for I could almost have touched his broad back as he passed. It was under these exasperating conditions that I saw a hippo for the first time, and without doubt he is the ugliest and most forbidding looking brute I have ever beheld. The moment the great beast had passed our tree, he scented us, snorted loudly, and dived into the bushes close by, Volume 6 Issue 2 | 93
smashing through them like a traction engine. In screwing myself round to watch him go, I broke the creepers by which I was holding on and landed on my back in the sand at the foot of the tree -- none the worse for my short drop, but considerably startled at the thought that the hippo might come back at any moment. I climbed up to my perch again without loss of time, but he was evidently as much frightened as I was, and returned no more. Shortly after this we saw two rhino come down to the river to drink; they were too far off for a shot, however, so I did not disturb them, and they gradually waddled up-stream out of sight. Then we heard the awe-inspiring roar of a hungry lion close by, and presently another hippo gave forth his tooting challenge a little way down the river. As there seemed no likelihood of getting a shot at him from our tree, I made up my mind to stalk him on foot, so we both descended from our perch and made our way slowly through the trees in the semi-darkness. There were numbers of animals about, and I am sure that neither of us felt very comfortable as we crept along in the direction of the splashing hippo; for my own part I fancied every moment that I saw in front of me the form of a rhino or a lion ready to charge down upon us out of the shadow of the bush. In this manner, with nerves strung to the highest pitch, we reached the edge of the river in safety, only to find that we were again baulked by a small rush-covered island, on the other side of which our quarry could be heard. There was a good breeze blowing directly from him, however, so I thought the best thing to do was to attempt to get on to the island and to have a shot at him from there. Mahina, too, was eager for the fray, so we let ourselves quietly into 94 | Volume 6 Issue 2
the water, which here was quite shallow and reached only to our knees, and waded slowly across. On peering cautiously through the reeds at the corner of the island, I was surprised to find that I could see nothing of the hippo; but I soon realised that I was looking too far ahead, for on lowering my eyes there he was, not twenty-five yards away, lying down in the shallow water, only half covered and practically facing us. His closeness to us made me rather anxious for our safety, more especially as just then he rose to his feet and gave forth the peculiar challenge or call which we had already heard so often during the night. All the same, as he raised his head, I fired at it. He whirled round, made a plunge forward, staggered and fell, and then lay quite still. To make assurance doubly sure, I gave him a couple more bullets as he lay, but we found afterwards that they were not needed, as my first shot had been a very lucky one and had penetrated the brain. We left him where he fell and got back to our perch, glad and relieved to be in safety once more. As soon as it was daylight we were joined by my own men and by several Wa Kamba, who had been hunting in the neighbourhood. The natives cut out the tusks of the hippo, which were rather good ones, and feasted ravenously on the flesh, while I turned my attention with gratitude to the hot coffee and cakes which Mabruki had meanwhile prepared.
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A stream cannot rise above its source. If you climb up a tree, you must climb down the same tree. 102 | Volume 6 Issue 2
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We are the green revolution. We do not print many thousands of copies and have hundreds stay on the shelves or come back to us. We distribute digitally and print on demand only. This is negates the necessity of the cutting down of trees to make paper - which will never be used.
Viva la Revolution!
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Make a Plan
CLICK HERE to buy your copy of Make a Plan now for only $8.50
Dr Wallace Vosloo is an Engineer and Scientist by profession. His family has lived in Africa since 1696 and he has a deep love for the continent. He is a practical outdoorsman and loves traditional hunting, axe and knife throwing, longbow shooting, black powder rifle- and cannon shooting, salt and fresh water fly fishing and tracking. The art of survival is Wallace’s main field of interest and his passion is to transfer these old forgotten skills to young hunters.
Hints and advice are given in good faith to be of help in emergencies. The writer as well as the publisher, personnel and agents concerned does not accept any responsibility for any injury, accident or damages that might arise from the use of any of the hints. 112 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Fire without matches or a lighter ●● With a fire you are able to boil water to make it drinkable, to harden wooden and spear points, prepare food, to drive the darkness away and to keep up morals, to keep wild animals away and hopefully to show the rescue team where you are by using it as a signal.. ●● What do you do if there is no matches or lighter with you or if it is soppy wet and useless? There is a large variety of methods, techniques and apparatus that can be used to make a fire. The Swedish firesteel is one of the most trustworthy methods. ●● Swedish firesteel- a combination of ferrocerium and a variety of other metals that produces a spark when it is scratched with a sharp object like a knife (your most important survival component), which you must have with you at all times. ●● It is available at camp shops and some models even have a magnesium part that will make the whole process even more easier. The main plus point is that this apparatus can get wet but will still work Fire with lenses ●● The sun is a source of energy. A convex lens, in other words, a lens that can, on one or both sides bulge outside, like a magnifying glass, collects sunlight and focus the energy on a small area that becomes mighty hot and can easily catch fire on the tinder. Here follows a couple of ways to make lenses with which a fire can be started. ●● Use the lenses of your reading glasses. By putting water in the cavity or the inside of the lens, the effectiveness will be further increased. ●● A transparent glass bottle also works well as a lens. It will take some patience to find he focus point because it is sometimes further away than you thought. ●● Stretch a layer transparent plastic over a 20cm wire circlet or something similar. Pour water over the plastic until it forms a cavity and thus form a lens. ●● Pour half a cup of water in condom and press it tight in a ball until the rubber wall is transparent and thin. The corner of a transparent plastic bag also works well.. Make a hole in a piece of plastic or non-absorbent paper with a pin. With the point of the pin press a drop of water out and put it in the hole to form a small lens. Because the areas that collect sun is so small, this plan will only work in full, powerful sun. ●● The large lens of a binocular turned up towards the sun can be used as a magnifying glass. The focus point forms close to the eyepiece. ●● A piece of clear ice can be formed as a lens by rubbing it on a rock and then polish it smooth with the heat of your hands.. The ice must not be murky or full of air bubbles Volume 6 Issue 2 | 113
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Your African safari is a unique experience. Now you can document your hunt day by day and revisit those exciting times for years to come. 31 Full days of journaling space with vital information: ●● safari clothing ●● personal item checklists ●● health and first aid ●● mammal identification information with photographs, tracks, dung and SCI and Rowland Ward qualification minimums.
CPR. Deal with dangerous animals up close. Identify and treat bites from snakes, spiders and scorpions. Know the right emergency numbers to dial in an emergency – it’s all there. A must-have item for every serious hunter. Sturdy PlastiCoil binding for durability and easy opening, 110 pages, 6.0 x 9.0 in. Full color covers and cream interior printed in black and white.
Know how to administer
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True North
John Eldredge
116 | Volume 6 Issue 2
Dismissal and cynicism Something awful has happened, something terrible. Something worse, even, than the fall of man. For in that greatest of all tragedies, we merely lost Paradise—and with it, everything that made life worth living. What has happened since is unthinkable: we’ve gotten used to it. We’re broken in to the idea that this is just the way things are. The people who walk in great darkness have adjusted their eyes. Regardless of our religious or philosophical beliefs, most of us live as though this life is pretty much the way things are supposed to be. We dismiss the whispers of joy with a cynical “Been there, done that.” That way we won’t have to deal with the Haunting. I was just talking with some friends about summer vacations, and I recommended that they visit the Tetons. “Oh, yeah, we’ve been there. Nice place.” Dismissal. And we deaden our sorrows with cynicism as well, sporting a bumper sticker that says, “Life sucks. Then you die.” Then we try to get on with life. We feed the cat, pay the bills, watch the news, and head off to bed, so we can do it all again tomorrow. Standing before the open fridge, I’m struck by what I’ve just watched. Famine in Africa. Genocide . . . where? Someplace I can’t even pronounce. Corruption in Washington. Life as usual. It always ends with the anchor folding his notes and offering a pleasant “Good night.” Good night? That’s it? You have nothing else to say? You’ve just regaled us with the horrors of the world we live in, and all you can say is “Good night”? Just once I wish he would pause at the close of his report, take a long, deep breath, and then say, “How far we are from home,” or “If only we had listened,” or “Thank God, our sojourn here is drawing to an end.” It never happens. I doubt it ever will. And not one of us gives it a second thought. It’s just the way things are.