Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Zimbabwe PH Loses Arm in Hunting Accident

From 2012/06/25 The Hunting Report

Another Zimbabwe PH Injured in Hunting Accident

PH Anthony Howland was accidently shot while conducting a safari for Gavin Rorke Safaris the morning of Wednesday, June 20, 2012. According to Rorke, Howland and a client were crossing a small water course. When the client jumped, his rifle sling slipped off his shoulder and discharged when it hit the ground. Howland was struck by a .500 nitro in the right elbow.
Howland was evacuated by air to Harare where he underwent surgery. We are told his arm was so badly damaged that it could not be save and was amputated just above the elbow. According to Rorke, he was stable and would undergo further surgery today.

Tragic.

Poor gun handling. Not sure why you jump a stream with loaded gun?

This brings to mind my amazement at the common practice, especially in Africa, of hunters carrying their rifle resting on their shoulders, barrel gripped by their hand with the muzzle pointing forward. It is not uncommon to see two facing each other and talking while carrying in this fashion with their muzzles pointing toward each other.

If I were a PH with a client carrying his rifle in that manner I'd be as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Agree completely on that. Just bugs me watching guys carry rigs in that manner.

Safety off?

Double gun safties are not usually as robust as on better bolt guns, but ANY safety can fail anytime and being dropped hard is as good a way to get one to fail as I can think of.

So very sorry to hear of this tragedy. The PH and the hunters life have both been impacted and changed forever. I hope the PH can continue in his work somehow.

Makes me nervous as well, and I have sepnt considerable time there. It helps some to know that the chambers are usually empty while in transit until game is being sneaked upon or followed after a shot, but anyone can make a mistake and forget to dehorn thier rifle after a stalk. One of the reasons I am quite happy to allow the PH to take the lead on the trail.

I've thought of this also. I figure his days of going in the bush guiding are over.

If he wants to stay in the industry, he will be an expediter, meet and greet at the airport, transport hunters and supplies to camp, major domo of the camp, etc.

Or could he make it as a PH on his own? Hard to handle a rifle with one arm.

Because Stewart Granger carried his like that, and so did Clark Gable. Don't you know anything??

Thank God he didn't get killed..

not sure bout his ability to be a PH one armed but my psychology professor in college only had one arm, lost teh other in Vietnam, and he was an avid bird hunter so its quite possible to be proficient with a long gun with one arm.....

Precaution , is never adhered too, we use the motto load when you ready to shoot, to many trackers , game scouts,and phs in the way of a double when the gun is loaded,
His time as a ph is done and thats so sad, think he can carry on doing plains game , but driving cruisers and doing camp work and skinning will be a next to impossible job./....

Sad to hear ,to think that bullet could have gone anywhere else and 1 inch would have made all the difference in the world ,,, could have just been a close call ,,

Regards and strength to his family and friends ...

Regards and best wishes of recovery to the PH.

It's not an accident! Accident is something you can't prevent. This is dumbness at power. In all safety courses we teach and learn you must break open your double or open the bolt of your rifle when jumping from, above or to something. And don't rely on safety even more with doubles...
Another guy who did'nt listen, was too scared to think by himself or, as often, over confident.
Too bad for his PH.

Dom

The story over on AR differs somewhat in they were tracking a wounded warthog when he broke cover and ran into the client who went ass over tea-kettle. Either way a tragic mistake

Very sad event and I wish AH all the best in his recovery.

As for carrying in that manner, the reason is that a PH who knows his business knows not to use a sling on a rifle and it's the easiest and most comfortable way to carry a rifle on any looooong walk.

The reason you shouldn't have a sling fitted is that it can get hung up in the thick stuff and might prevent you getting the rifle into action at short notice when you need to.

The trick, as with all firearms at all times is to always ensure the muzzle is always pointed in a safe direction.

All that said, it appears the shooting happened because the hunter dropped the rifle rather than because of the way he was carrying it....... which of course begs the question of was the safety set correctly?

Whatever happened or whoever was to blame, it's a tragic event and one we should all learn from.

To clarify, I was not suggesting the client in this incident was carrying on shoulder, muzzle forward. The discussion simply brought this method of carry to mind.

As for the thick stuff, I've crawled through thick brush while hunting many times. My rifle is always pointed down, not slung. In that mode I can bring it into play much quicker than retrieving it from my shoulder.

Not only do we often see PHs and clients carry on shoulder, muzzle forward, it is not at all uncommon to see rifle butts on the ground with hands resting on the muzzle as the individual stands to discuss or look around.

I agree, the most important rule is to always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction no matter what condition the firearm is in. Following that rule seems particularly lax on safari.

Just my opinion.

Discharge of rifles when not desired are very scary. A PH cannot choose who he hunts with and the dangers they face are not just from the animals in the field.
I feel bad for this young man.
Once on a hunt the PH sent a couple of his trackers down the hill to check a leopard bait while he fixed something on the cruiser. It wasn't long a rifle shot went off in their direction and to say things got tense was an understatement. We took off cautiously as the trackers would not respond to our shouts. The tracker knew he was in trouble. No one was hurt thankfully. But it was an intense time. The tracker was playing with the gun and safety when it went off. That was the last outing with this tracker but it doesn't take but a little carelessness to remind you guns are not toys but they are treated that ways at times like the tracker playing PH

The following comments are general observations and are not aimed at anyone in this case:

You can tell a lot about a hunter when he first arrives camp. One of the first things he'll do is show you his rifle and a sensible PH will pay a lot of attention when that happens.

If the client handles the rifle like it's an old friend and he doesn't have to look where he puts his hands as he operates the bolt etc then he almost certainly knows what he's doing.

If he handles the rifle as though he's afraid it'll bite him and has to look where he's putting his hands as he handles it, he almost certainly needs watching very carefully indeed.

Sadly, the latter type is all too common nowadays.

Another factor a PH should be wary of (IMO) is what anti malarials and/or other drugs the client is taking. I'm always especially wary of people on Larium.

Although a lot of people say/believe it doesn't affect them, I've never seen someone who's using it that doesn't occasionally have what I call a Larium moment which is where they just go blank for a fraction (or two) of a second..... and that's all it takes for someone to do something stupid and/or for something to go wrong.

Making me believe these PH's aren't as Professional as they think they are. They have a bad habit of pointing loaded rifles at each other on a regular basis . I'm surprised they don't get shot more often.

You'll excuse me for saying so but it's usually the client who shoots the PH or tracker when these things sadly happen.

I can think of several occasions when the hunting client has shot someone, including an occasion when a European client managed to shoot some innocent bystander through both knees in the middle of an international airport but I don't think I can recall a single occasion when a PH has shot anyone in all the 32 years I was involved in the African hunting industry.