Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Man-Eating Leopard

I have my Dad's kukri from when he was in Burma in WWII. Water buffalo horn handle and the original hard leather sheath. It has some tiny rust spots on it now, but I leave it as-is other than oiling it to keep more from showing up.

Dad had some great stories about the Ghurkas....and kukris.

I think we need to start a Gurkha Khukri thread.
I would love to hear some of those stories that your father told.
I am pleased you still have the Khukri and hope you keep it in your family. Its nice you have kept it as it was rather than trying to make it look new.
Although I think you should learn the Khukri Dance.
Hope you like it. Cheers,
Paul.

Call me a heathen, but I've never been particularly impressed with the Khukri. Its reputation is based solely on its use by the Gurkha's, and they could make a letter opener look fearsome!

I suppose the Khukri real strength is as a "jack of all trades" general utility tool, although we Westerners seem to focus on its use as a fighting knife by the Gurkha's.

I heard one in the main campground at the Grand Canyon! It was winter and there were few other campers.

Hi Pete,
Your right about the fact that most people regard it as a fighting knife but its also a practical bit of kit as well.
I got a cold steel Khukri back in the early 90's from Bisley. Its prooved to be a great tool. Its great for quatering woodland reds, making blinds, clearing branches around high seats, good for hacking through bone and cutting wood for starting fires.
I have it attached to my day bag when stalking. I suppose its one of those bit of kit, that if you have one you will love it and use it. The cold steel Khukris arn't overly expensive. They have a rubber non slip handle and they do keep an edge.

As for the Ghurkas reputation, a guy I used to work with was on exercsie with the T.A. (V the Ghurkas) just before going out to Iraq. In the night the Ghurkas came in whist they slept, past the sentry's, unzipped the sleeping bags and removed thier SA80's , when they woke up the ones that had the rifles removed had a sticker stuck to the forehead with the crossed Khukri's on!
I'll not mention which TA regiment it was , but the **** really did hit the fan over it.
Cheers,
Paul.

I love reading Capstick writing on Corbett's leopards.


Can you elaborate? I read both of Corbett's man eating tiger books, what books are you referring to?

Thank you sir.

Peter Capstick's book "Death in Silent Places" has a chapter on Corbett.....while i like reading Corbett, Capstick is one hell of a writer and its worth reading his description of Corbett's hunts.....especially since you cand find the book pretty darn cheap

I thought this was about a man eating a Leopard.

Thank you.

Corbett's The Temple Tiger is another good read.

Corbett's stuff is good. So is Capstick's. From his chapter on Corbett in Death in The Silent Places:

"The girl's leg, still warm to the touch, lay on the sun-dappled trail, blood gently oozing from just below the knee where it had been severed as though by the stroke of a sword. At the edge of a small pool a few yards away, red splintered bone and great gouts of gore stained the jungled floor of the mountainous Indian watercourse, seeping into the splayed pug marks of a tigress..."

Corbett, Bell, Stigand, and other great hunting writers of past days were not readily available when I was a young man. A lot of people give Capstick short shrift, but he was a damn fine writer and his books had a great deal to do with some of the obscure old hunting writers' works coming back into print.

Death in the Silent Places is a very good read. Nowhere near as good as Death in the Long Grass, but a good read nonetheless.

yeah i dont really care if some of the stuff Capstick wrote as first hand was actually him repeating what someone else had done, he is a damn fine story teller and probably my favorite author....Russel Annabel has the same rep as Capstick up in Alaska in that alot of his first hand accounts prolly werent but he is another fine story teller....

werent for Capstick i prolly wouldnt have read much on Africa, he fanned my interest both in African hunting and hunting down books by those he referenced in his books.....his book "African Adventurers: A Return to Silent Places" has 4 more biographies, Frederick Selous, Jim Sutherland, Johnny Boyes and Constantine "Iodine" Ionides....

for those that havent read Capsticks "Death In Silent Places" other than Corbett the other chapters are on: Colonel J.H. Patterson, WDM Bell, Sasha Siemel, P.J. Pretorious, Chauncey H. Stigand, Samuel Baker and Harry Wolhuter

his book "The Last Ivory Hunter: The Saga of Wally Johnson" is good to, the guy hunted lion with a Winchester 94 in 30-30