Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Killing versus stopping

Doc,

Excellent post, but the big reason I recommend Craig's books isn't because of Craig's opinions (though they are certainly based on considerable experience, and he explains them clearly) but the multitude of opinions from various PH's.

Many hunters who go to Africa come back with quite a few "my PH said" stories, and many African hunters who write books mostly promote their own opinions. W.D.M. Bell's and John Taylor's books are good examples.

Craig's books are very informative because they DON'T contain only his opinions, and those of PH's who might agree with him--which is what "my PH said" stories are often about. Instead he made it a major point to interview LOTS of experienced PH's, and their opinions can vary as much as those of Campfire members talking about deer or elk rifles. In fact PH's seem to enjoy arguing about rifles just as much as many Campfire members.

Most Americans who go on safaris don't realize this, because they rarely spend much time around more than a couple of PH's--and often only one. Plus, most safari clients shoot relatively few animals with relatively few cartridges, and even fewer get charged. (I've only seen one charge during my safaris, and it was a wounded springhare, which probably headed toward the PH and my hunting partner by sheer chance--though it did eventually bite the PH's hand severely.)

One of my most vivid African memories, however, didn't take place in the field. It happened one evening years ago, on a big, month-long cull hunt involving around 15 hunters, when several PH's were hoisting a few and, of course, started discussing rifles--just like any bunch of deer hunters who end up together. The discussion (and disagreements) lasted past midnight, and started because a couple of the PH's had followed up a wounded Cape buffalo that day, eventually putting 11 shots from a .416 Rigby and .458 Lott into the bull before their adventure ended. But in the end there was no more consensus about "stopping power" than there is about the effectiveness of various cartridges and bullets on the Campfire deer-hunting forum.

Craig has probably been in on more Cape buffalo kills than any other American gun writer. I know that several years ago he'd taken over 50 himself, and the total of what he's taken and seen killed may be around 100. That's certainly a lot more experience than some other American gun writers, who set themselves up as Cape buffalo experts after taking maybe half a dozen, or safari clients who know it all after one or two trips.

Yet Craig's buffalo experience is a small fraction of that of many older PH's, who've seen hundreds of buffalo taken, and may have taken several hundred themselves. Which is why Craig doesn't primarily provide his perspective (as Bell and Taylor did) but those of many PH's, often with decades in the field.

Craig's a true journalist, which is relatively rare in gun writing, partly because hunting is such a personal experience, but partly because so many humans consider their personal experience the only valid experience. This shows up constantly in other Campfire threads, and not just about "killing power" but rifle recoil, or even which powders to use when handloading a certain cartridge. How many times do we see a response like, "Reloder 22. Thank me later," without the slightest evidence of why? Instead Craig provides as comprehensive a view as possible, including not just his own views but those of far more experienced PH's.

The books of Bell and Taylor are primarily valuable for their historical perspective, but their ballistic theories have been twisted too often by relatively inexperienced hunters, many already prejudiced about the subject. Craig's books are far more valuable for their overall perspective, accomplished by his encyclopedic inclusion of other, widely experienced hunters.