Can you recommend me some books?

groach1234

Well-Known Member
Right can you lot recommend me some good books on both deer stalking and big game hunting in africa? I could do with some nice reading.

Preferably nothing too pricey as they seem to be able to be over £50 quite often.

Thanks,

George
 
George
the best book to date i know is the Perfect shot by Kevin 'Doctari' Roberstson ( African species )
one hell of a read , get the hard back edition
you will never regret it, also had a DVD out aswell
Also PM Shakari off this site
he also knows of another very good read about African PH's
part from that take your pick
Jim Corbett has a few good boks floating around
Charles Smith-Jones 'Alien Species' about muntjac is defo worth a read
there are lots more out there that i am struggling to think of at the moment apart from the obvious
but sure others will come up with a few
 
Anything by Jeff Cooper or Finn Aagaard. Also classics such as J. Hunter, Capstick and Ruark.
Matt
 
Safari Rifles by Craig Boddington.
Very good read by a man who has been there and done it.
There as in everywhere by the sound of it:D
 
Just ordered Death in the long grass by Capstick, and Selected Works by Finn Aagaard from Amazon.

I will definitely order 'Safari Rifles' and the 'Perfect Shot' when i have £130 for a couple of books but for now they shall have to wait.

George
 
If you read nothing else, the one "must-have" is Horn of the hunter by Robert Ruark.

Aaguard is excellent, as is Craig boddington. Some of Jack O'Connor's stuff is good, but a little dated.

A lot of people like Hathaway Capstick, I am not one of them. Elmer Keith is also worth a read, mainly for how much he hated Jack O'Connor.

Terry Wieland is another excellent modern writer, there is a book of collected essays which is well worth the price.

There is piles of pre-WW2 stuff - Stigand, WDM Bell, Selous etc, interesting but very dated.
 
Finn's Collected works is one of the best writing out there, you will not be dissapointed.
 
If you read nothing else, the one "must-have" is Horn of the hunter by Robert Ruark.

Aaguard is excellent, as is Craig boddington. Some of Jack O'Connor's stuff is good, but a little dated.

A lot of people like Hathaway Capstick, I am not one of them. Elmer Keith is also worth a read, mainly for how much he hated Jack O'Connor.

Terry Wieland is another excellent modern writer, there is a book of collected essays which is well worth the price.

There is piles of pre-WW2 stuff - Stigand, WDM Bell, Selous etc, interesting but very dated.

I've just started reading Bell, 'The wanderings of an elephant hunter' fantastic read -

I've got a friend who's got loads of Bell's books and other Africa titles which l will endevour to wade through!

T
 
I have all Bell's books, some by J Hunter, some of Pondoro Taylors books and others by Sealous etc, However the ones that I've read time and time again are by Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson, may be dated but Corbett's and Anderson's books have amazed me how these men hunted man-eaters with an oil lamp or a battery torch clamped to the rifle, Anderson's Winchester 405 lever action and Bell with his 275 Rigby, in later years they both hunted marauders or man-eaters to protect the poor Indian hill people. I bought a BSA Hunter 7 x 57 [.275 ] as Bell thought so highly of the caliber, and used it in Africa up to a huge Kudu bull all 9 trophies including a blue wildebeest were taken with one 160gn bonded bullets per animal at ranges up to 200 yds. Of all my rifles this was the cheapest at £250 and had one other owner from new, a army major and was and is in pristine condition and my favorite rifle. Lots of good books out there, Hell I was there by Elmer Keith is worth a read, However an ex Idaho guide who knew of his exploits said much of it was hyped up, his words not mine. deerwarden.
 
Anything by W D M Bell is worth a read, as is Frederick Selous and Robert Ruark. Jim Corbett writes about India and maneaters but is my hero!! Of the more modern books, Shamba Raiders by Bruce Kinloch is intersting. Pondoro Taylor was a homosexual poacher for whom i have scant regard.

If you read Corbetts books you will find he used a Westley Richards in .275 Rigby (bought from Manton's in Calcutta), not a Rigby rifle that everyone seems to claim. He was presented with a Rigby rifle for services to the community, but never used it for maneaters, as he admitted his nerve had gone by that time. A truly great man!

ft
 
Get the second hand book catalouges from David Grayling and Paul Morgan, both good guys to deal with. Also, look on Ebay or abebooks.co.uk As the other lads have recommended, Jim Corbett is a must have. You can get all of his books (except 'Treetops') in two omnibus editions or one box set. JC
 
George, if you put 'reading', 'read' or 'books' in to Search (top right) this should bring up some extensive previous threads.

Reading about it is only second best to actually being there!

Best
Nick
 
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