Bunny Allen Frank Maurice "Bunny" Allen (1906–2002) was an English-born professional safari guide in Kenya. Born in Buckinghamshire, as a young boy Allen learnt to poach game, gaining the nickname "Bunny" for his skill at snaring rabbits. In 1927 Allen followed his older brothers to Kenya. Managing a farm, Allen would take guests of the owner on shoots, bringing him to the attention of
Bror von Blixen-Finecke and
Denys Finch Hatton. Allen soon became one of Finch Hatton's guns on shoots, including the Prince of Wales' 1928 safari. Rising to captain in the 6th King's African Rifles during World War II, after the war Allen started his own safari business and by the 1950s was considered the best and the most expensive safari operator in Kenya. Allen was also regularly employed by film studios when filming in Africa. He is rumoured to have had love affairs with
Grace Kelly and
Ava Gardner. Allen predominantly used a
.470 Nitro Express double rifle from
John Rigby & Company to hunt big game.
William Finaughty William "Old Bill" Finaughty (1843–1917) was a 19th-century elephant hunter in Southern Africa. Born in Grahamstown, in 1864 at age 21 Finaughty travelled to
Matabeleland to trade; chief
Mzilikazi was friendly to his party and he witnessed a dance of 25,000 warriors. Shooting his first elephants on that trip, after making further expeditions in 1865 and 1866, Finaughty decided to hunt elephant professionally in 1867, which he did until 1876. Finaughty did all of his hunting from horseback, predominantly with a
4 bore muzzle loader, which fired a 4 oz bullet driven by "a handful of powder", whose recoil would leave his shoulder black and blue after a day's elephant hunting and on a number of occasions knocked him out of the saddle. On one of his last hunts Finaughty used a "newly invented" breech loading rifled 12 bore, and the memory of its recoil still made his eyes water 30 years later. It is believed Finaughty killed over 400 elephants in his life. He retired from elephant hunting when most elephants moved into tsetse fly country, not wanting to risk himself or his horses. In 1913, American Mr G.L. Harrison interviewed Finaughty, and upon his return to the United States he published Finaughty's recollections in
The recollections of William Finaughty - elephant hunter 1864-1875. He became a game warden and is known as the father of the
Selous Game Reserve in what is now Tanzania.
Petrus Jacobs Petrus Jacobs was an early
Boer elephant hunter in South Africa, described by Frederick Selous as "the most experienced elephant hunter in South Africa." Over seventy-three years old when Selous met him, Jacobs must have been born around 1800. Jacobs is believed to have killed between 400 and 500 bull elephants, mostly from horseback but also on foot when hunting in
tsetse fly country. Jacobs is also said to have killed over 100 lions, Selous saw him be mauled badly by one at over seventy-three years of age, he was saved by his three powerful dogs who attacked the lion's hind quarters, and within two months he was able to ride a horse again.
Frederick Vaughan Kirby Frederick Vaughan Kirby was a soldier, traveller, big-game hunter and collector of natural history specimens. Irish born, Kirby hunted extensively throughout Portuguese East Africa and the eastern Transvaal until the Anglo-Boer War, publishing two books on his hunting experiences,
In haunts of wild game in 1896 and
Sport in east central Africa in 1899. After service in the Anglo-Boer War Kirby applied for employment on the
Sabie Game Reserve but instead he became superintendent of the
Transvaal Museum's zoological gardens until 1907, by 1908 he was making a living by selling birds and mammals to museums and private collectors. In 1911 Kirby became the Game Conservator for Zululand and he was instrumental in the proclamation of the
uMkhuze Game Reserve before his retirement in 1929. Over the course of his life Kirby hunted elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, buffalo, lion, leopard, giraffe, eland, kudu, sable antelope, wildebeest, crocodiles and numerous smaller game. Kirby hunted extensively with a Gibbs–Farquharson–Metford and a Gibbs–Metford double rifle in
.461 Gibbs, a Westley Richards
12 bore double rifle and a
10 bore double smoothbore.
Karl Larsen Karl Larsen was a Danish professional elephant hunter who did most of his hunting in
Portuguese East Africa and
Portuguese West Africa in the early 20th century. It is believed Larsen had shot over 300 elephants by 1909, and he continued to hunt in West Africa for another 17 years. One of Larsen's favourite weapons for elephant was a
.600 Nitro Express by W. J. Jeffery & Co. One incident recorded about Larsen occurred on 20 January 1909, whilst on the trail of a wounded bull elephant in the
district of Benguela, he came upon a pride of lions, killing seven of them in two minutes with nine shots from his .600 Nitro Express.
Harry Manners Harry Manners (1917–1997) was a 20th-century South African elephant hunter. Born in
Grootfontein to an English father and German mother, Manners shot his first elephant aged 17 using an old
10.75 x 68mm Mauser rifle. In 1937 Manners moved to the
Portuguese East African hinterlands to take up elephant hunting, at the time there were no hunting restrictions there, he continued to hunt elephant (also selling the meat) professionally until 1953 when commercial ivory hunting was closed in Portuguese East Africa. Manners shot approximately 1,000 elephants in his life, his finest tusker had tusks weighing , the fourth largest African tusks ever recorded, he estimated that for every elephant he shot with tusks in the range, he had to walk . Manners predominantly hunted with a
Winchester Model 70 firing the
.375 H&H Magnum over iron sights (he thought a rifle scope added unnecessary weight), although for a period when .375 H&H ammunition was suddenly unavailable he resorted to a
.30-06 Springfield, although he only killed 40 elephants with it and only under the most certain conditions. Manners later ran a curio shop in the
Skukuza camp in
Kruger National Park, where he was a tourist attraction himself, in 1980 he published his autobiography,
Kambaku!.
Bali Mauladad Muhammad Iqbal "Bali" Mauladad (1926–1970) was a Kenyan sportsman and safari guide. Born in Nairobi, Mauladad's father was a millionaire building contractor and he was initially groomed to move into the family business, but his passions were hunting, cricket and car racing. Mauladad first went on safari aged 11, at 17 he started hunting big game and decided to become a professional safari guide, first working for
Safariland and later Ker and Downey. Mauladad was the only non-white to be admitted to the East African Professional Hunter's Association, notable clients of his include
King Mahendra of Nepal and
Stavros Niarchos. For big-game hunting Mauladad used double rifles chambered in .470 Nitro Express and
.475 Nitro Express along with a
.416 Rigby magazine rifle.
Arthur H. Neumann Arthur Henry Neumann (1850–1907) was an English explorer, hunter, soldier, writer and big-game hunter. Arriving in South Africa in 1869, Neumann held various jobs until 1877 when he took up hunting professionally, which except for a brief period of military service in 1879 for the
Anglo-Zulu War, he did uninterrupted until 1890 in the Transvaal and Swaziland and along the Limpopo and Sabi rivers, shooting most game in southern Africa with the exception of elephant. In 1890 he entered the service of the
Imperial British East Africa Company exploring for the
Uganda Railway during which period he shot his first elephant. In 1893 Neumann departed on a 3-year hunting and exploring trip in East Africa, returning to England to publish
Elephant hunting in Equatorial East Africa in 1897. Between 1899 and 1902 Neumann participated in the
Second Boer War, in 1902 he returned to East Africa hunting elephant continuously until 1906 when he returned to England, dying the following year. One of the first to hunt elephant professionally in East Africa, it is unknown how many elephant Neumann shot in his life although it is believed to be in excess of 300. In his early career Neumann hunted with a
.577 Black Powder Express double rifle and a
.461 No 1 Gibbs–Metford–
Farquharson rifle both by
George Gibbs of Bristol and a
10 bore double rifle by Holland & Holland, when the
.303 British cartridge was introduced he hunted extensively with a
Lee-Metford rifle and in 1902 he acquired a Rigby
.450 Nitro Express double rifle which was his favourite for elephant.
William Cotton Oswell William Cotton Oswell (1818–1893) was an English-born 19th-century explorer and big-game hunter. In 1837 Oswell entered the service of the
British East India Company, whilst in India he enjoyed fox
coursing with
Afghan hounds,
pig sticking,
snipe shooting, and big-game hunting, shooting
sambar,
chital and bear, although in 1844 after suffering from severe malaria he was sent to the
Cape Colony to recover. Once Oswell arrived in Africa his health quickly recovered and over the next 8 years, except for a short period in England and India, he spent his time exploring and hunting. No source describes the total amount of game Oswell shot, but he shot large numbers of elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, hippopotamus, giraffe and quagga. Every animal Oswell shot, except 3 elephant, were subsequently completely eaten by his camp followers or local tribesmen, he once fed 600 highly emaciated men, women and children of the Bakaa tribe for 7 weeks and sent them home with an abundant supply of meat. According to Sir Samuel Baker, Oswell "was a first-rate horseman, and all of his shooting was from the saddle, or by dismounting for a shot after he had run his game to bay". Always shooting game from the closest possible range, Oswell had horses he was riding killed by buffalo and white rhinoceros, and on one occasion a lioness landed on his horse's rump. Oswell did almost all of his hunting with a double-barrelled
10 bore muzzle loader made by
Purdey which weighed , fired 5 to 6 drams (8.9 to 10.6 g) of fine powder and was specially built to fire solid balls.
Pete Pearson Peter C. "Pete" Pearson (1876–1929) was an Australian born game ranger and elephant hunter. Born in
Melbourne, in 1900 he volunteered as an ordinary seaman to get to South Africa in order to reach the
Anglo Boer War. After the Boer War, Pearson remained in Africa and in 1903 he arrived in Kenya to hunt elephant. In 1904 Pearson moved into the
Lado Enclave to poach elephant, returning to licensed hunting in 1910 in the
Belgian Congo and later in
Ubangi-Shari. During the
Great War Pearson enlisted to the intelligence department, afterwards he returned to hunting in
Tanganyika. In 1924 Pearson joined the Uganda Game Department as an elephant hunter, controlling elephant numbers which were causing significant damage to crops. In 1924 Pearson accompanied the safari for the Duke and Duchess of York (later King
George VI and
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) as a hunting guide during their visit to Uganda. In 1928 the Prince of Wales (later King
Edward VIII) travelled through East Africa including Uganda, Pearson was charged with organising a hunting safari and for 8 days the Royal party hunted under Pearson's guidance. On the last day of the safari, a rogue bull elephant charged the Royal Party and Pearson placed himself between the Prince and the elephant, shooting with lethal effect. It is believed Pearson shot as many as 2,000 elephants over the course of his life, he used a .350 Rigby, a Rigby Mauser .375 H&H Magnum, a W. J. Jeffery & Co. .404 Jeffery and a .577 Nitro Express.
Philip Percival Philip Hope Percival (1886–1966) was an English-born Kenyan professional hunter. In 1906, at the age of 21 Percival sailed to Kenya having been drawn to East Africa by the tales of his older brother Blaney. Initially Percival tried various agricultural pursuits whilst he hunted recreationally with his brother and local ostrich farmers Harold and Clifford Hill, predominantly shooting lion, in time he started talking clients on lion hunting trips. In 1909 Percival received his big break, he was invited by
Sir Alfred Pease to assist with a lion hunt for
Theodore Roosevelt and the
Smithsonian–Roosevelt African Expedition, following this he took to guiding hunting safaris full-time. One of the earliest established professional guides, Percival became one of the most respected and highest paid hunters of his day, his clients included
Baron Rothschild, the
Duke and
Duchess of Connaught,
Gary Cooper,
George Eastman, and arguably the most famous
Ernest Hemingway, who used Percival as the inspiration for the character 'Pop' in
Green Hills of Africa. Known by colleagues as "the dean of hunters", Percival hunted with a pair of
.450 No 2 Nitro Express boxlock
double rifles made by Joseph Lang.
Major P.G.H. Powell-Cotton Major Percy Horace Gordon Powell-Cotton (1866–1940) was an English naturalist, explorer, hunter collector and early conservationist. Embarking on his first expedition in 1890, Powell-Cotton made 28 expeditions over a 50-year period throughout Africa and Asia to gather and categorise zoological and ethnographical specimens. Powell-Cotton was primarily concerned with contributing to scientific knowledge through preservation and documentation, not with indiscriminately collecting trophies, returning with their remains to Britain to be mounted by renowned London taxidermist
Rowland Ward. The
Powell-Cotton Museum, built to house his specimens, contains over 16,000 mammal skeletons and skins but also includes butterflies, insects and birds. Among his most famous specimens was one of the largest tuskers ever killed, the pair of tusks weighed , the largest tusk was long, in diameter and weighed . An inveterate client of W. J. Jeffery & Co., Powell-Cotton hunted with a
.255 Jeffery Rook rook rifle, a scoped
.256 Mannlicher, a
.400 Jeffery Nitro Express double rifle, a
.600 Nitro Express double rifle, a 12 bore
ball and shot gun and an
8 bore hammer double rifle all by that maker, as well as a 12 bore paradox gun by Holland & Holland.
Paul Rainey Paul James Rainey (1877–1923) was an American businessman, philanthropist, hunter, and photographer. In 1911 Rainey set sail from New York with a pack of 15 Southern
American Foxhounds, having informed a correspondent of
The New York Times that his "principle desire" was "to trap wild animals and bring them back alive". Instead, Rainey is said to have killed over 200 lions using this pack. In an editorial,
The New York Times later questioned Rainey's sportsmanship, equating his hunting to "butcher's work",
John Guille Millais wrote "Paul Rainey's method of hunting lions with a large pack of hounds can hardly come into the true category of lion-hunting where risks are taken. The dogs, it is true, were often killed or wounded; but as a friend who had taken part in the hunts remarked: 'It is just like rat-hunting, and about as dangerous'." Rainey subsequently made a wildlife film of his hunting in Africa, ''Paul Rainey's African Hunt'', released in April 1912 it was the largest money-making wildlife film of the decade.
Samaki Salmon Roy John Dugdale "Samaki" Salmon (1888–1952) was a
New Zealand born game warden and
elephant control officer in
Uganda. Arriving in Africa in 1911, Salmon became a coffee grower in the
Uganda Protectorate the following year, gaining a reputation as a skilled elephant hunter by efficiently killing 20 elephant a year as was allowed with a planter's elephant hunting licence. During World War I, Salmon served in the
King's African Rifles, being awarded a
Military Cross for gallantry. In 1924, in an effort to combat the destruction to cropping and fencing caused by elephant that prevented the development of agriculture, the Ugandan Government created the Uganda Game Department and appointed Salmon as one of four white elephant control wardens, along with Deaf Banks and Pete Pearson. In the course of his duties Salmon shot as many as 4,000 elephant, more than anyone else in history, he predominantly used a pair of
.416 Rigby bolt-action rifles, but also used a .470 Nitro Express double rifle if hunting in thick cover. In 1930 Salmon was appointed chief game warden of Uganda, remaining in that position until his retirement in 1949, during that time he was successful in extending the boundaries of Uganda's national parks and creating a number of additional game preserves.
Frederick Selous Frederick Courtney Selous (1851–1917) was an English-born hunter, explorer, soldier and writer. Selous arrived in South Africa in 1870 determined to become an elephant hunter, hunting and trading predominantly in
Mashonaland and
Matabeleland until 1881, subsequently conducting several return hunting trips to Africa as well as hunting trips to Asia Minor, Wyoming, Transylvania, Canada, Sardinia, Kenya, the Yukon, Norway and the Sudan. Over the course of his life Selous shot 106 elephant, 177 buffalos, 31 lions, 23 white rhinoceros, 28 black rhinoceros, 67 giraffe and numerous antelope in Africa. Additionally, Selous shot moose, wapiti, caribou, wolf, lynx, deer and pronghorn in North America, red deer and wild goat in Asia Minor and red deer, reindeer, chamois and mouflon in Europe. Selous was provided with a large number of rifles by British gunmakers in the hope of his endorsement, but he makes mention of two Boer-style muzzle-loading muskets (known locally as "roer") which weighed about and fired 4 oz balls driven by 20 drams of powder, an
8 bore single-barrelled rifle, a 10 bore muzzle loading single-barrelled rifle, a 10 bore breech loading single-barrelled rifle, several 10 bore breech loading double rifles, a
12 bore double breech loading smooth bore made by
W.W. Greener, at least one
.461 No 1 Gibbs–Metford–
Farquharson rifle by Gibbs of Bristol (a favourite), a single-barrelled
.450 Black Powder Express by Henry of Edinburgh, a
.375 Flanged Nitro Express falling block rifle and a .303 British falling block rifle both by Holland & Holland, a .303 British
Lee–Metford rifle and a .256 Mannlicher falling block rifle.
Sir Alfred Sharpe Sir Alfred Sharpe (1853–1935) was a British adventurer, planter, lawyer, professional hunter and colonial administrator in
Nyasaland. After qualifying as a solicitor Sharpe practiced law in Lancaster for several years until 1853 when he moved his family to Fiji and unsuccessfully became a sugarcane planter, also acted as a local magistrate. In 1887, aged 34, he arrived in central Africa and spent the next two years hunting elephant professionally, predominantly in the
Luangwa Valley. In 1889, whilst hunting in the lower
Shire River valley, Sharpe had a chance meeting with
Harry Johnston who immediately appointed Sharpe as his vice-consul. In 1897 Sharpe succeeded Johnston as consul of the
British Central Africa Protectorate, later becoming the first governor of
Nyasaland until his retirement in 1910. Whilst in the colonial service and after his retirement, Sharpe never lost his interest in hunting and whenever the opportunity arose he would go on long expeditions from central Africa into the Congo, from East Africa to Rhodesia, mainly to hunt elephant, the
Sharpe's grysbok,
Sharpe's greenbul and
Sharpe's pied-babbler are all named after him. Between 1887 and 1892 Sharpe used an
8 bore double rifle and a single-barrelled
4 bore, whilst in 1893 he acquired his first
bolt-actioned rifle, preferring them to doubles from that time on due to the availability for more than two shots. Sharpe hunted extensively with a
.333 Jeffery and a
.404 Jeffery, on an expedition in 1916 he used a
.600 Nitro Express double rifle but discarded it after an incident involving four elephants; having shot the first two, he was charged by the remaining animals before he had time to reload.
Major C. H. Stigand Major Chauncey Hugh Stigand (1877–1919) was a British soldier, colonial administrator and big-game hunter. Serving in
Burma,
British Somaliland,
British East Africa and the
Sudan, Stigand was a keen big-game hunter who took greater risks than most hunters and often came close to being fatally injured. Stigand was gored in the chest by a rhino, mauled by a wounded lion that he was following up in the dark, tusked through the leg by an elephant that he was trying to drive out of a garden (without a rifle) and was knocked to the ground by another wounded elephant which stood over him bleeding whilst he lay hidden. Stigand once crawled into a cave after another wounded lion which, luckily for him, had died by the time he reached it. Stigand wrote several books including
Hunting the elephant in Africa and
The game of British East Africa, he usually used a
.256 Mannlicher for elephants, rhinoceros, lion, buffalo and smaller game, he also used an old big bore
.450 Nitro Express double rifle which he usually had a gun bearer carry for him.
Jim Sutherland 1925.
James H. "Jim" Sutherland (1872–1932) was a Scottish born soldier and professional elephant hunter. Arriving in Africa in the 1896, from 1902 Sutherland hunted elephant professionally in
Portuguese East Africa,
German East Africa, the
Belgian Congo and the
French Congo. Over the course of his life Sutherland shot between 1,300 and 1,600 elephants. Unlike "Karamojo" Bell, Sutherland preferred heavy calibre rifles for elephant and rhinoceros hunting, his favourite rifle being a Westley Richards single-trigger Droplock double rifle in
.577 Nitro Express, he also used with a bolt action
.318 Westley Richards for open country where quarry was difficult to approach and longer ranged shots were required. In 1912 he wrote an account of his exploits to that date,
The adventures of an elephant hunter, upon his return to London in 1913 he was feted as the "World's greatest elephant hunter". Sutherland is considered one of the most successful of Africa's professional elephant hunters.
Colonel H. G. C. Swayne Colonel Harald George Carlos Swayne (1860–1940) was a British soldier, explorer, naturalist and big-game hunter. Between 1884 and 1897 Swayne hunted whilst on active service in both Africa and India; between 1898 and 1927 he made roughly 40 further privately funded trips throughout Africa and Asia. Swayne shot numerous big game, including
elephant,
rhinoceros,
lion,
tiger,
leopard and
bear, the
Swayne's hartebeest and
Swayne's Dik-dik are both named after him. Swayne hunted with various rifles, in his earlier years his battery consisted of a
4 bore double smoothbore, an
8 bore double
paradox gun and a
.577 Black Powder Express double rifle all made by Holland & Holland, along with a
Lee–Metford, a
Martini–Henry and a
12 bore pistol. In later years he also used a
.500/450 Nitro Express double rifle by Holland & Holland. He wrote 'Seventeen Trips through Somaliland' published by
Rowland Ward in 1903.
John "Pondoro" Taylor John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor (1904–1969) was an Irish-born big-game hunter, elephant poacher and writer. Arriving in Cape Town in 1920, Taylor hunted elephant professionally, often illegally, for almost 30 years in
Kenya,
Tanganyika and
Portuguese East Africa, in his career he shot most of the big game of eastern Africa and it is believed he shot over 1,000 elephants. Taylor experimented widely with different types of hunting rifles, cartridges and bullet types throughout his career, his books
African rifles and cartridges and
Big game and big game rifles explore the practical application of bullet ballistics and type including articulating the "
Taylor KO factor" to calculate the "knock out" value (a "knock out" meant that the elephant was sufficiently stunned by the hit that he would not immediately turn on the hunter) of cartridges and bullet types. Taylor's writings also discuss numerous American, British and European cartridges as well as rifle actions with comparative notes on
double rifles,
magazine rifles and
single-shot rifles. In his writings Taylor expresses a preference for double rifles and makes particular mention of the
.275 No 2 Magnum, the
.300 H&H Magnum, the
.333 Jeffery, the
.375 H&H Magnum, the .450/400 Nitro Express (both the
3 inch and
3 inch versions), the
.416 Rigby, the
.450 No 2 Nitro Express, the
.500/465 Nitro Express, the
.470 Nitro Express and the
.600 Nitro Express. ==Asia==