Customer Reviews

Safari Rifles: Doubles, Magazine Rifles, and Cartridges for African Hunting

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a superb book on the subject of rifles, and supplants John Taylors works as the definitive work on African rifles. It is usefull, not only for those who wish to Safari in Africa but for the hunter in any of the rest of the continents. I have had my copy for three years and it is coming apart at the the seams. I have probably read, reread, and cross-referenced more with this book than with any other. Boddington covers all calibers, not just the huge African ones, from .22LR to the .600NE. He also covers rifle actions, what caliber is suitable to hunt certain types of game, rifles and calibers for differing terrain, what hunters used in the Golden Days and what Pro's use now, and what professionals suggest clients bring for their modern safari. The focus is on Africa but Boddington gives applications for other species of game that are more familiar to the North American hunter. The book is readable and rereadable. The effort put into this is amazing. He has pulled together a hunting career spanning decades, dozens of his safaris, letters from men in the field, 48 different rifle and hunting references, and loading data and offers it up in a clear, detailed, and entertaining manner. It would take someone a huge effort to learn all that the has organized. This is a book that is neccessary for anyone who hunts, likes rifles, or is an Armchair Bwana.

This is a terrific book. Early on I arrived at the conclusion the 1992 publication date did not pose an obsolescence problem, and the selections offered by the author were all still completely valid. There have been few significant firearms developments that would apply to safari hunting, and the new products released during the past couple of years have probably not produced enough empirical data to recommend their use over more mature selections for use on dangerous game.

Unlike many safari books, this is not a collection of hunting stories with vague references to firearms and cartridges, it is a detailed guide to the selection of firearms that would be appropriate for a safari, a description of the type of game that would be taken with each gun and the underlying reason for the selections. Supporting that information are: collections of pictures and tables, firearm and cartridge use surveys of professional hunters, professional hunters' firearm and cartridge recommendations to clients, ballistic tables for all cartridges noted, and sources for large bore double and bolt action rifles. There is even a section on preparation and transportation of firearms and the design and customization considerations that should be made for heavy recoil rifles.

The book is well organized with sections divided into: Big Game Cartridges, Safari Rifles, Guns for Game, and a concluding chapter to summarize one, two and three gun battery selections from the perpective of the professional hunters.

I'm very happy I purchased this book. It's enjoyable, interesting, factual and useful.

Boddington's experience and skill with guns and a pen have fired my imagination for the sport since I first read him several years ago. Above all his enthusiasm for Africa was infectious. I read this book many times as I prepared for my first hunt on the dark continent. His recommendations on caliber and bullets were proven out by me in the field. They were also agreed upon by the PHs that I encountered as the discussion always arises around the night's fire. The book is also very helpful in it's mention of African animal behavior. Easy reading, fun, valuable and important. I hope to cross his track one day to thank him myself.

This is the very best book on rifles for African game I have read yet. The author has a great deal of experience with African game, and it shows in his writing.

I can not disagree with the conclusions reached in this book, because the author has used his experiences to illustrate the reasons for his conclusions.

This is a great book. It has since been updated as Safari Rifles 2 Safari Rifles 2 - Trade Edtion. Both books are fantastick.

Cheers,

Dr. Stephen W. Templar, Author: rexGun Rexgun

I am a fan of Craig Boddington's writing. I think he is an honest gun and hunting writer (and I don't have a lot of respect for most gunrag writers).

I appreciate his insights on "Safari" rifles and found the book a great read and helpful for subsequent reference. I very much appreciated the time and trouble it took to obtain surveys of what guns Professional Hunters reccommend for a Safari.

I also purchased "Make it Accurate", "American Hunting Rifles", "Shots at Big Game" and "Where Lions Roar: Ten More Years of African Hunting". I really have enjoyed them all.

I wish Mr. Boddington would publish a compilation of all of his hunting and rifle articles in one book or perhaps a CD. That would be some great reading!

This is the complete work on the hunting rifle in Africa, period. This and Boddington's "American Hunting Rifles" make a two volume masterwork that completely covers the modern hunting rifle in all its forms. This book is unique in that it includes a fascinating poll of modern African professional hunters, what they use, what they want their clients to use, etc. etc. Fascinating statistics. Essential reading for Africa. Also essential in its own way is John Taylor's "African Rifles and Cartridges", and you need to read both.

I consider this to be a "must read" text on hunting rifles. I have read many books on rifles and shooting and this ranks high in my estimation.

This book was EVERYTHING I look for in a book of this type. It is an easy read. It does not bog down in chest thumping "I was there and I did this" stories by the author. It offers a broad look at a very interseting subject where in the author draws on the experience of a lot of folks who literaly "have seen the elephant". It is factual without being boring. It tries very hard to be subjective with out too many of the authors predjudices sneaking in, and when they do Boddington is very careful to differentiate his opinions from fact.

Anyone interested in practical hunting info, cartridge developement and history, African hunting or just good sound advice should read this one. It sits on my shelf right next to John Taylor's "African Rifles and Cartridges" and Bob Hagel's "Game Loads and Practicle Ballistics for the American hunter". I can't give it higher praise than that.

Like Taylor and Hagel's works it is a little dated but those areas are easy to supplement with the latest "Cartridges of the World" and a couple of newer reloading manuals.

This is the book that Terry Weiland's "Dangerous Game Rifles" should have been. In my opinion Boddington's book is by far the superior of the two.

A little tough to find and a little pricy when you do. But, well worth the hunt and the price. I just wish there were more than 5 stars I could give this book. As a hunter, rifleman and just plain ballistics junkie I loved it.

Hands down, the best book I have on big game rifles and ammunition. Maybe I could be a bit more objective if it didn't literally save my sanity when I was delayed for over two hours in a traffic jam. Book in hand I never moved from my seat or glanced at the stalled traffic or my watch. In my opinion, this is the purest measure of quality. Does the book entertain, educate, engage and involve the reader? Is the information based on the author's own experience and research rather than armchair theory? In Safari Rifles the answers are clear and I find them increasingly rare as the years go by. This is a comprehensive guide for new and old enthusiasts on the practical use of hunting rifles in Africa ranging from the smallest caliber's working up to recently introduced seven hundred Nitro Express. Boddington also takes the time to give us the historical roots of the more popular rifles and offers sensible advice on their modern day applications. As a way of reminding the reader that he is a hunter first and gun-nut second, he interjects a good measure of his own field experience giving his observations extra credibility, not that they need it. I would recommend this title to anyone who uses a rifle. The information offered is current, accurate and thoroughly entertaining