GALLERY
Ray Arnett 1924 – 2019
Peter Hitchins 1940 – 2019
Colt Python is Back
New Leica Optics for 2020
Movie Star Knife
Dane Guns ll
Ray Arnett 1924 – 2019
It is with heartfelt sadness I report on the recent passing of Ray Arnett of California, just days after his 95th birthday. Ray devoted his highly influential life to the cause of wildlife conservation and the role of sport-hunting in conservation, including ours in SA.
Ray Arnett was president of America’s National Wildlife Association when his personal friend Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, asked him to serve as Director of Fish and Game for two years. When this term was extended, Ray tried to resign (he told me it was interfering with his hunting!) but Reagan would not accept his resignation, and so he served for eight years. Then Ronald Reagan was elected President of America, and he asked Ray to serve as Assistant Secretary for National Parks, Fish and Wildlife, a position he held until the end of Reagan’s second term as president. Ray was responsible for some 200 million acres of national parks.
He did much to benefit our local hunting industry by lobbying in Washington against proposals to ban the importation of SA game trophies into the USA. Ray was a lifelong hunter, and among the many positions he held was that of Executive Vice-president of the ultra-powerful National Rifle Association (NRA). Wildlife conservation and sport-hunting in America and SA have lost a very influential supporter of their cause.
I first met Ray in 1989 at a function arranged by the then Consul General of the USA in Durban, Tex Harris. Tex had attended a 3-day hunting course held by the Natal Parks Board, at which I was teaching on rifles and calibres. We got friendly, and he invited me to the Consulate function. There, conservationist Dr Ian Player introduced me to Ray Arnett who was on a visit to SA, and he and I immediately clicked. His down-to-earth, congenial manner immediately put you at ease and made you feel as though you’d been pals for years. He had extremely interesting views on conservation, especially on the 30-million dollar a year ‘save the condor’ project in California which involved incubating condor eggs. Only about twenty condors remained alive in total, only five in the wild. The hand-raised chicks would live for five years and die in captivity. He believed it was pointless, as the Californian condor’s natural habitat was gone and could not be restored. He felt the condor should be allowed to die with dignity and the money spent on conservation projects with a future. It was a very brave position to hold, and I was impressed. On behalf of Magnum I invited Ray and Ian Player to lunch with Ron Anger and myself. That was the start of a 30-year friendship.
Ray Arnett played a very supportive role in Ian Player’s Wilderness Leadership School. Ray had dealings with the SA government, I can’t recall what, and would come to SA to meet with Minister Piet Koornhof. He always put Durban on his itinerary to visit his old friend Ian Player. During one of Ray’s visits, Ron Anger and I spent a morning with him and Ian Player at the Wilderness Leadership School’s premises in the Stainbank Reserve in Durban. Listening to two great leaders in conservation discussing their work with the fervour they both showed was an inspiring experience.
Ray loved good food, especially game dishes, and he was a very adventurous diner, eager to try dishes he’d not had before. One evening, Ron Anger and I took him to dinner at a restaurant just south of Durban, which specialised in game dishes, and Ray ordered porcupine – enjoyed it too.
Ray was old school, conservative, humble and a thorough gentleman. He was highly intelligent, extremely well-informed on an infinite range of subjects and topics, and his mind remained keenly sharp and clear until his death at 95. He was a Magnum reader from our first meeting until his death, and would often email me about articles I’d written, asking questions, always curious. Often his remarks revealed his innate qualities and values. For example, a year or so ago, I wrote about my early childhood in South West Africa, and he emailed me to say he liked the fact that my father would take me with him on his work trips out into the rural areas. He also liked the fact that when we went on family outings and hunting trips, we always took along our dachshund, Waldi. Things like that were important to Ray.
From the year we met, until he died, he unfailingly sent me a Christmas card through the mail, always depicting wildlife, always with a handwritten personal message. That was Ray. I, and a great many others around the world, will miss him. – Gregor Woods
Peter Hitchins 1940 – 2019
Peter Hitchins, the man who lit the fuse that started the Game Rangers Association of Africa (GRAA) and a widely respected conservationist, died on 1st October 2019 after a protracted battle with motor neuron disease.
During a discussion with John Forrest while he was working with black rhino in Hluhluwe Game Reserve, Peter first proposed the idea of forming the Game Rangers Association (GRA). The creation of the GRA was largely driven by Peter as its first president and the impact of the GRA has since become part of Africa’s conservation history.
After matriculating at Potchfestroom Boys High, Peter became the diver at the newly-opened Oceanarium in Durban. After a year at Natal University studying Zoology and Botany he joined the Natal Parks Board, first as a research technician and later he became a ranger.
In 1963, it was my privilege to have him as a mentor in my first year as a ranger. He was a fearless character which was evident in his passion for catching venomous snakes and especially when working on foot with black rhino in dense thorn thicket.
Peter learned to speak fluent Zulu, had a great rapport with his Zulu field rangers and won their deep respect. In those days, poaching was generally done by gangs of poachers entering the reserve with their dogs, armed with spears and pangas and who hunted for warthog. They did not surrender easily and contacts with them were fast, furious and often bloody. Peter always led from the front despite being dwarfed by his men.
After serving as the section ranger in charge of the Corridor between Hluhluwe and Umfolozi reserves, Peter was assigned to work on black rhino fulltime as he had detected that the population had started to decline. He was one of the first to use radio-telemetry in South Africa and confirmed his theory that black rhino were strictly territorial and that territory size was related to food availability. He was later appointed to the African Rhino Specialist Group of the IUCN.
He subsequently became the first warden on the newly-created Songimvelo Game Reserve where he led its development and management. Over this period he, Clive Walker and Anthony Hall-martin formed the Elephant and Rhino Foundation and it was on Peter’s initiative that the Khama Rhino Sanctuary was formed in Botswana.
His next step was to manage Cousine island in the Seychelles where he worked for several years restoring the island to a more natural state. The data he collected there provided much of the background to the book that he co-authored on the ecology and rehabilitation of Cousine island. He was a meticulous note-taker and record-keeper and his diaries contain entries invaluable to both ecologists and historians. Although he wrote a number of peer-reviewed scientific papers on black rhino and other topics, he never finished writing the rhino book that he started; his illness caught up with him too soon.
Peter was a loving father, the staunchest of friends, respected by game rangers and scientists alike.
There were few equals as a companion in the bush that he knew so well. – Khandalemfene
Colt Python is Back
Colt’s Python in .357 Magnum is, for many shooters, the ultimate handgun. Introduced in 1955, this double-action revolver, in barrel lengths of 2.5, 4, 6 and 8-inches, eventually rose to iconic status among shooters across the world. It is very accurate, the cylinder locks up tightly, it is robust and has adjustable sights with a durable finish – all of which made it a firm favourite among target shooters and hunters, and for civilian self-defence.
For some in South Africa, it was the gun to have, even if the price was initially beyond budget. From about 1996, production began to dwindle, though the Python was still popular. It remained available in limited numbers from Colt’s custom department until around 2005. Few were available on the second-hand market because, if you had one, you held on to it. Those that came up for sale disappeared quickly and at a price. The most popular Pythons were those with 4- and 6-inch barrels. Last year, during Classic Arms’s second-hand firearm auction, a 4ꞌꞌ Colt Python Stainless Steel revolver, in good condition, sold for R21 500, and a 6ꞌꞌ Colt Python sold for R17 500.
So, it is probably no surprise that, when Colt announced in January 2020, “The Python is back”, within weeks their website indicated ‘Out of stock’. Not to worry, I have seen at least one report that suggests Colt will keep them coming.
The new revolvers are not exact copies of the original Python models. With modern technology and materials available, they now feature some improvements. Stronger, more advanced stainless-steel alloys constitute the main upgrade. According to Colt, the 2020 Python is available in
stainless steel, in barrel lengths of 4.25ꞌꞌ and 6ꞌꞌ, and still features the vented rib and the full underlock. The barrels have a recessed target crown and you can remove the front sight by using a hex-screw. The removable front sights used for Colt’s Cobra line fit the new Python. There is 30% more steel in the frame’s top-strap area, beneath the rear adjustable sight, for superior strength. It has a redesigned rear sight with elevation and windage adjustments (for the target shooter), and the trigger is improved and easier to maintain. The 2020 models have walnut grips with the Colt medallion.
Both revolvers have a six-round capacity; a left-hand 1:14 barrel twist with six grooves; and share the same dimensions – 39mm wide and 139.7mm high. The overall length of the 4.25ꞌꞌ barrel model is 247mm and unloaded it weighs 1.1kg. The 6ꞌꞌ barrelled model has an overall length of 292mm and weighs 1.3kg (unloaded). Both models are chambered in .357 Magnum and can accommodate .38 Special cartridges. At the time of going to print we could not establish when these revolvers will be available in South Africa. – André Grobler