MAN MAGNUM

Gunsmith of the Month: Andre Horak

André is based in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape. He qualified as a fitter in 1986, an electrical fitter in 1990, and then opened Maca Arms in 2005 with a gunsmith on site. After working with the gunsmith André did his trade test in 2011.

André does general firearm repairs and prefers working on hunting rifles as he hunts himself. His favourite calibre for building a hunting rifle is .25-06 Remington and for dangerous game it’s a .450 Rigby.

American barrels like the Shillen select match are André’s choice for a hunting rifle and for stocks he prefers American or Turkish walnut. He says that the manufacturer that stands out for precision actions is Accuracy International and that commercial grade actions can be reworked to achieve the accuracy required for hunting and precision rifles. A project on Andre’s bucket list is upgrading Galil semi-autos for 3-Gun shoots.

André still hunts although not as much as before, and is a dedicated Clay Target shooter.

Subscriber of the Month: Keith Atkins

Keith started shooting in the early 1950s in the UK. Being only 12 years of age, he used a .22LR Anschutz rifle and .38Spl S&W revolver owned by the club he joined. He later shot rabbits in the countryside using his grandfather’s BSA 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun. During the 1970s and 1980s, Keith did occasional clay pigeon shooting, using borrowed guns.

In 2000 Keith took a job working with the Minibus Taxi Industry in Johannesburg, where he first came across Man Magnum in a CNA and has been a subscriber ever since.

Once in SA, he purchased a .38 Spl revolver for target shooting and a traditional English 12ga side-by-side shotgun for clay pigeon shooting. He also has a Brno .22LR.

Now that Keith is retired he has more time to shoot, but less disposable income with which to buy ammunition! Using the Brno, with its cheaper ammunition, he can compete at his local ranges more often and can give newcomers to the sport the opportunity to fire a gun without the risk of heavy recoil putting them off shooting for life.