PK VAN DER BYL’S FAVOURITE GUNS Well-used family heirlooms still in action
PIETER Kenyon Flemming-voltelyn van der Byl (PK) was born on 11 November 1923 and grew up on historic Fairfield, the Van der Byls’ estate just outside Napier in the Western Cape.
Gerrit van der Byl, the ancestral father of the Van der Byls, arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1668. The Van der Byls were an influential family and the men, successful in business and farming, were active in South African politics from 1682 when Gerrit van der Byl became a member of the Cape Heemraad (Council).
PK’S father, Major Piet van der Byl, married a Scottish lady, Joyce Flemming, and served in Jan Smuts’s cabinet. When Smuts lost the next election, Major Piet was an influential member of the opposition for years. He also authored a number of books.
Being a farm boy, PK hated school and school sports – except for shooting – in which he excelled. During his military training with the South African Armoured Corps near Pretoria, PK received a sniper’s badge for shooting. When asked by a reporter about his hobbies PK replied, “The recreations I most enjoy are hunting, shooting and fishing.” He was 12 when he first visited Southern Rhodesia with his father and three years later shot his first buffalo. A day later he also shot and killed a lion.
After completing matric, PK joined the SA army, and later went to England where he joined the 7th Queen’s Own Hussars as a tank commander. He did active service in WWII in Italy, Austria and the Middle East. After the war PK studied in Britain, America and South Africa before heading to Rhodesia to farm tobacco. When quizzed by a reporter on the possibility of entering politics, PK answered, “Not until I become financially independent and can be an honest politician.”
Eccentric, enigmatic and colourful are some of the words used to describe PK van der Byl. He spoke his mind and did not suffer fools gladly. In the 1960s PK got involved in Rhodesian politics and after being appointed Minister of Information, Immigration and Tourism, he also became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence.
As a hunter and keen shooter PK was obviously interested in hunting rifles and owned several. Among them were three that he used regularly; a Holland & Holland Royal double in .500/.465, a Holland & Holland magazine rifle in .375H&H, and a BSA Lee-enfield in .303. He also owned a 7x57 built by Ferlach, but apparently did not use it as often as his other rifles.
Early in 2020 an article on a Woodward .450/.400 (3¼") double, which some believed was owned by PK, appeared in a South African gun magazine. Shortly after the appearance of that article I met and became friends with
Favourites of an enigmatic hunter
Valerian van der Byl, PK’S middle son, who now farms Fairfield and inherited his father’s guns. Valerian, also a keen hunter and fisherman, told me that the Woodward (currently owned by a Pretoria collector) belonged to his grandfather, Major Piet van der Byl. PK inherited Fairfield and some of Major Piet’s rifles but apparently never used the Woodward on game. It was sold to the late Bruce Highman, a well-known Cape Town gunsmith, who in turn sold it to the collector. The double PK carried and used during his active big game hunting days was the .500/.465 Holland & Holland.
In 2020 and 2021 I hunted fallow deer on Fairfield and spent many pleasant hours with Valerian discussing rifles and hunting. While there I had the opportunity to look at, and handle, PK’S H&H double and .375 bolt-action rifle, the .303 and the 7x57.
The prestigious British gun company, Holland & Holland, was founded in 1835 by Harris Holland who, in 1860, moved the shop to 98 Bond Street, London (the company’s address for the next 125 years). In 1861 Harris teamed up with his nephew, Henry Holland. They became business partners and, in 1876, the company’s name was changed to Holland & Holland.
H&H doubles were made in different grades, and Holland’s best gun was (still is) the Royal. These doubles are all built on the so-called back-action. Side-lock actions which are stronger than the bar-action designs, are used more regularly for shotguns. In back-action designs, the main spring is fitted behind the tumbler and therefore there’s no need to potentially weaken the bar of the action by removing steel from it.
According to Pretoria collector, Andrew Tonkin, PK’S double is probably an early Royal model. It is an interesting and unusual rifle because it left the H&H shop as a .500/.450 (3¼") – as indicated by the engraving on the bottom of the action (see photo). I contacted Holland & Holland for information and Allan Utermark was kind enough to work through H&H’S records.
PK’S H&H double was indeed originally a .500/.450 and was completed on 31 August 1902. It was ordered with 26" barrels and was regulated with the 365gr Kynoch bullet. The double’s official weight was given as 10lbs 10oz.
In 1883 H&H entered the trials organized by The Field magazine and won all the rifle categories. That fact is engraved on the left barrel of the double: Winners of all The Field rifle trials, London.
Several of H&H’S .500/.450s were opened to .500/.465 after the British government banned the importation and use of .450-calibre ammunition in 1905 in the Sudan and India. In Sudan, the .303 was also banned. This step was taken to prevent locals, opposing British rule, from getting their hands on guns and ammunition for rebellious use.
This meant that the various popular English .450 big game cartridges were now illegal in the Sudan and India. At the time, India was probably the most important market for big game rifles as many Indian royals were buying expensive British doubles. The ban hit British gun makers hard and, in an effort to circumvent it, some companies developed new calibres.
H&H’S choice was the .500/.465 Nitro Express introduced in 1907. This proprietary cartridge was formed by necking down the .500 3¼" Nitro Express to accept .468" diameter bullets (.460" bore size, .468" groove diameter). The new cartridge launched 480gr bullets at 2 150fps, equalling the performance of the various .450 Nitro calibres.
Being a proprietary cartridge, the .500/.465 Nitro Express is not as common as the .470 Nitro Express (cases for the .465 can be formed easily by simply necking down .470 Nitro cases as the dimensions are identical except for neck diameter). Three bullet choices were available for the .465; a full metal jacket, a soft-nose and the Westley Richards capped bullet. These bullets were meant for hunting in Africa and India where tiger, guar and Sambar deer were popular species.
PK’S Royal was opened up to accept the .500/.465 cartridge – most probably by Holland & Holland. Unfortunately, I have not examined the proof marks to see if any were added to the originals. It is not known when it was done, or from whom PK bought the rifle. For anyone thinking of ordering a Royal model in .465 today, the price starts at £165 000, excluding VAT.
Kynoch ammunition is available for the .500/.465, but at a price. Fortunately, reloading components are available.
PK used his double regularly on dangerous game and it has seen hard use. Almost all of the blueing is gone and the stock has many dings and scratches. It still wears the original H&H sights; a bead up front (including a flip-up ‘nightsight’) and three leaves at the back – a fixed standing leaf marked 100 yards
and two folding leaves rather optimistically marked 200 and 300 yards.
The double still locks up as tight as a vault and the bore is in good shape. Valerian still uses the double and has taken elephant and plains game with it. One of the big game animals PK downed with it was a huge elephant, for many years the biggest elephant (body wise) to have been taken by a sport hunter.
Eccentric as he was, PK insisted on taking part in field excursions during the bush war in Rhodesia while he was Minister of Defence. He also stubbornly refused to carry an assault rifle like his troops, instead opting for his H&H double. There is at least one well-documented incident about PK using his double during a contact.
PK’S H&H, Mauser-action, magazine rifle in .375 H&H, was ordered by Rawbone in the Cape and completed in 1955. It was factory-zeroed for the 270gr bullet, has a 24" barrel and weighs 8lb 4½oz. Valerian, accompanied by PK, used it to shoot his first buffalo when he was only twelve years old.
H&H built their .375s on magnum-length Mauser actions. The so-called HYKRO or BS S106-steel, which has a 3% chrome-molybdenum content that offers excellent wear and abrasion resistance, was used for the barrel. The words HYKRO STEEL are engraved onto the .375’s barrel just ahead of the action. The magazine takes four cartridges.
Like the double, the .375 has also seen hard use. It still carries open sights only – a single, fixed-leaf rear-sight, and a bead up front, mounted on a ramp. The front-sight protector is typical H&H. According to Valerian, the .375 is very accurate with PMP 300gr factory ammunition.
Valerian has no plans to refurbish the H&H rifles – their condition carries tales of the countless miles they have been carried in Africa – and any work done on them would destroy their collectors’ value (not that Valerian plans to ever sell them).
PK’S .303 is a standard BSA sporter which, until recently, only had open sights with a bead front-sight and a V-blade at the back. He used it often on large antelope and even shot
three buffalo with it.
Once, while hunting antelope in Mozambique, PK spotted a herd of buffalo. One bull, which appeared to be wounded, broke away from the rest and disappeared into some bushes. PK followed the buffalo to investigate when the bull suddenly appeared and charged together with two others. Being in the open PK had nowhere to run, so he stood his ground and dropped the leading bull at 15m. The second bull stumbled over the fallen one and was dispatched with a headshot. PK managed to turn the third bull and then dropped it with a raking shot as it thundered past him.
Valerian recently had the BSA reblued and fitted with a Leupold 1.5–5x scope. With PMP being in the doldrums, he now feeds the BSA factory ammunition from Winchester which shoots well in the rifle. The .303 is still accurate enough for bushveld hunting and regularly brings home the bacon.
PK van der Byl was one of Africa’s most colourful politicians. Hannes Wessels wrote an excellent book on PK, called PK Van Der Byl: African Statesman which I found very interesting and entertaining to read.
PK’S rifles are getting on in years but I am sure Valerian will use them for some time to come… and add to the memories they have already made in Africa.