SUBSCRIBER OF THE MONTH

Ryno did most of his growing up in Rhodesia, and as a young “stadsjaapie” used to walk the suburbs of Salisbury and a vlei near his home, with a pellet gun ‘hunting’ doves and pigeons.

In 1979 he moved back to South Africa and that was when he first discovered Man Magnum magazine and started hunting ‘real’ game with a sporterized ex-military .303 British. Ryno bought copies of Magnum when he could, until he started subscribing in 1986 and has a full set since then in binders.

Ryno lives in Gauteng but does most of his hunting in the Limpopo bushveld. His favourite calibres for hunting are .275 Rigby (7x57) and 9.3x62 Mauser. The .275 was a project rifle that took many years to complete. The 9.3 is an original Mauser with double-set triggers and octagonal barrel that his grandfather bought new between the world wars and used to hunt all game – including lion, elephant and buffalo. When hunting with black powder Ryno prefers a .72 calibre double rifle. He uses Woodleigh bullets for hunting and reloading in 7x57, .303, .30-06, and 9.3x62.

Ryno joined his first shooting club in 1982 – The Marksman in Primrose. Between 1992 and 2006 he did metallic silhouette shooting at the Mountain Tactical Shooting Club, with handguns ranging from .22 rimfire to .44 Remington magnum. When the club closed he switched to Practical Pistol Shooting (IPSC) at Golden City Shooting Club where he mostly shoots .45ACP. He casts his own bullets and reloads for some of his handguns.

A member of the South African Wingshooters Association since 1996, Ryno shoots with 12-gauge side-by-sides, an 1886 EM Reilly single-barrel 20-gauge that was nitro-proofed some years ago and, on occasion, with a 10-gauge black powder shotgun. Both his sons started wingshooting with his .410 sideby-side and progressed from there and he looks forward to being able to teach his grandchildren with the same guns.

Ryno is also a member of SAGA, of Macnab Hunting Club and, the Confederation of Hunting Associations of SA (CHASA). Ryno says, “Man Magnum has fueled and sustained my interest in firearms, hunting and shooting for a long time. Thank you for that.”