I was riding shotgun with a South African Professional Hunter not long ago, bumping through the rock-sprinkled velt in search of whatever Africa’s expanse was willing to reveal to an over-eager American thirsting for adventure. It was a badass little rig , driven by an even more profound man of character, both sun hardened and scratched from an unrelenting life in the most wild of places.
Between us rode an ancient .458, the stock pinched between the seat and center console, with its muzzle tapping a reverent beat on the floorboard with each flex of the suspension below. In the eyes of some, I suppose, that gun was damned ugly. The stock was as tattered and worn as the man who possessed it, and the piebald exterior of the blued and naked steel barrel told me that gun had enough stories to fill a thousand campfires.
In that particular part of the world, a .458 is the ideal everyday carry gun, a hopeful last line of defense of against horn, hoof and fang when nestled against the cheek of a man with skill.
And, when game sightings were slow, I was treated to but a few moments detailing the amazing life of that gun and the man who carried it.
These days, a gun (and man, honestly) with that much character is hard to come by. It seems that a shiny and new exterior is preferred over age an experience. Don’t get me wrong: These sleek new rifles, built around fast and flat chamberings, shooting bullets with impressively long ogives … well, they force my heart to palpitations as much as the next shooter.
However, as I continue to disperse my own footprint on this Earth, if I can collect but a fraction of such adventures as that old .458, even at the expense of scars and bluing I cannot fully repair, I will depart this world with a full soul.

Download from:

NitroFlare

• Ford and Fordson Tractors – April-May 2024
• Fast Ford – May 2024