It is my understanding that Mrs. Capstick has donated Peter's personal 375 H&H to the Dallas Safari Club to be auctioned off during their Jan. 9 thru 12, 2003 convention. It is a Musgrave and a photo of it and Peter are on page 12 or so of Sand of Silence as I recall.
I was told Mrs. Capstick will be there to present it to the winning bidder.
Should be a neat bit of history to own.
More later as I learn more.









[ 09-29-2002, 08:22: Message edited by: Saeed ]

Harry
Peter, had this rifle with him in Botswana, during the time He was in our camps. It was quite
a nice peice.
George

Oh, the bidding will get bad on that one!

I am sure he had more than one rifle but I recall reading somewhere that PHC had an Evans double, 470 NE, that was stolen from him here in the states,in Florida, I believe. Anyone else recall that story and does anyone know if the gun was ever found?
Sure would love to own that 375 to go along with some of mine. Wonder what I have that I could sell or mortgage???
"Shoot straight, shoot safe and shoot a lot!"
Best regards,

My father in law manages a gun shop in NM and said that the shops owner has one of PHC's rifles, but it is not for sale. I believe it is a Model 70 in .375. Would be interesting if they're the same gun.

A/

I'll open the bidding at $100 no make it $200.

It will be interesting to see what it will bring at auction.

[ 09-23-2002, 10:07: Message edited by: LV Eric ]

Dave in LB
This one is a Musgrave and is the one photographed in Capstick's book Sands of Silence.
As I understand it his name is done in gold on the barrel.

I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with Peter Capstick when he lived in Naples, Florida in the late 70's.

I took my copy of "Death In The Tall Grass," his only published book at that time, for him to autograph and a liter of Johnny Walker Black as a gift.

He insisted on opening the scotch and pouring us a drink, so we spent the afternoon sharing hunting experiences, drinking scotch and smoking cigars. As I recall, there wasn't much left in the bottle by the end of my visit!

He told me that his guns had been stolen in a robbery and showed me the only rifle he had at that time. It was a Model 70 .375 that had been given to him by Dean Witter, Jr., the person to whom he dedicated "Death In The Long Grass."

His only trophy in that home was a rare, black jaguar rug on the wall in his study. He had shot it in Brazil where he first began his career as a professional hunter.

Before I left, he wrote a very nice inscription in my copy of "Death In The Long Grass." Say what you will about the veracity of the exploits described in his books; all in can tell you for sure is that he was one hell of a gracious host and a most entertaining guy to spend the afternoon drinking with!

ALF,

I remember when DeGeorges was at SCI trying to drum up memberships for SCI AFRICA. At the time we thought it to be primarily a South African Chapter which it pretty much turned ou to be. But it doesn't seem like that long ago somehow.
Rich Elliott

Saeed...thanks for posting the photos!

[ 09-29-2002, 18:41: Message edited by: Harry ]

Mark-: Good read. I doubt I'll ever make it to Africa to hunt but you guys sure make it interesting to read about. It's too bad more of the PH's that are operating right now can't put together a book or two to tell how it is now and with a bit of the flair that Mr. Capstick had.

Here is the poop on this rifle. I had it in my hands and this is what I noted.
24" hex bbl. with one standing and ivory front bead.
Peter Hathaway Capstick engraved in gold on top of bbl. flat.
14 1/2" lenght of pull.
1 recoil thru bolt in stock.
High figured and dark wood.
Black pad.
Drop belly magazine.
Initial shield in stock with PHC engraved on it,
Oval cheekpc.
Ser. # PHC - 1 in gold and caliber 375 H&H in gold on opposit side.
Wrap checkering
Mauser action
Jeweled bolt and bolt release.
Full length rif on bbl.
Engraving on straddle floorplate, back of recoil shield, top of action, grip cap (trap type), bolt handle, edge of front sight ramp and where bbl. meets action.
All the engraving is very tastefully done.
2 panel bolt
1.5 to 6 Schmidt & Bender 30 m/m tube scope in EAW quick release rings.
German 4 A reticule.
Weight is 11 pounds.
There is also a tan cobra style sling with PHC initals carved in it.
If you were to get someone like Dakota to do all this today I am sure you would be looking at well over $10,000 in cost.
Yep, there are a few marks on it as this rifle used in hunting but nothing serious by any means.
A damn nice rifle and nice piece of hunting history.

I have but one- two questions about the 375 H&H of PHC.

In one of his videos, he shows it, and its details very closely.
In that Ken Wilson Video, the 375 he is showing has a Bushnell Scope with a flip-up post, and a tip off mount. Also the barrel was not fluted.

Are there 2 375's we are talking about now?

Uh, PHC had more than one 375 H&H? So do many others here.

PHC had guns stolen and he had to find replacements now and then.

This was his special go to meeting rifle? You know the kind you take to town to impress the whittlers and spitters while the missus is inside shopping for groceries?

PHC did indeed use one of those 3-9X Bushnell variables in a Pachmayr Lo-Swing mount on his 375 H&H in his books and as pictured in the video, IIRC. Truly amazing, for such a smart guy. Maybe he came to his senses and got a good setup for his "final" 375 H&H.

Just my guess, FWIW: less than 2 cents.

Anybody know how this went.
Bfly

10 years after the fact and you wonder how it went?? this has got to be record for dragging up an old topic. hell, half the original posters are dead or long gone elsewhere>>>

It's wintertime, pretty cold to go to the range, can't afford wild women, can't sing and no money to invest in either. I know it's very, very old news, but I tripped over the photo and wondered. No big deal if nobody remembers.

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:
PHC did indeed use one of those 3-9X Bushnell variables in a Pachmayr Lo-Swing mount on his 375 H&H in his books and as pictured in the video,

I think the scope was a 2-8X40 Bushnell with a magnetic post reticle, in a Pachmeyr Low-Swing mount on an FN Mauser rifle. It had a regular reticle, and little switch that would bring a German #4 post into play when the light was fading. I had one of those scopes on a little Mod 78 Remington .223 that I used when calling coyotes and it worked like a charm when the light was low enough that you couldn’t make out the thin crosshair! I still have the little mod 78 and I wish Bushnell still made that scope and Pachmeyr still made the Low swing mount for the mod 78. It would also be great on a little 243 deer rifle.

......................................................................

JK
I wonder who bought it?

I was noting the weight of the damned thing: 11lbs!

quote:

Originally posted by bluefish:
I was noting the weight of the damned thing: 11lbs!

I noticed that as well. My 450 NE double weighs the same.

Think I'll stick with my 8 1/4 pound .375

Are they any news about his gun?
Who is the (new) owner?
More / Better pictures?
:-)

Best wishes.

Bock, III

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
11 years after the fact and you wonder how it went?? this has got to be record for dragging up an old topic. hell, half the original posters are dead or long gone elsewhere>>>

jdollar he wonders how it went but I'm sure,judging from your post above you know how it went, so why don't you tell him?

......................

judging from the responses i would guess no one( including me) remembers who bought a gun 10 years ago at an auction- DSC might have the records though( although i seriously doubt they would release the name)