Thanks Nick!

Very nice! Good to see you posting too.

I have a copy of George's book, and would like to have a copy of that obituary letter to put in that book. The post link is no available to print however. Maybe I could get a copy from Harry Hunter (MIMS R.)

George Hoffman was a stand up guy, and a good friend to anyone who knew him.

................R.I.P. George

I was fortunate to know Mr. Hoffman. I now have a regular correspondence with his wonderful wife and children about my trips to Africa so that they can, vicariously, enjoy what they love so much.

As many of you know, the year that George died, he was supposed to go with Saeed to the Selous, but he passed away that spring.

Mims (Harry) was kind enough to send me some of George's .375 300-grain African Grand Slam Tungsten Solids for me to handload. Since George couldn't do it one more time, on my safari that year, I shot a buffalo with one (actually several bullets... dang cantankerous buff!). That evening during "sundowners", Pierr'e van Tonder and I drank a toast to one of the true gentlemen of Africa and I fired a shot at the Southern Cross in his memory.

God rest a good man's soul!

Thanks for posting that up, interesting reading. The .416 Hoffman is a fantastic caliber. I had a rifle built around that caliber about a year before Remington came out with their version, and like it very much. The late Jack Carter of Trophy Bonded Bullets once gave me a load for my .416 Hoffman using a Federal magnum primer, 81 grains of Reloader 15 and of course topped with a 400 grain BearClaw or Sledgehammer bullet by TBB. As Mr. Carter put it, "The Hoffman, with that load, is one hell of a killing machine". Wht a muzzle velocity of 2,505 fps out of my rifle, he couldn't have put it any better, it is exactly that.

George Hoffman was a great contributor to African hunting, and his legacy will remain with us for a long time.

Mac,

I copied it from the post (it's a jpg file)and will email it to you if you would give me your email address. Mine is btrimble1@sbcglobal.net.

[IMG:left] [/IMG]

All the best;
Brett

quote:

Originally posted by Brett:
Mac,

I copied it from the post (it's a jpg file)and will email it to you if you would give me your email address. Mine is btrimble1@sbcglobal.net.

[IMG:left] [/IMG]

All the best;
Brett

Thank you Brett! I printed it off your post but it printted almost microscopic in size! Maybe it will come in larger through E-mail.

My e-mail is: DUGABOY1@aol.com

Mac,

I just emailed it to you. Open it in Microsoft Picture viewer or similar and you can scale it to fit a page and print it.

Best;
Brett

I bet Mr. Hoffman would be appalled at what Sonora is like today.

Nick,
thanks for coming back.

George was a true friend. He surely held the world record for drinking an orange Fanta faster than any human on earth!
He was built pretty close to the ground but could walk faster than most six footers I know. He loved to eat, did not wear a watch when it came to hunting and loved guns and hunting.
He wanted Mama (Mary) to run the camp anywhere they were and for good reason.
We hunted together each Thanksgiving at my Chimney Hill ranch SW of San Angelo. He was my PH on my first and only safari to Tanzania. We
shared a many a laugh together. He and I said our goodbyes to each other three days before he died when I went to see George and Mary in Sonora knowing it was most likely our last visit.
Since his passing another or our Thankgiving hunting crew has gone over to the other side. too. I miss them both as one of them had hunted with me for 49 years straight.
Better tomorrows to all AR members.

Nick, that's a great tribute. Thanks.

Dr Easter:
I am a little confused by your post above.....
What is wrong with Sonora?
I drove through there recently,on the way back to my home ranch....I found Sutton County, and the rest of the Western part of the Edwards Plateau looks to be the same Friendly ranch country,sprinkled with a few drilling rigs to stimulate the local economy,and the land is really "Wearing its Sunday Clothes" as the old cowpunchers say when describing the kind of bountiful rain filled spring we are having in West Texas.
I can't see that it has changed much since Mr. Hoffman's passing in 2003.....Same friendly hardy folks,as well as a few new residents....
Best,
Paul

Paul,

I am a native Texan. Was born in Abiliene. My whole family ranches in Texas. I love my state. I truly love the Sonora area. But I have connections in the law-enforcement arena.

The whole southern tip of Texas has become a huge drug-trafficking area. I am sure Mr. Hoffman would have preferred South Texas as it was prior to recent times.

Just my opinion as it saddens me. Sorry I put that in this thread. It just popped out as I was thinking of the old time gentlemen and oldtime South Texas. Again sorry.

Thanks, Nickudu.
Great tribute to George, now on safari in The Happy Hunting Ground, I am sure.
George Leo Hoffman, R.I.P.

George revived the .416, amen.

George was a "Professor Emeritus" at Accurate Reloading University. A full blown PH-PhD if anyone could claim the title.

A couple of pointers from George have pointed my thinking:

He was going to switch to 1:12" twist instead of 1:14" when he got around to building that next .416 Hoffman.
He said so here.

He also here gave us the
"George Hoffman Memorial Load for the 470 Nitro Express."
Yes, the "Show Me State Country Boy Lion" of Africa had perfected
his double rifle loading with this load before he converted to .416 Hoffman exclusivity:
108 grains of H4381 with an F215 primer and the 500 grain bullet,
adjust the charge +/- for powder lot, brass, and bullet, soft or solid, etc. No filler needed.
It is the best load in my Merkel, beats RL-15 and filler for uniformity, accuracy, velocity, and fits the regulation.

The Dust Jacket of George's book is precious, humbly proclaiming himself A COUNTRY BOY IN AFRICA,
and a pose with another "Leo."
A "best quality" book by a "best quality author":



And a friendly scroll inside the cover,
thanks for taking the time, George, we all wish you could have had more time here to share:

Thank you Nick.

I have the book and what a wonderful read.

From the above post, No one could have said it better, thank you George.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Nick, that's a great tribute. Thanks.

Thank you Michael, it copied full size from the E-mail!

George was a regular at the DSC convention; I always enjoyed stopping by his booth and chatting with him. I know several guys that hunted with him. I have a signed copy of his book and have read it several times.