quote:

Originally posted by Mikelravy:
Good show! But the pump gun clashes with the outfit.

thank you...

Looking nice Bill, I will have to rethink my hunting attire for this fall.
When I lived in Kenya a friend gave me a pith helmet from Rodesia. I was wearing it tonight as my 2 1/2 year old son and I were "hunting loins and buffalo" around the house, I plan to buy him one when I can find one in his size.
regards

Again, whath the fukth ith pith?

If I ever see a pith helmet wearing hunter in the bush some day I reserve the right to dopeslap him on principle alone. Perfectly valid response, wot?

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
If I ever see a pith helmet wearing hunter in the bush some day I reserve the right to dopeslap him on principle alone. Perfectly valid response, wot?

I will back you up. Well not really....

But really, if he is hunting alone I would invite him to my camp for a G&T. If a PH is holding his hand I would _____ slap him.

quote:

Originally posted by Brice:
Again, whath the fukth ith pith?

Ith whath happenth when your bladder ith full?.

pith helmet ; n. a lightweight hat made of the sola, an E. Indian swamp plant, that protects the wearer from the sun. Also called: topee or topi.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
If I ever see a pith helmet wearing hunter in the bush some day I reserve the right to dopeslap him on principle alone. Perfectly valid response, wot?

I will back you up. Well not really....

But really, if he is hunting alone I would invite him to my camp for a G&T. If a PH is holding his hand I would _____ slap him.

Sh*t! Both of them, slap them dizzy.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:

quote:

Very sober, very serious. It was hilarious.

I would bet if you had gotten close enough you would have heard them use the words 'bloody' and 'chap' quite often...

and i say i say and jolly good show what

quote:

Originally posted by Scriptus:

quote:

Originally posted by David Hulme:

quote:

Originally posted by jsl3170:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Some mail carriers still wear them in summer. I think they are much more practical than those silly bush coats Cabelas and all the others sell.
I admit to a great fondness for shirts with epaulets, and you can laugh all you want. Life is supposed to be a bit of fun, don't you think?
I have a foreign service helmet I like to wear from time to time. It is very comfortable, but not when shooting from prone, as the tail digs into the back of one's neck and tries to lift the helmet off one's head. I especially enjoy wearing the FSH when shooting a Martini, a Snider or a Pedersoli double rifle.
I'm a bit goofy in the matter of kit anyway, and even have a pair of riding pants for that 1920s look:

Bill,

A man should never have to apologize for looking like a gentleman. Well done.

Jeff

Quite the country squire, except that the gun should be a sxs. That dog though, looks a wee bit embarrassed.

I told him to bring the double. I told him to bring the double. Sheesh.told

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
If I ever see a pith helmet wearing hunter in the bush some day I reserve the right to dopeslap him on principle alone. Perfectly valid response, wot?

Perfectly valid ... as would the response of the pith helmet wearing hunter, who would probably excuse himself from his mates, place the hat gently off to one side ... and kick your sorry ass all the way back to Boston.

Apparently they are still very much in use:

I have no objections to Bill's kit, I think it looks good, not my style of hat but not silly like a pith helmet.

I believe in the practicality of head wear, and the sillier it looks the more practical it better be. I wouldn't slap a guy wearing a pith helmet, but I might have some internal laughter over it.

I have always said the british know how to dress for hunting, the tweeds, loden. If I were rich I'd dress better. I hate synthetic jackets, their loud, but their affordable for what they give you.

If I worked in a place where heavy items were falling, like a coconut plantation, I'd rather wear the pith helmet instead of a hard hat.

Red

What Bill is wearing is,to me, classic for an American hunter. What he is carrying is the quintessential American shotgun, a pump, in a classic American gauge, the 16. I believe he does not have to change a thing.

As for the pith helmet, There's nothing wrong with nostalgia. Just ask all the cowboy acction shooters or the Vintagers One can argue that hunting itself is a throw back to a bygone era.

Jeeese you guys gave me grief for wanting to hunt in high boots..... Ive actually considered a pith helmet for many of the reasons listed here; but I didnt think Id wear it on the plane. My biggest concern was how to pack it for the trip.

A safari (well my safari) is about the whole experience, not just the "bag". I bought the high boots by the way; but I also have a set of more modern low boots. I just might take a pith helmet and a wide brim hat as well. The Zebra hat band will have to wait till the next trip; but it will be MY Zebra that the band comes from.

Ive got a Boar hunt scheduled for Thanksgiving Week and I just might wear liederhosen and a cloak for the morning chill. Hmmmm a kilt for grouse???



*******Bill/Oregon--I love the high duck boots, I hadnt considered them but they might be a substitute for wet season hunting....

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
Apparently they are still very much in use:

No problem with the gear, but hell, the honey badgers. A no no!

I have no intention of ever shooting one, but I have to ask, "why not"?

My father-in-law, lt colonel Air Corps and Air Force, had a WWII surplus pith helmet that he would wear while mowing the lawn. It worked well with the mosquito head net he liked to use. I have it now, sitting on the corner of my roll-top desk, next to a box filled with hunting trinkets: recovered bullets, elk teeth, a poker chip from a Port Elizabeth casino, etc. It looks cool as a decoration, but I wouldn't actually use it to hunt with. Besides, his head was way bigger than mine!

I've always been a fan of hats.

As a youngster, I had my father buy what was similar to a digger hat. The one with the side pinned up. I used to wear it all the time. Made me feel like I was on safari in Africa.

I have worn cowboy hats for the sun and the rain.

Several years ago a friend of mine found an original digger hat from wwII. I still wear it on occasion.

I have pictures of myself wearing my RCMP stetson while hunting deer.

In the hot sunny days of summer, I wear my Afrika Korp field cap . It's great with that longer brim.

On colder hunting days I wear my pattern 42 field cap, green, wool, with the flaps that pull down to keep your ears and chin warm .

I also have a lovely green fedora type hat I wear when grouse hunting .

And yes, somewhere in that collection of hats I have a pith helment. Wore it for cowboy action shooting one season. Somewhere I have a great photo of me standing wearing my pith helmit, two pistol gun rig, black cavalry boots, granny style glasses and grey trap door long johns. Quite a hoot that was .

My father always thought I was a little crazy but it's about having fun, and hell, if it makes you happy, then I guess nothing else matters. Unless your wife says "take that off or I am not going out in public with you". Come to think of it, my father said that a couple of times too .

I guess my signature line says it all.

Kind regards,

Carpediem

Oh, and by the way Bill:

Beautiful Britney Spanial.

I had a brace of English Springer Spanials. I spent many a bird season hunting over them. I do miss them.

Kind regards,

Carpediem

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
I have no intention of ever shooting one, but I have to ask, "why not"?

I was wondering the same question. Most of the outfitters I've hunted with have them listed on their trophy fees. I don't know if they have had a quota for them however.

In 07, I hunted SA with a buddy. While he was out, they saw a Honey Badger. His PH said no to shooting it. My PH disagreed with him. They got into a bit of a heated discussion over it. What gives?

I have no issue with the folks that wear the pith helment,, nostalgia etc., no different I guess than the "buck skinners" around during our american pioneer celebrations in parts of rural America. You won't see me wearing one,,, I got a huge head,,my western hats are 7 3/4 inch long ovals,,, I look like I am wearing a water tank cover when I find one that actually fits my mellon head.

Here is the type used in the Zulu wars in South Africa!

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/store/001972.php

These make nice trophy room display with older double rifles, and African spears and little axes !

Mac: That's the foreign service helmet. Those actually worn during the Zulu campaign were white, not khaki, but about that shape. Mine is the later khaki and it was made in Vietnam. Very comfy, if impractical from prone.
The various pith helmets have come in for undeserved criticism, as they really do protect the head from sun, and provide for cooling ventilation. Somebody bitch-slaps me for wearing one better not be wearing a G.d. ball cap or he'll get the barrel of my single-shot (sorry Will!) up his arse.

This forum never ceases to amaze me. All the derision about wearing a Pith helmet when I would bet at the least half the double rifle owners own their rifles because of the nostalgia factor. I'm also sure they would never admit it though.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Williams:

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:
I have no intention of ever shooting one, but I have to ask, "why not"?

I was wondering the same question. Most of the outfitters I've hunted with have them listed on their trophy fees. I don't know if they have had a quota for them however.

In 07, I hunted SA with a buddy. While he was out, they saw a Honey Badger. His PH said no to shooting it. My PH disagreed with him. They got into a bit of a heated discussion over it. What gives?

1 In SA [Eastern Cape] you need a permit to hunt one, and not likely to get one.
2 Apiarists have so hammered them with gin traps and by shooting that nowadays most retail outlets will not sell honey unless the container bears a badger friendly decal.
Yes, there are outfitters who allow the shooting of badgers at a price and then on the export permit claim that it was road kill, fooling the DEAT staff until someone holds up the cape to find bullet holes. [ Lacy Act ? ]
So then as a by, I have picked-up that a fair number of AR members are not happy around snakes, why kill a naturel born snake killer.

Oops posted this on the old thread!

***

Yes some people still do wear them.




"Karamojo Orion"

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
.....That's the foreign service helmet. Those actually worn during the Zulu campaign were white, not khaki, but about that shape....

Im not sure which "Foreign Service" model you are refering; but there was a US pith helmet that was similar to the British version. The US version's brim in the front was rounded where the British version was pointed. As to the white VS Khaki during the Zulu War(s), I am of the understanding that they were originally white but were stained with tea as a response to the inability to keep the clean in field conditions. This is one of the reasons for the official colour change by the time of the Boer War(s).

This one sits on my bookshelf.

Looks kinda cool there, if you ask me.



http://www.deutscheoptik.com/p...php?products_id=1642

The helmet link I posted below comes in both white, and khaki and both are the Britt foreign service helmet! These are more AFRICA,/INDIA than the US G.I.!
http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/store/001972.php


Then there is the US G.I. issue, below, which, IMO, has about as much class as a rusty water bucket although worked quite well in the tropic heat and sun! The G.I pith helmet was issued to the WWII construction corps who built runways on the Islands of the South Pacific, with heavy equipment and was not a combat issue at all, though were shot at frequently anyway! The US GI actually gives better sun and heat protection than the Britt foreign service helmet, but having a full round shape tends to catch on bush, while the narrow sided Britt is less likely to catch on bush, but protects the ears and neck sides less.

http://www.deutscheoptik.com/p...php?products_id=1642

quote:

I would bet at the least half the double rifle owners own their rifles because of the nostalgia factor. I'm also sure they would never admit it though.

Guilty as charged, but at least I admit it!

quote:

Originally posted by degoins:
[QUOTE]I would bet at the least half the double rifle owners own their rifles because of the nostalgia factor. I'm also sure they would never admit it though.

quote:

Guilty as charged, but at least I admit it!

I must say this is a true statement in more than a few cases! This simply because the wars caused a long while where none were made, and so ammo became very hard to come by! Those two things caused a few generations that knew little about double rifles, and grew up not seeing them used. I would say that of the folks that are under 50 years old most are in the nostalgic group!

I have to say, however, that I’m not one of the people who was drawn to the double rifle because of nostalgia, but because I learned at a very early age that for what I wanted to hunt in Africa the double rifle was simply the best tool for it.

I held my first double rifle at that tender age of six years, owned by a man who had hunted the animals of Africa in the roaring twenties and was a friend of my grandfather. He made me aware of why this tool was a tool that if handled properly needed no improvement! I was hooked from that time on, and bought my first double rifle in 1958 when I was 21 years old, and have owned at least one from that time till today!

There is nothing wrong with nostalgia! It keeps the hunting fields alive for future generations, Something golf and the NFL will not help!

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

I have seen them being hand made in India in the early 70s. They were shaped on a mould and the main material is papier mache. The cloth is then cut and trimmed in layers IIRC. Today I suppose they will just mould it out of ploystirene and add the trimmings!

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
I have seen them being hand made in India in the early 70s. They were shaped on a mould and the main material is papier mache. The cloth is then cut and trimmed in layers IIRC. Today I suppose they will just mould it out of ploystirene and add the trimmings!

Not the ones that Mac noted HERE.

Faux leather strap maybe, but what do you want for $24.95.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
This forum never ceases to amaze me. All the derision about wearing a Pith helmet when I would bet at the least half the double rifle owners own their rifles because of the nostalgia factor. I'm also sure they would never admit it though.

I was thinking exactly the same thing.