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As a yougster I would go to the corner store every month and look through the table of contents of every gun magazine on the rack. If there was an article by Peter Hathaway Capstick, I would spend my paper route money and get it, to be read over and over and over. 30 years later as I re-read his articles and books, I have to wonder, is there some "artistic license" to his adventures, or are they true to life? How many "sticky situations handled at close range" does the typical PH really live through in a year, in a 10 year career? Are there really lions on the thatched hut roof that need to be shot blindly (with both barrels of course), and then thunk to the ground dead as a doornail? Do rhinos charge, only to be diverted at the last moment by a nonfatal shot to the horn? What about the Buffalo absorbing 8, 10, 12 shots only to die at the hunters feet with the final spine breaking .470? There must be some curent PH's on this board, and maybe some individuals who actually hunted with Mr. Capstick. Are his stories true both in concept and in detail? (After all,we have all caught the 3 pound trout in the morning, that reached 7 by the drive home.) Even if there is some enlargement of the tale with each telling, he will remain my favorite author. thanks, Paul | ||
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Friend.....there's a far better question yet.....are you ready for this????? here it is....."Are you sure you really want to know?" As for me....He led me to Africa.....and it's not at all relevant the truthfulness of his stories.....because of him I now have my own! /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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Here we stumble through the night of African Hunting Writers, as Diogenes our lanterns held high in search of the truthful Author. If it weren't for PHC a bunch of us would still be sitt'n or our collective asses, wish'n we could go do something like "Hunt African Big Game". I have no idea if his stories were real or not. I no idea if any of the writer I have enjoyed over the years have used their "Artistic License" to create a spell binding story? I know I would have loved to have been able to share a campfire with PHC, and Ruark, Hemingway, Boddington and their ilk. Truth and inspiration are oft found close together, but usually along separate paths to the same destination. Until my lantern shines upon a more deserving soul, PHC will continue to serve us all well. Rusty We Band of Brothers! DRSS, NRA & SCI Life Member "I am rejoiced at my fate. Do not be uneasy about me, for I am with my friends." ----- David Crockett in his last letter (to his children), January 9th, 1836 "I will never forsake Texas and her cause. I am her son." ----- Jose Antonio Navarro, from Mexican Prison in 1841 "for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Thomas Jefferson Declaration of Arbroath April 6, 1320-“. . .It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.” | |||
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Alot of Capstick's stories are "as told to him", they aren't all his personal experiences. However, I do know one PH (G. Billiard/Tanzania) who had guided on buffalo for ten years who never had a single problem. Until the day he had to back up a client and got the buffalo between the eyes with his 416 Rigby at spitting distance and it hit the ground at his feet. I saw him two days later at the Agip hotel bar in Dar and he was still a little shaky. _________________________________ AR, where the hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history become the nattering nabobs of negativisim. | |||
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Personally, I don't care, I just love reading his writing. Few writers today go into such detail, that after a few pages you can feel the sun on you back, the dew on you feet and hear the birds in the trees. ______________________ | |||
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I for one have no reason to believe otherwise, until somebody actually comes forth with irrefutable evidence that his stories were not true. I am sure he probably took some poetic license and embellished some stories( I'm a "pro" at that, having spent 25 years around "O" Clubs and Squadron Ready Rooms, where all conversations either start with "no shit" or "there I was.")but PHC is arguably the one man who revived african safari hunting and we all owe him a debt of gratitude. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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I think Rusty pretty much covered it. So what if some of the stories were embellished? Everybody thinks they are a detective. Worse occurs here every day! ------------------------------- Will Stewart / Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much gun. --------------------------------------- and, God Bless John Wayne. NRA Benefactor Member, GOA, N.A.G.R. _________________________ "Elephant and Elephant Guns" $99 shipped “Hunting Africa's Dangerous Game" $20 shipped. red.dirt.elephant@gmail.com _________________________ Hoping to wind up where elephant hunters go. | |||
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Paul, Several long time PH's I have talked to were much more concerned about what great benfit Capstick's writing had on the modern safari business than whether all his yarns were the absolute truth. Regards, Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Are PHC's stories true? They are true enough to inspire me to actually see the African sun rise. To look at the southern cross and sip my sundowner while the Lion roars in the night. They are true enough to make both boys and men dream of adventure in far away places. They are as true as any story that is told around a camp fire or sitting at the bar. No doubt some of them actually started "No shit, there I was...." , and some of them still made his throat dry and knees weak. What difference does it make which was which, they are part of what led us to Africa. For that we are grateful. TerryR | |||
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PHC wrote stories that are fun to read. Nowhere in his books is there a statement to the effect of: "This story is the God's honest truth." Like any writer, he took certain liberties in order to make his work entertaining. | |||
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Yep!!!! -Bob F. | |||
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Knew PHC- when he was in Botswana. Know Fiona rather better. Know the man who "wrote" his last book extremely well- Peter was a gentleman and to help out an old hunter who was struggeling he read through the manuscript and puting in those amaizing turns of phrase for which he is undeniably renouned as an author for. As a result the book has sold really well... and Peter asked for nothing in return. A gentleman. And as mark says. Death in the long grass made safari hunting in Southern Africa take off. The price of a buffalo safari doubled within two years of its publication. | |||
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vapodog & rusty, Me too. Mike "Too lazy to work and too nervous to steal" | |||
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I'm lucky enough to have known PHC casually, and to have had several conversations with him. My opinion of him is, as others here have said, he was a gentlemen above all, and very down to earth! I've read everything he wrote, and I find most of the dareing-do in his writeings, are about things that happened to others, and he stated that fact in print. Some of the things he related, I have had the oppertunity to talk to folks who were there at the time, and back Peter up! One example was the lion charge on Peter, and Gordon Cundil. The lion wounded with a misplaced head shot by Peter with his 375H&H Mauser, charged from 50 yds. In this instance Gordon was useing a 500NE double, and Peter the affore mentioned 375 H&H. The lion took 10 shots, including the wounder, before stopping. Think about this "50 YDS", with a slightly wounded lion!  Gordon had some bad ammo, and had three hangfires, and one dud, with the three 500s hitting the lion, that leaves six rounds into that lion in a fifty yard charge, from a bolt rifle! That is not including the first shot that wounded the lion in the first place. Folks, a lion can cover 50 yds in three seconds, if not hit, and not much slower if hit every time! That, my friends, is working, and shooting on target with a bolt rifle, of the first order. This is one sequince that has been verified to me by Gordon, and is simply amazeing to me. The reason I related this is, knowing this to be true, I see no reason to disbelieve any of his stories, most of which are his admission of his screw-ups!Even if everything he wrote was fiction, his books are still a great read, on a subject that is dear to my hunting heart! ....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1 DRSS Charter member "If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982 Hands of Old Elmer Keith  | |||
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Frankly, I would rather hear an embellished story that has me on the edge of my seat than one that puts me to sleep. When I killed my buffalo, we had stalked the herd for a few hours, and they spooked two or three times. I finally got behind a tree, waited for my buff to present a shot and dropped him on the spot. Nobody would pay to read THAT story. I find with each retelling of the story though, the herd gets more restless, his eys meet mine and he spins to face me before I pull the trigger. By this time next year he will take four shots and skid up and hit me in the shins, at which point I will roll up my pants leg and show the scar where I bumped into the coffee table in the dark. Like Santa Claus, I'd rather not know the truth if it varies from what I believe. Mark Jackson  | |||
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The only hunter I know of who claimed that he was actually guided in the bush on a hunting safari by PHC was Colonel Charles Askins. There is a photo of PHC leading a line of trackers in Askins' book, "The Hunter's Rifle". AD | ||
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I, for one, am honored to be a part of this thread that is a tribute to PHC.....rarely have so many agreed on a single question....and it seems appropriate   /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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Some of both, but it doesn't matter. My original interest in Africa began, as it did for so many, with Tarzan. Shorts had to be substituted for loincloths because of parental dress codes, but the language of the Great Apes was common among my set. Wooden spears and grass ropes gave way to reality and too much time in a jungle that Tarzan never new caused visions of accompanying Waziri warriors to fade. Then there was a time afterward when books seemed to be better company than people, and Ruark called across the years. Instead of jungles, it was African plains and "Toa bunkuki - mkubwa" because the .257 wasn't even enough to properly swat a hyeana. Even Ruark's wonderful words faded against the needs of keeping my belly from making firm aquaintance with my backbone. Finally, a touch of PHC called again, and the third time was the charm. Who really cares whether PHC cloaked himself with the deeds of others, or dressed his hunts up from the mundane to the magnificent? It got me there, again, and again, and again. All skill is in vain when a demon pisses on your gunpowder. | |||
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I keep a couple of his books in the classroom and will add to them periodically. Mostly it's the boys who get excited but every now and again a girl will get intrigued. If it keeps them reading, everyone around here approves. If it gets them hot to hunt, so much the better IMO. Sarge Holland's .375: One Planet, One Rifle . . . for one hundred years! | |||
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800 elephants or 4 - what's the difference?   Entertaining books though. | |||
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I thought the title for Ruarks's book _Use Enough Gun_ came from a .220 Swift, not a .257, used on a hyena. And the greenie Alex Car-Ass was fond of lifting that passage out of context to bad mouth hunting as encouraging torture of defenseless wuzzy wuzzies. Ruark's intent was clearly the opposite.Capstick? You gotta love PHC or you ain't human. And to Peter in the Happy Hunting Ground: Watch out for that John "Pondoro" Taylor guy. | |||
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Whatever any of these guys can say about PHC, can be said about any writer or PH in Africa, everyone has a little doubt here and there by someone, Heck I doubt that Billy the kid was all as mean as they say, I know Wyatt Earp wasn't...What difference does it make, PHC put Africa back on the map and gave the Safari business a needed shot in the arm..and man can write a book. You know John Taylor was gay! now that was a downer, but true all the same...  Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I believe!! If I have missed anything Capstick ever wrote it isn't for lack of trying. I have never read anyone who wrote better about Africa or much of anything else for that matter. I only wish I could have met him in person - he certainly seemed a gentleman. Even once started to look him up in Florida and now wish I had just to thank him for all the dreams and pleasent hours of reading he gave me. He will be sorely missed for there is no one presently writing about big game hunting that is his equal. One just has to believe that he and Silent are still in hot pursuit somewhere. | |||
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In addition to his outstanding books, I personally enjoy his video series filmed by Sportsman on Film. All five can be purchased on Ebay, as a set, for $65.00. Just search under Capstick video | ||
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I spoke to Ken Wilson at the Houston show. I suggested to him that he and Fiona Capstick combine to write a PHC biography. Now would be the time to do it while there may be a few of his former safari clients alive and a few PHs who knew him to contribute something. I would certainly buy a copy. It could also put an end to those that don't believe he was ever a PH. | |||
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PHC could sure write a story, unfortunately he didn't influence me as I am too old and was already doing it in the dark continent. Ruark, Hemmingway, Taylor and JA Hunter would have been a bigger influence, not to mention ol' Elmer and Jack O. I am sure they all streched the facts at time to make a story. Okay, it reads well. | |||
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I had never heard of PHC when I first went to Africa. He was sort of an inside joke among the PH fraternity in Tanz. and Zambia. Bob Langeveld lent me a copy of Death in the Long Grass in 1980 and I was half way through it before I realized the book was about him.  Later, in '85 I met PHC at his condo in Pretoria, along with Bob. A wonderful guy and a great story teller. I am not sure what type of a 'hunt' you would have had with him but I bet it would have been a great time.  | |||
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He was a great story teller. Unlike many of the outdoor writers of today who are good reporters. There is a huge difference. And I for one truely enjoy Capsticks writing. I find his discriptions to be accurate and his writing influnced me in my formative years and for that I salute Peter Capstick. | |||
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Paul Franklin ----- I am reading a book at this time by Geoff Broom, a well known African PH and Safari operator. Capstick has just inquired of Broom if he can come and learn about Africa from him. Capstick states that his wife has a high up job and he can afford to play. Broom has replied that he can and states at that time Capstick has never shot anything but Deer and Antelope. I will let you know more when I read more. Good shooting.phurley | |||
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THis is a personal perspective, so dont shoot the messenger ... PHC is much like GWB .... Both might be a bit modest with the truth BUT I would follow both of them to the end of the earth and back again ... they BOTH know how to inspire people and follow dreams to reality ... WE need more of them in this world Regards, PJB | |||
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Hemingway wrote a lot of fiction in his safari "stories". Ruark went to Africa and admits he never had fired a rifle before and it was his first safari after which he wrote a "how to" book. Why should Capstick break the mould and start writing the truth? I once suggested a biogaphy on Capstick but it would be very disppointing. Now I hope some of the other African writers did write true non-fiction. Personally I like to read fiction or non-fiction and don't see the point in blurring the two. Everyone has a point of view and sees things from a different angle but that is different from outright BS. I can't see why most of Capstick's books couldn't have been written as a collection of safari stories without the personal false aggrandisement and they would still have been excellent reads. Wilbur Smith vs Peter Capstick? Many of WS's books have historical and factual basis that have been used for base of stories too. "PHCr" | |||
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We prbably see about the same amount of BS written on these forums in a couple of weeks as in a PHC book on hunting. He at least is easier to believe than some of what I read here, but I hasten to say there is a lot of good info here as well. Just sort it out and take it or leave it. | |||
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In years past when the safari conventions weren't nearly as crowded as they are today, a group of us were enjoying a few drinks with PHC when I happened to discuss with him one of my favorite stories of his, I asked him "Peter, is that REALLY the way it happened? His answer was "Yes, but I of course dressed it up some to make it better reading, but that basically was the way it happened." I think that is the case with most of his stories, and he does state when his story is one he took part in, and when he is just passing along a story he has heard. He was a very friendly and gracious person who would always take the time to visit with fellow hunters, and I still enjoy reading his books over and over again. He was one of the best. | |||
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btt Mike Legistine actu? Quid scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Paul Franklin ----- The year Geoff Broom took Capstick on as an assistent PH was 1974. He states that Capstick is a fast learner and worked very hard with the trackers to identify all the animals in the area, by sight, tracks and feces. His wife was Mary Catherine and she came to enjoy considerable time with her husband, while he worked. The wife I met in Dallas was Fiona, either it was a same woman with different names or he had two wifes. Broom also states that Capstick's first book was written two years after first arriving and the name of the book was "Death in the long grass". Broom had one short chapter about Capstick.  Good shooting.phurley | |||
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I have always enjoyed PHC's writings. One day I was looking for a new book to read and the little girl in the bookstore very highly recommended PHC. She was enthusiastic about his writing! Not a hunter, just a reader! I had been reading PHC for a long time, but I was surprised at the store clerk, she wanted to go on a safari just based on her reading his books, and she wasn't even a hunter. While I have no direct knowledge of the events in his books, I always felt the "fabric" of his books was woven from threads of experiences. That some of the experiences were from others, is OK by me. He told a good story. Sacred cows make the best burgers. Good Shooting! | |||
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The first time I was in Africa, a PH told me disgustingly how Capstick had written stories about him and another PH and had used them as his own. a couple of years later, I found out that the PH that told me that is about the biggest liar I've ever seen. JD | |||
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