Capstick, I think, started that when he wrote about mud dauber wasps building nests in the bore. My rifle stays in a case on the gari and doesn't come out until I'm ready to track or otherwise hunt. Then it goes back in the case. So I don't tape the bore. Only reason I could possibly see to do it would be in the rain.

I always chew gum while hunting. It stops my mouth going dry.

If it rains, I put my chewing gum on the muzzle.

When rain stops, back in my mouth!

The trackers think it is hilarious!

If one is so concerned about foreign objects finding their way down the tube you can always cut the fingers off a latex glove, still be able to shoot through it and have a set of spare ones as necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
If one is so concerned about foreign objects finding their way down the tube you can always cut the fingers off a latex glove, still be able to shoot through it and have a set of spare ones as necessary.

Extra large condom for larger bores!

I'm told that on D-Day, the US Gov't issued little mini-condoms to cover the rifle bores.

Great news on the PH‘s recovery.

I will be interested to learn more details, if they should become known.

The self-destruction of the client’s rifle, based upon the story told so far, does not make sense to me.

I use electrical tape over the bore and wrap extra around barrel for use later if necessary. Cheap and effective

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
If one is so concerned about foreign objects finding their way down the tube you can always cut the fingers off a latex glove, still be able to shoot through it and have a set of spare ones as necessary.

Sad and interesting set of circumstances. RIP and good news for the PH

I will say i was buffalo hunting with a famous kinda rifle company and famous celebrity in Mozambique with their flagship rifle(you had too to get in the movie) against my better judgement i used the rifles and in pre hunt practice had the extractor break on my .416 Then while hunting buffalo i had the bolt shroud and safety malfunction which meant I could not get the safety off or open the bolt. I ripped the lever out with my leatherman tool in the field while hunting buffalo so the gun would operate and ran it without safety for the rest of the trip. To say i was not impressed is an understatement. So a bolt shroud falling off is definitely possible to me especially how much he seemed to mess with it. Totally unnecessary imo to strip a rifle down in country on hunt unless something serious impels you too. Would love to hear some more details. If it is a montana those are good rifles but everything can fail. Especially the one i was using (not a montana but similar). No i did not buy it after the trip and will only use my rifles from now on. Between a broken extractor and a gun stuck on safe for a DG rifle that’s the kiss of death.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Capstick, I think, started that when he wrote about mud dauber wasps building nests in the bore. My rifle stays in a case on the gari and doesn't come out until I'm ready to track or otherwise hunt. Then it goes back in the case. So I don't tape the bore. Only reason I could possibly see to do it would be in the rain.

I actually saw this in the Caprivi. The PH had a backup rifle in camp that was kept uncased in his tent. It hadn't been used in a while. It was a 375 Ultra Mag. About 3 inches from the muzzle, a mud dauber had built a nest that completely sealed off the barrel.

That would not be good.

Happy to say I shot a bunch of buffalo with Mini from the 2nd-9th. He was in good shape and back in the saddle. He is tough as nails and an excellent PH.

We went and planted a couple candelabra cacti for MrCox where this happened. I don’t know the details of the client’s gun except that Mini said when his tracker went back to get the rifles, the client’s rifle had some pieces that had come out and were on the ground. I don’t know if he knows exactly which pieces and he doesn’t know how or why. It all happened very fast, and he did a commendable job of putting two in the bull inside 5 yards, dropping it, but it got back up and hit them both as he reloaded. The bull got off him when his tracked yelled at it over and over from a short distance, and then Mini was able to get his rifle and put a 3rd in it as a finisher when it was stumbling and going to fall any second. He then put clotter and a tourniquet on the client and got him to airstrip- all while Mini had punctured lung, diaphragm and broken ribs.

This really doesn’t need to be dissected- a close charge happened, PH did everything he should, and was just a terrible incident that sometimes happened when hunting dangerous game.

I agree with Tim that shit happens when we hunt dangerous game as when you call it dangerous game it means it’s not safe hunt and shit can happen, guns misfire or fail for one reason or another because they are after all mechanical devices and mechanical devices are not 100% fail proof
We as hunters sometimes wish we’d go out while hunting instead wither away under some terrible sickness

I disagree.

There is a reason that medical groups and hospitals do mortality reviews, that military organizations do after action reports, and that other professional organizations do reviews of outlier events.

I have no interest in affixing "blame" on a person, but I do have interest in knowing what caused the gun issue (and what it was), and what kind of trauma care was none and what the exact injuries were (to see if there is an opportunity for more improved education on first aid... etc.)

Not knowing things is not helpful.

Yes, I get that its painful at times and also it gives lawyers food for fodder, but while things do go sideways sometimes, its pretty rare that something cannot be learned from an accurate recounting of the events and issues.

Unless we hear something else, it seems the problem was caused by the rifle, unless I misunderstood what happened!

And if that is case, the reason needs to be found.

The rifle refused to fire!!

I agree 100% with crbutler and Saeed.

Can’t learn anything without the facts.

The "shit happens" attitude is exactly why shit does happen in many cases i.e. lessons are not learned and actions not taken to prevent future cases of shit happens.
We can all learn from others mistakes and misfortunes but we need the facts and analyses of these to learn from.

With all accidents and incidents the 'root' cause needs to be identified. In this case the rifle was not the root cause, something or someone caused that rifle to fail. The root cause may have been the client insisting he was in on the tracking to finish off his own buffalo when he may have been unfit and slow in reactions due to age and physical condition, and a fiddler with his firearms.
Without the client in the picture Mini most likely would have been able to finish the buffalo before any charge. It certainly didn't do the client any good being in on the tracking and fluffing another shot (non-shot).

Definitely need to know just exactly what occurred and why the 'client's' shots failed to occur.

When the client pulled the trigger, no shot went off. At this moment the buffalo must have heard them and charged out of the thicket. Mini placed two rounds into the charging buffalo, it stumbled and fell. While Mini tried to reload his rifle the bull came back to its feet



The above quote started this sad episode.

THE RIFLE MISFIRED!!

If the client’s rifle fired, he might have killed the buffalo, or sent off with a serious wound.

Why did the rifle misfire?

Why did they find pieces of the rifle on the ground?

These are the questions that need to be answered, hopefully to avoid a future, similar, accident.

quote:

Why did they find pieces of the rifle on the ground?

The make of the rifle remains shrouded in mystery and should it ever be revealed, might shed some light on why it misfired and why the action was allegedly found separated from the rifle.

Methinks someone does not want any of these details to be disclosed.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Why did they find pieces of the rifle on the ground?

The make of the rifle remains shrouded in mystery and should it ever be revealed, might shed some light on why it misfired and why the action was allegedly found separated from the rifle.

Methinks someone does not want any of these details to be disclosed.

Any rifle that needs to be disassembled and cleaned every day - this was mentioned before - isn’t worth hunting with!

quote:

Any rifle that needs to be disassembled and cleaned every day - this was mentioned before - isn’t worth hunting with!

The client was apparently fixated on dismantling his firearm and cleaning it on a daily basis though totally unnecessary unless it was a Blaser that doesn't get along with dusty conditions.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
The client was apparently fixated on dismantling his firearm and cleaning it on a daily basis though totally unnecessary unless it was a Blaser that doesn't get along with dusty conditions.

I have hunted with Blasers, including under dusty conditions, for over 25 years.

I have also hunted with many other rifles.

Blasers require no more maintenance under dusty conditions than any other bolt action rifle.

Indeed, it's always the scope that requires extra care and daily cleaning under dusty conditions, not the rifle.

A quick wipe down of the rifle has always sufficed.

I cannot imagine what induced the hunter in this case to disassemble and reassemble his rifle every evening.

It is baffling to me.

I am likewise baffled by what would cause the rifle to fall apart in the field.

Just bizarre.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:
The client was apparently fixated on dismantling his firearm and cleaning it on a daily basis though totally unnecessary unless it was a Blaser that doesn't get along with dusty conditions.

I have hunted with Blasers, including under dusty conditions, for over 25 years.

I have also hunted with many other rifles.

Blasers require no more maintenance under dusty conditions than any other bolt action rifle.

Indeed, it's always the scope that requires extra care and daily cleaning under dusty conditions, not the rifle.

A quick wipe down of the rifle has always sufficed.

I cannot imagine what induced the hunter in this case to disassemble and reassemble his rifle every evening.

It is baffling to me.

I am likewise baffled by what would cause the rifle to fall apart in the field.

Just bizarre.

As I mentioned in an earlier post it appears from the report that Mini and the client waited for a period of time before following up the wounded buffalo. Did the client play around with his rifle during that waiting time as it was the next attempted shot off the sticks at the wounded buffalo that failed.
Yes the rifle failed but I don't think of it's own accord i.e. an unexpected mechanical failure, I think the client did something to the rifle for it to fail and then come apart when the client was trying to remedy the situation or when the rifle dropped to the ground.
Mini must be able to provide some more details of what happened and in some respects owes it to other hunters and PHs so they can all learn from this accident.

Fact is, I do wanna learn all the facts, not disputing that

For starters the client wasn’t on sticks to shoot the wounded buffalo. Mini said they were tracking it up the side of a thicket, and when he heard the grunt, the bull was in full charge at 10 yards or less. No one knows if the client actually fired or not. Mini hit the bull twice at very close range - there was no time to put up sticks and try to get the client a shot. It was a full charge from very close range. When it got up, it ran by the client, hooked him in the inner thigh and threw him way up in the air as it was in its way to hammer Mini full out. There were gun parts on the ground but no o e k owes if the client tried to fire offhand or if he just got hit and thrown- so no one will know why the gun had parts on the ground.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
For starters the client wasn’t on sticks to shoot the wounded buffalo. Mini said they were tracking it up the side of a thicket, and when he heard the grunt, the bull was in full charge at 10 yards or less. No one knows if the client actually fired or not. Mini hit the bull twice at very close range - there was no time to put up sticks and try to get the client a shot. It was a full charge from very close range. When it got up, it ran by the client, hooked him in the inner thigh and threw him way up in the air as it was in its way to hammer Mini full out. There were gun parts on the ground but no o e k owes if the client tried to fire offhand or if he just got hit and thrown- so no one will know why the gun had parts on the ground.

According to, their own statement, he was on the sticks and the gun misfired!!??


So what was the truth??

A buffalo bull was wounded by a client, and after time was given, professional hunter Mini
Trappe followed together with his client. After tracking the bull for some time, they spotted the wounded bull in a thicket. The
client's wish was to finish off his buffalo himself and therefore Mini put him on the sticks. When the client pulled the trigger, no shot went off. At this moment the buffalo must have heard them and charged out of the thicket. Mini placed two rounds into the charging buffalo, it stumbled and fell. While Mini tried to reload his rifle the bull came back to its feet
andwent straight for the client. Again the client did not discharge a round. The bull gored him in the leg and hit him in the
chest with its boss. Since Mini was very close to the client, the buffalo kicked his rifle out of his hands and went for him as well. Mini got gored by the buffalo horn into his chest, however, he kicked him.

Pretty amazing no one can say the make of the rifle. And that is a discrepancy in the narrative

Saeed - if that statement was from Uganda Wildlife Authority (or whatever agency) you can imagine that they probably don’t have all details right. They also said client was German I believe. He was American. I am just relaying what Mini walked through with me on site.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
Saeed - if that statement was from Uganda Wildlife Authority (or whatever agency) you can imagine that they probably don’t have all details right. They also said client was German I believe. He was American. I am just relaying what Mini walked through with me on site.

Tim:


I may be wrong but I think that wording is from a statement issued by Christian’s company .

I believe the statement was issued very shortly after the incident occurred too. It is not hard to imagine that the details were not completely nailed down. Particularly since I am sure that the focus at the time the statement was made was on the deceased client and his family as well as the seriously injured employee and his family.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
Saeed - if that statement was from Uganda Wildlife Authority (or whatever agency) you can imagine that they probably don’t have all details right. They also said client was German I believe. He was American. I am just relaying what Mini walked through with me on site.

The original UWA news item pasted below did not say the client was German. The UWS report posted back on Page 1 by Michael Robinson was a much more detailed report with technical details that I doubt could have just been a figment of a desk jocks imagination if writing the report e.g. reference to bolt shroud and firing pin on the ground. The report has gone out under the signatures of the UWS CEO and Managing Director. Note the latter is German so this could be the source of the mistaken identity of the client being German.
The UWA item below is dated the day after the accident so would not be expected to contain all the details of the accident. The later UWS is a more detailed report. Perhaps Mini needs to read both articles and then comment.


SPORT HUNTER KILLED BY BUFFALO IN KARENGA COMMUNITY WILDLIFE AREA
Kampala, February 4, 2025 – Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) deeply regrets to announce
the unfortunate passing of Mr. Frank Stuart Cox, an American sport hunter following a tragic
wildlife encounter in Karenga Community Wildlife Area (KCWA), which is located outside
Kidepo Valley National Park. The incident happened in the afternoon on February 3, 2025.
During a scheduled sport hunting expedition, a team consisting of Mr. Frank Stuart Cox, and
Mr. Trappe Mini Rudolf Francis, both American citizens, a UWA ranger, and a UPDF officer
encountered a group of five buffaloes. One buffalo was shot but retreated into a nearby
thicket. Upon being located again, it charged at the group, fatally goring Mr. Frank Stuart
Cox, and seriously injuring Mr. Trappe Mini Rudolf Francis The buffalo was subsequently
neutralized.
Emergency evacuation procedures were initiated immediately, and the victims were
transported to the Kidepo National Park airstrip for airlifting to Kampala. Unfortunately, Mr.
Frank Stuart Coxs succumbed to injuries before the aircraft arrived. Mr. Tappe was
successfully transported to Kampala for further medical attention.
The incident was reported to police in Karenga, and investigations are ongoing. The
deceased’s remains have been transferred to Mulago Hospital City Mortuary for post-mortem
examination.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and remain
committed to ensuring the highest safety standards in wildlife activities. We also wish Mr.
Trappe a swift recovery.
ENDS.
About Karenga Community Wildlife Area (KCWA)
KCWA is a designated conservation area located outside Kidepo Valley National Park in
Karenga District. It is managed by local communities, Karenga District Local Government,
and Uganda Wildlife Safaris which has a sport hunting concession with UWA. The area serves
as a vital buffer zone for wildlife dispersal and sustainable utilization. It supports diverse
wildlife species, including buffaloes, antelopes, elephants, and cats, and provides
opportunities for regulated activities such as sport hunting and ecotourism.

Sometimes this Forum baffles me...

There were three or four people, the hunter, PH, tracker or two and game scout that were there. No one else. I am sure if you interviewed the survivors you would get a slightly different version of the event based on their perspectives. So I am sure the statement has some irregularities based on just that. The thought that the PH should come here to give his version of what transpired is ludicrous. What does he owe ANYONE on these boards. Not a fucking thing... I am sure there would be those here that would question him endlessly and without merit or a clue as to what happened.

The hubris here is astounding.

May we all wish our fellow hunter rest in peace and be happy that Mini has recovered and is hunting again.

A wonder again why anyone wastes time on AR anymore...

Well said Russell. This is the reason I have hardly participated on AR the past couple of years. Asking a PH who doesn’t come on AR to come here to clarify for a bunch of people he doesn’t know seems ridiculous. I honestly wish I had never commented. Was just trying to share what I was told on the scene and of course it escalates into a shit storm of conjecture.

Given the bizarre nature of the original report from UWA, curiosity is a normal response.

Especially from hunters like those of us who post here.

And now we have seen a significantly different report from the PH.

Of course, no one that was involved in this unfortunate incident “owes” a more detailed and fact-checked report to the general public, including AR members.

But in my view, nobody can be blamed for wishing we had one.

Personally, I would like to know . However , we have no right to that information. No one is under any obligation to provide it.

I'm sorry my post above has been misconstrued a little in that I was not meaning Mini had an obligation to come onto this forum to enlighten us as to what exactly happened. I put my hand up for causing confusion. Obviously if Mini is not a member of this forum then he is not going to be involved in any discussions on here and I am certainly not 'demanding' Mini responds in anyway.

I posted as a reply to Tim's post where he said Mini has "walked through" details of the incident with him so obviously, as often happens on this forum, we could get details via other members who do have contact with affected parties. Tim says he believes that there was confusion over the clients nationality which throws doubt on the accuracy of one or other of the agency reports but both the reports we have access to here on this discussion state the client was American.
It was due to this post by Tim that I said "Perhaps Mini needs to read both articles and then comment". I meant here, comment in general or to Tim or others he likely has. Mini is either not aware of the two reports which I don't believe, or he is ignoring them and providing his limited side of the story, remembering he was hospitalized for several days and not involved in the ensuing clean up of the site.

As for my particular interest in the incident I was a warranted firearms safety instructor for 40 years here in NZ taking firearms licence applicants through the firearms instruction course and administering the examination on behalf on the NZ Police. I have always had vested interest in accidents or misadventures with firearms as a learning curve to try and prevent these occurring in the first place or at least secondly, re-occurring.
I am very happy Mini is recovered and hunting again, would be just nice to know what truly did happen on that day.

As to those that get pissed off on these forums, like TV, you can switch off if it is not to your liking. I don't think most on here care if you don't like some of the posts, thankfully our host does not promote censorship or shut down discussions, in fact he fully involves himself in many of the forum discussions as he has in this one.

Are we not supposed to learn from other fellow hunters experiences?

Good or bad?

And how do we learn anything if certain things are posted as facts, then denied as facts?

A very sad thing happened on a hunt.

That incident was posted here, then a statement by the company involved is posted.

Then someone posts something saying that statement is all wrong.

Then someone posts that we have no right to know the facts??

Have we gone WOKE??

Go figure.

Of course no one here has a RIGHT to know what had happened.

But, should we not know the facts?

Tim, not picking a fight or anything, but you as an agent for Uganda Wildlife Safaris (Christian's company) do have a bit of an access to getting more information. The rest of us do not have that, by and large.

That the Government (UWA), UWS, and now you have given differing statements about the situation, I think it is a bit obvious that folks are interested in just what happened.

I have no expectation that Mr. Trappe come here and answer the questions, but as an agent you kind of opened the door to getting questioned about it. Having hunted with UWS, I would not have any fear of politely discussing this with Christian himself if I ran in to him.

You say that it shouldn't be dissected that a close charge happened... but that is not the impression the other releases gave.

Then you get upset that folks are trying to figure out why we have very different accounts... to the point that they are not apparently describing the same event.

Frankly, you opened up the questioning by reporting a very different account.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
Well said Russell. This is the reason I have hardly participated on AR the past couple of years. Asking a PH who doesn’t come on AR to come here to clarify for a bunch of people he doesn’t know seems ridiculous. I honestly wish I had never commented. Was just trying to share what I was told on the scene and of course it escalates into a shit storm of conjecture.

RIP to the hunter, and hopefully this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
Tim, not picking a fight or anything, but you as an agent for Uganda Wildlife Safaris (Christian's company) do have a bit of an access to getting more information. The rest of us do not have that, by and large.

That the Government (UWA), UWS, and now you have given differing statements about the situation, I think it is a bit obvious that folks are interested in just what happened.

I have no expectation that Mr. Trappe come here and answer the questions, but as an agent you kind of opened the door to getting questioned about it. Having hunted with UWS, I would not have any fear of politely discussing this with Christian himself if I ran in to him.

You say that it shouldn't be dissected that a close charge happened... but that is not the impression the other releases gave.

Then you get upset that folks are trying to figure out why we have very different accounts... to the point that they are not apparently describing the same event.

Frankly, you opened up the questioning by reporting a very different account.

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Herald:
Well said Russell. This is the reason I have hardly participated on AR the past couple of years. Asking a PH who doesn’t come on AR to come here to clarify for a bunch of people he doesn’t know seems ridiculous. I honestly wish I had never commented. Was just trying to share what I was told on the scene and of course it escalates into a shit storm of conjecture.

Trouble is most of us are interested to know the truth because we wish, and hope, to avoid this happening again.

Some booking agents are only interested in getting paid.

Not answering any questions when things go wrong!

Of course, AR, which does not accept any payments from anyone, is to blame for allowing the free flow of information from which we all hope to learn from.

The lesson from this thread . . . no good deed goes unpunished. Is it any wonder that so many contributing posters here have just said, f*#k it, it ain’t worth the aggravation. If I was Christian, Charl, Mini or Tim, I would not make single post here . . . all that does is embolden the folks here that spend their entire day picking fly shit out of pepper.