Some months later I had contact with him via e-mail and we planed to write some articles, pp. (Witch we have done in the past).
I must say Ivan is a true gentleman, an true hunter and (as we say in Germany) ein Naturbursche. :-)
He is more an wildlife-nature-man as an technical-weapon-man. He has an great knowledege about Africa, the animals and more.
He is good in guideing and in storytelling and writing also. Also he is an great photographer with an good feeling for an great photo (witch is often more important as an expensive equipment.)
...later on the workers in the factory heard the story, that the rifle was in the Sambesi and Ivan searched for it for days, that Ivan used the rifle very often (more than 1.000 shoots) in the last 10 years and so one...
They liked the story.
So nearly every worker, the most of them are hunters, all are sport shooters, looks every week to the gun and see how the works goes...
So they become a special relationship to the gun...
Here you can the Basküle (german word) in half unrestaurated (top) and restaurated (buttom). This is an very complicated steel work and you need people witch have more than 2 years of experience to do that correct.
Here you can see, as we say in Germany: Es stehen keine Schrauben mehr auf Strich.
The crews are all incorrect and must be replaced. (I think this comes, after Ivans found the rifle in the river... He has to dry and clean up all parts and has -of course- not the correct gunsmith tools.)
Then you have an wood, witch is deep scrached, the wood-masters has some old tricks, to bring it back.
It its an long prcedure witch takes weeks, 5 and more. Dayly you have to work for 20 minutes at the wood and then wait "over night" and then start again...
Here you can see the stock in the middle of that process, the most scratches are gone...
Congratulations to Heym and Ivan on a superb rifle!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition” ― Rudyard Kipling
Posts: 1231 | Location: London, UK | Registered: 02 April 2010
Its amazing to see what can be done when the talent and motivation to do it is present.
ALLEN W. JOHNSON - DRSS
Into my heart on air that kills From yon far country blows: What are those blue remembered hills, What spires, what farms are those? That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again.
A. E. Housman
Posts: 2251 | Location: Mo, USA | Registered: 21 April 2002
The rifle in its un-restored condition was at the Dallas show a couple years ago. I wish I had a full photo to show the "before and after"....quite an amazing transformation.
Posts: 20173 | Location: Very NW NJ up in the Mountains | Registered: 14 June 2009
Beautiful work and thank you very much for posting it, Herr Doktor.
Frank
"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money." - Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953
NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite
Posts: 12754 | Location: Kentucky, USA | Registered: 30 December 2002
