By Larry Sterett | Contributing Editor
AFRICAN MEDIUM-GAME CARTRIDGES, by Pierre van der Valt. c.2018 Published by Pathfinder Adventure Books; Available from Safari Press, Dept. TGM, 15621 Chemical Lane, Ste. B. Huntington Beach, CA 92649. Price: $80.00, plus $18.95 shipping. This book is not sold in bookstores.
This 478-page hardbound volume has to be the Bible on the mid-range cartridges considered suitable for use on African medium-size game. Printed on top quality paper it weighs four-pounds, twelve-ounces on a postal scale, and features, in detail, 39 currently popular [in Africa] hunting cartridges. It also features nearly 400 color illustrations. Even the end papers are full-color shots of a beautiful African sunset.
Following the usual disclaimer, foreword, acknowledgments, and an introduction, this tome features nine chapters, from Terminology through .312” Cartridges, plus a brief appendix of photograph credits. There is no index, but it doesn’t really need one. Each chapter is broken down into sub-topics, except chapters six through nine, which feature the respective cartridges. Thus, if a reader wants to know about a specific cartridge, such as the 7mm Blaser Magnum, he or she turns to page 232 and there it is: a dimensioned drawing, history, characteristics, performance and application, handload data for a number of different powders in tabular form, and more, including a sidebar a sidebar of miscellaneous information. (The miscellaneous info includes more than a dozen bits of data, such as the year of origin, country of origin, case capacity grains or cc of water, case trim length, barrel groove diameter, rate of twist, maximum average pressure, and even the RCBS shell holder number.)
The amount of handloading data varies with each cartridge; there are eight full pages of loads listed for the 7mm Remington Magnum cartridge covering ten different bullet weights from 120 grains to 175 grains. (Each load lists the propellant, minimum and maximum powder charge, maximum velocity, barrel length, and data source.)
The illustrations in this volume are superb; the majority are full-color, with a number of black-and-white historic photos, such as those of Roy Weatherby, Parker Ackley, Phil Sharpe, Charles Newton, and Nils Kvale. Even the tables and charts are colored, such as a subdued beige, red, gray, green, yellow, and olive. Among the nearly 400 illustrations are shots of rifles, scenic views, lots of African game—sable, waterbucks. leopard, lechwe, kudu, wildebeest, impala, etc.– hunts, powder canisters, handloading equipment, and more.
The cartridges discussed range from the 6.8mm Remington Special Purpose to the .308 Winchester. Between are a few wildcats and some good cartridges from the past, such as the .270 Redding-Sabi (.270-308 Improved), .284 Winchester, 7x61mm Sharpe & Hart, .275 Holland and Holland Belted Nitro Express, and the .30-30 Winchester. (Since the discussion stops with cartridges using .312-inch diameter bullets, the 8mm or 7.92mm Mauser, which uses .321-323-inch diameter bullets, depending, is not covered in this volume. Nor is the .280 Ross included, probably because ammunition is not readily available, although it was an excellent long range cartridge a century ago.)
For each of the cartridges a history is provided, plus the ideal load for each and the right projectile, how to reload them and the game for which they should be used for optimum results. If that whets your need or desire for more information, also covered are such topics as Sectional Density, Kinetic Energy and Energy Dump Theory, Drag Force and Stagnation Pressure, plus a slew of theories, including Stowers’ Case and Bullet Shape Theory and the Secondary Explosion Effect. (There are also a few humorous gems provided, such as the time the author was raked over the coals by the late Roy Weatherby’s secretary for requesting some Weatherby literature she didn’t think he needed. He later received the literature, directly from Roy.)
This is, in this reviewer’s opinion, the best, most complete book on the subject of cartridges suitable for use on medium-size game that has ever been available to shooters. True, it was written for cartridges used on African game, but the data and comments can be applied to medium-size game elsewhere, such as North America. The information featured in the first five chapters, such expanding bullet characteristics, terminal ballistics theories, trauma factor, etc., can apply to most game hunting. It is definitely worthy of shelf space in the reference library of any dedicated big game hunter or shooter.
