HISTORIC RIFLES THE LONG JOURNEY HOME
By Dave Fulson • Nov 16, 2025
The sport of hunting has a long and storied past where men, places and events often take on iconic status as the years pass. Africa, in particular, has been home to countless legendary figures since writers first put pen to paper in an effort to capture and share the experiences in pursuit of game on the Dark Continent. The lure of ivory opened the interior of Africa, where bold men in search of Africa's 'white gold’ cut their way through its wilderness and into legend. They lived and died on the tracks of elephants and adventure.
Most of the storied hunters were sons of Africa, born into the great land, but not all. Africa also cast her spell on men from across the seas—men who came to love the land, its game, and the danger and drama of the chase. Some of these men, through the written word, would produce works and deeds that continue to this day. This would ignite the flame of adventure and the thrill of the hunt in those like-minded souls who have followed them.
The study of African history and artifacts is alive and well today. The desire to see, feel, and hold history in your hands is a passion strong in the hearts of certain individuals. One such man is Alabama native and Lifetime SCI member Bill Jones. As a boy and young man, Bill thrilled to the exploits of famous hunters like Frederick Courtney Selous, and later, FletcherJamieson who recorded their experiences in the field in both their writings and photography. The flicker of Africa was later fanned into a roaring flame by American writers such as Ernest Hemingway and Elmer Keith, both of whom had surrendered their souls to the bush and wild spaces of Africa.
Once in a great while, an iconic figure will inadvertently lend his fame to a companion—not of flesh and blood, but of wood and steel. The rifles carried and used by famous hunters and literary figures become recognized as highly prized African treasures in their own right.
My company, Safari Classics Productions, in conjunction with Bill Jones, have made a film dedicated to their story and the passion of one man to not only own and cherish these historic links to history, but to return them to the land and task for which they were born.
I have had the chance to hold and fire the following rifles, as has my partner Tim Danklef. It was truly an honor, as well as a thrill, to literally feel history in your hands. The following are just a few of the rifles with safari ties that are highlighted in the DVD.
Elmer Keith Westley Richards .470 Nitro Express
Elmer Keith was born in 1899, and before his death in 1984, became one of America's most influential gun writers. Keith's trademarks were his ten-gallon Stetson, the ever-present cigar, and outspoken opinions. Keith was an avid handgun hunter and was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum, as well as the .44 and .41 Magnum cartridges.
Elmer loved the hunt for big game, and the bigger it came the better. The Idaho native hunted most of North America's popular species, including all of its dangerous game, but his love for danger and adventure finally lured him to the wilds of Africa—a mecca for heavy calibers and the famous Big Five.
Keith's introduction to the African safari was his famous 40-day excursion into the wilderness of Tanganyika, East Africa, in 1957. His professional hunter was John Lawrence, a top professional of his day and the owner of White Hunters Ltd., one of Africa's most renowned safari firms. In addition to a generous bag of plains game species, Keith was able to experience the hunt for several of Africa's most coveted dangerous game species. Before this historic and life-changing safari was over, Keith saw Cape buffalo, rhino, and bull elephant fall at the roar of a fine English double gun.
Keith was an unabashed lover of English-made double rifles and had owned several in his personal collection. One of his most trusted double rifles was a Westley Richards .470Nitro Express.
This boxlock double rifle is outfitted with 26-inch barrels, ejectors, and a single trigger, which is unique as most English doubles feature a double trigger setup. The rifle is embellished with fine scroll engraving and a 14-inch length of pull, well-figured stock in a pistol grip design, and a one-inch rubber recoil pad. Weighing 11 pounds, 2 ounces, the Westley Richards .470 is housed in a brass-cornered canvas and leather case, which includes Elmer Keith's original sighting targets.
Fletcher Jamieson The .500 Jeffery
Crawford Fletcher Jamieson is best known to the hunting world through the placement of photographs and accolades bestowed upon him by fellow ivory hunter and author John "Pondoro" Taylor in his classic book African Rifles and Cartridges.
Between his birth in 1905 and his untimely death in 1947, Fletcher, as he was referred to by friends, would become one of the most proficient ivory hunters of his or any other day. At the time of his death, he was working on a book about his life and hunting adventures, which would have featured countless photographs he took of his hunts. What would surely have been a piece of classic African literature died with Fletcher, and sadly, most of his photos were loaned out by family never to be returned. A few existing images, along with Pondoro's writings, are a lasting testament to a man certainly worthy of legend status if judged by his deeds.
A 1936 visit to his good friend Ronnie Mitchell's gun shop, Mitchell & Fallon, in Salisbury, England, produced a discovery that would have an impact on Fletcher's elephant hunting career from that day forward. During that visit, Fletcher would test a number of bolt-action rifles for grouping and penetration. The one that made the greatest impression on him was a German-made .500 Schuler, better known as the .500 Jeffery. He instantly fell in love with the cartridge.
The 535-grain bullet traveling at 2,400 feet per second and generating over 6,800 foot-pounds of energy would make the .500 Jeffery the world's most powerful cartridge at that time. Fletcher decided this would be an excellent choice for his ivory hunting.
On July 15, 1937, he placed a special order for a W.J. Jeffery and Company .500 bore magnum Mauser, Model 2 magazine rifle, with 26-inch barrels, one standard and two leaf sights, a recoil pad, at a weight of 10 pounds 2 ounces. The rifle was built on the single square-bridge, magnum-length Mauser 98 action at a cost of 45 pounds.
The rifle ordered by Fletcher would be the 20th .500 built under the Jeffery name, and the firm would eventually produce a total of only 24 rifles in this caliber. The fact that Jeffery produced only 24 of these rifles makes them among the rarest rifles among firearms collectors. The fact that the .500 Jeffery is engraved with Fletcher's name makes this rifle one of the world's most coveted and collectible firearms in existence.
According to his personal diaries, Fletcher Jamieson and his beloved .500 Jeffery accounted for over 300 elephants. Fletcher's proficiency with this trusted companion earned him the nickname hippomanic—which in the local BaTonga dialect means “the one who never misses.”
Frederick Courtney Selous .461 Gibbs and Holland & Holland .256
Frederick Courtney Selous was, by any standard, one of the most interesting figures of imperial Africa. Selous was a British explorer, big game hunter, and dedicated conservationist famous for his exploits in East and Southern Africa. Unlike many of Africa's legendary figures, Selous was already a living legend during his day due to his experience with hunting, military action, and African exploration. Throw in the fact that he was admired by, and counted as a personal friend by, some of the most powerful men of his time—both black and white—he perfectly, but completely unintentionally, fits the mold of a true Renaissance man.
At the tender age of 19, Selous had trekked into the wilderness of Matabeleland in what is now Zimbabwe. The King of the warlike Ndebele was the powerful leader Lobengula. Selous' courage and nerve both impressed and amused the King, who eventually gave the bold white teenager permission to hunt game anywhere in his vast dominions. But upon hearing that elephants were to be young Selous' primary focus, Lobengula laughed and warned the would-be ivory hunter that “the elephants would soon drive him out of the country.”
From 1872 until 1890, with few brief intervals spent in England, Selous hunted and explored over the then little-known regions north of the Transvaal and south of the Congo River Basin, shooting elephants and collecting specimens of all kinds for museums and private collections. Many of Selous' hunting trophies are seen today in the Natural History Museum in London. The Selous Collection contains 524 mammals from three continents—all shot by him, including 19 African lions.
In 1909 and into 1910, Selous accompanied U.S. ex-president Teddy Roosevelt on his famous African safari. While he did not lead the expedition, he joined the yearlong safari at several points as it traveled through East Africa, the Congo, and into Sudan. Roosevelt was such a fan of Selous that he referred to him as “the world’s greatest living hunter” in his classic book African Game Trails.
In 1880, Selous acquired what he described as “a single-barreled .461 bore modified by Gibbs of Bristol—a better weapon in every way than my well-tried 10 bore.” The rifle, serial number 125, is a breech-loading falling block Farquharson action with 28-inch barrels. The express sight has a standing rear blade and folding leaves sighted to 800 yards.
Selous fell in love with the Gibbs rifle and these actions and would later own a number of them. The stock on the rifle eventually cracked due to recoil, and Selous worked with Gibbs to develop reinforcing plates along the wrist area for added strength. The reinforcing plate would become known as “Selous’s” and would be offered by Gibbs as an additional option on their rifles.
In 1899, Selous took delivery of the .256 falling block rifle built for him by Holland & Holland. Weighing in at just over seven pounds, this rifle features 28-inch barrels and a 100-yard fixed sight and four identical leaf sights sighted out to 500 yards. According to Holland &Holland archives, Selous personally sighted the rifle at the Holland & Holland shooting ground for his own use.
Ernest Hemingway Westley Richards
.577 Double Rifle
Ernest Miller Hemingway was, and remains to this day, one of American literature's most iconic figures. Hemingway was a man who lived large and wrote with the same style. He enjoyed a long and wildly successful writing career between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, the heyday of his fame. Like many hunters before and after him, Hemingway answered the siren song of Africa—a destination impossible for a man like him to resist. His first taste of Africa came in 1934 on a safari to Tanganyika with legendary PH Phillip Percival. As the continent tends to do, Africa cast a spell on Hemingway and would have a tremendous impact on his writing career and subject matter.
In 1953, Hemingway returned to Africa—this time with a Westley Richards .577 Nitro Express double rifle. This famous rifle features a droplock action, 26-inch barrels with one standing and two folding leaf express sights. Unusual for its day, the .577 was ordered with a single trigger. The weight of the rifle is 15 pounds, 14 ounces. Percival, knowing dangerous game was once again on the bag, must have been pleased to see Hemingway unpack the .577—a caliber very well suited to the job. Before the safari was over, Papa Hemingway had taken several of Africa's heavyweights with this double rifle.
And what a pleasure it is to know these rifles are not rusting away in some gun vault, but are being used and celebrated by a man who loves them and loves to share them. Many Thanks, Mr. Bill!
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