Unexpected The growth of the Dallas Safari Club has been meteoric since I lived in Dallas in the early 1980s. The membership and spirit of the organization was always strong But back then, it was still fledgling with big plans for the future, which to their credit continue to be realized. The so-called "convention" was held at a DFW Airport hotel straddled between the two in-out roads. Today there are close to 3500 booths. Back then, there were 35 booth and the event was held in a small section in the lower level of the hotel. I was a member of the Trophy Committee and our responsibilities were to recognize major tophies taken during the past season. We were also recruited to contact members and see if we could borrow some of their taxidermy for the show to give it some ambiance and add to the wow factor. This part was a challenge understandably. Anyone who had moved taxidermy into and out of any location risks damage in their handling and transport. So, I was having little luck getting any taxidemy to pick up and display with my call list. Coincidentally, I had just taken delivery of some trophies from a hunt in Northwest Territories. One of the was an Alaska-Yukon Moose. Well, hell I thought. Better get it and anything else into the show so we had some fodder to display. So, I get the mount to the hotel and fellow members helped get it into position. I was enaged with some other duties and was unaware of the meeting that had taken place to judge the trophy entries. Fast forward to the evening banquet and they called my name as winner of the Best of North America Award. Total surprise.

There's little that compares to Bongo hunting. It's even worth doing again -- just for the hunt.

It may be ugly, but the Giant Forest Hog (Hylochoerus meinertzhageni) is one of Africa’s most formidable, least‑known, and most mythically charged big‑game trophies. In the oldest forests of Africa — where daylight dissolves into green shadow and the air hangs heavily with rot, rain, and the musk of unseen beasts — there is a kingdom without borders, a realm ruled not by sight but by scent and sound. This is the Underforest, the continent’s hidden world, older than the plains and older than the rivers. In that world, there is a king. Not a lion, not a buffalo, not any creature sung by the plains tribes and record books. The king is black, broad-shouldered, scarred, and silent. The king is the Giant Forest Hog. The elders of the forest people — the Batwa, the Bayaka, the Bantu hunters who still remember the old ways — say the Black King was shaped in the time before names. When the gods forged the forest, they gave it a guardian – a beast with armor for skin, stone for a skull, and fire for a heart. They say the hog was born from the same clay as the forest buffalo, but the gods pressed more darkness into him, more stubbornness, more fury. He was made to challenge anything that dared enter the Underforest without respect. In their stories, the Black King is not hunted — he is encountered. And only the worthy survive the meeting. It is the largest wild suid on Earth, often exceeding 250–300 lbs., with exceptional boars pushing 350+. A true top-end Giant Forest Hog trophy typically shows tusks of 10–12" (exceptional boars exceed this). Their dense, bristled armor is comprised of thick hide, heavy bone, and a skull built for ramming. They are known for their aggressiveness; they will charge decisively when cornered. They can absorb punishment and a poorly placed shot can spell trouble. This is not a “pig hunt”. It’s best thought of as a dangerous‑game encounter in miniature — a compact, muscular battering ram with the temperament of a bushpig and the mass of a small buffalo. They inhabit dark montane and lowland forests across pockets of Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, the Congo Basin, Cameroon, and Central African Republic. Their world is alive with constant movement, sound, and scent. Tracking them means entering a realm where you rarely see more than a silhouette. Taking one usually means a close‑quarters ordeal of 10–40 yards, often through brush in shadowy light hidden by the forest canopy. Among serious African hunters, the Giant Forest Hog is coveted because it is rare. Few outfitters offer it. Fewer hunters pursue it. Fewer still succeed. It is a technical, physical, sensory hunt in hostile terrain. Unlike buffalo, kudu, or elephant, the Giant Forest Hog has never been sensationalized. It remains a pure hunt, untouched by safari marketing. Because the species is so rarely hunted, record books are not the primary measure of achievement. I recently spoke to a hunter who told me that he has not succeeded in taking one on nine safaris. Taking one is the trophy. It is a trophy that says, “I have walked where the forest keeps its secrets.”

This bull would be the poster child for Dagga Boys Here's Ron with his magnificent dagga boy, or Kakuli, as they are called in Zambia. This is what we were intentionally hunting - the outcasts, past-their-prime and evil because they know it. What made him a grand trophy? This old bull's horns told a life story of one-time dominance and survival. He was worn down everywhere there would be a measurement for scoring purposes. Lions could not put this warrior down. He was buffalo No. 1 for Ron who took him cleanly after hyper-tense tracking. 350-grain loads are not new for the .375 H&H, but relatively few hunters use them, choosing instead the old standby 300-grain bullets for dangerous game. After witnessing Ron's 350-grain bullets in action on two buffalo, I'd say that the greater weight extends both the versatility of the Holland and its knock-out value. Well-crafted Choice Ammunition with the 350-grain Barnes TSX at 2320 fps at the muzzle. The companion load in the magazine for follow-up shots, if needed, were 350-grain Barnes Banded Solids leaving the muzzle at 2340 fps. The magic was that the two loads shot to the same point of impact. The Choice Ammunition brand and the 350-grain loads are certainly worth considering.

If it could talk, it's life story would be spellbinding. The Rigby mystique lives on in this vintage .470 double. It was brought back to a new functional life after it had been abandoned, caked full of rust, and serendipitously discovered in a remote Zambian town. Today, it speaks with authority in the bush. I have seen it fire a lightning quick right and a left just under the boss of a charging buffalo. It has stood its ground on other life-saving feats - namely on elephants that refused to stop their charge despite all the hollering and avoidance tactics. In the narrowest sense of defining what a stopping rifle is, it is the genuine article. I particularly like the cartridge holder that serves as this Rigby's companion. There's more of the cartridge showing compared to normal big bore ammo carriers (example pictured below). That seemingly minor difference makes practical life-saving sense when having to grab and reload quickly. It's always in the hands when going anywhere for any length of time on foot, or immediately reachable nearby, in dangerous game country.

The .458 Winchester Magnum has breathed new life with better powders and bullets available today. It's one great dangerous game cartridge if only looks hard at the benefit of new components. But the lengthened .458 Lott is a generally regarded as a better option than the .458 Winchester Magnum when 500-grain bullets are used. Despite several 500-grain loads being available for my vintage custom Gil Van Horn .458 Lott, I chose the Barnes 450-grain TSX for hunting Cape Buffalo recently. This all-copper TSX is longer than the typical premium lead-based cup and core bullets of 500 grains or more. And because it is longer, it consumes case capacity that could otherwise be used for more powder, potentially reducing velocity. But penetration kills. I felt that the TSX bullet’s reputation for terminal effectiveness is worth losing some muzzle velocity at typical ranges that I would be shooting at buffalo. The Buffalo Bore load launched the 450-grain TSX at around 2300 fps. The bullet shown above was recovered under the skin on the far side of a Kakuli bull after blowing out the heart. The same load was used to drop a bull hippo with an 80-yard brain shot. Kufa.

Republic of Congo - October 2026 A safari to western Africa usuallky redefines safari hunting for many. It's an up-close-and-personal endeavor on the track of elusive game in the visually challeged and silent refuge of the forest. Except for hunting duikers lured in by calling, you will kill everything there with your feet, walking as carefully as possible behind Pygmie trackers. The pictures that follow showcase some of Africa's most elite species taken in the forsests of Republic of Congo and Cameroon. Our safari operator is a long-time producer of exceptional experiences and results. We have primetime availability between 2027-2030. Please inquire. One important note is that "Congo' means the Republic of Congo - not the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is an important distinction because it's the DRC is where Ebola broke out. It has extended to Uganda, South Sudan and most recently Kenya where the first case was reported. The Congo we hunt has no such issues, and in fact, if the notion of hunting anywhere with Congo in the country name is concerning, Cameroon's forest is a stellar option. Forest Sitatunga from our Cameroon Forest concession. Another late season (October 2026) Bongo taken in our Congo concession. One of West Africa's most coveted trophies - Forest Elephant - taken in thick cover in Cameroon. Another great Bongo from Cameroon. The tusks are smaller on Forest Elephant, but they are the equal of any elephant. Hunting them takes a lot of courage and stamina. Another trophy Bongo - Cameroon Cameroon Dwarf Forest Buffalo - Cameroon. Try hunting these aggressive buff in the thick stuff. Caught in the open. A rare sight. True prize of the forest - a Yellow-bacled Duiker.

Picadilly London Rowland Ward sits at the crossroads of Victorian natural history, early safari culture, and the birth of modern trophy measurement. His name today is synonymous with the world’s oldest and most globally recognized big‑game record book. But the story begins with a London taxidermist who understood that hunters wanted more than mounts: they wanted documentation, prestige, and scientific order. The London Studio Ward’s shop on Piccadilly became a pilgrimage site for explorers, aristocrats, and returning hunters. Inside its walls, the world’s largest animals were rendered immortal. The studio became known as “The Jungle in London.” The story is told that after the shop had closed on evening, Ward stood alone before a massive pair of kudu horns. He placed his calipers upon them, and in that moment realized that no one was preserving the nobility of game animals. Hunters spoke of great animals. Explorers bragged of immense trophies. But nothing was written. Nothing was measured. Nothing was preserved. The world’s giants were disappearing into campfire stories. So, Ward made a decision that would echo for more than a century. In 1892, Rowland Ward Ltd. published Horn Measurements and Weights of the Great Game of the World, the first edition of what would become Rowland Ward’s Records of Big Game. It was an instant success among British sportsmen and safari hunters. The 1896 edition adopted the now-famous title Records of Big Game. The 1899 edition was twice as large as the first, reflecting explosive interest. Ward’s books were not intended as a “who’s who” of hunters. Instead, they were directories of where remarkable animals lived. This made the books both a scientific reference and a safari guide. Ward’s system was one of the earliest — predating Boone & Crockett by several years. Rowland Ward’s system emphasizes simplicity — “the least amount of measuring” to rank the most desirable trophies; high minimums — ensuring only exceptional animals qualify; fair-chase ethics — modern RW explicitly ties entries to legal, ethical hunting; and global consistency — RW uses species-specific methods across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Unlike the Boone & Crockett scoring system (which uses composite scores), RW focuses on greatest length, horn/antler spread, base circumference, and skull length (for cats, etc.). RW’s approach is more traditional and morphological, reflecting its Victorian origins. The Man and His Method James Rowland Ward was born in 1848 into a family of taxidermists and naturalists. He trained under his father but by 1870 had established his own shop in London, quickly becoming the premier taxidermist for aristocrats, explorers, and returning safari hunters. Rowland Ward emerged from a family of taxidermists, but unlike his predecessors, he possessed a rare dual gift of the artisan’s eye, capable of rendering lifelike presence from hide and horn, and the natural philosopher’s mind, obsessed with classification, measurement, and the preservation of biological facts. RW also operated as a Safari Concierge, arranging safaris for clients, making him one of the earliest “expedition outfitters.” Royal and celebrity clients included Kings Edward VII and George V, the Rothschilds, and Winston Churchill. Rowland Ward was the man who measured the world so it would not be forgotten. His legacy is not merely a book; it is a worldview: that wild animals possess grandeur worth documenting, that hunters are custodians of biological truth, and that the greatest trophies are those preserved with accuracy and integrity. Interestingly, Ward was not a hunter or an explorer. Yet he became the man through whom all such journeys passed. Ward understood something the hunters themselves rarely grasped: that a hunting trophy is not a boast. A trophy is a datum — a biological fact, a record of the world as it was. Where others saw horns, Ward saw geometry. Where others saw skulls, Ward saw morphology. Where others saw adventure, Ward saw data. Company Evolution After Ward’s death in 1912, the company passed through several hands. John Burlace, Ward’s general manager, became majority shareholder. After WWII, Gerald Best purchased the company; his sons continued operations until the 1980s. In 1982, Game Coin (Texas) acquired RW Records. In 1993: After publisher Steve Smith’s death, Robin Halse of Cape Town bought RW Ltd.; later succeeded by his daughter Jane. In 2015, RW moved to California. And in 2020, RW became a non-profit organization, focusing on conservation and record integrity. Today, RW maintains a global network of official measurers, and species-specific measurement methods across all continents. It is the world’s most internationally recognized big-game record system.