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NitroXAdministrator
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"Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard
      #183932 - 17/06/11 01:16 AM

"Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard

947 kb PDF file

An article supplied thanks to Jens - RigbyMauser.

Written by Finn Aagaard for the American Rifleman magazine, on rifles and calibres used in Kenya and some other personal experiences of Finn, when he lived in Kenya.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #368487 - 21/08/22 04:47 PM

BTTT after eleven years!

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
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"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #368499 - 21/08/22 11:42 PM

2596 views. ZERO replies ....

I wonder how many times the pdf has been copied, downloaded and loaded up on other sites in these eleven years ....

--------------------
John aka NitroX

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85lc
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #368509 - 22/08/22 03:40 AM

John,
Thanks for posting. Finn was a great writer. Too bad that he passed away. I used to wait for his articles.
Finn talks abput the failure of the 10.7x68 which really seemed to be a failure of the ammunition manufacturer to use better bullets. I read the same discussion of the 9.5MS; that the 270 gr bullet as loaded had a weak jacket and would fail on big game.

--------------------
RB

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93x64mm
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: 85lc]
      #368513 - 22/08/22 06:06 AM

I've never seen this article before John - thank you for posting
Started reading & like 85lc the 10.75 was given a bum steer with dud ammo from the start.
It would have been a terrifying sight to see your bullets just break up on the hide rather than penetrate & break bone.
We all hope & pray here that Geoff & Shirley McDonald from Woodleigh bullets can come back & continue on. With these guys designing proper projectiles a lot of our rifles have now come back from obscurity, its been them from the start who has resurrected the big game cartridges. Otherwise all our rifles would be just as useless as dud ammo!

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degoins
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: 93x64mm]
      #368545 - 23/08/22 03:04 AM

I remember reading this years ago. The thing that stuck out most was the part about the boy's dad giving him 2 cartridges to hunt with. He either brought back both cartridges or some meat or got a whoopin. I told my grandson about that one not too long ago.

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Ripp
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: degoins]
      #368572 - 23/08/22 11:53 PM

Quote:

I remember reading this years ago. The thing that stuck out most was the part about the boy's dad giving him 2 cartridges to hunt with. He either brought back both cartridges or some meat or got a whoopin. I told my grandson about that one not too long ago.



Knew of a family raised back in the 30's and 40's that were basically told the same thing..if they shot they had better bring back the animal to eat ..

NO pressure there..

--------------------
ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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Ripp
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: 85lc]
      #368573 - 23/08/22 11:56 PM

Quote:

John,
Thanks for posting. Finn was a great writer. Too bad that he passed away. I used to wait for his articles.
Finn talks abput the failure of the 10.7x68 which really seemed to be a failure of the ammunition manufacturer to use better bullets. I read the same discussion of the 9.5MS; that the 270 gr bullet as loaded had a weak jacket and would fail on big game.



Agree, always enjoyed reading his articles.,,,

--------------------
ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: Ripp]
      #368576 - 24/08/22 03:04 AM

Quote:

Quote:

I remember reading this years ago. The thing that stuck out most was the part about the boy's dad giving him 2 cartridges to hunt with. He either brought back both cartridges or some meat or got a whoopin. I told my grandson about that one not too long ago.



Knew of a family raised back in the 30's and 40's that were basically told the same thing..if they shot they had better bring back the animal to eat ..

NO pressure there..



Common old values attitude. Especially for kids. Give them one .22 RF cartridge. Come back with a rabbit.

Teach them right. Shoot well. Eat what you shoot. None of this spray and pray BS.

Really good to start a kid off with a single shot open sights .22 RF. Learn to stalk, hunt, conserve, shoot. With something basic.

When 15 I took out a school friend with a crappy Stirling semi auto scoped .22 RF. He would shoot the whole 15 round magazine at a rabbit and never hit anything.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #368620 - 24/08/22 07:59 PM

Finally got to re-reading it. Probably the fourth time over four extended periods.

Interesting as it was written about the times before, during and after the demise of Kynoch. Swapping a double rifle for a .375 Winchester or similar! Plus swapped a M98 vintage 9.3x62 as well for it! Why? Because no one wanted Nitro Express rifles as there was no ammunition for it.

Before the good guys at Woodleigh, Bertram and Simplex catered for bullets, brass and reloading dies and presses. Graham Wright's "Shooting the British Double Rifle" provided a record of collected know how. So many wannabes have followed these people with plagiarised wisdom.

I remember the article elaborated at home these expensive Brit brands were not the norm. The averagecsettler had one rifle and they were often a .303, 8x60, 9.3x62, 7x57, 6.5s, etc. Mausers and Mannlichers.

The .416 Rigby was famous but not that common.

The double rifle then like now, expensive.

Then mentions how the .270, .30-06 and newer 7mm Rem Mag, becoming popular. Superseding the good vintage cartridges that worked as well, if not better.

The .458 Win Mag was in its first spurt as a popular replacement of the .450 Nitro Expresses and similar.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #368621 - 24/08/22 08:15 PM

Finn Aagaard's audio book is excellent value and worth listening to.

Imagine nowadays a class of high school boys tooled up with a variety of rifles from .22 RFs to medium centrefirws in the classroom and called up to battle Mau Mau terrorist guerrillas in the jungles of the Abardares.

Might be less school shootings with these attitudes.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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kuduae
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #368640 - 25/08/22 01:49 AM

There was another, quite similar article by Finn Aagaard in the Guns & Ammo 1986 Annual, “Guns of the Kenya Settlers”. One sentence from it for the .318 and .333 aficionados: “…, but I have still never seen a .318 Westley Richards or .333 Jeffery,”.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: kuduae]
      #368642 - 25/08/22 02:00 AM

Thanks.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: kuduae]
      #368732 - 27/08/22 08:51 PM

Quote:

There was another, quite similar article by Finn Aagaard in the Guns & Ammo 1986 Annual, “Guns of the Kenya Settlers”. One sentence from it for the .318 and .333 aficionados: “…, but I have still never seen a .318 Westley Richards or .333 Jeffery,”.



He must've like me, writes the same stories slightly different multiple times.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #368733 - 27/08/22 09:27 PM

I am surprised the .30-06 was not more popular in Colonial Kenya. Effective with 180 and 220 gr projectiles. A 220 gr FMJ should penetrate well.

My guess is gun dealers mainly imported from the UK.

Perhaps it was difficult to trade outside of the British Empire? The Brits had exclusive trading laws in various industries, making it illegal to trade with anyone other than British merchants. How the Brits became wealthy. Sucked the lifeblood out if the colonies as middleman traders. My comments come from farming in Australia. Grain had to be sold to British merchants at a low price. They sold it to Japan at a high price. Like farming today with globalist middle men and monopolistic retailers.

So if gun dealers only dealt with Brit gun makers, resellers, it makes sense.

The only .30-06s probably came with American outfitters and PHs and clients.

Aagaard says this changed when Kynoch ceased trading.

--------------------
John aka NitroX

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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
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yukonphil
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #372683 - 27/12/22 05:28 PM

thank you for those readings. i knew why i love my 9.3x62 and 74r rifles ...

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Ahmed577
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: yukonphil]
      #372687 - 27/12/22 09:10 PM

9.3x74 r boss o/u on its way.

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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: Ripp]
      #372703 - 28/12/22 05:39 AM

Quote:

Quote:

John,
Thanks for posting. Finn was a great writer. Too bad that he passed away. I used to wait for his articles.
Finn talks abput the failure of the 10.7x68 which really seemed to be a failure of the ammunition manufacturer to use better bullets. I read the same discussion of the 9.5MS; that the 270 gr bullet as loaded had a weak jacket and would fail on big game.



Agree, always enjoyed reading his articles.,,,



Ditto!

--------------------
Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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85lc
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: DarylS]
      #372711 - 28/12/22 11:33 AM

John,
Thanks for posting Guns of the Kenya Settlers”. What a great article. What you sqaid about the 30/06 certainly makes sense. Had it been a Brit cartridge, I expect we would be reading about that cartridge in older Africian game articles. I also remember reading about someone using a 35 Newton in Africa and that it was quite successful.

--------------------
RB

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Jim_C
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: 85lc]
      #372773 - 01/01/23 03:54 AM

Thanks for posting these. Aagaard is one of the few writers I will always stop to read, and I've never failed to learn from his writings.

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NitroXAdministrator
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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: Jim_C]
      #372788 - 01/01/23 11:08 PM

Finn Aagaards auto biography , I've got it on audio is good to listen to.

Quote:

Finn Aagaard On Kenya by Finn Aargaard (1999). Not long before his death in 2000, Finn Aagaard recorded approximately 3 hours of stories and reminiscences from his early days as a youth in Kenya to his PH career to his moving to the United States and writing for the NRA. Audio Book - Set Of 3 CDs.





--------------------
John aka NitroX

...
Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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Re: "Kenya Guns and Days" by Finn Aagaard [Re: NitroX]
      #372794 - 02/01/23 11:40 AM

clearly most of us own far more rifles than needed. I along with others foolishly argue the merits of the 270 vs 30-06, while true experts like Finn simply put to use the equipment at hand.

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