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Originally Posted by Grantham Forester
Just a few notes--The PH you mentioned was indeed Phillip Percival-- he was most likely the model for Robert Wilson in Hemingway's best short story ever-IMO anyway-- "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber"--Wilson carried a George Gibbs BA in .505 Gibbs caliber, Phillip Percival most likely had his .470 H&H double express rifle when he guided Teddy and Kermit Roosevelt, it was later damaged when run over by a lorry, and he went to a .416 Rigby with express sights and used that for the rest of his hunting/guiding career. I think Ruark was a first rate writer, he was born in 1915 and died in Spain in 1965 at age 50. He had Hemingway both used booze and women to excess, but Hemingway was not a known smoker, Ruark was a two-pack a day Lucky Strike man, and he died from cancer. His friend and PH from Africa was Harry Selby.
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I just re-read the May/June 2011 issue of Sports Afield, the special hunting rifles issue. It was NOT Phillip Percival who had his double express rifle run over by a hunting car in Africa, it was Harry Selby. He had a Rigby .470 double express rifle, he put it down in the grass to assist the gun bearers with a dead lion just dispatched, another PWH drove up, a friend of Selby's, not knowing this, and the front wheels ran over the double rifle, severaly bending the barrels. Selby did have a M70 in .375 H&H in his battery, but he replaced the double Rigby with the Mauser BA in .416 Rigby with express sights, and used it for the rest of his 55 year career as a PWH. In this same issue there is a description of the Hemingway/Winston Guest Westley Richards .577 Nitro double express rifle, it hammered down for nearly $340K at Julia's, with the buyer's premium added in-- Wow!!!