Eric Poole hunting in Africa
Congratulations Eric – new editor of Guns and Ammo!
It was such a privilege to have you to hunt with us earlier this year. You had us in stitches of laughter so often and your dedication, thorough research and enthusiasm will stay with us for many years to come.
Richard Mann from ‘The Empty Cases Blog’ shared this:
The new editor of Guns & Ammo is Eric Poole. The reason this is good news is that Poole is one of the most passionate gun owners and the most passionate editor in the gun writing industry. I know Poole’s back-story; it’s incredible. And, if you are lucky enough, some day he’ll share his childhood and his combat experiences as a Marine in the pages of his new magazine.
I’ve hunted in Africa with Poole, I’ve attended weeklong shooting classes with Poole and his dedication to his work and the GUN way of life is enviable. He lives and breathes guns and he’s continually thinking how he can best show guns and gun related topics to readers. I don’t think Poole thinks he has a job, I believe that he believes he has a duty. If there was ever to be hope for Guns & Ammo, a magazine whose quality has declined over the years, its Poole.
This may seem as high praise coming from a writer not associated with Guns & Ammo but as a freelancer I have worked with Poole on occasion. From time to time he’s asked me to work up an article for him and when I had the time, I was happy to comply. I suggest other gun magazines and editors step up their game. Eric Poole has the job he has wanted since he was a kid. If the publisher lets him do his thing, I’m confident he’ll work endlessly to make Guns & Ammo even better than the magazine he grew up admiring.
See full blog post here: http://ramworks.net/blog/guns-ammo-reboot/
Article by Eric Poole on his hunt at Fort Richmond Safaris in South Africa.
Embracing South Africa’s grand romance while on Safari.
The boyhood dreams of an epic adventure and following the unearthed footsteps of soldiers once headed to war would be fulfilled in a pair of boots. I laced up my Strathconas, slung my rifle and set out on safari.
Just 100 kilometers south of Kimberley in the Northern Cape of South Africa lay 21415 of unspoiled acres that make up Fort Richmond. The place gets it name from the Second Anglo Boer War where, in 1899, 300 English and Canadian soldiers occupied this property and forced the Wayland family out of there home. The family moved to Grahamstown for the war’s duration, but Walter stayed behind to keep a watchful eye over his precious piece of Africa.
On November 23, 1899, many of the British troops living here assaulted a Boer position at nearby Belmont, attempting to move north by rail to overcome the Boer siege of Cecil John Rhodes’ diamond town, Kimberley. It was a victory for the Brits that could have been seen from the rock-built outpost atop a hill at Fort Richmond. More troops would soon arrive from parts of the British empire as the Boers lost momentum.
General Sir Charles Warren joined the main body of the 5th Division shortly after the Boer victory at the Battle of Colenso and briefly stayed at the Wayland home during British occupation. Walter’s grandson John Wayland remains in this house living with his lovely wife Shirley. They keep a photo of this controversial military leader and former London police commissioner wearing Strathcona boots among other keepsake among other keepsake photographs taken of the battle-hardened soldiers staying at Fort Richmond.
Lord Strathcona’s Canadian regiment was one of the last in the British Empire to be created and raised by a private individual. He recruited and equipped the cavalry regiment at his own expense for service in the Boer War. Many skilled horsemen enlisted, including some cowboys and officers of the North-West Mounted Police, which allowed for a short training period and a rapid deployment to war. Strathcona’s horse sailed on the S.S.Monterey from Halifax on March18, 1900, and arrived at Cape Town nearly a month later. During their movement to the front lines, members of the North-West Mounted Police began to prefer the lace-up boots the regiment was already wearing and adopted them, as well as the Stetson campaign cover, as their own. The tall, leather-soled boots are known as Strathcona’s boots and are still worn by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
John no longer has the Martini souvenir handed down by his grandfather because “it kicked like a mule”, he says. All that’s left for evidence of the soldiers’ occupation are a few cigarette burns in some old furniture and markings on the rock-piled ruins of the fort behind his house.
To see the full article download here: Embracing South Africa’s grand romance
The grandest display of romance I have ever seen in the hunting fields was indeed in Africa just last month. I was hunting with 
