I didn't come from a hunting family, but when I started doing wildlife research in Africa I had to teach myself how to dart animals. Part of the learning process was searching for downed animals in deep bush, where I would regularly encounter lions, leopards, and buffaloes, with just a dart gun in my hands. After the Mau Mau terror in the 1950's it became very difficult to get a gun permit in Kenya, and a permit for a shotgun was easier than for a rifle. A game warden friend gave me some slugs he had confiscated (they are illegal here) and I bought a Brno ZP49 double which I eventually brought home to the US. I was introduced to duck hunting, and in trying to figure out why I could never hit them, I discovered this board. I still cant hit ducks, but I need to buy a new safe, as my old one no longer holds all the doubles you guys have made me buy over the years. Except for a CZ Hammer Classic for steel, recent acquisitions have all been Damascus hammerguns.
One of lifes many regrets: I bought that first shotgun in 1978, right after hunting was shut down in Kenya. Double rifles were out of vogue anyway, as ammo was no longer available in most Nitro Express calibers and many PHs had switched to .458 bolt guns. With the end of hunting, and had I known what I do now, I could have bought fine British double rifles by the crate. I now carry a Searcy .470 for fieldwork, more suitable than the Brno.
