I was 11 years old when I first watched “Hatari” starring John Wayne with my parents in the cinema hall of Dacca Club in 1963. And it immediately implanted an immense admiration in me for the actor. That film (along with Stewart Granger’s “King Solomon’s Mines” and “The Last Safari”) made me get obsessed with the dream of getting to hunt on an African Safari someday. I did eventually manage to accomplish my dream when I went on Safari to Kenya in 1974… only to realize that I had inadvertently doomed myself to developing a lifelong addiction for hunting in Africa once every two or three years (but that’s a story for another day).
Following “Hatari”, I began to watch every single John Wayne film my parents would take me to. Sometimes, I would go with my friends. Sometimes, I would just go alone. Over the years, I’ve watched every single John Wayne film barring his final one “The Shootist” (which I can never bring myself to watch because his character gets killed in the end). What I really admired the most about Mr. Wayne, was that he wasn’t just a cowboy on screen. Even behind the cameras… he was an avid hunter, outdoorsman & firearms aficionado to boot.
Today’s generation probably only know him by name (if even that). But during my childhood (and even at this time of writing when I’m nearing 74 years of age), he symbolized everything good about the United States and the Wild West to me. I really liked Clint Eastwood’s films too, before tragically learning that he is an anti hunter in real life.
Mr. Wayne is perhaps most famously affiliated with two firearms: The Colt Single Action Army revolver and the Winchester Model 1892 Saddle Ring carbine chambered in .44-40 Winchester. However, the subject of this post today is to cover another one of Mr. Wayne’s firearms- His beautiful .300 Weatherby Magnum.
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While I never did really care for Weatherby rifles or Weatherby calibers much, there is absolutely no question about it. During the 1950s, Weatherby rifles were all the craze. And some very successful sportsmen (and ladies) made excellent use of them worldwide. Herb Klein, C J McElroy, Pakistani Governor Gauhar Ayub Khan & King Mahendra of Nepal preferred Weatherby rifles to the exclusion of all other magazine rifles for their sporting purposes.
As for John “The Duke” Wayne, he exclusively preferred this .300 Weatherby Magnum for taking a sizable amount of African game during his Safaris to the dark continent (barring a Remington Model 725 Kodiak chambered in .458 Winchester Magnum with which he took a magnificent bull tusker). Like all of Mr. Roy Weatherby’s wares manufactured prior to the advent of the his proprietary Weatherby Mark V action in 1958, this one was built on a Mauser Model 98 action (to be fair… the .378 Weatherby Magnum rifles made between 1956-1958 were all built on Danish Schultz & Larsen Model 54 actions). And I would personally pick the Mauser Model 98 action over the Weatherby Mark V action anyday.
It’s certainly a good thing that Mr. Wayne opted for his .300 Weatherby Magnum to harvest his African game, instead of his .44-40 Winchester. Otherwise, his Safaris might probably not have culminated in much success.
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Those early .300 Weatherby Magnums built on Mauser Model 98 actions were also endorsed by other sportsmen (and women) of equal renown.
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Her Excellence Rani Ratna Devi (Queen Of Nepal) with a Nepalese tiger dropped from an elephant howdah with her .300 Weatherby Magnum, Chitwan (1961)
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The Honorable Pakistani Governor Gauhar Ayub Khan with an Asian sloth bear, Sambar stag & wild boar (along with a non pictured Nepalese tiger) shot from an elephant howdah with his .300 Weatherby Magnum, Chitwan (1968)
