Are you looking for some summertime reading material? Do you enjoy classic hunting adventures from around the globe? Then log on to the NitroExpress.com Forum. There you’ll find links for literally hundreds of vintage hunting stories, and even complete books, such as Teddy Roosevelt’s classic African Game Trails and Good Hunting, plus the wonderful book African Campfires by Stewart E. White, one of Roosevelt’s close friends and hunting companions.

Among the downloadable titles are The Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo (leaflet edition) by Lt.Col. J. H. Patterson, the true tale that inspired the Hollywood movie, The Ghost and the Darkness, staring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. The online version of the Man-Eaters of Tsavo book (right) is a shorter, 140-page edition created for Chicago’s Field Museum, which purchased the skins of the lions from Patterson and put them on display.

You’ll find scores of classic adventure tales, recounting hunts in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. You’ll doubtless find something of interest, whether it be Bear Hunting in BC, Chamois Hunting in Bavaria, Reindeer (Caribou) Hunting in Iceland, Jaguar Hunting in South America, or Dangerous Game Hunting in Africa. Hundreds of articles, all scanned from original texts and saved as PDFs, are available for downloading — and they are all free for the taking. Many of these works feature handsome original illustrations, as shown below.

Born in Missouri, Elmer Keith was raised in Montana, Idaho, and eastern Oregon. He had a ranch on the North Fork of the Salmon River (in Idaho), and was active as a hunting guide. His first article appeared in the American Rifleman in 1924. Over his career he wrote ten books, beginning with Sixgun Cartridges and Loads (1936) and ending with his autobiography Hell I Was There! in 1979. During his long writing career, Keith’s stories appeared in The Outdoorsman, American Rifleman, Western Sportsman, Gun, and Guns & Ammo. Called the “voice of big bore six-gunning”, Keith pioneered handgun hunting and he was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum, as well as the later .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges.

A Very Unique Colt — the “Number Five”
If you know much about Colts, you’ll immediately recognize that the “Number Five” in the photo above is no ordinary Single Action Army (SAA). This famous revolver started as a Colt SAA in .44 Special, but then was heavily modified. The top strap of the frame was welded up into a flat-top target configuration, with an adjustable rear sight added. The front sight was changed on the 5 ½” barrel to a hi-visibility Patridge style. The hammer was modified with a Bisley-type target spur, and the trigger was curved and moved closer to the back of the trigger guard. The unique grip of the Number Five was created by marrying a modified Bisley backstrap to a Single Action Army trigger guard. Add contoured ivory grips and the resulting is probably the most comfortable-to-shoot revolver grip ever designed. Keith called this handgun “The last word in fine six-guns.”

Dangerous Game Rifles in Collection
Along with famous handguns, the Elmer Keith collection at auction includes prized long guns, including the legendary “Corbett Tiger Rifle”, a Jeffery boxlock .450/400 used by famed hunter Edward James “Jim” Corbett. This rifle was featured in Corbett’s book Man-Eaters of Kumaon. Two of the man-eating tigers Corbett hunted were believed to have killed over 800 humans in the Kumaon Hills of India. Other valuable long guns in the collection include English Best Quality stopping rifles from Westley Richards and Holland & Holland.