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Southern African Firearms is a detailed and fascinating firearms study and the effort taken in producing it is clear. The book is an excellent reference work for historians, experts and aficionados alike. Collectors in particular will find the book most useful as it provides much detail on markings, serial numbers and other identifiers.
The fact that there are many firearms covered which the majority of people have never heard of before - such as the Vektor H5 Zip Gun, Quattro Derringer, TS V submachinegun, and NIAST 5.56 mm assault rifle - is testament to the depth of this book and a guarantee it will remain the definitive guide to South African firearms.
It took seventeen contributors eight years to produce the book and in the process they accumulated a library of 30 000 documents. A vast amount of original research was undertaken, from interviews to digging through patent documents.
Initially planned to reach no more than 200 pages, the book consists of 540 pages covering some 200 local firearms - everything from hunting rifles, sporting weapons, handguns, machine guns and sniper rifles. Even experimental, one-off and prototype designs are covered such as a farmer-specific BXP sub machine gun, the early prototypes of the Neostead shotgun and experimental assault rifles like the Vektor CR21 and Truvelo Raptor.
Below is a link to the distributors
https://www.tacticalquartermaster.co.za/products/firearms-developed-manufactured-in-southern-africa-1949-2000-pre-publication-order
Some pages in the book:
Custom Rifles Of Note
Top Custom Rifle Builder: Danie Joubert
Amongst the almost forty firearms manufacturers listed in "Firearms Developed And Manufactured in Southern Africa" - researched, written and compiled by members of the Pretoria Arms and Ammunition Association (PAAA) they name only the top few (most known) of the large number of custom rifle builders in Southern Africa. Editor Chas Lotter simply could not include all of them together with the larger producers.
Danie Joubert is a custom builder of only special order collectable rifles and a man of rare talent. The book would not have been complete without special mentioning of him.
To cover the high cost of printing a large book like this on best quality paper of 11½" x 8½"( x 1½" thick,, 540 pages all with HD colour photos), Master Rifle Builder Danie Joubert offered to build a commerorative rifle to be sold. The question of which calibre arose - and due to its reputation and more than 100 years ongoing popularity in South Africa as the true one-rifle-for-the-bush, the 9,3x62 designed by Otto Bock in1905 was immediately decided on.
Truvelo donated a 9.3mm barrel and Danie himself donated a Musgrave Vrystaat action (like I own in .308W) and sourced a beautiful South African Walnut stock.
His action had a two-piece trigger guard assembly - which he felt was inappropriate for this project so he manufactured a new one piece bottom from bar stock - showed on the left.
The barrel was profiled, chambered, and fitted to the Vrystaat action. A single standing rear sight was fitted that flows from the action for almost the length of the fore-end. The nose of the rib has the same shape as the ramp of the front sight base. The front sling swivel mounting is on a barrel band to ensure it will never interfere with the user's hand on the fore-end.
The barreled action was sent to stock maker Faan de Vos who handcrafts all of Danie Joubert's rifles. The stock shape was cut from the blank and the cavities for the action and magazine were rough cut. The stock was then left for six months to settle so as to rid itself of all stresses that may have been present in the wood. After completing the contours of the stock Faan spent another three months to finish every little detail to his liking and then started cutting the intricate Fleur-de-lis chequering pattern.
During all this Julien Marchal, a young, talented engraver did medium scrolling on the sides of the receiver and the bottom metal. All the identifying engraving was inlaid in gold. The grip cap was prepared to be engraved with the initials of the first owner.
Danie Joubert also made a hunting knife with ivory grips to accompany the rifle, as do forty specially manufactured cartridge cases headstamped PAAA. The package is rounded off with a buffalo hide rifle bag and sling. It is a prime example of the art of the rifle maker, the stock maker and the engraver.
When Jack Lott referred to South Africans as a "Nation of Riflemen" it was no idle observation. This 540 page "Magnum Opus" of the Pretoria Arms and Ammunition Association printed on best quality paper with on-page HD colour photos is testimony to that (probably understated) note by Lott.
Mention was made of the job offer Danie received from Purdey in London. This came after he had presented a 500 Nitro Express built on an action he had based on the Farquharson falling block design to Purdey to add to their catalogue.
There was limited interest by the Purdey top management in the single barrel big bore concept but great interest in Danie's ability as a rifle builder and the stock making ability of Faan de Vos. Both of them turned down the offers to be employees of Purdey. In life one has to make decisions to either play for the first team or be captain of the second team second not by grading but by not being first in the size of the shop.
One of his most challenging orders was for a customer who wanted a .505 Gibbs bolt action rifle. Danie ordered an action from a well known off-shore manufacturer but when it arrived he was disappointed to see it was merely the .416 Rigby length action which had been opened (weakened) to accept the bigger cartridge.
Not a man to be deterred he partnered with Bjinse Visser who had the proper machinery and from scratch they built a scaled up copy of the very expensive Mauser Magnum action and completed the one of a kind rifle in .505 Gibbs.
[photo of the finished rifle to follow]
A "Magnum Opus" By Any Standard
The further I worked through this book the more did I come under the impression of the immensity of the task the compilers had taken on themselves when the idea and original scope was born - and then did not shy away from the challenge each time emerging facts demanded that the scope be widened. The book weighs 6.4 lbs - the same as my sporterised Lee Enfield No.4 Mk.I - and twice as much as my large format complete Scriptures which includes all the apocryphal works.
I contacted Editor Chas Lotter and he kindly agreed for me to use excerpts from the book and furthermore is supplying me with their own photographs for this series.
The cultural dedication to firearms ingrained in my people can be summed up by Malcolm Cobb´s words and as quoted in the front pages of the book:
¨ Don't forget. That is not your firearm you have in your hand. It belonged to others before you and will belong to others after you are gone. Look after it and pass it on with pride."
This book is as important a piece of Africana as the Musgrave and Vektor rifles are - and the Musgrave & Hausler pistols, and the Gary Barnes Phoenix BXP .40 S&W carbines, and the Striker and Protecta 12 cartridge rotating cylinder shotguns, and the TSV submachine gun, and the Neostead bullpup shotgun, and all the others up to and including the G-5 and G-6 44-mile-second-shot-on-target 155mm artillery.
This series will be updated in the weeks to come. Here is a teaser: