Craig Boddington

Last updated
Craig Boddington
Craig Boddington.png
Born
Craig Boddington

1952
Kansas
Alma materUniversity of Kansas
Occupation(s)Hunter, writer, Marine, TV show host, firearms expert
Years active1979-present
Website craigboddington.com

Craig Boddington is a multi-media outdoor journalist, TV show host, [1] author and retired Marine.

Contents

Boddington has been described as "one of the country's foremost authorities on African safari hunting" by ESPN , [2] "one of the most prolific writers in the outdoor genre" by Petersen's Hunting, [3] and "one of the most experienced hunters of his generation" by Outdoor Channel. [4]

Boddington has written over 5,000 magazine articles and 30 books on hunting and firearms, and he has hosted six outdoor TV series.

Biography

Craig Boddington was born in Kansas in 1952. His early big-game experience included pronghorn and mule deer in Wyoming, whitetail and mule deer in Kansas, and mule deer in Colorado. [4] A notable portion of his early years was dedicated to Boy Scout activities. At the age of 14, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, followed by earning a Silver Palm on his Eagle at 16. At the age of 17, he became the youngest person to serve as activities director at his regional Boy Scout camp. Boddington attended the University of Kansas on a NROTC scholarship and graduated with a degree in English and a regular commission in the United States Marine Corps. [5] He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. [6]

He retired from the USMC Reserves in 2005 with the rank of colonel after service in the Gulf War in 1991 and Kuwait in 2001. [7]

Career

Whilst at college, Boddington began writing and continued while on active duty. In 1978, he left active service and worked as a hunting consultant/booking agent for International Hunting Consultants based in Santa Monica. In 1979, he joined Petersen Publishing Company, where he served as associate editor for Guns & Ammo , [3] editor for Guns & Ammo Speciality Publications, [8] field editor for American Blade , [9] executive editor at Petersen's Hunting magazine and editor of Petersen's Hunting magazine from 1983 to 1994. [10] His current position with Intermedia Outdoors (formerly Petersen's) is Executive Field Editor, Intermedia Outdoor Group, including Guns & Ammo , Petersen's Hunting, and RifleShooter. He is a member of Gander Mountain's Elite Pro-Staff and also serves as a consultant to SureFire LLC. [11] In 2014, Craig Boddington Endorsed Outfitters was established, an online platform featuring ethical and big game international hunt providers. [12]

Craig Boddington and his daughter Brittany Craig Boddington 2.png
Craig Boddington and his daughter Brittany

Boddington has written over 4000 published magazine articles on hunting and firearms. [13] He is the author of 28 books and has been published in England, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Germany, Spain, and the United States. [14] He is a regular contributor to Sports Afield magazine and Fair Chase, the Boone & Crockett Club's magazine. He is an editor at Safari magazine. [8] His writing frequently includes technical firearms subjects and evaluation of firearms, optics, and ammunition.

Boddington has made appearances in more than 500 television episodes on Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel. [15] He served as host of Dallas Safari Club's Tracks Across Africa on Outdoor Channel [2] and co-hosted Hornady's The Boddington Experience alongside his daughter Brittany on the Sportsman Channel, [1] and is also co-host of Guns & Ammo TV and Petersen’s Hunting Adventures. [16] He has been a featured speaker for numerous shows and organizations, including for the NRA's Great American Hunters Tour, [17] International Sportsmen's Expositions, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, and Dallas Safari Club, [18] and in many hunting videotapes, such as Boddington on Buffalo and Boddington on Elephant. [19]

Boddington has hunted on all continents except Antarctica. [5] His first international hunt was in British Columbia in 1973 and his first safari to Africa occurred in 1977. He completed Africa's Big Five game of elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, and buffalo in 1986 and hunted all nine principal spiral-horned antelopes. Boddington is one of two hunters reported to have taken all of these species twice. He holds the Capra Super 30; Ovis Super 20, two North American grand slams, and the North American Super Slam from Grand Slam/Ovis. [20]

Published books

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant gun</span> Firearm of large caliber for hunting elephant and other large game

An elephant gun is a large caliber gun, rifled or smoothbore, originally developed for use by big-game hunters for elephant and other large game. Elephant guns were black powder muzzle-loaders at first, then black powder express rifles, then later used smokeless powder cartridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.22 Hornet</span> Rifle cartridge

The .22 Hornet or 5.6×35mmR is a varminting, small-game hunting, survival and competition centerfire rifle cartridge commercially introduced in 1930. It is considerably more powerful than the rimfire .22 WMR and the .17 HMR, achieving higher velocity with a bullet twice the weight of the .17 HMR bullet. The Hornet also differs significantly from these in that being a centerfire cartridge makes it reloadable, and thus more versatile. It was the smallest commercially available .22 caliber centerfire cartridge until the introduction of the FN 5.7×28mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.460 Weatherby Magnum</span> Rifle cartridge

The .460 Weatherby Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge, developed by Roy Weatherby in 1957. The cartridge is based on the .378 Weatherby Magnum necked up to accept the .458-inch (11.6 mm) bullet. The original .378 Weatherby Magnum parent case was inspired by the .416 Rigby. The .460 Weatherby Magnum was designed as an African dangerous game rifle cartridge for the hunting of heavy, thick skinned dangerous game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.30-30 Winchester</span> Rifle cartridge designed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The .30-30 Winchester cartridge was first marketed for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle in 1895. The .30-30, as it is most commonly known, along with the .25-35 Winchester, was offered that year as the United States' first small-bore sporting rifle cartridges designed for smokeless powder. Since its introduction, it has been surpassed by many cartridges in the long-range shooting attributes of speed, energy, and trajectory, yet remains in widespread use because of its practical effectiveness in forested hunting situations.

The .577 Nitro Express is a large-bore centerfire rifle cartridge designed for the purpose of hunting large game such as elephant. This cartridge is used almost exclusively in single-shot and double express rifles for hunting in the Tropics or hot climates in general and is a cartridge associated with the golden age of African safaris and Indian shikars.

The Taylor knock-out factor, also called Taylor KO factor or TKOF, is a formulaic mathematical approach for evaluating the stopping power of hunting cartridges, developed by John "Pondoro" Taylor in the middle of the 20th century. Taylor, an elephant hunter and author who wrote two books about rifles and cartridges for African hunting, devised the formula as a means of comparing the ability of a cartridge to deliver a knock out blow to elephant from a shot to the head when the brain is missed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmer Keith</span> American rancher and handgun developer (1899–1984)

Elmer Merrifield Keith was an American rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum (1935), as well as the later .44 Magnum (1956) and .41 Magnum (1964) cartridges, credited by Roy G. Jinks as "the father of big bore handgunning." Keith was born in Hardin, Missouri, and overcame serious injuries that he had sustained at age 12 in a fire when he was living in Missoula, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safari Press</span>

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<i>Sports Afield</i> American magazine

Sports Afield (SA) is an American outdoor magazine headquartered in Huntington Beach, California. Founded in 1887 by Claude King as a hunting and fishing magazine, it is the oldest published outdoor magazine in North America. The first issue, in January 1888, was eight pages long; it was printed on newspaper stock and published in Denver, Colorado. The magazine currently publishes six print issues per year as well as a digital edition, with an editorial focus on worldwide big-game hunting and conservation. In addition to publishing the magazine, Sports Afield licenses its name to branded products including safes, clothing, outdoor equipment, a TV show, and real-estate marketing. Sports Afield is one of the “Big Three” in American outdoor magazines together with Field & Stream and Outdoor Life, and is the only one published in a printed edition currently.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Hornady's The Boddington Experience". Sportsman Channel. 2014-12-17. Archived from the original on 2016-12-24. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
  2. 1 2 "Q&A with Craig Boddington". ESPN.com. 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  3. 1 2 Burkhead, Lynn (2019-02-12). "Shockey Follows Boddington in Claiming 2018 Weatherby Award - Petersen's Hunting". Petersen's Hunting. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  4. 1 2 "Hunting Adventures TV". Outdoor Channel Plus. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  5. 1 2 "Hunting Adventures TV - Craig Boddington". Outdoor Channel Plus. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  6. "Craig Boddington". The Sportsman Channel.
  7. Jacobson, Jake (1 July 2013). Alaska Hunting: Earthworms to Elephants. Publication Consultants. p. 136. ISBN   978-1-59433-405-4.
  8. 1 2 "Boddington Wins 2017 Weatherby Award | Sports Afield". Sports Afield. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  9. Boddington, Craig (1979). "The key to his hammer-forged blade". American Blade. 6 (2): 20.
  10. "Craig Boddington". The Sportsman Channel.
  11. "About | Craig Boddington". craigboddington.com. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
  12. Kuglin, Tom (2015-11-08). "'Every hunter wants an adventure': Helena company taps hunting authority Craig Boddington for outfitter recommendations". The Independent Record . Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  13. "Boddington Wins 2017 Weatherby Award | Sports Afield". Sports Afield. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  14. Robb, Bob; Bethge, Gerald (1 January 2001). Elk Hunting: Techniques and Strategies of the World's Greatest Hunters. Globe Pequot Press. p. 167. ISBN   978-1-58574-180-9.
  15. Burkhead, Lynn (2019-02-12). "Shockey Follows Boddington in Claiming 2018 Weatherby Award - Petersen's Hunting". Petersen's Hunting. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  16. "KENNY BAYLISS: This big-time hunter is also proficient writer, TV host". Terre Haute Tribune-Star. 2016-04-16. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  17. "Anne Arundel resident gets Md.'s top deer". Baltimore Sun. 1993-12-19. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  18. Daily, Sporting Classics (2018-01-03). "Come See Sporting Classics at the 2018 Dallas Safari Club Convention". Sporting Classics Daily. Archived from the original on 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  19. Young, Gayne (2015-11-20). "Ivory Hunters". Sporting Classics Daily. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  20. Olmsted, J. Scott. "An Official Journal Of The NRA | American Hunter Contributor Craig Boddington Named as Weatherby Award Recipient". American Hunter. Retrieved 2023-09-19.