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Craig Boddington | |
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Born | 1952 |
Alma mater | University of Kansas |
Occupation(s) | Hunter, writer, Marine, TV show host, firearms expert |
Years active | 1979–present |
Website | craigboddington |
Craig Boddington is a multi-media outdoor journalist, TV show host, [1] author and retired Marine.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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.
The .22 Hornet or 5.6×36mmR Hornet 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.
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.
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 utilized alongside the development of flatter shooting cartridges, most prominently those derived from designs subsidized by interest in military expenditures. The .30-30 has remained in widespread use almost entirely because of reliable effectiveness in civilian applications, and has put food on the table for millions of people in 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.
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.
Safari Club International (SCI) is a US organization composed of hunters dedicated to protecting the “freedom to hunt.” SCI has more than 40,000 members and 180 local chapters. SCI members agree to abide by the organization's code of ethics, which includes making a positive contribution to wildlife and ecosystems, complying with game laws, and assisting game and fish officers.
Safari Press is a book publishing company specializing in books on big-game hunting and sporting firearms and is being run by Dr. Jacqueline Neufeld, editor in chief, and Ludo J. Wurfbain, publisher. It is privately owned by a small group of shareholders.
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.
The Winchester Model 1895 is an American lever-action repeating firearm developed and manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the late 19th century, chambered for a number of full-size military and hunting cartridges such as 7.62×54mmR, .303 British, .30-03, .30 Army, .30-06, .35 Winchester, .38-72 Winchester, .40-72 Winchester and .405 Winchester.
Abe Walsh is an American author who has written extensively about his hunting, fishing and back-country adventures. He has written for over 25 magazine titles, and authored or ghost-written several hardcover books on the subject. He has also appeared on-camera on television hunting shows.
William Robert Quimby was an American author, columnist, editor and publisher who specialized in subjects related to big game hunting for more than four decades.
Walter Dalrymple Maitland Bell, known as Karamojo Bell after the Karamoja sub-region in Uganda, which he travelled extensively, was a Scottish adventurer, big game hunter in East Africa, soldier, decorated fighter pilot, sailor, writer, and painter.
Guns & Ammo is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competitive shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States.
Abdul Reza Pahlavi was a member of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty. He was a son of Reza Shah and a half-brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Jacques P. Lott, best known as Jack Lott, was a big game hunter, writer, historian, and inventor of the .458 Lott, a renowned .458 caliber belted hunting cartridge. He was a biographer of Frederick Russell Burnham and a frequent contributor on gun topics.
Jim Shockey is a Canadian outdoor writer, a professional big game outfitter and television producer and host for many hunting shows. Shockey is the former producer and host of Jim Shockey's Hunting Adventures and Jim Shockey's Uncharted on Outdoor Channel and Jim Shockey's The Professionals on Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel. He is a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), serving the rank Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel (HLCol) of the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group. His hunting adventures have spanned six continents and 50 countries. Shockey has been called by Outdoor Life magazine "the most accomplished big-game hunter of the modern era, having taken arguably the most free-range big game species by any living hunter." They also noted that he is "the most influential celebrity in big-game hunting."
Peter C. "Pete" Pearson was an Australian-born game ranger, poacher, and professional hunter in East Africa.
Berry Boswell Brooks was an American businessman, philanthropist and big-game hunter. Brooks established his own cotton-brokering firm and maintained a large estate in Memphis, Tennessee. He made a number of hunting expeditions to Africa and Asia and won several hunting awards. He donated many of his hunting trophies to the Memphis City Museum, which named a hall of African animals after him.