Hunting Field Test - Rowland Ward's Sportsman's Handbook

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Rowland Ward's Sportsman's Handbook - 15th Edition

For years I have read about Rowland Ward and their trophy record classifications in countless books about hunting in Africa.

And when it comes to talking about trophy size my Professional Hunters always talk of Rowland Ward scores.

But here in America Safari Club International, now SCI, is the much more familiar big game record keeping system for those of us who hunt internationally. In fact I thought of Rowland Ward as historical. Until, that is, I spotted their booth at the 2004 SCI Convention in Reno.

In fact I quickly learned that Rowland Ward is not only a record keeper, but also a book publisher, since the year 1880 actually. Being an aficionado of African hunting books I couldn't help but be very interested in Rowland Ward. I was so impressed with their offerings, and the minimal exposure they have here in the U.S. that I asked if we could represent them and their products here at BlueWaterBigGame.com.

Equally impressed with us they agreed — which brings me to our first book review.

Like SCI, Rowland Ward's Record books are immense in size. But unlike SCI, Rowland Ward provides its first and second place records for each species it recognizes in a much smaller book — Rowland Ward's Sportsman's Handbook 15th Edition.

Wanting to add Rowland Ward's scores to our list of game species I had them send me a copy. What I didn't expect was the amount of additional, valuable information contained within this book, which include chapters on:

• Big Game Rifles
• The Placement Of Shots, Shooting And Related Observations
• The Judgement Of Trophies In The Field
• Tracks And Tracking
• Notes On The Skinning And Preparation Of Trophies In The Field
• Equipment For A Safari
• A Glossary Of Hunting Terms
• The Game Fields Of The World
• Records Of Big Game
• General Instructions For Taking And Recording Measurements
• Official Measurement Form
• Measurers And Materials
• Methods Of Measurement
• List Of Official Measurers
• Index To Records Of Big Game
• Publications For Sportsmen
• Metric Conversion Tables
• Field Notes (for you to fill out)

A small book of 264 pages packed full of great information. First time African hunters especially will find the chapters on "The Placement Of Shots, Shooting And Related Observations" and "The Judgement Of Trophies In The Field" extremely valuable.

But regardless of how many times you've hunted, if you enjoy reading and expanding your knowledge, especially when it comes to Africa, you'll enjoy this book.

Visit their Web Site for more information.

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