MY TRIBUTE TO THE MAN

[sixshot]

A few years ago I drove to Boise & met Mark Hampton for the first time, we were going bear hunting & I was about to become acquainted with the top handgun hunter in the world. I was also meeting one of the finest gentlemen I would ever meet & was pleasantly surprised, many aren't that way. If you didn't know Mark he could pass for your school teacher or neighbor, or maybe your local legislator, whoops, he has been all of those things while hunting every place in the world that's possible to take a handgun, I was very impressed.

At the time (3 years ago) mark had about 37 African safari's under his belt, then there's Alaska, Europe, Asia, and places I can't even spell so I'll leave them to Tyrone. Mark was hoping to take an Idaho black bear with his Freedom Arms 44 magnum & he really put in the time to get one. We spotted several but spring bear hunting, when you are doing spot & stalk is a tough business & we came up empty handed. We probably would have got one except for my misjudgment on the hold.

A few weeks after the hunt was over I received a package from Mark, it was some of his favored Cutting Edge Raptor 44 bullets, 200 gr HP's. Being a cast bullet nut I had never shot any of them until I heard about Mark's recent passing while on a hunt with Karen in Tanzania, even though Mark was in amazing condition he had suffered a massive heart attack, I was stunned.

I decided I was going to do 2 things, one that I always do when one of the handgun community passes & that is, I take a certain caliber & go to the range when it's quiet & I shoot a cylinder full in their honor. The other was, I was going to take a couple of animals with those bullets that Mark had gifted to me to honor him. This is a few photo's of Mark & Karen & also a couple when Mark & I were bear hunting.




Dick

[sixshot]

Here is a photo of some of the 200 gr Cutting Edge Raptor 44 Hp's. Oh, did I happen to mention these bullets really shoot in my S&W 44 classic. I worked up to a heavy dose of H110 with a magnum primer & ran them past the Garmin but my notes are in the truck & it's late so I'll have to tell you the velocity another day.....they are fast!

My African hunting buddy Larry has lots of farm ground & he sometimes gets depredation elk tags when they start destroying his fields, and they can do it in a hurry, yikes! One day there's no damage & then overnight, bingo! He got a few tags, these are for cows only & I got one of those tags, yippee! So I drove out Tuesday evening to look around a little bit, elk do a lot of traveling & Larry's fields are in the mountains so the elk can be anywhere. I glassed a while & spotted 4 cows just before dark, this was going to be tough, they are so wild.






Dick

[sixshot]

I couldn't hunt Wednesday but tonight I got back out there at 6pm, plenty early, it was still hot but I wanted to slip in and get set up while it was still quiet & the animals would be bedded down if anything was close by. I was sweating but this was the only way to get where I wanted to go. You get one chance with elk, blow it & they are gone. There was a small hay field up into a hill side surrounded by pines, quakies & sagebrush & was ideal cover for elk, I've seen them there many times & also 2 days before. This is a spot where they feel safe & the field has a lot of hay still growing although they won't cut it again. I had spotted the elk at 7:30 on Tuesday so I was hoping they were still in the area & no one had bumped them out. Archery season is going on so there are bow hunters all around this area hunting all of these mountains for deer & elk, plus there are also bear & mountain lion. These 3 bulls were spotted several days ago wanting to cross the road.




Things are heating up. Dick

[x101airborne]

Good luck!!! I hope to one day get an elk. I hear they are delicious.

[Big Bore]

Nice tribute Dick. Good luck with the elk. When you get a chance, I’d like to know the velocity you are getting out of your 629. And also the barrel length…hard to tell in the pic but I’m wondering if it’s the 6.5” or 8.4”.

[brant]

Have fun!

[reflex264]

Mr. Dick that is awesome. I never met him face to face. Our communication was strictly phone and email. He was an absolute gentleman. I am working on a handgun hunting book (now 2 books vol. 1 and 2). Mark already had books published on the subject so I contacted him and we discussed what I was doing. He not only helped me get the ball rolling he further encouraged me on the whole project. He told me he was glad to help and anything else I needed just let him know. Hunting with those bullets is an awesome tribute to the man. I have guns that I consider "family guns" that were left to me by both family and friends. Although I don't typically rifle hunt usually once a yea I pick one of those guns and head to the field, carrying the friend or family member along for the hunt. I sincerely hope you are successful with those bullets.

[45MAN]

GOOD LUCK DICK, AND, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL ON A COW ELK, THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE WAY TO REMEMBER AND HONOR A FRIEND. YOU KNOW MARK IS SMILING KNOWING YOU ARE TRYING WITH HIS BULLETS.

[contender]

While I never had the pleasure of meeting Mark,, I followed what I could about his handgun hunting. I have one of his books,, and truly enjoy it. I also recall that spring bear hunt that Dick & Mark had.
Marks love of handgun hunting,, and especially in places I can't spell, ( I'm right there with you Dick!) proved he was a dedicated handgunner.

And I understand the concept of doing a "tribute" hunt,, or as noted,, "taking them with you sorta." I have my own tribute I'm wishing to fulfill. (Either a bear or an elk with my El Dorado that was the last one Russ handled.)

I also have specific handguns,, that came from friends & such,, that when they go out,, I feel my friend with me.

So,, Dick,, I patiently await your success on an elk with those bullets. Keep the story alive & keep sharing. I love your "Tales from Soda!"

[sixshot]

As mentioned I had seen the elk about 7:30 and I wanted to find me a spot in the shady timber where I could hide out & observe the hay field. A little before 7pm I started to see some deer come out & start feeding & I noticed the lead doe kept watching back in the timber, something was bothering her & I was hoping it was elk. Then 4-5 of the deer had their heads up & it was game on, elk starting walking out, a cow & calf, another cow & then a very heavy 5X5 bull & he was a dandy. The sun went down at 7:30 & they were still about 200 yds away. Earlier I had used my range finder to shoot a few reference spots just in case. There was a big cedar tree on the edge of the field & it ranged at 191 yds as close as I could read it.

The bull kept trying to mount both of the cows but they kept moving away, they wanted to feed, I was getting nervous, you only have 30 minutes after sundown to shoot & those 200 gr. Cutting Edge HP's were starting to feel the cold. The elk had fed a little closer to me & for some reason the bull came down even closer, there was something off to my left & lower that I couldn't see that he was watching. At 7:45 I had moved my Bog Pod a little & sorted out which cow the calf belonged to, I didn't want to shoot the wet cow if it was possible. The 2 cows were different color which is kind of normal depending on age, kind of like me & Callshot, he's all wrinkled up.

At 10 minutes til 8 I knew I had to either shoot or pass, with only a 4X scope on top things weren't looking good. I was zeroed dead on at 100 yds so I held just below the spine when she turned broadside & broke the shot. She ran about 15 yds & I was trying to catch up with the scope & then she stopped, then I knew I had hit her. She was facing away a little bit so I couldn't shoot yet & the bull was just standing there watching her. The other cow & calf were gone. She stood like that for 10 minutes, never took a step & I had texted my son & two other people & looked up & she was gone! Then I noticed a leg flopping, yippee! By the time I walked up there she was done & it was dark, sorry for the poor photo's but my Mark Hampton tribute was a rousing success, I was so happy & hopfully I'm not done yet, there are still 5 bullets in the cylinder. The shot was 158 yds.

The 200 gr Cutting Edge HP had hit her dead center through the lungs, but only nipping the offside lung, she must have been standing at a slight angle, I couldn't tell in the fading light, that's why she stood for so long. I called Larry & he was down at the lower farm & came up with the big fork lift & picked her up & hauled her a mile down to flat ground where I could dress her out, a really fat dry cow that will be amazing eating. Mark, this one is for you buddy!





Dick

[Fowler]

Mark was a real gentleman, but boy was not a cast bullet guy. I know he had a few of your bullets. I even sent him a box of 250gr LFN bullets for his 41 mag to see what he could do with them (never got a report back). But he sure loved jacketed bullets and he sent you a bullet with quite the reputation. I know Mark would smile at getting a cast bullet guy to actually hunt with them.

Who knows might be a convert now.

[Big Bore]

Absolutely outstanding! Congrats Dick!

[Randominator]

Congratulations Dick! What a way to pay a tribute!

[jack]

Truly cool Dick! I am sure Mark is looking down and loving it!

[reflex264]

Huge congrats!!!!!!!!!!