Unlike trophy hunting in Africa, where big game expeditions cost tens of thousands of dollars, deer hunting in the U.S. is pursued widely. In Michigan alone, nearly 600,000 people hunt deer.

458 caliber. It was the company’s new elephant gun. They wanted my hunting partner, Dick Heck, and me to test it on Africa’s big game. This was in August of 1955, months before the .458 was announced ...