John Howard "Pondoro" Taylor (1904–1969) was an Irish big-game hunter and ivory poacher. Born in Dublin as the son of a surgeon, he developed an urge to go to Africa and become a professional hunter. Taylor mainly hunted for his own account and had little interest in guiding clients. His parents paid for his passage to Cape Town. In Africa he experimented extensively with different types of rifles and calibers which made him an expert in big game rifles. He is credited with developing the Taylor KO Factor, and authored several books. John Taylor died in 1969 in London.
Biography Although Taylor used various firearms for his work as a hunter, he preferred the expensive, British double rifles over anything else, especially when tackling dangerous game. His fondness for such cartridges as the .450/.400 Nitro-Express, .500/.465 Nitro-Express and .375 Holland & Holland Magnum are expressed again and again in his writing. Of the 450/.400 he says,Taylor, John. African Rifles and Cartridges. Georgetown, SC., Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1948. Speaking of the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum he writes, He also found favour with the smallest of cartridges, writing: "With a scope-sighted .22LR I could walk from the Cape to Cairo and not miss a meal." Having hunted for over thirty years on the African continent, Taylor estimated he had killed over 1,200 elephants, the majority of them illegally.
As an alleged homosexual, Taylor was persecuted in Africa in his later years there and was eventually forced by local authorities to leave Africa due to his continued poaching offences. Taylor found little work in England due to his alleged homosexuality. Taylor's final years were spent in poverty.
Books Among the books he wrote include: Big Game and Big Game Rifles (1948) African Rifles and Cartridges (1948) Pondoro: Last of the Ivory Hunters (1955) Shadows of Shame (a novel) (1956) Maneaters and Marauders (1959)
See also List of famous big game hunters
References