I was sad to hear of the recent death of Professional Hunter Danny McCallum. I spent three weeks with him and friends hunting Tanzania around 2015. It was a hugely successful and memorable experience for all concerned. His long-time friend Michael Angelides wrote this moving tribute to Danny, which shows just how well respected he was.
'Danny McCallum's name is so closely tied to African hunting that it is hard to say one without thinking of the other.
He passed away on 30 October 2026, after more than half a century in the bush.
With him goes one of the last old-school professional hunters, but his legacy lives on in the many PHs he taught; his stories, his laugh, and his steady nerve will be remembered around campfires for years to come.
Born to the bush. Danny was born in Arusha, Tanzania, in August 1947, into a family of hunters. His father, Owen McCallum, and both his grandfathers were professional hunters, so the life was in his blood long before it was his job. He earned his full "Unrestricted" license in 1967, at just 19 or 20 years old, and never looked back.
Half a century across Africa. Few hunters covered as much of the continent. Danny hunted in Kenya, Tanzania, Zaire, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Uganda, from the open plains of Maasailand to the rivers of western Tanzania.
For more than 25 years, he worked alongside Robin Hurt, and later he ran his own concessions under Danny McCallum Safaris. Through it all, his wife Joanna was by his side. Together they built and ran Danny McCallum Safaris, sharing the camps, the long seasons and the life they loved.
A man among men. Danny guided a great many clients over the years. But his true legend came from somewhere else: his rapport with his fellow professionals, his trackers and his camp staff. He shared their fires, their jokes and their hardships, and they trusted him completely when things went wrong.
In Swahili they called him Makende ya chuma, "balls of steel". Nobody earns a name like that by accident. It was a mark of deep respect from the people who stood beside him in thick cover.
They knew he would never flinch. With him through it all was his .450 No. 2 Watson Bros. double rifle, affectionately known simply as "Drainpipe", Danny carried it for decades. Worn but never abused, it was a working professional's rifle, built for stopping trouble at close range. Few rifles have seen more of Africa, and fewer still in better hands.
Farewell, Makende ya chuma. He leaves behind his wife, Joanna; his children, Belissa and Lorian; his beloved grandchildren; countless friends across the hunting world; and a legion of trackers and staff who were proud to call him their boss.
The campfires will be quieter without him. Rest well, Danny.
Your last safari has begun.'
Published by Vintage Guns Ltd on (modified )
