A day at Wild Bill Campbell’s place at Pilot Rock, OR

     Bwana Bubba is a real person? Yes! It first started out as Bubba, a nickname given to me when I twisted wrenches for a living.
Well he is real and his name is Frank Biggs who has been hunting since 1964.   My first deer hunt carrying a rifle was with a number of high school buddies in an old ambulance.  It was a great hunt and a number of squirrels bit the dust up near Dufer, Oregon.   It was more of a trip to get out of town and not be directed to mow the lawn.    I spent most of my free time at least 3 days a week driving over to the Deschutes River near Warm Springs for Redsides.   I would get up at 3AM, drive the 104 miles to the river.  Fish and be to work at 1PM on those days.

    I shot for Lucky 22’s and Franklin H.S. rifle team.  Yes!  We did take our rifles to school in those days and there were 8 teams that shot competitively during the late 60’s.  It became a Varsity Sport in 1968.  What a change our society has set forth in shooting sports.

Who is Bwana Bubba

     I joined the U.S. Navy in 1967 and served as a Navy “Spook” in the Naval Security Group.  I also had a tour in Vietnam with the 5th MAR DIV, which was a great experience in the combat world.   The Navy asked me if I wanted to re-up, but when they told me I was going aboard the U.S.S. Coral Sea and not back to Vietnam to fly with the VQ Squadron, I got out.

    Join the Naval Reserve about 9 months later and spent 23 more active years in the Naval Security Group, gong all over the Pacific on missions. So a total of 27 years for God & Country ??.
In the early 70’s I started to archery hunt and rifle hunt for deer, elk, free ranging exotics and varmints. 

    Spent 20 Years with Burns Bros., Travel Stops, staring as a Mechanic, Sporting Goods Store Manager and working up to Corporate Vice President of 23 Truckstops Stores.  The stores were the largest profit centers for the company.  Burns Bros, sold out and decide other ventures.
    Hunting and fishing became an obsession for me and every weekend that I had off, I was either hunting or fishing.  It wasn’t long before my hunting partners started to calling me Bwana Bubba.  It must have been my story telling that created the giving of a nickname to me.  My first experience with hunting was bow hunting up in Wasco County in Oregon.  My first bow was made out of Yew wood, which my Uncle Dave loan me.   By the way I had to replace the bow as I cracked it out in the field.  I bought him a new Wing re-curve bow…
    I do remember a time when I first started to hunt for deer and elk with my uncle and my cousins up in the Walton Lake in Heppner area of Oregon, when I told my cousin “Spike that we were born a generation to late for great hunting”.  The uncles (Uncle Dave & Uncle Floyd) would tell of the times that they harvested bulls every year and were able to hunt the Snake River Canyon for two buck deer.

I have been a shooter in the past for P.S.E. Archery, Oregon Bow and finally with Martin Archery.
As for rifles I once had more that 10 Ruger rifles, with a number of the Ruger #1 single shots.   When I became a Weatherby Dealer for Burns Bros., Inc., I switched to left handed Weatherby MK ’s in calibers such as 257, 300, 340, 378 and the last being a 30/378.  Well since this writing I have picked up a Weatherby Mark V, 1945-49 vintage built in CA on the FN Mauser Action in 270 Weatherby Mag., caliber and with the Basuch & Lomb Balvar 2-8X Scope, all orginal.   A lot of bow and rifles have filtered through my hands over the years.  I wish I had them all these days.  I had a couple of friend that worked at Techtronic and Gold Plated a number of the Rugers’, I am sure that they are floating around out in Oregon somewhere or Africa.
I do believe all hunters can enjoy the same great hunting pioneers of the past for trophy size big game.   You do have to do your homework though!
     I can tutor you on the good and bad myths of hunting big game. I have shared my knowledge with 1000’s of other outdoor enthusiast over the past 30 years plus.
     I have had the opportunity to hunt a number of states other than Oregon. Hawaii was one of my most memorable places to hunt for Axis deer during my days in the U.S Navy.  I have harvested a number of Boone & Crockett animals listed in the books (Boone & Crockett and The Oregon Book of Records), plus Pope  & Young eligible big game.

Contact Me:  Frank Biggs

bwanabubba@gmail.com

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