Mark Hampton, world-famous handgun hunter, author of the Handgun Hunting column in American Handgunner and an old friend of mine, passed away suddenly while on his latest African big game hunt. Details are limited right now, but it seems Mark passed away on day two of the hunt from natural causes, doing what he loved to do most — hunt!
I’ve known Mark for 25 years and brought him aboard to write his iconic column in Handgunner to replace J.D. Jones — tough shoes to fill! Mark’s modest demeanor and easy story-telling prose often hid the fact he was likely the world’s number one handgun hunter. Mark hunted on every continent, taking hundreds of game animals of every type with many landing in world record books. He hunted in Africa almost 30 times, and his tales of hunts around the world and the guns he used graced the pages of American Handgunner and GUNS for almost two decades. Yet, when my wife and I hunted with Mark and his wife, Karen, on their farm in Missouri, he was always a pure gentleman, caring and humble about his many talents and experiences.
Mark also wrote several books on handgun hunting and hundreds of articles in publications across the industry. His legacy of knowledge, consideration, thoughtful help and sincere desire to help new hunters learn the ropes will be missed by all who knew him.
Our hearts go out to his wife, Karen and to the family members.
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