Handgunning Africa - what don't I know?

[Jamesfromjersey]

If you go to the Freedom Arms trophy page you will see the same picture as used in my avatar as soon as the page comes up. I used a Freedom Arms 500 Wyoming Express shooting a 420gr Punch as loaded by Grizzly Ammo to take this Cape buff. I also brought my FA`s 475 LB with a 10" barrel loaded with Hornady`s 400gr XTP factory ammo. The main thing to get for handgun hunting in South Africa is an outfit that takes care of the paperwork. Air 2000 is a company I used and they will guide you through the process. Also, you will have to list your handgun as having a scope when you list it on the 4457 form. Once I got to hunting camp I removed the scope from my FA`s 500WE and installed the iron sights and fired a few rounds out to 50yds and locked it in. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask. I will try to help the best I can...…

 

[Jamesfromjersey]

If you go to the Freedom Arms trophy page the first picture you see is the Cape buff I took with a FA`s 500WE shooting 420gr Punch bullets as loaded by Grizzly Ammo... I can tell you as a handgun hunter that the most important thing you can do is get in touch with an outfit that takes care of the paperwork needed for a hunting handgun to be brought in South Africa. "Air 2000" is a outfit I used in the past and there are I few more. On my last South African hunt I brought two handguns: 1) Freedom Arms 475 LB with a 10" barrel and a Leupold 2.5-8X scope. .....
2) Freedom Arms 500 WE with a 6" barrel and a 2X scope. Once at hunting camp I removed the scope from the 500 and installed the iron sights which I used to take the buff.. I also took a duiker, red hartebeest, wart hog, nayala and bushbuck using the scoped 475LB and Hornady factory 400gr XTP ammo..... The shot on the nayala was at 70yds. up-hill using a BogPod tripod. He never knew we were there and one 400gr XTP did the job.... Hunting with a handgun in South Africa is something you will never forget. If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, James

 

[siml]

Buff with handgun.

 

[siml]

Moz hippo

 

[Jamesfromjersey]

Jesus, Jerry Beigel, Remember we hunted together at the YO Ranch in Texas with SCI`s Handgun Hunt for the Hungry??? That was in December of 2006... JD Jones wrote your African story up in the Sixgunner. That`s a beautiful buff and hippo..... Is that a 375JDJ?? Hope everything is well with you. Sincerely, James
PS looking at our pictures in the group photo that the YO took of all of us handgun hunters. JD Jones, Dick Williams, the gun writer, and Bob Baker, owner of Freedom Arms, were also there.....

 

[Jamesfromjersey]

Jerry, Here is the group photo from the YO handgun hunt. Your picture is second row from the top on the right side.... My picture is fifth row from the top on the left side...….

 

[siml]

James, if I remember correctly it was a 375/444, does that make sense? Shame Jerry got so sun burnt on that safari, some doctor gave him pills for malaria that make you sun sensitive, but he was great on the safari. Got a pic of his crocodile somewhere.

 

[Jamesfromjersey]

Simon, I believe your correct about Jerry...... The 375/444 is the 375JDJ.... He was a real gentleman....I never knew you could use a handgun in Mozambique.. Is that still allowed????

 

[siml]

Yes, it is legal. I found his croc pic.

 

[siml]

Croc Mozambique

 

[Jamesfromjersey]

Holy shit....... that`s a monster. Thank God he was able to hunt with you and take those excellent trophies with his handgun.......

 

[poprivit]

Jaco, the bull's teeth were worn down to the gums. The PH said it would starve soon. I used Hornady's 500-gr. load. One through the second vertebrae at 56 paces and DRT. May 18 I go for lion with the same S&W, but with 440-gr hard cast from Black River Ammo at www.brammo@sc.rr.com; 1550 fps and 2350 ft-lb m.e. Also plan on zebra and gemsbok with some "light" 350-gr. at 1100 fps.

Young bull got nervous and decided to come visit us while on a Cape buffalo hunt.

 

[edward]

without a doubt,get your handgun permits in advance.gracey travel has free meet and greet options with your airfare.they also do the gun permits for handguns.some say you have to have your handgun scoped,some say you dont,afton house says you have to have a scope listed on the 4457 with your handgun.i know of a friends pre permits were turned down because he did not have a scope listed on the permit,he reapplied with that info and had no prob.as he had applied way before the hunt time was not a problem.also,new rules on all firearm exports require more than the 4457 form now.i wont comment on that as its not quite cast in cement yet as to how it works.my wife and i are handgun hunters and have hunted africa 5 times.had to use my double rifle last time as s.a.express stoped transporting handguns out of joberb to final destinations,that was not the case in 2005 and 2007 but started in 2013.my african handgun battery includes,open sights,475 linebaugh,open sights,454casull,all with punch bullets only.scope sighted single shots,45-70,405 gr cor-bon penetrator,450 marlin,500 gr hornady,my favorite,9.3x74r,286 gr woodleigh hydro stabilized solid.costly bullets but thats what kills the bad guys and keeps you alive.shot placement still the most important item!have taken with handgun 3 of the big 5,bull elephant,cape buff bull,and lioness.not bragging,just telling the facts.with the proper outfitter,using a professional meet and greet company that knows the gun permit game inside and out your safari will go off as planned and it will never be a one time deal.at 77 im probably done,but if i had a few years left id never quit.i have a few pics on this site but am to computer stupid to tell you how to see them,somebody here will tell you if you are interested in seeing what you can kill with a handgun.anything and everything that can be taken with a rifle!!!even T-REX,well, im not that old.

 

[IronCowboy]

So for you fellas that have been around the block on the big animals, I'm seeing a trend of 475's and 500's - what's the thoughts on the 454C? I have other options, and wouldn't mind picking up a .460S&W in the right format, or using my .475Line, but I REALLY love this 5.5" Super Redhawk 454C.

Is there anything that could reasonably be hunted by a 357/44? 44mag necked down to a 357" bullet, pushing 158grns at 2100-2200fps? I also REALLY love the 357/44 Redhawk 7.5" that I've put together, but I'd wonder if it's worth the work to get 2 handguns in country? And equally, is there sufficient game that it would suit to take such a "small" cartridge?

 

[Grumulkin]

With the proper bullet and at bow hunting ranges, you could take anything except perhaps elephant with a 454 Casull provided, of course, that you hadn't loaded it down to 45 Colt pressures.

I took a Springbok, a Black Wildebeest and a Mountain Reedbuck with a 357 Herrett using Hornady 158 gr. hollow points so your 357/44 should also work at bow hunting ranges.

When I use a handgun to hunt, I've come to want something with power and range. While it's true, you can get into bow hunting range, you have more options with more range and power. I've never scoped a revolver, I have nothing against it, it just seems like hauling a trailer with a Rolls Royce. With iron sights, I would have to stick to 50 yards or less. My scoped Encores, on the other hand can put 3 into less than 2 inches at 200 yards.

It would not be signficantly more work to get 2 handguns into South Africa than it would be to bring in 1.

 

[edward]

my killing shot of my elephant was through the side of the head with my 454 casull with open sights and a 320 gr punch bullet.once again,shot placement is the most important!!!!! on any and all animals,4 legged or two.

 

[edward]

p.s.remember,you cant have two firearms of the same cal!

 

[Jamesfromjersey]

As Edward said above "shot placement is most important" and a scope will help to place those handgun bullets where they have to go. More so if there is any cover involved....Besides, you will have to scope your handguns to get them into South Africa... As for your caliber choice, I know a handgun hunter from South Africa who has used his scoped 4 inch Ruger in 357 to take quite a number of animals up to Red Hartebeest. He will tell you shot placement with your handgun is most important. If your heart is set on the 454 and 357/44 bring them and putthe bullets in the right place.
Good luck and good hunting....

 

[Tradmark]

I've taken cape buffalo, lion, nyala, and stopped a wounded kudu and impala with the 454. my son has taken blue wildebeest, lion, and impala with the 460. I've also used the 454 on several large dangerous animals elsewhere and have a couple really good loads I love for Africa. I have one set of loads for the a frame 325 and the barnes buster 325 gr that print to the same place at 80 yards and also a swift 300 grain a frame and ceb solid 300 grain all copper that print to the same spot as well. my cousin also, 2 weeks ago, took a lioness that is the largest we'd seen, including our ph who has been doing this for over 30 years. he used the barnes 250 xpb vortex rounds and they worked very well. a note on bullets, I've seen hardcast fail on the biggies, though I've seen em work as well. I would highly recommend tough bullets that will not ever fail. ya don't need that one in a hundred on a 12k dollar cape buff. the busters are great, but I give the edge to the cutting edge solid, they are tougher and have a larger meplat, though they've both taken cape buff handily seen by my own eyes so they both do work. that said, if I was gonna take one bullet for cape buff on down it'd be the a frame. I had a pass thru on the shoulders with the 325 aframe on cape buff and they usually expand to about .65 to .70 caliber so they do lots of damage and penetrate excellently. the barnes work well, they expand to an inch and do lots and lots of damage due to the sharp petals but don't expect them to exit the offside hide. then again, they don't need to. for the .475 i'd use the ceb solids without question and if I needed an expandable the only one i'd trust on the big stuff is the barnes. the 460 was awesome with barnes and i'd use them or the a frames out of the 460, though if ya only feel comfortable with the solid i'd use the cutting edge 300 or the buster. the punch bullets work well as ya can see with james, but I have seen some consistency issues with them in the transition from belt mountain and I have confidence mike has them working well now.

 

[IronCowboy]

I <3 Swift A-frames... Haven't tried them in 454, but just ordered a couple boxes to get to trying them out.