Recent content by 318AE

Well, it’s good to see a thread that’s not about the nuances of caliber or cartridge. ;) I think a lot of this starts with the fact that many clients are collectors and have a list, which might be some type of “slam”, an SCI “x of the world”, all the color variants of springbuck, or the big...

100% agree. We’re starting this whole conversation in the context of a wild, unfenced area, and that generally means lots of predators, including lions. Very few bulls survive past twelve years in an area with lots of lions. You can find old bulls in a fenced area if the operator simply had...

Really nice to see one with the original claw mounts and scope still intact. There is tremendous value in the continental mauser sporters of this period.

I know this is the current dialogue, especially with the Rigby award, and I believe generally good for the sport. I myself prefer to take old bulls with a lot of character, and am not really a fan of either book to which the OP eludes. However, there are bulls that score very, very well in...

That’s good advice - any place that’s got good genetics, you still need to look over a lot of bulls and be able to be either very selective, or very, very lucky. That area around Tarangire and Manyara had some really exceptional genetics

The largest buffalo used to be on the concessions on the eastern side of Tarangire NP in southern Maasailand. I would check to make sure that area is as good as it used to be.

I ordered some bullets from Hawk, was charged/paid, and never received anything. I’ve never had that happen with Midway. I wish I could give you some real world experience with their terminal performance, but I never got that far.

I’ve been fortunate enough to hunt with some very experienced, highly regarded PHs, some of which had 375s. On a hunt 25 years ago, I had a 416 and the PH a 375. It got me thinking. My answer to your question is similar to others here. I want the PH to use the rifle they have the most...

It’s probably a little of a double edge sword. With the rain comes the animals. When it drys out a little it’s certainly easier to get around. The animals concentrate around the rivers and some of the vast herds leave.

I appreciate the kind words and am glad you and your wife enjoyed the report.

It’s a great part of the world. When we went in May, the long rains had gone late and heavy, and we postponed our trip to Maswa on Mike’s advice, until late November, as Maswa was flooded. When we returned in November, the short rains had basically failed, and Mike said repeatedly that it...

The poaching pressure is constant, and counter efforts resolute. We removed a pretty long snare line, with hundreds of snares in total. There is also grazing pressure from illegal herdsmen that are apprehended. To get their cattle back they have to spend one night in jail and pay a fine per...

These topi could just as easily be called “giant bontebok”. They have striking coloration, similar to a bontebok, but are just a good bit larger. On the other hand, the Grant’s zebra there are a bit smaller than a Burchell’s zebra. I always enjoy hunting bushbuck as well. In the mountains...

The third buffalo had the biggest bosses. The fourth and last buffalo we pulled out of the thicker stuff.

The next buffalo was a double lung shot late in the day.