Recent content by Tom Leoni

Being in the industry, I have access to discounted optics of all kinds. Disclaimer: when it comes to cameras and optics I've always been a sucker for that red dot, so I tend to gravitate towards Leica. In my arsenal, have a pair of Trinovid 10x42s with elasticated harness and an older pair of...

I'd like to hear at least one reason why the .375 H&H shouldn't be the absolute no-brainer for not only best African cartridge, but best worldwide hunting cartridge. It is flexible, 113-year proven, it can use and accurately shoot a variety of bullet weights from low 200gr to 350gr, it will kill...

I take a very simple standpoint: it's the bullet and the necessary velocity that makes a cartridge adequate, not its designation. My (albeit somewhat antiquated) Hornady reloading manual says that in a .45-70 I can push a 500gr .458 bullet at 1,300 to 1,800 feet per second. The same bullet in a...

From what I hear in the industry, the .375 Ruger is flagging in popularity, while the .375 H&H remains as hopping as it has been in the last 113 years. As a 25-year industry professional, I know the dual effect of 1) pressure from management to introduce new product every year and 2) launching...

...And you are a damned good independent sales rep. You are an amazing partner to your customers and a veritable encyclopedia of firearms knowledge, handloading and hunting, not to mention an entertaining storyteller and a fun drinking companion. I am proud to work with you, as is the rest of...

I honestly think that a .30-06 or a non-magnum 7mm, both with good, heavy-for-caliber bullets would be hard to beat for all-around use on African plains game. Ditto for a cartridge like the 8x57mm. I don't see a need for the increased pyrotechnics of a magnum caliber (I know, I hunt with a .375...

Here are mine: 1 - My "baby"--H&H .375 Flanged Magnum, with which I've already hunted 3 continents (soon to be 4): Here's my Watson Brothers Martini in .303, lying against an old pepper tree in Africa: Here's my Westley Richards Model 97 in .500 NE, currently being worked on: And here's...

I'm still unclear about what different people mean by "best." Fastest? If so, why? With the most sectional density? With the largest frontal diameter and the most sectional density? Striking the perfect balance between proven deadliness and ease of carrying and shooting? To me, the best big...

Yep. I'm boxing up my Henry and sending it to Steven Bertram, who said that he can ream it and turn it around in mere days.

I've killed most of my plains game up to eland with a cheap Speer .270gr .375 boat-tail spitzer. Except for a blesbuck that I originally hit too high (entirely my fault), all animals fell at the first shot and stayed down. Any adequately heavy-for caliber bullet at moderate velocities will...

Yet another reason I'm happy I left Europe and I live in the God-Blessed US of A. With the EU, Western Europe has turned its back on its past and all the good things it gave itself and the world. That futuristic, end-of-history bureaucratic technocracy is nothing I'll ever want to deal with. And...

Every time I see a question like this (very valid, BTW), I'd always like to amend it as follows: "What would be the best caliber for [insert 250+ lb African animal] if the .375/9.3 class cartridges didn't exist?"

Heck, I use a single shot for every game I hunt, and when the desire to get a buffalo will hit me, I will not deviate from my preference. Here is a sample of my single shots: from the top, Westley Richards M. 97 in .500 NE, Watson Brothers Martini in .303, and my default go-to rifle, my Holland...

I only got a fairly annoying flu at the tail end of my last safari. Fortunately, though, I had already ticked off the main list of animals I wanted to take and I spent my last two days enjoying some beautiful South African sun outside of my cottage.

I am 100% with @Hunter-Habib on this, and not just because he argues as one of the very few who has hunted lion both captive-bred and in the wild. Disclaimer: I have zero interest in ever killing a lion, also because doing so would feel like going against a member of my family (given my last...