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That statistic is all over the internet and near as I can determine, it originated in a 'scientific' paper which uses it as evidence of the evolution of elephants to avoid hunting pressure. That paper simply states the percentage with no reference to any scientific evidence. Just drive around...

You are correct. Campfire or Communal land does not fall under National Parks Act and Regulations. and so spotlights are not regulated. It is illegal in Safari areas. Just be aware that doing something in front of officials in Zimbabwe doesnt make it legal-it can bite you in the ass or more...

I use Caldwell over ear muffs with electronics when filming hunts and at the range. In ear are not quite as good with regards to sound deadening and battery life etc. Peltor and 3m are excelent as well. In ear is better than nothing and if you are hunting, they may suit you better. I had a...

Tuskless elephant are not what I would call common in any areas but I have never seen any acurate numbers from game counts. I would guess that maybe 1/30 to 1/50 of elephant cows and much less for males. Zambezi valley areas are known for tuskless elephants but they occur all over Africa...

I ised a couple of glass lined thermos that belonged to my parents.they were tin outside with a plaid pattern and a plastic cap. Eventually after 40 years they tin rusted through and the glass fell out on to my kitchen floor and exploded with a pop. So i bought a stanley green 1.9 l or 2 qt for...

Peregrine solids are excelent. The copper is heavier and softer so probably easier on your barrel and i prefer heavy bullets. Brass is lighter so bullets are made same size but are lighter. I use Peregrines in my 458 lott. They also make a 450 gr bullet that is perfect for 458 win mag.

I think every one of us is more accurate with a scope for aimed shots. Next for accurate quicker shots, i would say red dot. Open sights need a lot of practise but are probably as good as a red dot if you master them. But of you talk of PHs, the ones i know use red dots or open because they...

At the range you should use over ear muffs because the are better protection electronic are great. Then I would recommend the cheaper ear plug type connected with a wire and battery that runs behind your neck. All ear protection is sweaty and uncomfortable. I wore them for filming hunts and they...

I flew Qatar on part of that route - harare -lusaka and it was very good. I only took camera equipment as I was filming a hunt there but another guy was clearing guns and he seemed to do well, just a little slower than me. So thumbs up for Qatar from me- new plane and Great service.

I Would agree - but my choice for a croc would be 30-06.

Hornady DGS are good for fmj. My brother has taken over a dozen elephant with 416 rigby. No personal experience with DGX but many on the forum have used them happily. They are more conventional so can regulate well. Otherwise Woodleigh bullets are a good choice. As rookhawk says, start at the...

I have seen a few approaches and i am not sure which is best. My brothers 416 slide the cartridge forward a bit and then it pops up under the claw and feeds straight into the chamber. I set mine so that it slides into the chamber in the centre and then comes off the rails under the claw. I...

Glad you got it sorted. Every scope is glass lenses held in place with a variety of screw threads/springs/ sliding mechanisms and they will fail. Some have better design and last longer. But the best glass in the world is useless if it doesnt hold zero.

African Fury by George Michael Ivory Trail by T V Bulpin Jock of the Bishveld by percy fitzpatrick F C Selous books.

Adjusting feeding is difficult- i did my own. 3 variables- magazine width, feed ramp angle and magazine lips. And all vary differently along the feed cycle. And your follower needs the right profile to start the process. And then changing feed ramp impacts where the case touches the feed lips so...

Sometimes these threads make my head spin. So many different directions. I would say get back to basics- 1 accurate first shot 2 Biggest diameter hole through the vitals 3. Adequate but not excessive penetration. 4 300 gr a frame in 375 and 400 gr a frame in 416 are pretty perfectly designed for...

But surely that is only cleaning.... i guess maybe it lubricates the tongue!

I agree- a marginal improvement in glass and coating has improved things - only meaurable with expensive equipment. What has changed hugely is cheaper optics have closed the gap and you get a decent scope on the cheap end- much closer to the top end scopes than in times gone by. Vortex...

I suggest that you ask around at your local gun range and find someone with a 458 and maybe a 375. See if they will let you shoot their rifle and pay them for rounds. I have a 458 and 30 06. I wouldnt use the 458 on anything needing accuracy because recoil and best acuracy do not go hand in...

I Also use ed's red sort of. Laquer thinners + transmission fluid. So that has acetone and others solvents but no kerosine. I even use it to clean the bore. It does a good job on light fouling and rust prevention after a brief range session.Then i have a copper solvent for tougher fouling and...

Use the cheaper bullets for practice and then the preferred more expensive for the hunt. Re- zero shouldn't be too hard. I would say practise with cheap ammo- recoil will be much the same and paper doesn't know the difference. As for round nose vs flat- they both work. Flat nose just tend to...

That is interesting. The barrel looks the same but the insert is different to the cz 550 exactly as you describe. I have read somewhere that earlier cz rifles left out this extra lug. It is a guess but maybe re- barrelled cz's have left the barrel lug off. I read that those rifles tended to...

You are probably right about it not being needed very often. I have a CZ and it will hold 5 down and 6 if you really wiggle the top round in. I usually carry it with 5 rounds because I do not want to fiddle around getting that 6 th round in and out several times a day and I am not confident that...

Seems to me that everyone agrees that 300 m is about the limit for a standing shot off sticks. Anything else needs to be prone and well supported front and back of the rifle. And I reckon 99 % of the shots we are faced with in africa are inside of 300 m and standing. The bush is usually thick-...

I read ti's statement in Magnum magazine " Remember that shooting small groups from a solid bench-rest position may satisfy you, but it can also give you false confidence in your shooting ability. Your biggest grouping (not the smallest) from a field shooting position at any given distance...

Have you thought about a garmin watch ? If you dont need loaded maps, they are great. They can do tracks and waypoints/ breadcrumbs.

I use 180 gr and 220 gr in my 30-06. Both are slow enough to use even cup and core bullets on smaller game. (Impala)I have a scope with distance graduations at 100,200 and 300 m. (Vortex). And i understand that round nose bullets like the woodleighs regulate well. As for performance, you can...

CZ has two different barrel configurations i believe, not sure about Brno. Older cz barrels have no barrel recoil lug. More modern barrels have a slotted lug which accepts a shaped nut and tightens into the forendas well as a lug that mates to a steel insert in the forend. Not sure of the year...

I just bedded the 2 recoil lugs on my cz 458 lott and relieved the tang. Bedding on a large bore is more to stop the stock splitting than for long range accuracy. At least that is why i did it. Splits usually occur at the magazine or tang. Having said that, i have a .22 that threw 4 " fliers...

I dont see why it should be very different to any other hunting rifle. The recoil happens after the trigger. I do a lot of walking with kids camps and so have about 3 lb trigger. I made sure there was a fair overlap on the sear. Both are to ensure that the gun doesnt fire accidentally rather...

You can use any normal leather polish-usually based on parafin wax. Or parafin floor polish for that matter. Otherwise, Courtney boot polish is beeswax with some additives. I am sure you can find something in a local shop. Most PH's here in Zim use one of the parafin wax boot polish. Dont...

I reckon that hits the nail on the head- i find faster rounds have more felt recoil. I would go with 308 or 30-06 because felt recoil is low and ammo is everywhere. 7x 57 is probably easier on the shoulder but less common. We all have our pet rounds but those 3 calibres have been getting the job...

I Agree that weight is better than or equal to a mercury reducer and a heck of a lot cheaper. I put 2 cartridges filled with lead in the stock of my Lott. Better balance as well. Balance point is a big part of recoil management and stock design is as well. Mechanical recoil reducers like...

I love traditional walnut and blueing so my vote goes for that.

I dont claim to be an expert - i am pleased to be in agreement with von gruff- i respect his advice. Anything that takes recoil load needs epoxy. Anything that may split needs crossbolts. Back of the magazine and back of tang need relief otherwise they can become a recoil lug

I epoxy bedded behing the main recoil lug as Von Gruff describes and have 2 crossbolts in front and behind the magazine. The action is not bedded and the barrel is free floated but it came with a barrel lug (CZ 550) which i bedded in epoxy as well. I also left the crossbolts unbedded so i can...

I would stick with the 400 and 500 gr A frame in softs and then mono solids in the same weight- if you want solids. Many PHs will stick with swift a frames for all buffalo shots and only recommend solids for elephant. I am not a fan of lighter bullets.

Which rifle do you shoot most accurately ? I would use a 400 gr bullet in the 416 and 500 gr in the 458 and a 1x scope with a red dot in the centre of the crosshair. You can shoot with both eyes open like a red dot sight and dont need open sights (unless you want them) And I would take a...

I happily slept in the back of an open pickup for the best part of a year, following lions. Headed back to the house by day or if it rained. Good comfortable mattress and warm sleeping are key. Sleeping in the car seat is misery for me. I camp a fair bit with the family and then ee use a couple...

My 458 has a factory barrel. 25 " I think. The feel of a rifle is about balance for me. It balances just infront of the trigger guard. I have handled many shorter rifles, some good some bad. The 375 version of my rifle has the same barrel contour but a smaller hole down the middle. It doesnt...

Handloads will vary from poor quality to the very highest quality depending on the reloader. I think that factory ammo is of a more standard( machine fed) quality. Factory will have some faulty rounds, the percentage will depend on the company's QC. I only shoot handloads on DG that i have...

I would say that there is very little difference in killing ability between 30-06 and 300 win mag inside of 200(maybe even 300 m ) and if your rifle will shoot a 220 gr bullet(mine does) then that is a great choice for short range hunting( you mention food plots). Otherwise 180 gr bonded or...

Surely 375 h&h bras would be fairly easy to get and neck up/trim to the correct dimensions. I like the idea of the 425 express, a modern 425 westley richards0.

Part of your statement is incorrect. Light gathering is a function of front lens diameter and magnification and light transmission through the scope. The tube diameter has no effect. 30 mm tube does have more adjustment or moa.

(y) Praying for you.

I tried a 1-6 x scope with a central red dot in the reticle. On 1 x it works like a red dot- both eyes open and put the dot on your aimpoint and pull the trigger. And you still have the 6x with a normal red dot reticle. Quite frankly, 6x magnification is more than enough for any shots i could...

The VRG 2 is the flat nose copper solid (mentioned in your heading) i am assuming you are using the expanding copper bullet in your 30-06? The VRG 3 i believe. I have always found the SA guys to be very helpful and i believe they have their own equipment.

I would suggest that the 375 will have narrower feed lips and reciver gap on the action. That would give your gunsmith more metal to work with. The reciever is fitted to the magazine and so a new magaxibe box would need milling if it is wider. Ask your gunsmith of choice up front before you buy-...

Most of the elephants culled in Zimbabwe were shot with 7.62 Nato and fmj military ball ammo. They culled young bulls and females with the 7.62 (basically a .308) and big bulls with a variety of big bores (375 and 458 win mag mainly). It has been done. But as others have said, why ?

That is incorrect. The law covers all land and requires a minimum calibre of 9,2 mm and 5,3 kJ for elephant,buffalo and hippo. 7mm & 4,3 kJ for lion and 7mm & 3 kJ for leopard. There are threads on the forum debating whether 9,3 x62 makes the energy but basically 9,3 x 64 and upwards is legal...