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  1. Ryan

    Horn-only mounts?

    While it's not very common, I have seen a couple sets of kudu horns with just the skull cap covered in felt or leather. I also recall a set of roan horns like that on wall in Namibia. I can't say if it's "frowned upon" but I can say it's not their call, it's yours. Heck, I've heard of folks...
  2. Ryan

    PLAINS GAME CALIBER

    30-06 with 168 grain Barnes TTSX. Doesn't get any more go-to, bread and butter to me than that. My first two trips to Namibia I dropped 8 animals from kudu and zebra down to springbok.
  3. Ryan

    Best calibre for Giraffe

    My 2 cents, for an all around cartridge I'd go with a 375 of your choice. I used a 375 Ruger for mine on a lower neck shot that my PH suggested. Honestly my 30-06 would have worked for that shot, but had I needed to take a normal heat/lung vitals shot the 375 was a much better choice. The hide...
  4. Ryan

    Broadheads

    My go to is the 125 gr Slick Trick Magnum. I used it on 515 gr total weight arrows out of a 70# draw bow last time for pass throughs on a nyala and blesbok. On my first hunt they soundly dropped my blue wildebeest with not quite a pass through, but the rig was a bit lighter. I actually used...
  5. Ryan

    Am I the only one who has ever missed?

    Around 20 years ago I was chatting with a guy about hunting Africa. He actually said to expect to wound and lose one animal a trip. He based that off of what others told him and is what he had done on his one and only trip to that point. I've managed to buck his stats, getting everything I hit...
  6. Ryan

    Attacked by dangerous game while hunting something else?

    I've been chased by a few cow moose here in Alaska. They don't seem dangerous, but when you seem like a threat to her calf, she most definitely is. Find a tree (or a van once) and keep it between you and her until she loses interest. My first two hunts in Africa were on a big farm in Namibia...
  7. Ryan

    .308 Win in Africa - fan or foe?

    My first two hunts in Namibia were with a 30-06 with 168 TTSX bullets. Everything dropped within feet if not right there. Eight animals total with that rifle and ammo combo. The list went from springbok to zebra and two kudu. There isn't enough difference between a 30-06 and your .308 for any...
  8. Ryan

    7mm/08 for Plains Game? Good or Bad?

    Actually the moral of the story to me is take whatever you want, but if funny things like this happen, be prepared to use the camp gun. I took my 375 Ruger to Namibia and South Africa. Even less chance of finding that ammo, so I made sure I knew what was in camp as a back up plan. Each time the...
  9. Ryan

    7mm/08 for Plains Game? Good or Bad?

    @Heeler75 the 30-06 was based on the 30-03, and the 30-03 was based on the 7X57 Mauser. I love my two 30-06, but that is a basic historical fact. The US did not create the cartridge blindly. @Wiley64, Ruark had nothing to do with a 7mm-08, which didn't even exist when he died in 1965. He did...
  10. Ryan

    A new break action single

    Yes, if it were good quality but under $2K for a base model with possibilities for upgrades. I realize small production and under a grand is not realistic. Heck, $2K might not be either. My first centerfire rifle was a T/C Encore, and I'm up to two of them and two Ruger #1s. So I have no...
  11. Ryan

    South African hunt Spring 2026

    You're doing fine, I agree don't overthink it and practice off of sticks. I guarantee you your PH works with a wide variety of people so from how you present yourself I think you'll be fine. For what you're after I'd leave the 375 at home. A 30-06 with 165 gr monometal bullets like the CX...
  12. Ryan

    If you could only keep three guns, what would they be?

    Honestly this is just asking me to think like my grandparents or even myself in my 20s. Ruger 10/22 Thompson/Center Encore in 30-06 Remington 870 12 gauge. To be quite honest, the 12 gauge gets little use anymore, so I could switch that to a pistol.
  13. Ryan

    101 (or more) Things to Know Before Hunting Africa

    The less assumptions you make, the less frustrations, regrets or worse you will have. Read your contract completely. Understand what is covered, what is not. Talk to taxidermists before the hunt whether it's stateside of in country to understand costs.
  14. Ryan

    Show Us Your Hunting Knife

    I needed a project right now to work on and saw this little blade in Texas Knifemaker's Supply as a kit for a muzzleloaders patch knife and saw potential. So I reshaped it into a whittler/caping knife and away I went. The blade is only 2 3/8", perfect for fine work. Final product has a handle...
  15. Ryan

    Alaska: Heli hunting on Brownbears

    Even resident fly-out trips have become rough. In 2021 I flew out of Fairbanks with a friend to the south side of the Brooks for Porcupine herd caribou, a 2 hour flight. It was $625/hr. In 2021 and in 2024 and that went up to $850/hr. And remember you pay for the pilots time both ways per trip...
  16. Ryan

    Alaska: Heli hunting on Brownbears

    Using hunters for predator management isn't quite as simple as you make it out. Heck there was a whole thread on here talking how that didn't work for pigs, but let's stick with bears. First off, predator control/removal is about numbers. It's straight up population reduction. So they removed X...
  17. Ryan

    Thinking about a .300 win mag

    As a lefty, I can say you certainly can get a 300WM, since it's one of the more common cartridges most manufacturers chamber their left-handed rifles in. But the question is more should you get a 300 WM because you plan on hunting eland. I used a 300 WM to take mine, but that was more because...
  18. Ryan

    Well boys, what's your temperature like now?

    In Michigan, where I'm visiting family. and home in Anchorage right now. Yeah. That makes sense
  19. Ryan

    Can elk grow this big?

    Was that deer taken on Kong island?
  20. Ryan

    Who Likes to Hunt the Tiny 10 Antelope?

    Limbo conservation wise? I doubt it. But pressure reduced to a moderate level I do think.
  21. Ryan

    Planning First Safari

    As a lefty who has rented rifles I have to disagree. I went touring for 9 days after my 2018 hunt in the Eastern Cape and rented a right-handed Ruger suppressed M77 in 300 Win Mag. I had zero issues taking three of my five animals with a right handed bolt gun on my left shoulder (bow hunted the...
  22. Ryan

    Who Likes to Hunt the Tiny 10 Antelope?

    You may be right, but I've never seen a klipspringer in real life and I do want to hunt one. I have seen mountain goats on mountains and my heart doesn't go crazy like a sheep will do. Heck, I drew a tag and hunted them one year. Wasn't all that bummed I didn't get within range of the ones I...
  23. Ryan

    375 Ruger

    Somewhere back in time here in I think 2018 or so is a mention of Bossie Mostert of Limpopo Big Game Safaris having a run in with a buffalo, his rifle not ejecting a shell properly and ending up in the hospital. I hunted with him in January 2021. Now, it's been four years for me and I'm...
  24. Ryan

    375 Ruger

    I own a African model, picked it up very lightly used in 2011. I used it for giraffe in '13, then buffalo and four plains game in '21. I did upgrade the stock with a laminate from Accurate Innovations early on. Great rifle in my opinion. Positives. Left handed (I am), reasonably priced, well...
  25. Ryan

    Who Likes to Hunt the Tiny 10 Antelope?

    Some of them, yes. All of them, no. I got an education on steenbok in Namibia on my second hunt there. Drought conditions and little cover, couldn't get close to one without them bolting at the speed of light. Next try was in the Limpopo with a bow and heavy cover. Much better, I had a few...
  26. Ryan

    168gn TSX on deer/ medium game?

    I used the Barnes VotTx ammo in 30-06 with 168 grain TTSX that advertises 2800 until switching to handloads of the same bullet. Anyway, at only 120 fps difference, they're going to do the same until you start reaching out beyond 300-400 yards.The boxes ammo dropped caribou at 170+ yards and went...
  27. Ryan

    Hornady 30cal on PG

    Back in 2010 I used a 150 gr Interbond out of a 30-06 for my Dall sheep at around 100 yards. I shot it quartering away, hitting everything vital and stopping on the far shoulder. It expanded beautifully, and retained something like 80% weight as I recalled. As you can guess that sheep went...
  28. Ryan

    What I need to know about bringing Diamonds Back

    Go to help.cbp.gov and search or ask questions Last I recalled loose gemstones have no duty, though you better declare them. Gems are sometimes used as a monetary instrument in illegal activities, so not declaring it looks pretty suspicious. Best to get with CBP now. You may want to have her...
  29. Ryan

    Bow draw weight workouts to increase muscle strength

    I have a 2019 PSE Expedite. It's got an IBO specs of 350+ FPS. Mind boggling to me since I've been shooting since 1986. Anyway, at my 29.5" draw and 70.5 lb. Draw weight I clocked it at 286 fps with my usual 510 grain arrow (125 grain point) for over 92 ft/lbs of energy. That arrow passed...
  30. Ryan

    Bow draw weight workouts to increase muscle strength

    What are you hunting that you need that kind of draw weight? 30+ years ago that was needed for buffalo But honestly my modern 70 pound bow shoots as fast as an 85-90 pound bow from the 1980s and early 90s using the same weight arrow. If you aren't after something big five you have all the bow...
  31. Ryan

    What calibre? (Yet again)

    I went to Namibia twice with a 30-06 with 168 grain Barnes TTSX ammo. Eight animals with that rifle including zebra and both kudu went at most a few feet and dropped. I'd keep it simple and bring that. Bring the 375 if you just have to prove it works.
  32. Ryan

    GAITERS!

    Canvas. I sweat a lot, so for me leather would make things worse. Four hunts ( two Namibia, two in RSA) mostly in shorts, and canvas worked great for keeping rocks and debris out of my boots.
  33. Ryan

    Wood stock rifles

    Yeah, why does every bolt gun need a door knob?? Saw two lefties in Cabela's gun library a couple days ago. One had a big bulb, the other this long knurled round bar for a bolt handle. Way overkill. Walked away from both.
  34. Ryan

    Wood stock rifles

    As @Challer and @Hoofnit mentions. Economics and changing markets. Though there are some exceptions. I've seen some decent Winchester M70, Ruger #1 and some models of Ruger Hawkeye. My first Ruger #1 had what looked like very boring walnut and I improved it immensely by stripping the matte...
  35. Ryan

    help choosing 2 calibers for first safari (300 Weatherby & 375 Ruger?)

    I own a M77 African in Left handed, in 375 Ruger, it is CRF. I have taken it for buffalo along with 5 other plains game, it worked without issue. My PH on my buffalo hunt used a Ruger M77 in 416 Rigby. He didn't have an issue with the CRF. He did have an issue with the safety. So he removed it.
  36. Ryan

    Been watching, pulled the trigger and joined

    Wha? Don't! Run Away! It's got big teeth! Well, OK. Welcome to it all. Soak it up, search around, a lot of questions will get answered without asking. After that, ask away.
  37. Ryan

    Help, I won a partially covered hunt (Nzou Hunting Safaris) in South Africa

    Auctions, particularly ones as a donation to an organization play on optimism, emotions and sometimes a lack of information. It's in your best interest to slow down a second, sort out the details they tell you and get all the information they don't before you bid. The fact that there is...
  38. Ryan

    New Here looking to get into hunting Africa

    Welcome. You are in the right place to start. Start looking around, there's a lot of information here so take your time. Check it all out and feel free to ask questions.
  39. Ryan

    "GO HUNTING NOW WHILE YOU ARE PHYSICALLY ABLE!"

    This thought was why I started putting in for limited draw Dall sheep in Alaska at 39. I knew my knees weren't getting any younger. I got incredibly lucky and drew a Tok Management Area tag on my first year (I do love the fact Alaska does not do the point system, it's all random draw). So at...
  40. Ryan

    help choosing 2 calibers for first safari (300 Weatherby & 375 Ruger?)

    What can you shoot well? You don't need a 300 Weatherby to take plains game, you need a medium bore you can shoot well. I used a 30-06. But if you can shoot a 300 Weatherby well, by all means, take it. I'd say with 180 grain Barnes TTSX or a good bonded bullet like a Nosler Accubond or Swift...
  41. Ryan

    The fast, the flat, the forgotten!

    I recall reading a couple articles by Craig Boddington about the .264. he's a big fan of it. And that is what Harry Swank Jr. used to drop the B&C world record Dall sheep back in 1961. So it has a good record, but as many pointed out it got overshadowed by a lot of other calibers. I learned a...
  42. Ryan

    European African Mounting ideas?

    The whole continent of Africa comes to mind as a plaque to put a few to several depending on how big you have it made.
  43. Ryan

    Which scope is ideal for Winchester 70 Pre-64 30-06

    The two choices are an apples and oranges comparison to me. That said, if these are my choices I'd use the Swaro. For hunting practical purposes that's essentially the same as my 2-10X 40mm Vortex on my 7mm-08 I use to the same limits. Simple, relatively light weight without bells and whistles...
  44. Ryan

    DIY hunting in the USA, suggestions where to go?

    Unfortunately, Alaska requires a guide for non-resident alien hunters for all species. That gets pricey for both the guide and tags.
  45. Ryan

    Looking to buy a Left Hand big bore bolt gun

    As a Lefty I understand this is a tough one once you get larger than 375 H&H. I have seen one left-handed 416 Remington, in a pawn shop of all places, so they exist. After that it's probably a custom job, and not cheap. Good luck.
  46. Ryan

    Preferred bullets for RSA Plains Game

    I used 168 gr TTSX in my 30-06 for my first two hunts of PG in Namibia with zero regrets. Everything from springbok up to kudu and zebra, one shot kills, a few steps and dropped. That said, from what you mentioned I'd use any and all of them for PG without a doubt. Which shoots best in each...
  47. Sitka Blacktail Deer Hunt  Prince of Wales Island

    Sitka Blacktail Deer Hunt Prince of Wales Island

  48. Ryan

    .30-06 for Feral Hogs

    Usually only on the longer, heavier bullets. 165's should be fine. Both of my -06's are standard factory twist.
  49. Ryan

    2024 Deer Season

    My hunting partner's buck on Prince of Wales island this morning. 4x4 with some cool character from a healed injury on one left side point.
  50. Ryan

    .30-06 for Feral Hogs

    Make sure he's cleaned the bore of Dad's old rifle before switching over. It helps, don't know why.
 
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