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If they build a new airport in Serengeti NP, it won’t affect hunting much, if at all. The Maswa blocks all border the park on the far west and I believe the airport will be located toward the southern portion of the park, but I could be mistaken. As for the Selous, the hunting portion of the...

I can 100% relate to what you say! My first African hunt was a 24-day affair and we took a large bag that included leopard, 2 buffalo and an elephant bull as well as some excellent plains game. That was in 1983, on Zimbabwe’s Deka Safari Area. That still ranks as the most enjoyable month of...

I believe there is a place for everyone to find an African hunt to suit their wants. They’re all GOOD! For me, it’s mostly the big wild areas and usually including dangerous game. I’ve been fortunate to make 10 hunts and a photo trip to seven different countries. The photo trip was to Kenya...

Yeah, locking that kid in the camper of my pickup was a one time thing. The warden gave me a lecture about not doing that again. I’ve caught a number of other poachers on various ranches over the years, but after that I just took their ID details and turned them in the law enforcement.

I voted for 270, as among the choices you gave, it’s as good a choice as any and better than nearly all others. If you’d have listed 30-06, that’s what I’d have selected for an only rifle, especially with the other information you’ve provided. With today’s fantastic selection of bullets, a...

This is SPOT ON! Many Years ago, on a hunting lease I’ve had since the early 1980’s, I caught a teenager trespassing on one of the ranches. I told him to lay his gun down, which he did (he was scared as I’m really aggressive when dealing with trespassers) and I marched him to my truck, loaded...

That’s what I’m expecting. I’ve got some loaded and they seem to cycle well, but in the heat of the moment when cycling the bolt harder and faster I’m curious if they’ll cycle the same in that scenario.

For anyone who has used them in a bolt action rifle, how do they feed compared to a regular flat pointed solid? I love the Cutting Edge Safari Solid in my 416 Hoffman, but have had some feeding problems when cycling the bolt rapidly. I really like the Cutting Edge solid but a concerned about...

Mark, I have a pretty good idea that your friends did not benefit from having some of the preparations to their blind that we’ve routinely done when I am leopard hunting. First and most important, in my opinion, when we are building the blind we build in a very stout rest that includes a rail...

One other consideration to add to your analysis is that, despite being a really easy shot at close range, with a solid rest at a stationary animal, a lot of hunters screw up the shot on a leopard due to nerves. Is it easier to shoot a 300 or 458 when your pulse is racing, you’re breathing hard...

I would NEVER use a Berger on any dangerous game animal. Period. Stick with any of these bullets for leopard, all of which would be great for leopard and are well proven over thousands of thin skinned plains game animals… Nosler - Partition (excellent choice), Accubond or solid base Trophy...

Congratulations! That’s a nice bull and cool description of taking that bull. The Savé is a special place. A friend and I were there in May and enjoyed a great buffalo hunt like you did. Which Savé block did you hunt? We were on Hammond.

Based on what you’ve said, you should give serious consideration to booking a hunt on the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania. It’s as wild as you’ll ever see, great big game country! If you search, you can find my hunt report from September of 2023 about my Selous hunt. I’m planning another hunt...

The A Square Lion Load bullet proved to be a shit bullet. The larger caliber Nosler Partitions do have a thicker jacket but no more than a Swift A-Frame. Either would be fine but personally I’d still go with a Bearclaw.

Thank you! For years I’ve been debating this with the crowd who swears that ‘shock’ is what kills animals. What actually kills animals is organ destruction, blood loss and pneumo-thorax, ideally bilateral pneumo-thorax. You get that by two holes in the chest cavity to collapse the lungs. An...

This has been a real good thread. I read every single post with keen interest.

I believe these scopes mentioned are overkill for a leopard and they most definitely are for buffalo. I’ve found a Leupold VX5 in 2-10x with the red Firedot reticle to be about as close to perfect as you can get. It’s a 30mm tube and 42mm objective. This is plenty of light gathering and...

Whoa, FULL STOP!! Please don’t screw around with multiple loads, bullets, scopes. Pick one good load using a Bearclaw or A-Frame, Northfork or Nosler Partition, 400 grains is not a bad idea at all, but a 300 grain bullet in 458 for a buffalo IS a bad idea. Sight your gun in for 100 yards but...

Marius, as Mtn_Infantry mentioned Federal does have 375 H&H factory ammo in stock with 300 grain Bearclaws. Unfortunately, they are not offering them as component bullets for reloading. I’ve got a good amount of this ammunition on hand, thanks to a fellow AH member who was selling 5 boxes...

I’d take your 300 Winchester for all the reasons everyone else mentioned. And if you want to get a new rifle, buy a good 375 H&H and you’ll have 2 great African rifles.

Bruce, congratulations on another excellent adventure in the jungle. You’ve had great luck with Christophe across your hunts! Thank you for the great report and how you took us along with you. Safe travels!

If you’re going to just use your 458, shooting a Bearclaw for both is an excellent idea. Bearclaws are a great leopard bullet and also an excellent soft point for buffalo. I’ve shot 2 leopards and a lion with Bearclaws and my last 7 buffalo with Bearclaws. If your gun shoots them well, 400...

Marius, I almost always have a Bearclaw in the chamber with TSX’s in the magazine for follow-up shots. And your comment is why I do it that way.

@Azklmsr , I’ve used a 458 Winchester, 470 NE, 416 Hoffman (same as Remington) & 375 H&H on various dangerous game hunts. These days, I only use the 375 & 416. I find them to be plenty for whatever I’m hunting and I’d hunt elephant bulls again with either one. When my son was getting a rifle...

Even when you take care to be sure there are no animals behind your target animal, strange things can happen. A couple years ago my son and I were tracking 3 Dugga Boys. My son approached the bulls with our PH, the bulls were spread out and my son shot the closest bull while it was broadside...

The OP’s question is one of the reasons I use Shawn Kennedy of Gracy Travel. I recently traveled through JNB on my way to Zimbabwe. I took my 375 & 416, with ammo for each, BUT I also took some 12 gauge ammo withbringing a shotgun. I asked Shawn if this was allowed and she told me that as long...

When you hang around Jay, you know you’ll be on fish. Good strategy!

Looks like a perfect day on the bay. I need to get my butt down there soon for some fresh halibut with Jay Yokomizo on the NHF.

I’ll be keenly interested to hear your thoughts on the prospects for buffalo. My friend who is going with me is very interested in taking dwarf forest buffalo. Of course, I’m also interested but in my case, way more interested in Sitatunga after the bongo.

Altitude Sickness’s thought is wise. Start a new, clean thread and it’ll be better for you. That said, I’m saddened to read of your accident and circumstance. You sound like you were cruising along through life until this happened. I know what you’re going through, as my wife and I just...

Congratulations, Bruce! Between your last hunt with Christophe and this one, you’ve been unusually blessed. Extremely nice animals. I’ll want to talk after you return home as I’m booked to hunt with Christophe next May. I talked a while with Craig Boddington in March and he really spoke...

I hope someone can take advantage of this, as it’s an incredibly generous offer. I think anyone hunting with Scott will enjoy a wonderful time and I’m confident the other two hunters will be similar.

Disgusting shit show. I couldn’t watch it much beyond his first fuck up. Videos like this should never see the light of day as far as I’m concerned. Just another old guy who isn’t up to the demands of dangerous game hunting. And he documented it for the world to see. SMH.

Here’s a good snake video of an encounter in the Selous 2 seasons ago…

I don’t kill snakes, venomous or non-venomous, except when it’s a venomous snake around camp, around my house, on the trails where I regularly walk my dog or acting aggressive/threatening. Generally, when I see a venomous snake while out hunting or fishing, I leave it alone. That includes...

I had poor results with Axil products. I’ve got the wired and also wireless versions and neither has been satisfactory for me. Maybe it’s just me, but they don’t fit well and don’t stay put. They were so bad I had a custom pair of Sound Gear Phantoms made for my ears by EAR at SCI this past...

I may be naive, but why not hunt them with a shotgun? I think any gauge shotgun with #9 TSS would be outstanding on these tiny antelope. It’d also be a lot easier to hit them. Am I wrong?

Based on your reasoning, why a 416 Ruger??? Ammo for that cartridge would be almost as hard to find. A 416 Remington or Rigby would be much easier to find than the Ruger.

Safe travels, best of luck and enjoy your adventure to the fullest.

I think the 416 Taylor is a really great cartridge, even though I shoot a 416 Hoffman. You can get great performance in a standard length action. One thing I’d suggest though is just stick with one bullet weight for everything. I’m a big fan of 400 grain bullets.

After shooting buffalo with 458 Winchester, 375 H&H and 470 NE in the past, I’ve settled on 416 Hoffman with 400 grain Bear Claws as my go-to buffalo load. I also like 400 grain TSX’s but the last 7 buffalo I’ve shot have all been with 400 grain Bear Claws. Most of, maybe all, of my future...

I just had this very discussion a couple weeks ago while buffalo hunting with Alan Vincent on Hammond. Alan’s opinion was that the TSX is such a fantastic buffalo bullet that it’s all he uses and wants his clients to shoot, except when hunting buffalo in herds such as is common on the Savé...

Here’s what you get for an exit with a Trophy Bonded Bearclaw… They’re also an excellent buffalo bullet in 400 grain 416.

I think it will work fine, but I’d look into Bearclaws or Nosler Partitions as a better choice. The last 7 buffalo I’ve shot have all been with 400 grain Bearclaws in my 416 and they simply work very well. And on a leopard, they’ll open up good every time. Nosler would also be excellent.

300 grain TSX’s are a fantastic bullet choice for pretty much anything big. So are the Bearclaws you mentioned. They’re my two preferred bullets in 338, 375, 416; no matter what I’m hunting. I’d buy both. If you can get Federal Premium 375 300 grain Bearclaw ammo, I’d buy it regardless of...

For anyone not familiar with this particular scope, it’s one of the most versatile and useful scopes made today by any manufacturer. I have this exact scope on both my 338 and 375 and think it’s perfect for either. The Firedot reticle is an absolute Game Changer as it makes precise aiming...

I would not use a TSX on a leopard if I had any other option. I’ve had excellent results with TB Bearclaws & Nosler Partitions on leopards. They open quickly and exit too, so you get the best of both worlds, big expansion as well as an exit hole. If I was going on another leopard hunt, I’d...

This post is a bit off topic, but since we’ve been discussing best bullets vs lesser bullets, some of you might find this post of interest. I just returned a few days ago from hunting buffalo on Hammond, in the Savé Valley Conservancy. My 81 year old friend shot a fantastic buffalo and I shot...

With all due respect, anyone having issues with recoil from a 375 in hunting situations and wanting a lighter bullet to lessen recoil should probably not hunt dangerous game to begin with. Dangerous game hunting, at least for the big stuff with thick skin and heavy bones, calls for large...