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You’d be stunned at how effective a 410 loaded with TSS is on any bird, including Honkers. I’ve got a friend from the south who comes to hunt waterfowl with me in Idaho. He brings Foxtrot Ammo TSS shells loaded with a mixture of 9’s&10’s. He’s got right at 300 pellets in a 3” 410 load. I’ve...

The Bubye Valley Conservancy is very expensive, especially when compared to other options in Zimbabwe. Also, their lion population is so large that it’s impacting the plains game and buffalo hunting. Not that long ago, a very wealthy fellow purchased the entire BVC and the stories I’ve...

No, I don’t shoot steel in my 28’s. Hevi-X, Boss are what I mostly shoot. 4s or 6s for ducks, 4s for geese. Most of the honkers I’ve shot with a 28 gauge have been with 4’s, you focus on the head and neck. But when shooting TSS on Honkers, it’s usually 9’s and they go right through the birds.

They believe by hunting each blind only once or twice a week and with 28’s & 410’s, they hold more ducks. They’re not as loud, so they don’t chase birds out as much. When the birds are down from Alberta/Saskatchewan, it’s about as good as duck hunting can be. Many days that 3 of us have...

You’ll be fine with a good 28 gauge. I did nearly all my duck hunting for the first 50 years with 12 gauges. Then, 7 years ago I sold my property and joined a duck club in Idaho that only allowed sub-gauge guns, 20, 28, 410’s. So I bought guns in all those gauges. 28’s do just fine on...

Brandon Gleason nailed it. Spread the powder on your lawn or garden. It makes good fertilizer.

Green Chile, you’re doing pretty good on number of species, a lot more than I’ve taken. Or will take. I’ve been hunting waterfowl steadily for 57 seasons, most years hunting 20-30 days a season, though the last 4-5 years have been less. I’ve shot thousands of ducks and geese but only 28...

Johnny is excellent! One of the better PH’s around, no matter which country. He’s been providing very good safaris for a long time.

You were fortunate to shoot an exceptional Common Waterbuck! Many years ago, I shot a bull in Zimbabwe that was a bit over 31” and I was told I’d never see a better one and was very fortunate to take such a fine specimen. You were indeed fortunate and won’t likely ever see another as large.

@Schmidty Have you realized yet that a Model 70 is the obvious choice? Great rifle and good value too.

I’ve had a couple with elephants that could have gone very badly. The first was in Zimbabwe on my very first African hunt, 1983 on Deka. I was 24 years old and enjoying what had already been a great safari. We found a herd of several dozen elephants in the western end of Deka and there was a...

@RLXFXR if you can make enough time, give serious thought to visiting Victoria Falls. It’s a bit out of the way compared to Limpopo, but well worth it if you can swing the time. On a recent buffalo hunt on Zimbabwe’s Savé Valley Conservancy, we spent our first five days in country at Vic...

I did a similar game viewing and hunting safari some years ago and it was expertly arranged by Marita Dyason of Spear Safaris. Ernest Dyason is an excellent PH and his wife Marita does a fantastic job arranging the non-hunting aspects. Highly recommend @Spear Safaris

I prefer either a closed mouth or slack jawed. I’m not a real big fan of snarling myself, but that’s just me. I should have a leopard back soon from Tanzania and will most likely mount it slack jawed.

Ernest is very good, both as a hunter and great all around guy with whom to spend time.

Interesting question and for me it has varied widely. A lot more on early safaris than on recent ones. On my first safari I probably shot around 30-35 rounds between my 270, 300 Winchester and 458 Winchester. I shot 16 or 17 animals, so between sighting in, multiple shots on animals, etc...

I can’t imagine why you’d shoot a round nose solid over a flat nose. The wide meplat flat nosed solids have been proven to out penetrate round nose solids, as well as track straighter. They’re a superior bullet. You’ve got plenty of time to test several different bullets to find a better one.

Riflecrank, If you met them when Roy was hunting as Alan’s client, it was likely for their annual October hunt with Saeed. Those three enjoy a fantastic time together every year. They’ve all had a great 43 year run together, but it’s getting closer to the end as Roy is now 78 and seriously...

Fordy, the point I was making is simply that a fully mature elephant bull is one hell of a lot bigger, stronger and more formidable than a juvenile bull or cow. As in roughly twice as big. His skull is proportionally bigger as well, so the bone is much thicker, denser and more difficult to...

Either would be great, but I’d suggest the 338 and Nosler Partition. Besides, that scope is a bit better choice as 18x is way too much top end. I’ve shot 3 leopards: One with 300 Winchester and a 180 grain Nosler Partition. The cat was dead before he fell off the limb. Two were shot with 338...

Interesting that you mention this, as I’ve heard it before. Alan Vincent, Roy’s son, is a PH of 34 years experience and whom I do most of my hunting with. He loves Trophy Bonded Sledgehammers for elephant hunting. Like the rest of us, he considers the Monometal, flat nose solids to be...

On the right edge of this photo you can see both a Zebra leg and Buffalo leg. We hung the Zebra and that Tom ate nearly the entire leg in first night, so we hung the buffalo leg to go with it. He liked both baits.

In Zimbabwe we used impala & warthogs for leopard bait. It was many years ago but I was allocated something like 6-8 animals between pigs and impalas for bait. Put up 4 baits, shot a 165 lb Tom during daylight on very first sit. In Tanzania we’ve used Zebra, buffalo and hartebeest. We had a...

Your comments about shooting in the lungs is exactly what I’ve been told, that a lung shot crocs will come onto land to avoid drowning.

Gentlemen, this is an interesting thread but there are some misconceptions about a genuine Dry Land Hippo hunt. There are places where one can shoot a hippo out of the water, but he will likely be close to the water and maybe you catch him out of the water, maybe not. There are also places...

This has been a great discussion. Lots of good information here, as well as a bit that should be reconsidered. First, there is only ONE bullet type that is suitable for elephants in this day and age and that’s a flat point solid. Period. While cup point solids and even TSX’s may be...

Get a model 70 and you’ll never need another rifle.

My 375 is built around a pre-64 express action, Brown Precision fiberglass stock, 24” Shilen select match grade stainless barrel, Timney trigger set to 2 3/4 lbs and topped with a Leupold VX5HD scope in 2-10x with CDS turret and Firedot Reticle, set in Talley mounts. It’s the one rifle my PH...

Instead of bringing gifts back for my kids and wife, I’ve taken them with me to enjoy Africa together. My wife has been to Zambia & Zimbabwe with me, my daughter has been to South Africa and then to Kenya & Tanzania along with her boyfriend and came back engaged after he proposed at the summit...

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!