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The only one I have hunted without success so far is the little blue. We were at a little spring in the woods of EC. The female would come to water and the male would hang way back. If given a chance, I don't want to take the females even though that is easier sometimes. Ugh...I hope to get...

When I get mine, it will complete the tiny 10 goal. For that reason and because they are so small, I will have mine in a full mount. If I ever got a 2nd round of tiny 10, it might be cool to have them all in euro mounts but not as my first choice. Beautiful creatures.

Was that 22 Hornet a rental or your own? I've brought my own but it sure is nice to borrow a rifle for 1 or 2 shots

A recent check-in from our group of 10 hunters showed no obvious progress. I don’t know anyone who has gotten trophies in the last 3 years. I cancelled any return plans until it is sorted out.

I don’t fly much these days except for hunting trips…so I don’t have millions of miles to use. So I fly coach. Also, as a small business owner, time is money. I have done most of the airlines to Africa but Delta is the shortest flight. I spend a little less cash on tickets and get there and...

Nothing wrong with your idea. The main plus to it is being assured of an exit no matter the angle. That can be very helpful on bears that are notorious for not bleeding much. The fat, skin, hair all soaks it up and very little hits the ground compared to other animals. 270 or 300 TSX works...

Thanks for the comments. I said match the Dakota but I should have said compliment the Dakota. I don't want a copy of it but something as nice or nicer. The Dakota wood is not exhibition grade but the 375 probably will be.

Updates...Z5i+ scope was located and is on the way. Barreled action will be on the way to NECG soon. I will be having the iron sights filed to regulate Barnes 300 TSX factory loads. My reloads approximate that load as well. I'm going to visit Merdad Fanousi's inventory of Turkish walnut...

Ready for the win! Spots beats us too often. Go get him Craig.

Particularly if you were to ask those being mentioned here. I know Buzz...he would much rather have Harry Selby up there than his own face!

Looks great. Who did you hunt with?

Great report Jason! I felt like I was along for the ride. So many different experiences and a target rich environment for sure. I also agree that going back for banteng and the coastal experience and another time for the desert experience. I know that Alex is a serious fisherman!

How in the world is Harry Selby not mentioned?!? Frederick Selous? Philip Percival? JA Hunter? Geez.

I miss living up there, especially this time of year. Have Darrel get a caribou sausage hot dog in Anchorage at a food truck. They are excellent! Have fun!

Great coat and that's a big bear in New Brunswick. Thank goodness yours turned out looking like a bear. Too many of them are damaged by poor work. Yours is very nice.

Not sure what you meant by this. Correct that ele are not exportable from Moz but there are lots of leopards on the opposite end of the country from Niassa, quality is very high and they are exportable. One of our sponsors @PANTHER TRACKERS specializes in this. This hunt report was just...

After writing to several builders and sharing my ideas for the build, here is the direction I'm taking. NECG had the best combination of communication, pricing and timeline. I wouldn't hesitate to work with others mentioned here but everyone is on their own timeline, pricing, etc. If I had 2+...

I was very excited to hear from you throughout the hunt as you took so many nice animals...the buff, the pumpkin head leopard...your first T10 was a suni! Amazing trip and full of adventure and memories for both of you. Fantastic. I will be there next August!

The thing I always think about with Gerrit is how genuine and sincere he is. He's a great conversationalist and I have enjoyed all of our conversations, even though they were all in TX. I look forward to seeing his place sometime. Sounds like another great week with @Bos en Dal SAFARIS!

I have not talked to Wayne. That's another idea. Thanks.

They are excellent rifles and that is one of the best models Dakota (now ParkWest) offered. My Dakota Safari .416 Rigby is my favorite African rifle.

Scope update...I was bidding on a Swaro Habicht 1" 3-9x36 and it went past my reserve. Feelers are out through dealers and factory reps to find one of the recently discontinued Z3 3-9x36mm scopes. I will most likely go with a EAW pivot mount.

I haven't heard back from any stock makers yet but I've been doing some research on wood blanks. Here are some that are available (left and right profiles of 2 blanks each). English: French:

Unique and interesting buck. I have high hopes in punching a very limited ranch tag next month myself.

There were some comments about matching it up with the features of my Dakota 416 Rigby. Here is that gun for consideration. One thing I love about the Dakota is that it's setup well for irons or optics. It's a good compromise without feeling like one. I wouldn't change anything on the Dakota...

I didn’t have them mounted in the case. Thermal was a clip on and suppressor was not attached. Each had its own 4457 plus my tax stamp for suppressor. No issues but that was South Africa and I did not fly domestically in Africa.

Just as cats require special skills, I feel that bears also require more to look right. A lot of bears don’t look right afterwards. This cinnamon bear was actually cut down in the face to make it fit the smaller form. I can’t have it redone for that reason. Outrageous!

I know JJ and George and I’m sure that George has the stock blanks. JJ doesn’t really have the space and when I talked to him 2 days ago about this project, he didn’t offer any blanks for sale. Last time I was at Champlin, they had the blanks just inside the front door. George isn’t real tech...

Moose are not particularly tough but they have large bones and one of the biggest stomach/intestines on the planet. There can be a lot of material to shoot through depending on your angles. For that reason, I like 270s in the .375 caliber. Any good soft or X will do fine. I say 270 instead...

I'm wanting to balance quality with the idea that I will be using this a lot and it will get handling marks, etc. Every gun I've used in Africa has gotten something from riding in the truck to tracking through thorns, etc. Also and I know this is not realistic, it would be great to use this...

I really wanted to like my S2. I had the 500 nitro barrels and looked for extra sets but they are tough to find. I liked the design and concept a lot but couldn't get used to the feel of it. It's a brilliant idea but it felt too bulky to me. Having said that, I'm a big fan of the R8 and the...

That's the 2nd recommendation for MNR. I just sent him an enquiry on it.

Beautiful camp and very good examples of non-trophy buff. What kind of ivory did you see...anything that excited the PH?

I hadn't thought of Matthew at MNR Custom. Griffin & Howe could be another option as @bwanamrm suggested.

I've sent photos to NECG to see what they think about finishing it. I would like to see if we could finish it with the English style of red alkanet root stain.

I'm narrowing down who I would like to finish the gun and build the stock. I called JJ but his current equipment setup is most conducive to break action builds. He is definitely available to build the mounts and rings if needed. When I teased him about retiring to do more fishing he said tell...

One of the things I'm looking for is the recently discontinued Swarovski 3-9x36 in the 1" tube version. If anyone knows of one that is available, please let me know.

Part of my purpose in posting this topic is to enlist help and ideas but also just to share in the build. I enjoy watching others projects come to life. We are going to build in a pre-war Germanic style similar to @rookhawk's 9.3 and his is super classy...pictured below...

Here are the photos from the classified to give us a starting point. Obviously the bulk of the barreled action is completed and at a very high skill level. It reminded me of the Champlin octagon integral barrel guns I owned previously in 375 and 458. Yes, they should have been kept but here...

By request of other forum members, I'm starting a topic to finish a barreled action that was bought here on the classifieds. The link to the classified is below...

Certainly Ray. I can start a topic on this. Thanks for your interest.

I've been in touch with the owner (friend of who posted here) and I'm happy to be getting it and helping the owner in his older years to thin out the collection. I've been in conversation with JJ about this project. He is only stocking break open actions at this point with the equipment he has...

I will take it.

Great report and a fantastic first trip! I really appreciate the way you wrote your experience. We are all humbled by Africa. I look forward to my trip to Takeri in '28.

Correct...416 Rigby, 400 grains at about 2350 fps. Not a heavy redlined load by any means.

I know that NF doesn't recommend using CPS on ele. After a lot of discussion (before the hunt) with the PH, we decided to try it. I had no concerns of a head shot but ended up taking a heart shot on a bull at about 40 yards. He spun on the shot and ran towards the river boundary but fell...

Awesome results on that big hippo. Here is the only CPS I have recovered so far...very large bodied eland was shot on the root of the tail and recovered against the skin on the chest. Penetration was well over 5 feet through the rumen, etc. The eland dropped so fast that the guide called it...

I’ve taken ele, buff and a number of large PG with them. Exits can be expected. PHs have all liked the results. There is an audible large hit with them and dust flies up from a large area on the animal. For instance, a zebra stallion was crushed in both shoulders and fell straight down while...

That’s about right…10 1/2 to 11 lbs. it’s too light for a proper 500 but good for a 470 in my personal experience. You can also add a bit of weight if desired and some prefer that.

I will never forget something that Craig Boddington told me about both shooting and observing hundreds of buffalo hunts...a buffalo with a 2nd bullet in it is always recovered. There will be an exception to that somewhere but statistically it's a huge statement. On the other hand, many buffalo...