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The length and weight are still enough to make me avoid a silencer on a mid to large bore magnum. Yes they do reduce the recoil a lot but you really only feel the recoil at the range. When hunting, it is not very noticeable. Wear hearing protection if that is an issue.

I agree with what you are saying but want to cite an example of where the opposite can also be true. A few years ago, we had a series of Cougar (Mtn Lion) sightings in my home state of KY. I have seen two in the Eastern part of the State myself. Later, one was killed by two game wardens and...

I shoot benchrest a lot. Some with old rimfire rifles. One of our weekly rimfire night shoots is a outlaw match of only factory 22lr repeaters fired from only sandbag rests at 50y. We have three former national champions who are regulars in our club and if your rifle cannot regularly shoot...

Well said Sir - I would also add that most prey species of animals are sentient enough to sense when you are hunting them and when you are not or are merely observing them. I have seen this many times in Africa. For example: I was hunting Zebra in Limpopo a few years back and we were stalking...

To be a DG licensed PH, a hunter must train, and work under the mentorship of a licensed DG PH for a large number of hunts. I think it is 30 in RSA for buffalo? Someone more knowledgeable than me will have to confirm this. Before I hunt DG a minimum of two trained PH's must be present to back...

Most airport security teams will treat empty brass just like a live round. DO NOT leave it in your carry on unless you like having bright lights shined in your eyes and up your arse. With that said, how to get it home? Place it in a small locked case and insert that into your checked luggage...

My 1st trip, I took a crushable boonie and 2-3 baseball caps, but I never used the boonie hat once. Since then, I never take the wide brimmed hats with me. The classy Tilley is lovely but they are a PITA to travel with. Either you wear it on the plane or it gets crushed and warped out of...

My wife always says, "You are never more than 3ft away from a spider, no matter where you are." Not a comforting thought for an Arachnaphobic person. I am not that put off by spiders anymore. As a teen, I would squirrel hunt the Eastern woods and you cannot go more than three or four steps...

I appreciate the many comments and sage advice. For the 35 Whelen fans, I do not own one nor do I plan to acquire one anytime soon. I already have one rifle in a more or less dead caliber and do not need another that would require reloading to get the most out of. It is a good one but not for...

I have seen 458wm 500g TSX that opened as designed. Those are in similar velocity range as a 470NE or similar. I think the expanded diameter was about 3/4". Not as impressive as some but certainly effective. I have no knowledge of if Barnes uses a different alloy for its larger bore bullets...

Like Wild Will, I too have found the factory Barnes loads in many calibers simply to be some of the most consistent factory ammo I have ever tried. I do not normally reload for my hunting rifles since the volume of shooting I do with them is rather limited. I bought 10 boxes of Barnes TSX...

I cannot be sure about Barnes expansion at lower velocity but I have used them quite a bit in recent years with relatively good results. They are not as explosive as a SST Hornady but what they do is expand some and penetrate a lot. The expansion is reduced at longer ranges and slower impact...

Husqvarna may have made one of the most accurate Mauser style bolt action rifles in the world. As a young man, an older mining engineer told me that his deer rifle was a Husky in 30-06 and it was the most accurate rifle that he owned. Burl is gone now, RIP but I always remembered what he told...

I went to the range today to practice for the Nilgai hunt coming up in February. But some of the same guns are under consideration for the Moose hunt. Namely the 375 and the 338. I was shooting from sticks at 200, 300 and 400y. FN Browning with 1-6x Swarovski loaded with 300g TSX and 300g...

I bit the bullet and bought a SilencerCo Scythe Ti suppressor for use with some of my newer hunting rifles. I decided in early November to set up an NFA Trust and get the can and since I expected the ATF to be flooded with applications in January, I paid my tax to get it now. While it takes a...

I went through this spot about four years ago. I was jones-ing for a 6mm ARC and was discussing this with a local gunsmith about possibly building a bolt action varmint rifle for me. He was not that impressed with the 6 ARC being a former GB sniper, he simply stopped me and suggested the 243...

I almost bought one last year. Ended up getting a Sako 85 in 338wm instead due to the limited ammo options with the Steyer. There is a recall on the polymer stock as the rubberized coating deteriorates and becomes sticky to the touch. Steyer will replace it but all of the replacements are...

My 375HH weighs in at about 9.5lbs with the Kahles scope on board. But it is set up and optimized for DG and large PG hunting in Africa. The 1-6x optic is clear but limits precision on longer shots. I mostly think of it as a 200y gun off of sticks but it could go out to 250-300y in a pinch...

You are correct. The P14 is a chunk. It is an amazing rifle and I shoot it well but the thought of lugging it all over Canada is not exactly fun. Plus it is a blued steel, walnut rifle that is too pretty to drag thru the mud. It is one thing to use it in Africa where it never rains as...

The old Winchester Silvertip is the only rifle bullet that ever failed on me. This was the original design, not the improved version that appeared later. It was in 165g 308 and I had up until that year dropped about 10 deer in a row with one shot kills using my handloaded ammo with 165g Nosler...

I have never hunted in Canada but my understanding is that they are picky about allowing foreigners to bring their own handguns into the country. I have a 44mag revolver but would not consider it a better bear stopper than any of the high power rifles. I am not yet clear how common bears are...

I greatly appreciate everyone's input. I was not aware that a Moose was easier to kill than an Elk. This hunt is sort of a hybrid hunt. Our main prey is Moose but both Elk and Mulies are included on the tag. Whatever I take would be a rifle that would work equally well on Elk. Even so, all...

I am planning a Fall 2026 Bull Moose hunt in Canada. I have never hunted moose but know them to be larger than an Elk and a bit harder to kill. I know that a good bullet and good bullet placement is more important than the rifle and cartridge used but I also know that using enough gun can...

Rhodesia never had more than a dozen or so operational helicopters and ground attack aircraft were also in very short supply. Spare parts almost non-existent added to their woes. They had outstanding soldiers with the RSAS, RLI and Selous Scouts (similar to our Rangers), but were always out...

Rhodesia was not perfect, it was a White minority ruled nation that was a product of European colonialism. But, it was prosperous, had been in place for many generations and it lifted up the lives of all its citizens. Rhodesia had integrated its schools and military and was in the process of...

Let's face it, unless we are hunting Elephant or perhaps Cape Buffalo in thick cover most of us do not need a Double Rifle. By the same token if our feet have trod the lands in Africa as a hunter or if we ever have or ever want to hunt dangerous game, most of us want a double rifle. I fall in...

I just see the 375 wby as the answer to the question nobody asked. As for shooting well, most Weatherby rifles shoot great. Many of the old ones are based on the German JP Sauer design which is one of the most accurate factory rifles ever made. I am just not a fan of the proprietary cartridge...

Sometimes more is simply more and not necessarily better. I am not a Weatherby fan. The 375HH is not a perfect package but it is a tried and true package that is found everywhere big game or DG are found. Alaska, Africa, you name it, it has done it. While the Weatherby is faster, so what? I...

1.) At home in the Eastern USA woods, I love to hunt tree squirrels with a rimfire rifle. You have to be quick and quiet and accurate. But, opening day of Dove season is a close 2nd because you don't have to be quiet and can yell at or kid with your buddies all day long. 2.) Africa - while...

That Bongo is stunning.

Short handy rifles are great. I have a 7mm/08 and a 338RCM, both with 22" bbls. One of the PH's who backed me up on buffalo carried an old CZ/Brno 458wm that was cut down to 20". We were in thick heavy thorn thickets, so dense that we could smell the buffalo, hear them but no see them and...

While traveling with my PH from Free State to Limpopo this year, we rolled into a fueling station and he returned from inside with two little meat pies that resembled a long Hot Pocket but far more tasty. I think the filling was seasoned beef but whatever it was, it was the best tasting thing I...

Laurel Mississippi has a little gas station cafe off the interstate that has some of the best Cajun/Creole meat and seafood/crawfish pies I have ever eaten. As for Afrikaan style, I re-constructed Kudu Pot Pie from Limpopo with this recipe: Minced Venison 1lb one bag frozen peas & carrots...

+1 for the Federal Fusion and ++1 for the Fusion Tipped for long range hunting. Both are super accurate and deadly. I am getting SD's of 2.1-3.2 with my Chrono for most Fusions loads for 308, 270, 7mm/08 and 7mm Mag. It is simply a hammer. Barnes also is super consistent, possibly even...

My solution was to go hunting in my living room, lol. When my wife and I first married we lived in a 2br honeymoon cottage (shack) which was built by my Dad and uncles years earlier and started as a chicken coop that they built onto over the years and each new couple in the family was allowed...

1) Kudu 2) Sable 3) Impala 4) Cape Buffalo Steak None of the game animals that I ate which was most of them tasted bad. None had the strong gamey taste of some of the venison I have had. But the selective browser antelope tend to taste better than the selective grazers which eat mostly only...

If you are bringing your own rifles, also bring a can of compressed air like used for blowing dust from computers. Africa is dusty and this grit gets into every crevice of your rifle. I remove most of the lube from my rifles and blow the dust off of the scope, the bolts and the trigger...

Snakes were (are) one of my greatest fears while on Safari. But, while on the hunt, I only rarely ever think about them. After all, they are not really that common. Limpopo 2024, Free State 2025 and Limpopo 2025 covering 8 concessions, I have never seen a snake of any kind.

Welcome on your path to Africa. You will never be the same. Africa is magical and addictive.

Where the 338wm shines over the 375HH is if you need more velocity than 2000fps out past about 300y. Energy figures are not that different. Example is our Nilgai hunt in TX we are told to be prepared for shooting at ranges from 200-400y. Inside of 250y the 375 is the choice out past 300y the...

I was not claiming that I have never taken a 2nd shot. Far from it. I was only saying that for hunting rifles that cold bore shot is far more critical than any follow ups and that followup shots are statistically less common or are finishing shots where accuracy is less critical. This being...

I have 1-6x or 1-8x illuminated optics on most of my hunting rifles and when at 1x with the reticle/dot illuminated, I shoot both eyes open. Same with handgun & iron or dot sights. Also shotgun. But if I dial up the magnification, I close the weak side eye.

Good luck with the plan. Enjoy the prep and the ride. Three years ago, I wanted to go on Safari. Covid19 had nearly killed me. I was over weight, had bad knees, and suffered breathing issues from Covid. My medical issues might not have been as bad as yours but they made walking to the mail...

99.9+% of our hunting shots will be cold bore 1st shots. So, for hunting rifles, the bbl weight and diameter are mostly irrelevant except for any affect it may have on bbl harmonics. One of my best hunting rifles is a FN Browning in 308. It has a 20" bbl that is only the size of your pinky...

My Sako 85 with 26" bbl chronos 2925fps with Barnes 225g TTSX. A bit faster with Superformance ammo. My Ruger M77 in 338 RCM with 22" bbl chronos 2738 fps with the 225g SST Superformance ammo (only factory ammo available for it). So, it falls about 90-93% of the Win Mag with the shorter bbl...

I am a big fan of the 338. I have a Sako 85 in 338wm and my son has a left handed Mauser in 338wm with a Shaw bbl. The later is a bit more accurate. I also have a short, light, handy Ruger M77 HE in 338RCM. That last one is the only one I have hunted with so far and it is a hammer. We plan...

I am a benchrest competitor and have seen wind flags at half way to tgt blowing right while the flags at target were blowing left. Swirls up and down that make the bullet path porpoise up and down along its ballistic arc. I have also watched videos of hunters shooting game at 600, 700, 800 and...

Agree 100% I love shooting long range targets and the variables will overwhelm you once you go out far enough. A22lr at 200y is ballistically roughly equivalent to a 308 or 30-06 at 1000y. I shoot 22's with repeatable accuracy out to 300y all the time but a puff of wind is all it takes to...

Good luck with Safari plans. South Africa is probably the easiest and most affordable. A great place to start. I have hunted Limpopo twice and Free State once and liked Limpopo better. Planning on Namibia next time only because my PH in Limpopo has a new concession there that sounds great...

If you are like me, you now think about Africa every day. Welcome!