Hello from Arkansas

[Arkansas_Traveler]

Welcome aboard Jeremy. Rest assured that we'll do our best to educate and inform you about everything you need to know about hunting in Africa. We'll also do our best to convince you that you NEED to be making that trip to Africa sooner rather than later. Use AH's search function to find previous posts on topics of interest to you. BTW what kind and caliber rifles do you own, do you reload what species of African game are you thinking about hunting?

Shootist43, currently I own rifles that are typical for whitetail deer hunting. A 270 Win (Bolt Rifle), a 260 Rem (bolt Rifle), a 35 Rem (in Marlin 336), a 243 Win (bolt Rifle), along with a 223 (bolt rifle) for smaller critters, and of course 22lr and shotguns.
I am planning to add a rifle chambered for something a bit larger within the next year or so, maybe later this year. Exactly what I add I have not decided yet, but I am leaning toward something along the lines of a 9.3x62, 35 Whelen, 300 Win Mag (I've owned a couple of these in the past and only sold them because they were - in my opinion - too much gun for my typical whitetail hunting), or maybe 338 Win Mag, etc... I have considered having my 270 rebarreled to a 9.3x62 or 35 Whelen, as the 270 and 260 are quite redundant and my 260 is a bug hole shooter.

I would love to add a 375 H&H in a couple years, and my current "dream rifle set" would be either a matching pair of rifles in 300 H&H / 375 H&H or a switchbarrel rifle setup in the same combo (I've always had a nostalgic attraction to the 300 H&H), although I'm not married to that combination.

I did reload for about 20 years, but lost all my reloading equipment when my son totaled my truck while all equipment was boxed up in the back seat (long story short, he walked away from a multi-rollover accident, but my reloading equipment did not fare well - I'll take the trade). I plan to re-equip in that area soon as well.

African animals I hope to hunt would probably be a "typical" plains game hunt for my first trip (Impala, Warthog, Wildebeest, and perhaps Gemsbok (my favorite), Zebra, Kudu, depending on area and availability, total animals in bag, time, etc.).
I would love to hunt the big 5 / dangerous 7 as well, but making those a reality will require me to have a few consecutive years of significant returns investment-wise, so I'm keeping those relegated to the "dream" stage of things for now.
Plains game I hope to make a reality no further than 5 years from this summer, as I will turn 50 in mid-2026 and would love to either make such a hunt as my 50th birthday present or (preferably) have a hunt under my belt by / before then.

Thanks for the questions and the welcome!

 

[Shootist43]

Jeremy let me put a "plug" in for the 35 Whelen. But first I must include a caveat, you will have to get back into reloading to get the most out of it. In all fairness a 9.3 x 62 would also be a good choice for a near term purchase. Closer to your 50th would be a good time to think about the 375 H&H.

 

[nztimb]

Giday Jeremy and welcome to the AH forums

 

[Nyati]

Hi Jeremy, welcome to AH !

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Hello to everyone! I joined the site a couple days ago but haven't taken the time to actually type an introduction post until today.
My name is Jeremy and I'm an Arkansas native who has lived most of my adult life in other states (Missouri, Mississippi, Michigan, and North Carolina - mostly in Missouri though) and only recently returned to Arkansas.
I have been hunting most of my life (currently in mid-40's), mostly whitetails with a few trips "out west" to hunt antelope and mule deer sprinkled in over the years. I have not as of yet hunted Africa, but have finally reached a point in life where it appears that I may be able to realize that dream in the next few years, so I thought it might be time to go ahead and join here instead of just occasionally lurking.

I look forward to learning as much as possible and to making the first of what I hope are several African safaris in the relatively near future.

Thanks for the fantastic forum and the open exchange of information - it's a veritable gold mine for those of us who have only been able to dream thus far of Africa!

Welcome to AH!

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Welcome to AH. Good luck.

 

[Velo Dog]

Hello Arkansas_Traveller,

Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris of Namibia, welcomes you to the greatest forum on earth.

Your notion of a matched pair in .300 H&H and .375 H&H is as nearly perfect a world hunter’s battery as possible, without adding a 3rd rifle.
I have hunted Africa and N. America with both those calibers.
No complaints, they always did their job well.

The .300 H&H with 180 gr spitzer is my favorite cartridge if shooting conditions are likely to be out to about 400 meters / yards or so.
However that said, the .375 is actually my favorite cartridge for dreaded plains game, for general use, aka: 95% of my hunting scenarios on both continents mentioned.

The only side note I might add is to lean toward heavier bullets in both cartridges.
In the .300, I like the 180 gr as my minimum for **open geography / sparse foliage conditions and 220 gr round nose for typical thorn forest conditions.
In the .375, I prefer the 300 grain for everything , from duiker to eland.
But, a sturdy 270 grain will do wonders for more **wide open conditions.

Best Regards,
Velo Dog.

 

[Justhunt]

Welcome to AH! Now get to Africa.

 

[Arkansas_Traveler]

Jeremy let me put a "plug" in for the 35 Whelen. But first I must include a caveat, you will have to get back into reloading to get the most out of it. In all fairness a 9.3 x 62 would also be a good choice for a near term purchase. Closer to your 50th would be a good time to think about the 375 H&H.

I appreciate that advice, thank you.

 

[Arkansas_Traveler]

Hello Arkansas_Traveller,

Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris of Namibia, welcomes you to the greatest forum on earth.

Your notion of a matched pair in .300 H&H and .375 H&H is as nearly perfect a world hunter’s battery as possible, without adding a 3rd rifle.
I have hunted Africa and N. America with both those calibers.
No complaints, they always did their job well.

The .300 H&H with 180 gr spitzer is my favorite cartridge if shooting conditions are likely to be out to about 400 meters / yards or so.
However that said, the .375 is actually my favorite cartridge for dreaded plains game, for general use, aka: 95% of my hunting scenarios on both continents mentioned.

The only side note I might add is to lean toward heavier bullets in both cartridges.
In the .300, I like the 180 gr as my minimum for **open geography / sparse foliage conditions and 220 gr round nose for typical thorn forest conditions.
In the .375, I prefer the 300 grain for everything , from duiker to eland.
But, a sturdy 270 grain will do wonders for more **wide open conditions.

Best Regards,
Velo Dog.

Thanks for that feedback and advice, I appreciate it!

 

[jpr9954]

Welcome to AH.

What part of North Carolina did you live in? I live in the mountains and also have family out your way in the St. Louis area.

 

[African Sporting Creations]

Welcome to the posting side! Have fun planning and let us know if you have any questions...

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

welcome welcome welcome

any questions or queries feel free to ask

 

[ter290]

Welcome to Virtual Africa!!
Make it happen in your mind first, ask the questions, choose an outfitter then book the hunt you want!
There is such a broad spectrum of African Hunting available on this forum. Enjoy the search!!

 

[DE KLERK SAFARIS]

Welcome Jeremy
If there is any questions feel free to ask.
We are here to help.
Sincerely
Hans de Klerk

 

[Arkansas_Traveler]

Welcome to AH.

What part of North Carolina did you live in? I live in the mountains and also have family out your way in the St. Louis area.

We lived in Buies Creek, over north of Fayetteville. We were only there for a semester of graduate school (I was a student at Campbell University there for a semester before transferring).
Beautiful area though, and my wife absolutely loved being that close to Wilmington Beach.

 

[Uncle Sauce]

Welcome to AH!

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH!

 

[jpr9954]

We lived in Buies Creek, over north of Fayetteville. We were only there for a semester of graduate school (I was a student at Campbell University there for a semester before transferring).
Beautiful area though, and my wife absolutely loved being that close to Wilmington Beach.

My daughter's sister-in-law graduated from Campbell with her PharmD. Good school.

 

[ndumo SAFARIS]

Hello to everyone! I joined the site a couple days ago but haven't taken the time to actually type an introduction post until today.
My name is Jeremy and I'm an Arkansas native who has lived most of my adult life in other states (Missouri, Mississippi, Michigan, and North Carolina - mostly in Missouri though) and only recently returned to Arkansas.
I have been hunting most of my life (currently in mid-40's), mostly whitetails with a few trips "out west" to hunt antelope and mule deer sprinkled in over the years. I have not as of yet hunted Africa, but have finally reached a point in life where it appears that I may be able to realize that dream in the next few years, so I thought it might be time to go ahead and join here instead of just occasionally lurking.

I look forward to learning as much as possible and to making the first of what I hope are several African safaris in the relatively near future.

Thanks for the fantastic forum and the open exchange of information - it's a veritable gold mine for those of us who have only been able to dream thus far of Africa!

Welcome Jeremy!