One gun or two? On safari

[Ridge Runner]

Trust me forget the 458WM and 340 Mannaby idea.....Nyala biggest animal......take the 30-06 and your Hornet.....sorted......guns dont just pack up......

Dg I would take 2 one of which should always be a 375 H&H.....

The 458WM has to go as my friend will be the Ph for the buff hunt and we have a kind of standing shooting comparison of calibers his Lott vs my WM. A sh!ts and giggles fun shoot comparison. Before we go out in search for a buff cow.

Being a 4 outfitter, for at least 19 animals, 35 days, I am pretty confident my 3 gun battery will be the 22 Hornet, 30-06, and 458WM.

 

[black tail]

Pick a gun, learn to shoot it like a master and that’s all your need.

 

[PARA45]

In 2022, I went to the Eastern Cape and The Kalahari for plains game and a lioness. All I took was my CZ 550 in 375 H&H and used Barnes Vortex ammo in 300 grs TSX. Shot seven animals at the Eastern Cape, smallest was a warthog, and the largest was a cow cape buffalo. I then went to The Kalahari and shot a lioness with the 375 H&H. This trip made a believer of me on how versatile the 375 H&H is. Take one gun, and take the 375 H&H.

 

[Katy Darren]

Fun read, enjoy all the opinions. For my first Africa hunt to Eastern Cape for spirals I’m taking a 7 mm RM (with 160 gr Swift A Frames) as could have some long shots and of course taking the 375 H&H (loaded with 260 gr Nosler Accubonds). Likely use the 7 mag for most and the 375 for Eland, maybe more.

For me, with all hobbies, the gear is half the fun. It’s a way to extend the hunting, fishing, golfing etc trips. The Pelican will be a bit heavier but I can live with that.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Pick a gun, learn to shoot it like a master and that’s all your need.

So what happens when something breaks on your one rifle? I never travel anywhere to hunt without two fully functioning rifles. I fell while hunting in Eastern Washington and banged up a scope. At camp I had a spare. A buddy of mine fell while hunting in Nevada and wrecked his scope. Now he always takes two rifles, and he hasn't been to Africa.

As they say in the military, and we said when I was in corrections:
Two is one, and one is none.

 

[Rubberhead]

Beware the man with only one rifle...

 

[Doug Hamilton]

Beware the man with only one rifle...

Yeah. He's the one that will be crying in camp after his extractor breaks, or begs to borrow your spare. He may even try to mug you for your rifle. Okay, maybe not that, but having a spare can be really bad.

 

[PARA45]

So what happens when something breaks on your one rifle? I never travel anywhere to hunt without two fully functioning rifles. I fell while hunting in Eastern Washington and banged up a scope. At camp I had a spare. A buddy of mine fell while hunting in Nevada and wrecked his scope. Now he always takes two rifles, and he hasn't been to Africa.

As they say in the military, and we said when I was in corrections:
Two is one, and one is none.

You rent one from the outfitter. If the outfitter doesn't have any rifles (doubtful), then yes take two rifles. I took two rifles on my first safari and took one rifle on my second safari.

 

[BeeMaa]

Beware the man with only one rifle...

One more reason to have a Blaser R8. One rifle with one stock that fits the same regardless of the caliber you choose.

So 375H&H and...pick something else based on your hunt.

 

[Rubberhead]

Yeah. He's the one that will be crying in camp after his extractor breaks, or begs to borrow your spare. He may even try to mug you for your rifle. Okay, maybe not that, but having a spare can be really bad.

Okay - you win the internet argument...

 

[Inkgardener]

One more reason to have a Blaser R8. One rifle with one stock that fits the same regardless of the caliber you choose.

So 375H&H and...pick something else based on your hunt.

Can you take 3-4 barrels with an R8?

 

[BeeMaa]

Can you take 3-4 barrels with an R8?

Not sure. If two people were traveling together with two stocks, they could each have two barrels. Of course all the barrels would be interchangeable. But one stock with four barrels…would need further research.

@riflepermits.com might be able to give a better answer.

The bigger question is why. In what scenario would it be required or even necessary for you travel with four different rifle barrels but only one rifle? You have almost guaranteed that you will not have the right barrel on the rifle when a game animal appears.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Beware the man with only one rifle.

Because he is boring

 

[BeeMaa]

Beware the man with only one rifle.

Because he is boring

Boringly proficient, boringly accurate and boringly deadly.

I’ll take boring to the bank.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Eric, your not Boring Even without a rifle.

 

[Inkgardener]

Not sure. If two people were traveling together with two stocks, they could each have two barrels. Of course all the barrels would be interchangeable. But one stock with four barrels…would need further research.

@riflepermits.com might be able to give a better answer.

The bigger question is why. In what scenario would it be required or even necessary for you travel with four different rifle barrels but only one rifle? You have almost guaranteed that you will not have the right barrel on the rifle when a game animal appears.

I was wondering about legalities. On another thread someone mentioned a 29 day full bag hunt and he was taking 3 rifles for a full spectrum of animals. Just wondering if there were actual restrictions.

 

[PCC600]

Always take 2 rifles so on the last day of your hunt and the animals haven't cooperated by letting your bow hunting buddy to get close enough for a shot, he can borrow your rifle to get his Roosevelt Sable.
View attachment 592471

I have gone on 12 international hunts (6 in Africa) and only once did I take two rifles, my .375 RUM for buffalo and a 7 mm RM for plains game. I ended up shooting about half of my PG on that trip with my .375 RUM because on many of our stalks it was just 3 of us, myself, my PH, and the head tracker and I didn't want to ask them to carry a second rifle for me.

On two of my African hunts I did borrow a rifle from my PW. The first time was a South African hunt that I only brought my .375 RUM, and one of the animals that I wanted to hunt was a Cape Grysbok. If I got one I wanted to have a full mount of him and I thought a 270 gr Barnes TSX at 3043 fps would cause too much damage (like it had done earlier on a Steenbuck and a Jackal) so I borrowed a .308 Win with FMJ bullets from the landowner, and one of them worked perfectly on my Grysbok.

On my next South African hunt, 2 of the animals that I wanted to hunt were an African Civet and a Caracal. I only took my .300 Weatherby on that hunt, but I had worked up a load with 150 gr FMJ bullets for it for those small cats. On the last night of that hunt we sat in a blind that overlooked a field where the camp disposed of the animal parts that the camp staff didn't eat. It would be a little over a 100 yd shot.

The first animal to come in was a Civet, and my 150 gr FMJ bullet basically killed him instantly. My PH wanted to wait to go down to get him, and a while later a Caracal came in. When I squeezed the trigger of my .300 Wby there was just a loud CLICK. I was sure that I had cycled a new shell into the chamber after I shot the Civet, but when I worked the bolt, a new shell would not chamber. With my first shot, the primer did not ignite the powder, but it had enough force to push the bullet into the barrel.

Luckily, my PH had a .22 LR rifle in the truck, which he got, and my first shot hit, but did not kill the Caracal. My PH then told my that there were only 2 cartridges for that rifle, and I had just shot one. I was confident that I could make the last bullet count, which I did because we didn't have any other guns with us.
The next day...
View attachment 592472

I have been water buff hunting in the NT with another guy who pulled the trigger only to hear a mild bang . He extracted the empty cartridge chambered another pulled the trigger and blew up the rifle . He was using home loaded ammo - can only speculate that the first round had no or little powder in it . The bang was the primer and bullet lodged in barrel . Second shot finished the rifle .

 

[Ridge Runner]

I was wondering about legalities. On another thread someone mentioned a 29 day full bag hunt and he was taking 3 rifles for a full spectrum of animals. Just wondering if there were actual restrictions.

The biggest restriction is the amount of ammo you can bring with you. Second biggest is self imposed and that's the caliber(s) you plan to bring and the local availability and the amount you are willing to pay for it.

If I'm not mistaken, I'm sure someone will correct if I'm wrong, but RSA has a limit of three firearms. That is why I am only taking 3 otherwise my 44mag would be a fourth because my PH friend wants to shoot it and I would be carrying it as my back up for the cow buff hunt.

With the variety, some of the smallest PG to 1 DG, and number, 19 booked and 4 opportunity, of animals being hunted the 30-06 and 22 Hornet are the primary rifles, and 30-06 is a common caliber should I need to buy ammo. These are also the 2 calibers I'll be packing the most ammo for. Since the 458WM is for 1 buff and some shooting fun and also the heaviest ammo. I'll be packing the least ammo because it is also a common caliber to buy locally if more ammo is needed.

Then it'll be back to taking just 1 or 2 firearms depending where and what animals to be hunted next and number of hunting days.

 

[BeeMaa]

I was wondering about legalities. On another thread someone mentioned a 29 day full bag hunt and he was taking 3 rifles for a full spectrum of animals. Just wondering if there were actual restrictions.

You will need to do your research before making any concrete plans and relying on my memory or the memory of others is not the way to do that. Contact a professional like @riflepermits.com and have a conversation with your PH about it. Asking internet warriors for legal advice is not a good plan.

If I were going on a full-bag 29 day (or longer) hunt, I would be taking two complete rifles. Most likely a 375H&H and 416RM or 404J. I'd want the redundancy of having both of my rifles being DG legal. If I needed something smaller, I'd arrange to use a camp rifle or make due with the 375H&H and solids.

The reason I'd limit myself to two rifles is two fold. The first is weight. I know I can fit two complete R8's in a Pelican 1700 and keep it to less than 50 lbs. The second thing is being compact, tidy and minimalistic when traveling. One rifle case, one other checked bag and a small carry-on will get it done nicely. Carrying a three or four rifle case is going to be a chore, not to mention how the baggage handlers are going to treat it. IMO, even the Pelican 1750 with two rifles was too cumbersome for me in a crowded airport. Minimizing the size of the bags makes it much easier.

Earlier I mentioned a 50 lb limit. If your rifle case exceeds 50 lbs, you will be subject to a freight charge, because your rifle case is not considered "luggage" anymore. Charges range from $100 to $300 per flight. Personally, I'd rather spend that money on another animal. BTW - If you happen to have a stickler for a ticket agent, there is a 62" linear limit for luggage. That means the length + width + height can not exceed 62" or you are once again subject to a freight charge. This isn't typically enforced with rifle cases, but it can be if the ticket agent wants to make you toe the line. Again, another fee of $100 to $300 for each flight for being over the limit.

In the end the choice is yours. Do as you wish as I'm not likely to be along for the show. Just know that my wife and I take pleasure in watching "The Clampett's" walk though the airport with all their luggage, big rifle cases, wearing camo pants/shirts and Crocs. I'll have to start taking pictures. Maybe even start a thread.

 

[Skeet]

In '21 I took a 375 Ruger for buff and 30-06 for plains game. Upon arrival my 375 shot great but my -06 was shooting a horrible group in the heat. Didn't worry about looking for other ammo, just picked up the 375 after the buff and proceeded to take 4 more plains game. You don't need the 308, just know the drop for longer shots and get hunting.

Just curious did you find out if it was the powder in the heat? What powder did you use if you know?