Reloading or factory loads for Dangerous Game?

[Mwag]

I have personally seen more misfires from hunting buddies factory ammo, than I have had with my personal handloads.

Most firearms I own, I have never fired a factory round through them. The ones I purchased new have only seen the factory test round in them.

On PG and especially DG I am not going to rely on someone else for quality control

As someone else mentioned, I have no problem with factory ammo in self defense situation (legal issues) but other than that or registered trap shooting it all handloads for me.

 

[Sourdough]

.375 and smaller premium factory ammo.

.450 No 2 I'm collecting brass and bullets for when I add this gun to my collection.

.475 No 2 Jeffery hand loads because there are no factory loads.

.500 NE premium factory ammo although I'll confess that in a moment of weakness I bought a couple hundred pieces of new brass and the same with bullets. Like I'm going to shoot that many elephants and buffalo in the 20 or 30 years I have left on this planet. Oh, and that's beyond the 100+ rounds of factory ammo I have. I don't know what I was thinking.

 

[Frederik]

With the cost of ammo and stock in South Africa it just makes more sense to reload.

I have been reloading since 1993 and the only ammo I buy is .22lr and sometimes 9mmp when on special. The rest is all handloads and I have never killed and animal with factory loads with the exception of a few animals (maybe 5) with my 303 British when I still had it and before I started to reload myself.
Other exception is using other rifles from cleints that might have been factory but can't recall.
Except for that I have never had an issue with reloads on any game and DG.

It makes a big part of the hunt itself the research on loads bullets and accuracy.
For me I trust my handloads more than Factory.

 

[DLSJR]

I mostly shoot handloads for dangerous game, but have also used Federal Premium factory ammo. I did have a round of Barnes VorTX 375 H&H factory ammo misfire while practicing. The round had a bad primer.
For an upcoming hunt in the Selous, my son and I are solely using handloaded ammunition in our 375 H&H and 416 Hoffman rifles.

 

[Houston Bill]

I have used exclusively my own reloads for plains game. Depending on the rifle I have used for DG hunts, I have used combination of my own reloads and factory ammo for my 375 RUM and factory ammo (Hornady) and custom reloads done by Safari Arms for my double rifles (I do not have the dies for my 470 NE and 450/400). I really liked the custom loads Safari Arms developed for me, they are very accurate in my double rifles. So that is what I probably I will do for my dangerous game hunts going forward.

As for dependability, I trust my own reloads and those of Safari Arms more that I would the factory ammo. I shot my lion at 11 yards as he was about to charge with my own reloads...thank God they worked!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I used Custom Nosler Ammo on a Leopard but for Buff and Ele I reload.


View attachment 536597

Great pic

 

[uplander01]

I used factory Ammo exactly once in the last 25 years, and that was because the thieves at jo’burg “lost track “ of my luggage that had my ammo in it but the rifle showed up. I trust my loading ability far more than a guy sitting there in a factory getting paid probably not enough. That being said human error is present in everything we touch….I have been fortunate to never have a mishap. I do however know of 2 instances with friends of mine where factory Ammo didn’t go boom, and neither one of them have ever had that happen with their loadings. It’s a great hobby, makes practicing far more affordable, and when you follow the process with your rifle I think it installs even higher confidence.

But….there’s not a thing wrong with buying ammo and heading to a hunt…..but practice , practice, practice with the ammo you’ll be using.

 

[uplander01]

Here would be another suggestion/question when it comes to misfires——>how many among us check their firing pin spring….that will cause more misfires than anything else—-and I have uncovered that problem during practice. My rule is new spring every 10 years and if in question new spring.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Even though I can hand load and will do it without hesitation if the situation calls for it, I generally prefer to go for factory loads whenever possible. Because I have much more faith in the loading abilities of professionals than my own.

So (in terms of factory loaded ammunition which is currently being manufactured),

for 7x57mm Mauser… I really like Hendershots Custom ammunition loaded with the 175Gr Hornady Interlock expanding bullet.

for .375 Holland & Holland Magnum… I really like Hendershots Custom ammunition loaded with the 300Gr Swift A Frame expanding bullet and the 300Gr Cutting Edge Bullets Safari Solid.

for .600 Nitro Express, I really like Superior Custom Ammunition loaded with 900Gr Hammer bullets ( all copper hollow points which are identical to the Barnes TSX bullet) and 900Gr Cutting Edge Bullets Safari Solids.

 

[Green Chile]

Thanks for sharing specifics on the custom loads you prefer. That's a very nice battery of 3 rifles to cover anything. What make are the 3 rifles? I wasn't aware of custom loads for 600 nitro apart from a few private individuals.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Thanks for sharing specifics on the custom loads you prefer. That's a very nice battery of 3 rifles to cover anything. What make are the 3 rifles? I wasn't aware of custom loads for 600 nitro apart from a few private individuals.

7x57mm Mauser: Churchill Gunmakers Model Deluxe (on my own license)

.375 Holland & Holland Magnum: Remington Model 700 Custom (on my son-in-law’s license) (will be needing to have a competent gunsmith fit an M-16 extractor to it before we take it out to Tanzania next year, because I don't trust the flimsy Remington Model 700 extractor for Magnum length cartridges)

.600 Nitro Express: R.B Rodda & Co. Clamshell Ejector (made by a member of the German Gunmaker’s Guild and exported through Suhler Waffen Export Haus) (formerly on my own license)

I was forced to sell the .600 Nitro Express, because it’s bores are too undersized for using conventional .620 caliber bullets (without having to swage them down to size). But I’m determined to get my hands on another .600 Nitro Express no matter what (I’ve currently got my eyes on a very nice post world war II Holland & Holland Royale sidelock ejector).

Superior Ammunition sometimes offers custom loaded .600 Nitro Express ammunition (depending on whether on not Mr. Lonnie can source the brass & bullets). The company used to provide custom loaded .600 Nitro Express ammunition for my Tanzanian white hunter friend, Mr. Mark Sullivan (of Nitro Express Safaris) until Mark sold his Marcel Thys .600 Nitro Express sidelock ejector (which eventually developed a serious double discharge problem with the sears due to Mark using overtly hotly loaded ammunition that was producing 2000 fps but severely straining the rifle ). Even now, they provide Mark with custom loaded .577 Nitro Express ammunition for his Heym Model 89B boxlock ejector (loaded with 750Gr Barnes TSX bullets & 750Gr Cutting Edge Safari Solids).

 

[grand veneur]

According to A-Square, it seems that the cartridge 600 Nitro Express was originally specified with a .613" groove diameter, a .604" bore diameter and a funnel shaped throat. Bullets at .620" should be used, although it could only be soft cast bullets. The modern dimensions of the barrels are .620"/.610". This rifle must therefore have been a very old model caliber 600 Nitro Express.

As far as reloading is concerned, I find that this cartridge is not that easy to load. The big amount of powder has often caused ignition problems for me, so that I no longer use an to slow burning powder and always put an filler inside the case. The same applies to the cartridge 577 Nitro Express. Reloading is but still the best with such cartridges if you look at the prices of the factory Loads.

Whether such cartridges should still be used for hunting Big Game nowadays is a topic in itself.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

According to A-Square, it seems that the cartridge 600 Nitro Express was originally specified with a .613" groove diameter, a .604" bore diameter and a funnel shaped throat. Bullets at .620" should be used, although it could only be soft cast bullets. The modern dimensions of the barrels are .620"/.610". This rifle must therefore have been a very old model caliber 600 Nitro Express.

As far as reloading is concerned, I find that this cartridge is not that easy to load. The big amount of powder has often caused ignition problems for me, so that I no longer use an to slow burning powder and always put an filler inside the case. The same applies to the cartridge 577 Nitro Express. Reloading is but still the best with such cartridges if you look at the prices of the factory Loads.

Whether such cartridges should still be used for hunting Big Game nowadays is a topic in itself.

Your level of knowledge never fails to impress. The rifle has the pre-1912 proof marks.

As to whether or not the .600 Nitro Express is a good dangerous game caliber... It's quite evident that this is definitely NOT a caliber for everybody.

But if you can handle the recoil... I mean, the results just speak for themselves.

 

[Green Chile]

I respect those who have the big classics and want to use them. I've got an Alex Henry 12 bore double rifle and Alex Henry 500 BPE single that I would love to take to Africa sometime.

 

[RudiB]

Its more important to use quality bullets when going after DG. Swift A Frames, Barnes TSX are my choice for expanding bullets. Most brass solids do the job just fine. Load your own or buy good stuff. I only use my reloads with my clients. Never let me down.

 

[rblum]

I have used reloads for both of my Africa hunts. They worked out very well. I don’t see any issues regarding using reloads On Africa hunts.

 

[Nevada Mike]

I use reloads for ALL my hunting... DG included.

Factory loads are fine for practice, but I want my own reloads when the wheels meet the road.

 

[Spooksar]

I’ve never taken factory ammo to Africa, or on any hunt to be truthful . I’ve been reloading for 52 years and shoot a lot of oddball old rifles and many wildcats.

 

[WAB]

One word of caution on reloads, some countries don’t want you to bring them in. I actually ordered blank boxes from midway and put stickers on them for ‘my custom ammo shop’. Factory boxes would work just as well but I’ve been reloading for so long I don’t have any.

 

[grand veneur]

That's right, there are countries, and supposedly also airlines, that want the ammunition carried as usual in a special lockable small case, but in addition in the original packaging from seller. It's not always the countries in which we hunt, but sometimes his country of origin. That's why I also try to pack the reloaded cartridges in original boxes, as far as they are still available, which unfortunately is not always the case. Luckily I have never had until now a problem with the packaging of the ammunition.