Rifle spare parts kit for safari?

[Red Leg]

I take an oily rag. Covered all issues thus far.

Well... When I'm hunting Nilgai or Boars in Kuch Bihar and Uttar Pradesh ( Yes , some states in India HAVE legalized hunting again . Well , at least these two animals , anyway , on account of crop damage ) , l always do bring a kit of sorts with me , since you have no access to gun stores which sell imported guns or their parts in India ( only disgusting Indian Pot Metal guns ) . I bring a spare firing pin for my Winchester Model 70 in .375 HH Magnum and spare sear springs for my BRNO Full choke Over under 12 gauge shotgun., And of course , my own Ammunition ( you can only bring two guns and 250 rounds of Ammunition total ) . And cleaning tools. And a Scope

Spare sear springs? Going to replace them in the field? Rather amazing you can find ready made ones for that gun, much less change them out in the bush. Most shotgun springs, particularly leaf springs, require some custom fitting even on a mass production gun. I have shot with folks for a lot of years but have yet to meet someone who carries a replacement set. I do know three or four shooters with Westley Richards drop locks, but those guns have complete, pre-fitted, replacement locks.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I have taken on my last two trips spare extractors, spare trigger, scope rings and base screws and spare scope. Small tool kit with needed torx bits and allen wrenches. Small punches. All packed in pelican case with rifles.

 

[Mekaniks]

Does anyone here clean a gun during a safari or other hunt?

Certainly the exterior is easy to wipe dust off and keep the scope clean, but I don’t clean the bore. If it is wet out I do a wipe down and then keep it close (not too close!) to a heat source to dry completely. If really wet I’ll put electrical tape over the muzzle.

(Unless the rifle goes swimming in the mud, which I watched my buddy do last year in a bit of a horse rodeo after dark.)

If my gun gets wet, i.e its raining or gets salt water spray on it, I absolutely clean it every day. Even down to pulling the action apart and stock off if necessary.
Other than that usually just a good dust wipe down at the end of the day.

 

[CAustin]

I line up with those who say simply take two rifles. If you have to spend time making a repair on a rifle that’s time your not hunting.

 

[Hoss Delgado]

I take an oily rag. Covered all issues thus far.



Spare sear springs? Going to replace them in the field? Rather amazing you can find ready made ones for that gun, much less change them out in the bush. Most shotgun springs, particularly leaf springs, require some custom fitting even on a mass production gun. I have shot with folks for a lot of years but have yet to meet someone who carries a replacement set. I do know three or four shooters with Westley Richards drop locks, but those guns have complete, pre-fitted, replacement locks.

Sorry , Red Leg , l should have elaborated the context . The local gunsmiths there ARE capable of changing a sear spring. And fortunately , l never had to actually go forward with it .I DID acquire a spare set of sear springs for the BRNO Trap model ( ZH 303 , l think , due to it's full chokes ? ) though. There was a gun store in Maine ( maybe still is ) which had a huge card board box full off odd ends and pieces of broken guns lying in it , which you could buy .

 

[Hoss Delgado]

I line up with those who say simply take two rifles. If you have to spend time making a repair on a rifle that’s time your not hunting.

For many years , l just had to make do with an M 70 in .375 HH Magnum

 

[Red Leg]

One rifle and one oily rag; minimal bag drag; and no rifle has ever failed me yet.

This two or three rifle drill is very much a go to Africa thing. Take a poll of how many international hunters take multiple rifles to Europe, South America, or Asia. Not many if any at all - even when hunting multiple species. I get it if hunting elephant - I get it for hunting buffalo and one is determined to emulate J. A. Hunter with a double (I have killed a buffalo with a double), but I don't get it for a typical plains game hunt.

If you simply want to bring two or three rifles and calibers - sure have at it. But I would never tell a hunter headed over for the first time that it is remotely necessary - nor is a repair kit.

 

[Adrian]

Does anyone here clean a gun during a safari or other hunt?

Certainly the exterior is easy to wipe dust off and keep the scope clean, but I don’t clean the bore. If it is wet out I do a wipe down and then keep it close (not too close!) to a heat source to dry completely. If really wet I’ll put electrical tape over the muzzle.

(Unless the rifle goes swimming in the mud, which I watched my buddy do last year in a bit of a horse rodeo after dark.)

Microfibre cloth to get the dust off, lightly oiled rag to clean the bolt and wipe over the metal work and a bore snake to pull through the barrel if I've taken a shot.

 

[WAB]

I take a bore snake and oil cloth.

 

[Art Lambart II]

The best spare part I can think of is a second rifle.

 

[wesheltonj]

Torx Allen Wrench for scope, Bore Snake & lens cleaner.

 

[BeeMaa]

Individually wrapped Rem Wipes - maybe 3 or 4.
Individually wrapped Zeiss Lens Wipes - I take about 50 and give them away to the PH, trackers and game managers.
Bore Snake for each caliber - and I have yet to use it...they will not make the list for our next trip.

 

[CM McKenzie]

I have not been to Africa yet, but I usually hunt horseback and in remote areas. I used to carry my kit in an old boot top. I carry small custom turn screws and torque driver to tear down my rifle. I carry enough kit to completely and thoroughly clean my rifle. Last winter I took out all my stuff and built a kit around it. It is about 8 inches wide by 4 inches tall by 2 inches deep. It fits all my tools, cleaning kit, and extra parts. It fits nicely in a saddle bag.

 

[Newboomer]

I don’t.

I take a handful of Zeiss Wipes and clean the glass every day.. and I take an old oily rag in a ziplock that I’ll wipe down the steel with once every few days.. but other than that, no cleaning until I get home..

Does anyone here clean a gun during a safari or other hunt?

Certainly the exterior is easy to wipe dust off and keep the scope clean, but I don’t clean the bore. If it is wet out I do a wipe down and then keep it close (not too close!) to a heat source to dry completely. If really wet I’ll put electrical tape over the muzzle.

(Unless the rifle goes swimming in the mud, which I watched my buddy do last year in a bit of a horse rodeo after dark.)

Midwest, I don't clean my guns on safari. I shoot Barnes bullets and they seem to work better in a fouled barrel ( after sight in on arrival at camp). I do take an old oily rag to wipe down the outside if it gets really wet.

 

[Newboomer]

Two guns if I'm going for pg and dg. Otherwise just one for what I'm hunting. Backup gun is nice but that's what PH's loaners are for and I don't have to hassle the weight and paperwork in airports. That's the beauty of a 375HH--one gun for all.

 

[Scrumbag]

There was a time when I used to do virtually of my hunting at the end of a flight or long drive and usually in the form of a long weekend or more.

I didn't used to take a vast array of spare parts but I always made sure I had the right Allen keys, screw drivers, torx etc to fit anything that could come loose on a rifle (Mainly thinking optics but also stock screws, trigger guards etc). Airlines are not kind so being able to retighten and re-Loctite is important.

Spare parts if you are going to take any are only any good if you have tested them in your gun first and know they work and as others have said, fitting might be pain / time consuming - I know Mauser bolts are quite easily field strippable / serviceable but there are so many small variations in parts due to design changes, manufacturers etc.

Do take enough ammo to re-zero your rifle and if taking a spare scope and mounts, have it "pre-zeroed" so it's a quick check and short set of adjustments as required to get shooting. A couple of little witness marks to match your mounts to action can help with this if you don't have some sort of quick detach arrangement.

Scrummy