SOUTH AFRICA: May 2023 / 2nd Trip With Gamka Safaris

[Patrick Hargan]

Just returned from my second trip with Gamka Safaris, the first being in 2021. I can’t say enough about this outfitter, and would welcome anyone with questions to please DM me and we can discuss my experiences and recommendations. We arrived in Port Elizabeth on May 6, and were in camp until the 14th. We got completely rained out the last two days, with 4” of rain in 48 hours. Out of our group of four, two were first timers. The quality of the lodging, accommodations, food, and species hunted were second to none. Ken and Albert run a first class operation, and I can’t wait to return for safari number three! Here’s a few pictures of the animals harvested over our week of hunting, and everything was a proper representation of trophy quality. Out of 17 animals harvested, 10 were with a 6.5 PRC loaded with Barnes 127 gr LRX and 7 were a 300 PRC shooting 212 gr ELD-X Precision Hunter factory loads. The smiles on all of our faces tell most of the story!

 

[cpr0312]

Congrats and thanks for sharing!

 

[7mmFan]

looks like a great trip. thanks for sharing.

 

[Nyati]

Congrats for a great hunt and thanks for sharing !

 

[Justhunt]

Congrats! Nice animals. Thank for sharing, looks like a great trip.

 

[lawrence_court]

Congratulations!! Lovely trophies. Interested to hear more about your PRC: rifle model, shot ranges, performance, comparison to 6.5 etc? Thank you!

 

[Hyde Hunter]

sure sounds like a great trip except the last 2 days buts that's hunting, very nice animals, now to plan the next one

 

[bo4elk]

Great photos! Thank you for sharing!

 

[IdahoMo]

Very Nice! the Eastern Cape looks like a fantastic place to hunt. Only hunted in the Limpopo myself.

 

[Firebird]

Some great trophies-congratulations!

 

[Patrick Hargan]

Congratulations!! Lovely trophies. Interested to hear more about your PRC: rifle model, shot ranges, performance, comparison to 6.5 etc? Thank you!

Ok, here’s the specs on the two rifles and my two cents on bullet performance.
6.5 PRC (built by myself): Lone Peak Razor Ti LH Short Action, HCA Summit contour 22” 1-8” twist CF Barrel, Manners EH-1 CF Stock, BDL Bottom Metal, Triggertech Diamond, Nightforce NX8 4-32x50, and SilencerCo Omega 300.
This was loaded with Barnes 127 LRX at 3,100 fps. 10 animals fell to this combo, with amazing bullet performance from 160 - 325 yards. See attached pics. The recovered/weighed bullet was out of the Waterbuck at 326 yards, quartering away. The ten animals in aggregate were Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Springbok, Lechwe, Waterbuck, Hartebeest, Nyala, Warthog, and Gemsbuck.

Congratulations!! Lovely trophies. Interested to hear more about your PRC: rifle model, shot ranges, performance, comparison to 6.5 etc? Thank you!

The 300 PRC was a factory Bergara Premier with a SilencerCo Omega 36M (which is whisper quiet with this cartridge) and Nightforce NX-8 4-32x50. The ammo used was Hornady Precision Hunter 212 gr ELD-X. In my honest opinion, after 7 animals were harvested from 150-400 yards, the ELD-X is not the optimal bullet for the thicker skinned/tougher African plains game. Many bullets entered very shallow before scattering into multiple pieces in different directions. All shots were placed as close to required third of the way up the shoulder where they want you to shoot them. Very little blood was left to trail, and everything larger than Blesbuck required multiple shots. I know a lot of opinions can be made when single animals might be killed from year to year, but this was a very good study on 7 animals in four days time. Mind you, no animals were lost to the cartridge/bullet combination, but performance definitely was an eye opener.
Each rifle was shot by four different individuals, and results were comparable regardless of who was behind the rifle. The animals in aggregate with this cartridge were Kudu, Blesbuck, Gemsbuck, Waterbuck, Red Hartebeest, and Eland. I know for a fact that a tougher bullet in the 300 PRC, whether it be a Barnes, A Frame, or any of the various bonded bullets, would be an absolute hammer and better choice for hunting these particular game animals. Once again, this is just my two cents and opinion after seeing true to life results on a pile of critters in a weeks time. I hope this answers your questions, and thanks for taking the time to offer up your congratulations!

 

[Frederik]

Some nice animals there that last waterbuck is a brute.

How fast does the 300PRC shoot those ELD-X?

My general rule of thumb if you shoot anything over 2500fps you need a bonded bullet or monolithic.

 

[Patrick Hargan]

Very Nice! the Eastern Cape looks like a fantastic place to hunt. Only hunted in the Limpopo myself.

It’s a fantastic place to hunt! Everything from thick coastal brush to open scrub country.

 

[Patrick Hargan]

sure sounds like a great trip except the last 2 days buts that's hunting, very nice animals, now to plan the next one

Yeah, awesome trip regardless! 2025 can’t get here fast enough!

 

[Patrick Hargan]

Some nice animals there that last waterbuck is a brute.

How fast does the 300PRC shoot those ELD-X?

My general rule of thumb if you shoot anything over 2500fps you need a bonded bullet or monolithic.

Chronographed at a 2,914 fps average for 5 shots. I absolutely agree with you there! Yeah, it definitely is. Thanks!

 

[lawrence_court]

Ok, here’s the specs on the two rifles and my two cents on bullet performance.
6.5 PRC (built by myself): Lone Peak Razor Ti LH Short Action, HCA Summit contour 22” 1-8” twist CF Barrel, Manners EH-1 CF Stock, BDL Bottom Metal, Triggertech Diamond, Nightforce NX8 4-32x50, and SilencerCo Omega 300.
This was loaded with Barnes 127 LRX at 3,100 fps. 10 animals fell to this combo, with amazing bullet performance from 160 - 325 yards. See attached pics. The recovered/weighed bullet was out of the Waterbuck at 326 yards, quartering away. The ten animals in aggregate were Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Springbok, Lechwe, Waterbuck, Hartebeest, Nyala, Warthog, and Gemsbuck. View attachment 534696View attachment 534697View attachment 534698View attachment 534699

The 300 PRC was a factory Bergara Premier with a SilencerCo Omega 36M (which is whisper quiet with this cartridge) and Nightforce NX-8 4-32x50. The ammo used was Hornady Precision Hunter 212 gr ELD-X. In my honest opinion, after 7 animals were harvested from 150-400 yards, the ELD-X is not the optimal bullet for the thicker skinned/tougher African plains game. Many bullets entered very shallow before scattering into multiple pieces in different directions. All shots were placed as close to required third of the way up the shoulder where they want you to shoot them. Very little blood was left to trail, and everything larger than Blesbuck required multiple shots. I know a lot of opinions can be made when single animals might be killed from year to year, but this was a very good study on 7 animals in four days time. Mind you, no animals were lost to the cartridge/bullet combination, but performance definitely was an eye opener.
Each rifle was shot by four different individuals, and results were comparable regardless of who was behind the rifle. The animals in aggregate with this cartridge were Kudu, Blesbuck, Gemsbuck, Waterbuck, Red Hartebeest, and Eland. I know for a fact that a tougher bullet in the 300 PRC, whether it be a Barnes, A Frame, or any of the various bonded bullets, would be an absolute hammer and better choice for hunting these particular game animals. Once again, this is just my two cents and opinion after seeing true to life results on a pile of critters in a weeks time. I hope this answers your questions, and thanks for taking the time to offer up your congratulations!

Fantastic response. Thanks so much for taking the time, Patrick. Sounds like the rifles and shooters performed well. Great also to hear about the LRX BT performance. I am leaning that way more and more. How accurate is the Bergara Premier? Genuinely considering that rifle myself, so I'd love to know.

I did a cull hunt this year. We shot two .308s with eldx, vor-tx, and Sierra tgk. 55 head of game, so lots of chances to see bullet performance. All bullets performed well, but we found the maximum reliable lethal range to be 500 to 600 for large to small plains game respectively. We did notice the 178 grain eldx started to lose its direction through game at 550 yds plus, so we stopped shooting beyond that range right away. But this is probably because we were reaching a velocity threshold. That said, the sierra tgk seemed to keep its direction, but it started to lose signficant penetrative power at 600 yds. Either way, the .308 was just maxed at 550/600. Hence my interest in how your calibers performed.

Thanks again for the reply. Great reports and really appreciated!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I have seen spectacular trophies, but never that many together, well done.

 

[Patrick Hargan]

Thanks Kevin! We were very impressed with everything harvested.

 

[Patrick Hargan]

Thanks Lawrence! The Bergara is easily a 3/4 minute gun with factory ammo. It has never been hand loaded for to see its true potential. I believe my buddy will be loading for it now, while hunting for a better performing bullet for our next trip in 2025.

Fantastic response. Thanks so much for taking the time, Patrick. Sounds like the rifles and shooters performed well. Great also to hear about the LRX BT performance. I am leaning that way more and more. How accurate is the Bergara Premier? Genuinely considering that rifle myself, so I'd love to know.

I did a cull hunt this year. We shot two .308s with eldx, vor-tx, and Sierra tgk. 55 head of game, so lots of chances to see bullet performance. All bullets performed well, but we found the maximum reliable lethal range to be 500 to 600 for large to small plains game respectively. We did notice the 178 grain eldx started to lose its direction through game at 550 yds plus, so we stopped shooting beyond that range right away. But this is probably because we were reaching a velocity threshold. That said, the sierra tgk seemed to keep its direction, but it started to lose signficant penetrative power at 600 yds. Either way, the .308 was just maxed at 550/600. Hence my interest in how your calibers performed.

Thanks again for the reply. Great reports and really appreciated!

3/

 

[cls]

Well done, congratulations. Thanks for posting.