Factory or Reloads for Africa?

I started this thread because the fellow that I'll be going with (his 3rd trip) had mentioned that they don't allow reloads:eek:

I can't possibly see how a meticulously handcrafted projectile made by me for me couldn't possibly be far superior to a factory "premium". Carefully selected brass, weight sorted, measured, visually inspected, sized and charged with powder that has been scale twice and capped with a 300gr. TSX.

If rules allow it, I'll ge going with reloads, no question. I figured that I probably wouldn't be shooting a whole lot of TSX's outta the .375 H&H on paper, that is until this opportunity of a lifetime came along. I figure between now and then, I have gone through quite a few boxes. I'm thinking 375 H&H with 300gr TSX and .338WM with 225gr Accubonds.
 
Sounds like an unbelievable opportunity. Some of the fun for the trip will be the planning and preparing. We expect to see some great photos of course.
 
I wouldn't worry to much about the last bit of accuracy. Good bullets and reliability is the name of the game. Ranges are typically very short. I took a gembuck at 300, and a zebra at 200 but those are considered long shots. Everything else was under 100 yards, many under 50 yards. Some were under 50 feet. Accuracy is fine but don't give up anything for it. Honestly there would be nothing wrong with premium Factory loads with the best bullets.
With TSX bullets make sure that there is sufficent neck tension to hold those bullets in place. I've had to turn down 4 or 5 expander balls to get a good grip. Feed everything through the magazine, fast and slow to make sure everything works without a hitch, and chambering is effortless.Use once fired, or new brass. Don't load hot. A 2 MOA rifle probably won't make any difference to your trip, but a de-bulleted cartridge, a primer falling out, a parted case or frozen bolt might ruin it. What does matter is that you can shoot off-hand and from standing sticks, quickly and reasonably well. If it's dangerous game you're after then you also want to hit them as hard as you can. I'd take a few solids along for buffalo follow ups. Some are going the all premium softs route for buffalo, but most still believe in the soft first then a magazine full of solids.
 
I took handloads in factory boxes. Back40sniper took his in MTM cases. Neither of us had a problem.

So of the guys that have actually been, do we have consensus that handloads pose no problem with getting them into the country?
 
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Just as a side note, keep in mind when making up loads for the Dark Continent, the ammo could be subject to high temperatures, particularly ammo left out in direct sunlight. If you test your loads at Ft. Mac at 10 degrees or cooler and you get to Africa with a day time high of 35 or hotter, you could experience sticky extraction, primers in the bottom of the mag, etc if you load to maximum pressure.

I think if you took both the .338 and the .375, one of those rifles would have little to do. The biggest problem with the multiple rifle concept is that you will always be holding the wrong gun when an opportunity presents itself. I would take the .375 with 100 rounds of 300 gr TSX, and expect to fire 20 rounds. On the other hand I would take a second scope incase of an accident. Beware of baggage handlers!! I recall seeing an unhappy looking hunter who got his triple rifle case handed to him with about 10" of barrel protruding from the hard case. If you are to fly into a hunting camp in a light plane, you might be required to put your rifle in a soft case and leave the hard case at your hotel in the city. I loved Africa, but you sure know you're not in Kansas any more once you get there.

Again, no problem going into Tanzania with handloads provided the headstamp of the brass matches the cartridge designation stamped on your rifle.
 
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I couldn't imagine going on the hunt of a lifetime with "store bought " ammo. :) As every one has said, properly prepared home brewed ammo is better than something made by the hundreds by some factory full of "dedicated" workers. :runaway: You might want to try 270 TSX's as it is better to drop a weight with those style bullets and they seem to work well.
 
I've taken both 270 and 300 grain TSXs for the H&H, and will drop back down to the 270s if I take them again. Both have a crazy amount of penetration, and are quite capable of shooting through kudu lengthwise. I got full penetration on eland with these bullets too. I'm going to load A-frames for softs on the next trip to get a little more impact on smaller animals than the harder Barnes bullets, but I'm taking the .375 as the "small gun".


Quote:
you sure know you're not in Kansas any more once you get there.


That's for sure. You may have to fight off the urge to kiss the ground when you get home. In spite of this, the draw to go back is overpowering.
 
Animals on my "want" list are of course the Kudu, the rest are a mix of large and smaller plains animals. Which sounds as though the H&H should cover quite well perhaps using a two round combo as you mention Dogleg. The nice thing about the H&H is that it'll place most bullets of a various weight (within reason) to the same impact point. This I know for sure. The only reason that I might want to take something larger for is the buffalo. I have options, as I am not adverse to adding something like a .416 Rigby to my arsenal (I don't know that I can manage or need bigger). Bottom line is the for now, the plains game is high on my list, I still need to think on the buffalo, as I want my trophies in the house, not in the garage or in the shop :D
 
Neo, my wife is very logical. She's totally supportive of my quest and has no problems with my trophies in the house. :D
 
Dogleg said:
The buffalo mount takes a lot less ceiling height than kudu, gemsbuck or eland so is easier to mount in the house. Your wife is bound to see the logic of this.:D
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x2 :D

On our trip (last year) Cape Buffalo weren't on the list but, having been there once, I can see dedicating a hunt to buffalo with plains game on the side.
 
It's funny the talk about trophy height is coming up. My trophies are in the air as we speak and until I saw the pics on here of BUM hanging his the hieght thing never occurred to me.

We are looking at houses in Edmonton at the moment and room hiieght is something we are now looking at.
 
martinbns said:
It's funny the talk about trophy height is coming up. My trophies are in the air as we speak and until I saw the pics on here of BUM hanging his the hieght thing never occurred to me.

We are looking at houses in Edmonton at the moment and room hiieght is something we are now looking at.
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I've got Kudu, Gemsbuck and waterbuck hanging with an 8 foot ceiling. It might not be perfect but it can work.
 
The lower they are mounted, the better for me, I can look them in the eye then...:D Anyhow not an issue, we do have cathedral ceilings, an trophies is a nice way to decorate them. Gawd,,,I'm not even there yet and I'm already decorating in my mind. Told you it was going to be sleepless nights. Hey, I should thank all you guys that have been there, that is great information that you've provided. I've concluded that I will be taking mostly my reloads and some factory stuff as well. I've also learned something very important in allowing for the hot climate. You can bet that I'll be putting a lot a rounds through that .375 H&H. Good thing I put a Limbsaver on it and just expanded my reloading bench with a ChargeMaster and a PowerTrimmer.

From the large amount of stuff that can be learned from the experienced guys, loading, shot placement, travel, legalities, exporting etc, it seems almost worthwhile to have a forum specifically dedicated to exotic hunting.
 
I asked a former famous gun writer who I knew hand loaded a lot of ammo for North American hunting why in a story about an African hunt he had used factory ammo. Field testing for the company or what? Free hunt from a manufacturer maybe?

His answer: if he was killed by some species of dangerous game due to a mis-fire his wife would be sueing the heck out of the manufacturer and it wasn't going to be his estate that was sued as there was no profit in that.

I found his answer rather interesting with his wide experience as a background.
 
gitrdun said:
The lower they are mounted, the better for me, I can look them in the eye then...:D Anyhow not an issue, we do have cathedral ceilings, an trophies is a nice way to decorate them. Gawd,,,I'm not even there yet and I'm already decorating in my mind. Told you it was going to be sleepless nights. Hey, I should thank all you guys that have been there, that is great information that you've provided. I've concluded that I will be taking mostly my reloads and some factory stuff as well. I've also learned something very important in allowing for the hot climate. You can bet that I'll be putting a lot a rounds through that .375 H&H. Good thing I put a Limbsaver on it and just expanded my reloading bench with a ChargeMaster and a PowerTrimmer.

From the large amount of stuff that can be learned from the experienced guys, loading, shot placement, travel, legalities, exporting etc, it seems almost worthwhile to have a forum specifically dedicated to exotic hunting.
Click to expand...


Remember to check your reloads in the magazine as well before you get over there ;) :D
 
FWIW a 41" Gemsbok and 47 inch kudu will both require 6' of clearance to hang, depending on the poses.

If Martin knows what's good for him (and judging by leaving McMisery, he does) he'll get good high ceilings. Or build...
 
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