Guns Africa Dangerous game

alberta tactical rifle said:
Very true. My close encounter was with a solitary female and at very close range and closing fast. Came out of nowhere, with a real attitude problem, while we were looking for Kudu.
My PH was a total waste of skin.
Choice of sight or optics as you mention is VERY important. I went over with a 6.5x20MK4 on my 300 but took a 3.5x10 Mk4 as a back up, glad I did and changed it on day 2 after realizing that the long shots I had been promised were possible was pure manure.



Gibbs I think you are correct again on Boddington, been along time since I looked at his book.
I think the 338s would be great, took a 2700 lb Cape with a 338 win mag in 1980. 1 shot ay 225 yards using a 250 Partition in the neck.
The 338LAI I took last June dropped my 2050 lb Eland at 550 yards, used a 325 gr Wildcat bullet, penetration was over 5 feet and I recovered 313 grains of bullet

Africa128-1.jpg
Click to expand...



Quit posting these photos will you!!!! I can't concentrate...lol


What a great looking eland....congrats. I'm counting the days until March. The eland is definitely high on my list. They truly are a massive beast.
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
Very true. My close encounter was with a solitary female and at very close range and closing fast. Came out of nowhere, with a real attitude problem, while we were looking for Kudu.
My PH was a total waste of skin.
Choice of sight or optics as you mention is VERY important. I went over with a 6.5x20MK4 on my 300 but took a 3.5x10 Mk4 as a back up, glad I did and changed it on day 2 after realizing that the long shots I had been promised were possible was pure manure.



Gibbs I think you are correct again on Boddington, been along time since I looked at his book.
I think the 338s would be great, took a 2700 lb Cape with a 338 win mag in 1980. 1 shot ay 225 yards using a 250 Partition in the neck.
The 338LAI I took last June dropped my 2050 lb Eland at 550 yards, used a 325 gr Wildcat bullet, penetration was over 5 feet and I recovered 313 grains of bullet

Africa128-1.jpg



Africa017.jpg
Click to expand...

That is one great Eland there. I would love to go to Africa sometime!!
 
sheephunter said:
Quit posting these photos will you!!!! I can't concentrate...lol


What a great looking eland....congrats. I'm counting the days until March. The eland is definitely high on my list. They truly are a massive beast.
Click to expand...

If you luck out and bag an Eland do NOT make the same mistake I did.
When I got up to him after the shot, I noticed alot of red mud packed in and around his horns and on his forehead. I started brushing it off and digging it out of his horns with my fingers. Both the PH and trackers were snickering, then told me they would not do that.
Apparently dominant males urinate on the sand then rub their foreheads in it.
Needless to say eating sandwiches at lunch was interesting. I don't think lye soap would make that stink go away. I was contemplating amputations for a day or 2.:redface:
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
If you luck out and bag an Eland do NOT make the same mistake I did.
When I got up to him after the shot, I noticed alot of red mud packed in and around his horns and on his forehead. I started brushing it off and digging it out of his horns with my fingers. Both the PH and trackers were snickering, then told me they would not do that.
Apparently dominant males urinate on the sand then rub their foreheads in it.
Needless to say eating sandwiches at lunch was interesting. I don't think lye soap would make that stink go away. I was contemplating amputations for a day or 2.:redface:
Click to expand...

Hmmmm....sounds like good advice and it will be well heeded!
 
Kevan said:
Rick...thats a great looking animal....and that fine rifle seems quite familiar...:D
Click to expand...

The rifle should look familiar to you, seeing as you now own it.
I went into withdrawl recently so built its mate, now all I need is some range time.

Mike Got everything back from S.A. late last month. Mounts and taxidermy work are 1st rate, the only problems I have is that the lion is much bigger as a rug, so where I planned for here to go was far too small and the Eland kinda dominates the stairwell.
My wife says the house looks like "wild kingdom" now, I know she is none too thrilled with my dead zoo taking over the house.
I am working on a solution.....




Moving out of town into a bigger house with more wall space so I can go again:runaway:
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
Mike Got everything back from S.A. late last month. Mounts and taxidermy work are 1st rate, the only problems I have is that the lion is much bigger as a rug, so where I planned for here to go was far too small and the Eland kinda dominates the stairwell.
My wife says the house looks like "wild kingdom" now, I know she is none too thrilled with my dead zoo taking over the house.
I am working on a solution.....

Moving out of town into a bigger house with more wall space so I can go again:runaway:
Click to expand...

Awesome!
My wife still tells everyone about your Piano Weight :)
 
alberta tactical rifle said:
The rifle should look familiar to you, seeing as you now own it.
I went into withdrawl recently so built its mate, now all I need is some range time.

Yes....I knew that....if you recall when we made the deal my main stipulation was that the rifle had to stop a charging Eland in his tracks !!
In all honesty I couldn't be happier with it, never ceases to amaze me...:D
Click to expand...
 
Kevan said:
Yes....I knew that....if you recall when we made the deal my main stipulation was that the rifle had to stop a charging Eland in his tracks !!
In all honesty I couldn't be happier with it, never ceases to amaze me...:D
Click to expand...

That coyote that charged you at 540 yds was stopped in his tracks :D
 
mikeelliot said:
That coyote that charged you at 540 yds was stopped in his tracks :D
Click to expand...


Two words.
Shiloh Sharps.

A 45-90 or 45-110 will take down anything you can hunt over there, and do it very well.
The low velocity heavy lead bullets will out penetrate almost anything and one guy shot though a cape buffalo end to end.
The bullet entered the chest and exited at the rear.
I've shot a buffalo with a 45-90 and the bullet went through it's heart and it was dead when it hit the ground.
Plus bullets are cheap because you make your own.
 
A .375 H&H magnum in a controlled round feed rifle such as a Winchester M70 or a Ruger M77 with a good quality low power scope is considered to be the rifle of choice for African thin skinned game. This combination approaches perfection.
 
Some African game could be taken with the .50-120, .45/90 or even the .45/70. Whether or not the African buffalo is the proper test medium for these rounds is another story, although clearly with modern WFN bullets these rounds are better today than ever before.

The rifles themselves might pose some difficulty however. When hunting dangerous game in Africa, things don't always go as planned. The PH is normally powerfully armed, but you may end up in a situation where he cannot protect you. Being armed with a slow to reload single shot (Sharps, Creedmore, Springfield, etc) with a 30" barrel may not be the best under those circumstances, particularly at bad breath range where things tend to happen quickly. The best rifles under those circumstances are those that are short and quick. While I have come to appreciate a cavernous magazine, a Ruger #1 can work under such circumstances provided the rifleman is cool under pressure, and adept at quick reloads. For dangerous game hunting in Africa, I don't think much of doubles as my experience with them wasn't terribly positive, but given a choice between any single shot and a double, I'd choose the double.

As for the lever action rifle, well at least it's a repeater, and TR and Kermit returned from Africa unscathed with much game between them, although I suspect the 1903 Springfield claimed much of it. Loads would have to be such that pressure created from the heat of African sun would not tie up the action, but in fairness, hunting is typically conducted during the African winter so temperatures seldom exceed those experienced in North America. Still, many African hunters of long experience consider the .458 not quite enough, so how can these cartridges with less velocity do any better? Still, the .458 has accounted for much African game, and so could the black powder rounds, but when the chips are down, clearly more is better.
 
Last edited:
quaticman said:
A .375 H&H magnum in a controlled round feed rifle such as a Winchester M70 or a Ruger M77 with a good quality low power scope is considered to be the rifle of choice for African thin skinned game. This combination approaches perfection.
Click to expand...

Is the .375 not a little overkill for 'thin' skinned game? I assume you are refering to the plains game. Not that I am speaking from experience, I have only hunted Africa in my dreams.
 
Boomer said:
...many African hunters of long experience consider the .458 not quite enough, so how can these cartridges with less velocity do any better? ... when the chips are down, clearly more is better.
Click to expand...
I've seen a few tests done with the heavy bullets (400-500 grains) where the same bullet consistently penetrates further in a fluid medium (muscle and organs) when traveling slower. It's been a few months since I looked at the test results, so the following numbers are only approximations, but over all, for a 500 grain solid, the bullet traveling at 1,500 fps significantly out penetrated the same bullet traveling at 2,100 fps. There has been discussion about this on other forums from time to time as to why this might be. I've not seen any official explanation, but here's my opinion: it has to do with the speed of sound in a fluid medium and the compression front just forward of the bullet. Bullets traveling close to or at the speed of sound in meat/water, will encounter a much higher resistance, even after they slow down, due to the compressed tissue just forward of the bullet. Slower bullets will not have to deal with that compression problem and will pass through the animal with less resistance. This theory may or may not be correct, but one thing I do know is that I've seen a couple different tests that successfully demonstrate this phenomenon, and the only way I can explain it is to invoke the difference in effects of hydrodynamics and fluid mechanics between subsonic and transonic situations. On the other hand, in a dry solid, the bullet with the greater momentum always penetrates further (i.e., pine boards). I saw some results published by Snooky Williamson that were done with wet clay. Even there, the slower bullets penetrated further than the faster bullets. I put it down to a compressed, denser medium just forward of the bullet that takes a lot more energy to push. This translates into greater 'shock' effect for the animal, but not as much as one would predict on paper, due to the elasticity of tissue and the ability to absorb a lot of energy without tearing. Never underestimate the penetration capabilities of a 500 grain bullet with a flat meplat traveling at 1,300 fps.
 
My opinion, for what it's worth, differs slightly. A flat nosed super-sonic bullet while passing through a fluid medium is enveloped in a shock wave. This shock wave pushes soft tissue and fluid aside as the bullet passes and there is little friction to slow the bullet unless it hits bone, once the hide has been penetrated. Once it becomes subsonic, at which point the shock wave is gone, drag from fluid, tissue, and bone finally stops its progress. The 1300 fps WFN bullet might be slowed very quickly just penetrating the hide, and the super sonic envelope is not there to shelter it from the effects of drag. The shockwave created at higher velocity creates a wider wound channel, but I believe the optimal velocity for this is 2400-2500 fps. If we compare a non-expanding bullet tract to an expanding bullet tract in a homogenous material, we see that the width of the wound channel is determined by two things; the frontal area of the bullet and the length of time the bullet remains super-sonic.

By contrast, a tapered round nosed bullet (Kynoch style) produces a a very streamlined shock wave, and I believe that fluid and tissue can produce drag on the bullet under these conditions. I also believe that if two non-expanding bullets of WFN shape are compared the faster one when fired from the same barrel will penetrate deeper.

Why did he say from the same barrel??

Well, not long ago I read a piece that suggested that higher rotational velocity overcomes the torque (precession) a bullet experiences upon impact, and as a result penetrates deeper. Therefore, given equal loads with the same bullets in two rifles, the bullet from the rifle barrel with the faster twist will penetrate deeper. This is written about at length in the A-Square manual. While interesting, the fact is that a broad range of bullets and velocities kill game in a humane manner. I maintain that the criteria one should use is that the bullet has a reasonable expectation of killing the game animal with a single shot from any direction within it's useful range.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom