Headed to Africa

Just got my gold grill out of hock, and I'm ready to roll. 5 weeks till I go. Got a new leopard print loin cloth at dsc show last year. Figured if make it easier for TSa to search me

I'll pass on that.

Where are you headed and what are you hunting for?

Zimbabwe. Main focus is Cape buffalo, sable and all the plains game. I'm taking my dad, so should be a blast.

Cape buffalo?! Nice. That ought to be the hunt of a lifetime.

I hope so, that's one of the reasons I'm trying to get half off my lease

I would wear a mask on the airplanes. good luck stay safe.

Hah, worth a shot.

Jealous. On my bucket list to go back for a buff. Hope it goes great!

Have a good time and be safe

My journey to S. Africa starts in 18D 9H 5M

Go live the dream for me and great luck on your hunted. Stay clear of Ebola, bad fella......

Sounds like a great time

Whack that nyati hard and have a great time with your dad.

Travel safe, wear a mask if you want to; Ebola is one bad sumbich, but it's not airborne and the closest country with it (right now) is over 2,700 miles from Zim.

Good luck. Buff is a dream I have.

Sounds great!

Have a great time and be safe!

I'm headed over in October. This ebola is a little concerning. Have you put much thought into it?

Keep your perspective. 729 Ebola deaths so far, not airborne, in west Africa - NOT a hunting or tourist part of the continent, 2700+ miles from Zim.Even further to South Africa. 2009 in the U.S. 12,469 deaths attributed to H1N1. Granted, Ebola has a 90% death rate. That's why it's in the news. It's a nasty way to die. So is getting shot in Juarez, 526 miles from my house.

I've been going to Zim since '99. Of course it doesn't have the infrastructure and safety of the U.S., so there will always be someone on them internets (there was one on here the other day) saying "Don't go! You gonna DIE!"

Go, be safe, use your head, and have a fantastic time.

Best of luck and have a great time.

I've following it. Hope it stays where it is

We are pretty muvch getting off the plain in zim, and stepping onto the charter. Going to spend 3 days in Vic falls. Trying to talk my dad into doing the devils falls. If y'all haven't seen it look it up on youtube

will be a hunt of a lifetime, I shot 3 buffs in Tanzania a few years back, was awesome, what big gun are you taking?

375

Cool

Here's an odd pic somebody (not me) took that I came across on my computer. 'Thought you'd enjoy.

I need to find the pic of my hat, pretty sure somebody on here has it

How much have you shot the .375 and what loads are you using?

Congrats on your upcoming buffalo and sable hunt. That's on my dream list!!! I'm leaving for the Eastern Cape on Tuesday for a couple weeks of plains game hunting.

Sable...I did a lot of research on those in my undergrad- I have a lot of respect for them. Taking one is on my bucket list *sigh* will be watching for pictures when you return!

I'm jealous of all you guys going to Africa.

I went to passport health yesterday and got 4 shots. I thought about canceling my trip

Good deal on the shots, but how much have you been practicing? What loads?

Good luck!!

375, 300 grain tsx. I am going to a shooting school a week before I go. They say we will be shooting about 110 rounds a day. I imagine ill have the kinks worked out before then.

A week before you go? You think that is enough?

yes it is.

Laffin!

110 rounds/day with a 375 might cause a little flinch to develop - I've got lot's of big magnums and 110 rounds/day with any of them would not be fun - they get shot a lot but 10-12/day is plenty

You will have big problems if you take your .375 to shooting school.

That caliber is not designed to be shot 100 times a day.

(1) hard on your shoulder
(2) hard on the gun
(3) very expensive
(4) barrels heat up quickly and become very inaccurate

You are likely to ruin your shoulder, your aim, and your gun right before you go on your trip

practice as much as possible off sticks, even if it's just with a bb/pellet gun in the back yard every evening after work, the practice will pay off

I like to go after the squirrels with .22 CB shorts in a scoped Rem. I swear the more I shoot, the more there are. The dogs have become obsessed.

Shooting School...................... Dear Lord

Take a really good camera with you.

You will be glad you did.

You've been holding out on us Mr. Bird. Amazing old boy up top. We'll expect to see a lot more of your work.

Postscript: So many of the birds have amazing colors. What is the bottom bird?

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, and yes, they eat bees.

Thank you CR, glad you enjoy them. I love going back through the photos.

Here are a couple of more:

Dito, Dito, Dito

I'm going to shoot a 308. I've shot the gun plenty just not much off sticks. That's why I'm going to the school. I didn't convey that in my post.

Even if shooting the .308 110/day will take a toll. Buy a couple of long dowel rods, make shooting sticks and dry fire off them in your back yard. Use a paper plate for a target. Do it prior to going. Then only fire 20/30 rounds.

Minimize the horizontal and perpendicular movement with a hasty sling.

I ain't shooting 110 rounds a day out of any rifle!

Shooting even 10 rounds off a bench from a .375 Holland will give you whiplash, a headache, and will loosen the fillings in your teeth.

Here's what my brother and I did prior to our trip to RSA last month. We had worked up loads for our .375s....his Whitworth preferred the 300 gr AFrame and mine the 300 gr Nosler PT. Both guns were dead on at 50 yds and about an inch high at 100 and 3.5" low at 200 yds. Velocity was about 2560 fps in both guns.

On my rural 20 acres here, I contrived a 10-hole "golf course" for shooting. I set up 10 targets in various places in the woods (with good backstops, of course). Then I set 10 wooden surveyor sticks to act as "tees", with each tee having a sight line to its respective target. Then, a couple times a week, I would load up 10 rounds of our preferred load for each gun and we would "shoot the golf course." The targets ranged from 85 yds out to 220 yds, giving us a practical workout for a .375. We carried shooting sticks along with us and practiced shooting from various field positions.

During the 6 weeks or so prior to our trip, we played around 8 rounds of .375 golf. We even had some friendly wagers over who would hit closer to the bullseye. We found that shooting 10 rounds per session from practical field positions didn't stress our shoulders, as it would shooting from a bench. And of course, once in Africa, you don't even notice recoil, no matter the size of the rifle, when shooting at live animals.

We got in some fine practice with our medium rifles, and we had some fun doing it. Two buffs and a croc, as well as a few PG, were taken with no fuss.

Finished the school today. Dawaba, we did pretty much the same thing you did. Did a lot of dry firing, and shooting off sticks. Less than two weeks away. For you guys that went, how often were you able to sit on your butt and shoot? That was a lot more comfortable than the sticks. I shot fine on the sticks, but it was easier to get good and anchored on my butt.

My brother shot most of his stuff off low sticks, sitting on his butt. I shoot best from low sticks too, but kneeling with my right/trigger elbow on my right knee. Left knee is down on the ground; right knee is up.

Sometimes shooting off high sticks from a standing position is required due to high grass, etc. Then, I try to lean against a tree with my shoulder to steady the aim.

Have your PH stand right beside you on the right side, and put your elbow in the crook of his arm while he is glassing. Amazing amount of stability that way, and good clean shots off high sticks can result.