Hello from the Bluegrass State

Completely new to this. . . became fascinated by the whole thing when shopping around for a rifle chambered in .458 Lott. Being poor, I have settled on a CZ550 "American Safari Magnum". Going to put one on layaway November 1st, at "Budsgunshop".

I reload and cast for most all of my firearms. Haven't shot a rifle larger than a 45-70 government. I do shoot a BFR in 500 S&W Mag in a handgun, I have loaded it up to 465 gr bullets at 1700 fps, pretty stout for a 7.5" handgun but I'm sure that the .458 Lott will be an eye opener!

Someday it would be great to hunt Cape Buffalo, but it might be a pipe dream. Maybe not. Just might take 4-5 years to save enough money

Thanks for having me! I can enjoy African hunting vicariously, for now.

Welcome Jesse
You should certainly note a departure when you touch that 458 Lott off for the first time.

Good luck with your savings plan.

Originally Posted by BRICKBURN

Good luck with your savings plan.

Thank you; I'll need some luck.

Originally Posted by JesseGibson

Someday it would be great to hunt Cape Buffalo, but it might be a pipe dream. Maybe not. Just might take 4-5 years to save enough money

Welcome to the forum. I'm fairly new here as well. I thought the same as you at one time. That I needed to be making a small fortune to hunt Africa. No the case. I killed my first buffalo this year. You can do it too!! I was very nervous about the cost of my whole hunt. The buffalo was unplanned and I decided to take one while hunting plains game. I consider killing a buffalo the single greatest experice of my life thus far. I can't wait to do it again. Trust me, you can get it done too. Good luck buddy!

welcome and enjoy the site jesse,save hard bacause once youve hunted africa youll want to keep going back

The way I figure it, if I cease buying guns and save where I can, I get put back only 5k per year. One of my sons has leukemia, so I never know when I have to spend money in that direction. I'd sell my soul to save him so it's always touch and go.

God willing, someday I'll get there.

Welcome Jesse, my prayers for your son. I have two sons myself and know what it means to see one hurting. Just keep putting the cash away. If you put $5K back per year, you'll only need a couple of years or three to have enough for a proper PG hunt. A little more if a Buff hunt is what you're focusing on. Again welcome to AH!

Welcome to AH Jesse!

Thanks, Phoenix Phil. Got to stay up until 3 am as I have to awaken wife and son for another trip down to St. Judes. Two more hours. . . reading about the hunts here helps pass the time.

Jesse welcome to AH . i hope it goes well for your son and you all get to africa one day. as phil says 5k a year isnt bad, and with some of the offers on here you could be on the way in 2 to 3 years, so keep positive.

Welcome to AH Jesse! The Safari is doable just takes time and planning and saving.

Prayers going up for your son I know how hard it can be I just lost my sister-inlaw about an hour ago who has been fighting cancer for 2 1/2 year. Hope your son enjoyed shooting the Government Model .45

Welcome Jesse, sure you will enjoy it here keep on dreaming it will happen, look forward to some posts and sharing your future safari reviews.

My best always.

Welcome to the forum, friend!

Well boys, I sure am obliged to y'all for the warmest of welcomes!

Sure hope you guys are right about me saving enough. One thing about it, it gives one time to prepare I can steep myself in the stories and lore of the dangerous game hunts and hunters.

Just talked to the wife and Andy's ANC (counts) were at 200. Very low. Still no chemo. Back Thursday.

Welcome to the forum Jesse, sorry to hear about your son, wish you the best !

You don t have to hunt a buffalo to enjoy Africa, a modest plains game program will be lots of fun and an unforgettable experience.

The outfitters on the forum offer very good deals.

Nyati:

I tell him all the time that tough times NEVER last but tough people do.

I highly doubt I have anything to contribute, as I know nothing about hunting in Africa. I have many firearms and casting and reloading are my main hobbies, and indeed I hunt but it's Kentucky hunting

Thanks for the kind wishes.

Originally Posted by Nyati

Welcome to the forum Jesse, sorry to hear about your son, wish you the best !

You don t have to hunt a buffalo to enjoy Africa, a modest plains game program will be lots of fun and an unforgettable experience.

The outfitters on the forum offer very good deals.

+1 with Nyati here. Best wishes to your family. Welcome to the forum.

I have wanted to hunt Cape Buffalo in Africa for some time, but my first hunt to Africa was plains game. With so many different PG species to hunt, I found that (for my dollars) I would rather harvest 5-7 plains game for the cost of 1 Cape Buffalo... Just my way of thinking here, also what I am wanting in life right now is a Zebra, redemption on a Gemsbok, and a world class Blue Wildebeest. Once I get these three, who knows, maybe then a DG hunt, but for now it's all I want.

If it is a Cape Buffalo you want then I say go for it, but as previously mentioned a plains game hunt would help feed your fire for Africa.

Best of luck to you and your son, and I pray for a full recovery for him.

Welcome to AH! Best of luck to you and your son.

Again, I thank you all!

We will persevere. If you check the link, you can get some idea of the last year of our lives. He is just over two years into it. Tough on a teenager. . . immune system down due to chemo keeps him home from school. BAH! You guys don't wanna hear this stuff. I'm sorry.

It's just going to take me a long time, if ever, to get saved up for a hunt. But I'm in no hurry.

You guys have a WEALTH of info here for a greenhorn like myself. Only a few more days until I put a down payment on the .458 Lott. I am excited!

Thanks again, fellas.

Jesse (Jay) Gibson