Shootist 43 introduction

My name is Art a.k.a. Shootist 43

I am a retired engineer, a competitive pistol shooter, a hunter for 57 years and the proud father of my two best hunting partners. We recently branched out from just hunting White Tailed Deer in Michigan to include hunting for Wild Hogs and Rams in Texas and Missouri. While on a "Hog" hunt in Missouri the subject of possibly hunting in Africa came up. Several months later at a SCI Hunting Exposition in Kansas City we discovered that hunting plains game in Africa or going on a Guided Elk Hunt in the Western U.S would cost about the same. That started the ball rolling and we decided to "Hunt Africa."

After looking at several different outfitters we (my two sons and I) booked a 10 day hunt with Cruiser Safaris for August next year. At the moment we are planning to use 35 Whelen(s) with a 250 Gr. Nosler Partition bullet, 30-06(s) with a 180 Gr. Nosler Partition bullet and my favorite Deer Rifle a 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser with 140 Gr. Barnes TTSX of Nosler Partition bullets. I have been reloading for about 25 years. I am hoping to get some feedback on the use of reloaded ammunition vs new commercially available ammunition. For instance, I don't know if South Africa has any restrictions on the ammunition being brought into the country for hunting purposes. I would also like some input on the rifle calibers we are considering.

We are gathering information and "tips" from seasoned/experienced African Hunters and look forward to your input.

Gday art welcome to AH
All of the calibres you mentioned have been used on plains game , the 6.5x55 will br limited on what sized aimals you can legally use it on,cruiser will be a le tell ,that
And its fine to take reloaded ammo into , south africa
11lbs of ammo (5kilo) , of ammo is the maximum will can take,thats just ammo , not the whole wieght of the lockable container it will have to be stored in

Welcome!

Like Bluey states, you can take handloads, no problem.

Enjoy the planning as well as the trip!

Hello and welcome;
I hunted with Cruiser last summer (2014)......I think you and your boys have made a fine choice, and will be quite satisfied!
I took a .338 Win. mag & a .30-06. The .338 was loaded with 225 grn Nosler accubonds, and the .30-06 was loaded with 200 grain Nosler partitions. I took my blue wildebeest with the .338, and all my other game (Gemsbok, kudu, female waterbuck, and impala) with the 06. Only the Gemsbok required more than one shot, and that was because of poor shot placement with my first shot. The kudu was a 250 yard shot in the mountains, and he didn't go more than 40-50 yards before piling up.
You didn't say what species you planned on hunting, but I think I would restrict the 6.5 swede ( I have one of those also....didn't take it on the trip) to smaller species such as warthog, impala, blesbok, bushbuck, etc. Another hunter did loose a gemsbok after he hit it with a .300 Weatherby, so when they tell you that these critters can take a lot of punishment, BELIEVE IT!!!!
As has previously been said, handloads are allowed, and the only stipulations are weight (that's by the airline), that the head stamp on the cartridges matches what's on the barrel of the gun, and that no one individual can import two rifles of the same caliber, so if you are bringing more than one .30-06, make sure that both are not in one person's name.
Feel free to ask questions.............everyone here likes to live vicariously through the lives of others!

Are you from Michigan, or do you just hunt whitetails there? I currently reside in S.E. Michigan (Troy).

Welcome to AH, Art !

Welcome sir. The rifles you have mentioned are fine for plains game. I hope you guys have a great hunt. Ask lots of questions here and folks will help.

Welcome to AH Shootist43! Nice to have you with us.

Welcome to AH.
Start reading some hunting reports so you can get prepared to share your report when you get back.

Enjoy your planning and good luck.

Welcome to AH Art. I will be heading out on my first safari in September and I too will be hunting with Cruiser Safaris. I will be hunting for 14 days and look forward to posting a hunt report and photos upon my return. There are quite a few reports on this site related to Cruiser. Enjoy the site, it's a bunch of great guys and gals.
Mike

Welcome to AH Art! You and your sons are in for a real treat, and your choice of rifles are great they'll take any plains game animal just fine. Good luck on your hunt and be sure to get lots of pictures and post a report when you get back.

Thanks for the welcome and all the input. I live in S.E. Michigan (Grosse Ile) I've recently purchased a number of books written by Nathan Foster of New Zealand. His writings "unlocked" a whole new world for my Swedish Mauser. Instead of the commercial ammo I was using (2450 FPS) I'm looking at 2750 to 2800FPS. That results in ballistic performance in the range of the 7 X 57 Mauser. Even though I love that gun and caliber I was planning to limit its use to smaller game i.e. Warthog, Blesbok, and Impala just like Bluey suggested.

I recently reviewed the information requested for Temporary Import/Export of Firearms by the South African Police. I was confused by their asking for a Serial Number of the Barrel as well as for the Serial Number on the Action. Can anyone shed some light on this? None of my rifles have a serial number on the barrel.

Where in the SE Michigan do you live My wifes family come from the Grand Rapids area and I was born in Flint myself. Usually when they ask for a barrel SN they are referring to old military rifles that all parts were numbered. if it doesn't have one then you will not have to worry about it. I recommend going through Rifle Permits for your paperwork they'll make sure all details are correct before submitting your paperwork.

Welcome to the forums, you will find plenty of helpful information here.

Mr. 16 gauge said:

Hello and welcome;
I hunted with Cruiser last summer (2014)......I think you and your boys have made a fine choice, and will be quite satisfied!
I took a .338 Win. mag & a .30-06. The .338 was loaded with 225 grn Nosler accubonds, and the .30-06 was loaded with 200 grain Nosler partitions. I took my blue wildebeest with the .338, and all my other game (Gemsbok, kudu, female waterbuck, and impala) with the 06. Only the Gemsbok required more than one shot, and that was because of poor shot placement with my first shot. The kudu was a 250 yard shot in the mountains, and he didn't go more than 40-50 yards before piling up.
You didn't say what species you planned on hunting, but I think I would restrict the 6.5 swede ( I have one of those also....didn't take it on the trip) to smaller species such as warthog, impala, blesbok, bushbuck, etc. Another hunter did loose a gemsbok after he hit it with a .300 Weatherby, so when they tell you that these critters can take a lot of punishment, BELIEVE IT!!!!
As has previously been said, handloads are allowed, and the only stipulations are weight (that's by the airline), that the head stamp on the cartridges matches what's on the barrel of the gun, and that no one individual can import two rifles of the same caliber, so if you are bringing more than one .30-06, make sure that both are not in one person's name.
Feel free to ask questions.............everyone here likes to live vicariously through the lives of others!

Are you from Michigan, or do you just hunt whitetails there? I currently reside in S.E. Michigan (Troy).

Click to expand...

I live in Grosse Ile approximately 35 miles from you. I have a cabin and 5 acres located near Glennie and 80 acres of Hunting Property located 1/2 mile South of Hubbard Lake. In reference to the "lost" Gemsbok would you attribute that to poor shot placement as well? Recently I purchased a number of books written by Nathan Foster a "long range" hunter from New Zealand. He advocates insuring a double lung shot over a heart shot. After considering his comments in light of my own experience I tend to agree with him. An animal can run much further with a hole through it's heart than it can with a hole through both lungs.

A Google search of Terminal Ballistics Research will get you to Nathan's website.

Shootist43 said:

I live in Grosse Ile approximately 35 miles from you. I have a cabin and 5 acres located near Glennie and 80 acres of Hunting Property located 1/2 mile South of Hubbard Lake. In reference to the "lost" Gemsbok would you attribute that to poor shot placement as well? Recently I purchased a number of books written by Nathan Foster a "long range" hunter from New Zealand. He advocates insuring a double lung shot over a heart shot. After considering his comments in light of my own experience I tend to agree with him. An animal can run much further with a hole through it's heart than it can with a hole through both lungs.

A Google search of Terminal Ballistics Research will get you to Nathan's website.

Click to expand...

I've never hunted on the east side of the LP; I had family that had farms on the west side (Ludington area).......unfortunately, all the farms have been sold off, so I now do most of my deer hunting down around here (state land) and my grouse hunting up in the U.P.
As for the gemsbok: I wasn't there to witness it.....supposedly it was a "good shot", but I'm wondering if only one lung was hit. I didn't press the shooter for details about shot angle, etc. I do know that the ammo used was Barnes' vortex, so I doubt that it was an ammo failure. I find it somewhat hard to believe that a "good shot" would result in a lost animal, esp. since they looked for it for 3 days after and found nothing.......not even a carcass. The hunter did end up taking a second gemsbok (a mighty pricey mistake; remember: in Africa, if you find blood after the shot, you just "bought" yourself an animal!).
I'm not a big fan of "long range" hunting (or is it shooting?).....I prefer to stalk and get as close as possible (or set up my blinds/hides so I can get close shots). I think that most lost/crippled game is the result of taking shots that are too far for one's talents (this is in light of my personal experiences). Personally, I prefer to put a bullet through both lungs AND the heart......a heart with a hole in it won't pump blood, and the collapse of both lungs will leave an animal that won't have the capability to travel far at all,and lungs that are hit lower have a higher V/Q ratio (that's just a fancy term that means there is more blood/blood vessels in that part of the lung than in the upper part of the lung).......but a double lung hit will collapse both organs and give little reserve for the animal to get too far, esp. if there is an exit wound.
If I may make a suggestion: go to the "shot placement" section of this website and study the photographs of the animals you are expecting to hunt. You will see that the heart/lung area is a bit forward from what we are used to here in the states; I found that this helped me immensely!!!!! Study those photos and the shot placement guides, put the bullets where they suggest, and you will be posing for photos in short order after pulling the trigger. I would also suggest that if you are not used to shooting off "sticks" that you give that some practice as well. You can buy a commercial set, but I made my own by buying some garden poles from Lowe's and tying them together with some of my daughter's hair ties. Again, you will become familiar with shooting from sticks (no need to bring your own to Limpopo, unless you want to....you P.H. will have a set), and once you pull the trigger, you will be posing your animal for photos in no time.

Another good source of information (and I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here...please let me know if I am) is www.**NOT**PERMITTED**.com. They have shot placement guides there as well, but the ones on this website are actual photos, were there's are drawings. Still, it's another good resource for all sorts of information re: clothing, animals, weather, etc., etc, (but they don't have any forums!)

Again, welcome to AH and the forums (and that's a nice boar in your avatar as well!).

Welcome to the forum Art! Nice to have you with us. All the best of luck with your trip. I have only heard positive reports on Cruisers, so sure you will have a blast.

Take Care,
Marius Goosen
KMG Hunting Safaris