I grew up hunting upland game in the Imperial valley of California. Dove, quail etc. I hunt deer and black bear regularly and next year will add elk to the list. I have a young golden retriever, and we will start bringing ducks home in a couple weeks (my wife says we sent him off to military school.)
I reloaded a considerable amount as a child, and am in the process of acquiring what will be needed to begin again.
I am a certified gun nut, and enjoy firearms as much as hunting. I have a nostalgic side that makes me long for Holland & Holland and Westley Richards (extended magazine, super rebated rim and all.) I am also a tech nut and so the efficient new cartridges interest me but probably not enough to play with them for a good bit. I love Mausers, especially small rings (just to be different.) I have about a dozen surplus rifles that I had planned on sporterizing, but their value has increased so much in 20 years that it seems better to sell the ones I don't want and buy a commercial gun to update.
My go to rifle is a plain vanilla 30 year old Savage 110 in 30-06, walnut stained hardwood stock and blind magazine no less. It was the last gun my grandfather and I bought together. It's chamber has seen better days, and I keep telling myself that it should become an Ackley (Ackley made gifts for modern nostalgics who like efficiency,) but I will probably just keep shooting it because I can't bring myself to change it. My next rifle project will be a series of these with custom barrels chambered for "improved" 30-06 cases; .25, .28, 8mm (or .338 depending on the day,) 35, 38, and 400 Whelan (I have read everything Petrov wrote on the subject.) The thing I find frustrating about all of them is that every reamer is just a bit different, so I'm thinking I will start with the 400 with a replaceable pilot and make the 38, 35, and 8mm the exact same. The smaller calibers will get fast twist barrels as I see no reason to use anything but very high sectional density bullets with the best ballistic coefficient possible depending on required bullet construction (just the efficiency nut in me.) One last rifle will be in .375 Ruger, for Africa (even though I have full faith that the 400 cold kill anything short of a blue whale.)
My plan is to be in Africa no later than 25, hopefully 24. It all depends on timing and other trips that may come available. I am a meat hunter more than anything; and my wife, who grew up in Durban and has family in Cape Town, has introduced me to several amazing dishes from antelope. My first "real" trip will be all about plains and bushveld game. I would love to acquire a 270 Sabi and crawl through the thorn bushes with it but that will have to wait for a few more years. I love reading the classics concerning the "Big 5," but am confident that I will leave most of them to others who need the adrenaline. One exception is Cape Buffalo, when my wife and I were dating she introduced me to several South African writers who seem to insist that Cape Buffalo filet makes the best biltong. I find that hard to believe, as wildebeest biltong is life changing, but I have to find out.
Thanks for letting me bend your ear!
