Happy to be Aboard

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I'm a new member on this forum but a long-time hunter. I've hunted Texas (of course), New Mexico, Montana, 6 times to Alaska, and 4 safaris to SA, Zim twice, and Namibia. I shoot 416 Rigby bolt and H&H .577 BPE for DG. I've taken a couple of elephants, a couple of buffs, a GM hippo, and various plains game. Just acquiring a .500 NE. I've been reloading for 50 years - I usually never even buy loaded ammo. So if anyone has some once-fired nickel-plated Norma (preferably) or Federal .500 NE brass, I'd be interested in buying it.

Welcome to AH!

 

[Velo Dog]

Hello BigTex,

Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris of Namibia, welcomes you to the greatest forum on earth.

I am not sure what the policy is in regards to posting gunshot wound photos.
Hopefully Jerome or one of his moderators will soon answer your question.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

 

[TROPHY SHIPPERS]

Welcome to AH! Lots of great people here!

 

[cls]

Welcome to AH, cost of entry is a couple hunting reports....

 

[Shootist43]

Welcome aboard Big Tex, you sound like our kind a guy. By living in or near Houston, do you already know a number of AH members? Did they introduce you to the site? BTW what was the point of entry of the .577 that didn't penetrate the elephant's heart?

 

[BigTex]

I'm not aware of any other AH members, but I was in Houston Safari Club for 10 years so some may belong I am unaware of.

Here is part of the story on that elephant hunt...

My picture shows the H&H 577 double rifle I owned and foolishly sold. I obtained Kynoch brass from David at Kynamco. I believe this was newly manufactured at the time I bought it in 2005. I probably shot that rifle 400 - 500 times using the same 60 cases and never lost a case due to case fatigue or failure. My experience was the straight-walled cases are very forgiving. They never split and the rifle just had extractors - they just fell out, no problem. This was a Nitro for Black load that is lower pressure than full NE though.

I bought the rifle from Champlin at the 2005 SCI show and immediately took it to the H&H booth. I was fortunate the head of the rifle shop was there and he examined the rifle. He said it was a "Best Gun" and as fine an example of that type H&H had ever made. The rifle was made in 1895. He offered, without my prompting, that it would make Nitro proof. The rifle had once belonged to Jack Lott and Boddington told me a wonderful story of them shooting it. He personally witnessed Jack shoot full 750 gr NE rounds in it! At 12.75 lbs I never did, choosing instead to develop Nitro for Black using formulas from Graeme's excellent book. I used GS Custom mono-copper custom bullets built specifically to this rifle's bore dimensions and Woodleigh 650 gr soft point bullets. After some load development, this rifle would shoot cloverleaves at 50 yards about 1.5" high. Good enough for me! These loads chrono'ed at 1980 fps. I asked several highly respected PHs about using this on elephant before my hunt. Four said it would work with only one saying he thought it wasn't enough.

Ian Gibson and I were hunting tuskless in the Chewore in 2008 down a dry riverbed and we came upon a small herd of 6-7 with the largest a tuskless. We had already been hunting 6 days (and many many miles) and this was the first tuskless we had seen. Gibbo instructed me to use a head shot if we were able to, but shoot for the heart if they ran. We had maybe two steps left on the stalk when they ran, so I ended up shooting for the heart. Actually hit the heart on the first pair but even Gibbo was stunned then we later discovered the .585" bullet went 3" or more through the wall of the heart without going in! I have a picture of Gibbo with his index finger sticking through the hole! It did leave a huge bruise on the heart though. The first two shots on the elephant were on the front right side leg, about 8" apart. The first shot landed just on the crease at the back of the leg and was the one that probably went through the heart because the elephant almost stumbled on impact. It was pretty much a perpendiculiar broadside shot at that moment. The GS solids were delivering complete pass-through on body shots. So much for whether there was enough juice there! I did recover one bullet that went in at the left shoulder on the follow-up and was recovered at the front of the head. Could have almost reloaded it.

PS: I know for sure that all the other bullets exited because I had offered a $10 bounty on any bullet they found. You may remember 2008 was during the hyper-inflation and $1 was worth 3 BILLION Zim. That crew looked through every single inch of that elephant, guts and all. Only the single bullet was recovered.

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH!

 

[Spear Safaris]

welcome sir

 

[riflepermits.com]

Welcome to AH! Let us know if you have any questions...

 

[LIFE-FORM TAXIDERMY]

Welcome to AH! A lot of like-minded people here to feed your hunting obsession.