Firebird24
Beginner
- Sep 3, 2024
- 61
- 180
First morning of hunting in South Africa. I’m in the eastern cape with Game4Africa Safaris. I’ve hunted here before several times and was lured back again with a cape buffalo package which included a kudu and an impala and a nicely discounted rate. I added some animals to that original list-which you will read about later. . .
Sights checked in on the 100 yard range-the rifles and the scopes were all just a click or two off. More likely my shooting than the scopes but I made small adjustments just the same. Today’s selection is my Remington 700 bdl in 7mm-08 shooting handloaded 150 gr ablr bullets. 2750 fps and a leupold vx-3L variable scope with a custom turret.
The company owns property in what passes for mountains here. It is thick and nasty and full of game! Mountain Top is a short drive from the main lodge and has always been good for me in the past. Started the day with scrambled eggs, excellent bacon, juice and a host of sides such as yogurt and fruits.
It had rained during the night and was overcast, chilly and damp. These lightly haired animals need sunshine to get them moving and today felt sluggish. Saw afew zebra, impala, duiker, warthog and some kudu cows on the drive in-had baboons barking zombyishly as we stopped to scope out the first canyon. Hoping for bushbuck or kudu but buffalo are here-well hidden but they are here.
Driving to our next vantage point and the trackers in the back tap on the roof. Sitting up in the rack they can see a kudu bull which we cannot see from the seats. He’s still 3-400 yards distant but standing in the middle of a clearing waiting for the sun. We sneak away from the diesel Toyota and into the brush. Hunkered over we weave through the addo thorn and speckboom and cactus-more others that I don’t recognize-Finally within 130 yards. Ph Wik sets up the Rudolph shooting sticks and the Remington stretched out on top of them. I check to make sure his ears are plugged and then back to what I came here to do!
“On the Shoukder.” Wik reminds me-
At the shot the kudu leaps haphazardly into the brush. Wik calls it a solid hit as do I. Short on downhill tracking job with easy blood spoor. The bull is down and done-well hit.
The trackers cut him in half and use a long pole to pack him out. I offer to help, they politely say “no, Mr. John.”
They keep the organs to sell in a local butcher shop so I haven’t seen north of the diaphragm. I’ll share impressions on bullet performance after I see what physically occurred. But he went down quickly, no exit hole, so bullet placement was good.
One thing of major importance-the brass head completely separated leaving the remainder of the brass case stuck in the chamber. Handload so my fault but not sure where me error occurred. I used my .375 the rest of the day but no opportunities to pull that trigger. Tonight after dinner I was able to extract the brass. I suspect a head space issue but never had that in this rifle and load. Though I have had it with other rifles. Will spend tomorrow looking for nyala and impala-more short stories to follow. . .
Sights checked in on the 100 yard range-the rifles and the scopes were all just a click or two off. More likely my shooting than the scopes but I made small adjustments just the same. Today’s selection is my Remington 700 bdl in 7mm-08 shooting handloaded 150 gr ablr bullets. 2750 fps and a leupold vx-3L variable scope with a custom turret.
The company owns property in what passes for mountains here. It is thick and nasty and full of game! Mountain Top is a short drive from the main lodge and has always been good for me in the past. Started the day with scrambled eggs, excellent bacon, juice and a host of sides such as yogurt and fruits.
It had rained during the night and was overcast, chilly and damp. These lightly haired animals need sunshine to get them moving and today felt sluggish. Saw afew zebra, impala, duiker, warthog and some kudu cows on the drive in-had baboons barking zombyishly as we stopped to scope out the first canyon. Hoping for bushbuck or kudu but buffalo are here-well hidden but they are here.
Driving to our next vantage point and the trackers in the back tap on the roof. Sitting up in the rack they can see a kudu bull which we cannot see from the seats. He’s still 3-400 yards distant but standing in the middle of a clearing waiting for the sun. We sneak away from the diesel Toyota and into the brush. Hunkered over we weave through the addo thorn and speckboom and cactus-more others that I don’t recognize-Finally within 130 yards. Ph Wik sets up the Rudolph shooting sticks and the Remington stretched out on top of them. I check to make sure his ears are plugged and then back to what I came here to do!
“On the Shoukder.” Wik reminds me-
At the shot the kudu leaps haphazardly into the brush. Wik calls it a solid hit as do I. Short on downhill tracking job with easy blood spoor. The bull is down and done-well hit.
The trackers cut him in half and use a long pole to pack him out. I offer to help, they politely say “no, Mr. John.”
They keep the organs to sell in a local butcher shop so I haven’t seen north of the diaphragm. I’ll share impressions on bullet performance after I see what physically occurred. But he went down quickly, no exit hole, so bullet placement was good.
One thing of major importance-the brass head completely separated leaving the remainder of the brass case stuck in the chamber. Handload so my fault but not sure where me error occurred. I used my .375 the rest of the day but no opportunities to pull that trigger. Tonight after dinner I was able to extract the brass. I suspect a head space issue but never had that in this rifle and load. Though I have had it with other rifles. Will spend tomorrow looking for nyala and impala-more short stories to follow. . .
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