Namibia Safari Hunting - Kalahari African Hunting & Shark Fishing in Central Namibia â€“ Premium Ranch Hunt

Monday, April 28, 2008

TJSC in the News

The article A World In One Country by Karen Mehall from the April issue of the NRA's American Hunter Magazine is available to read online here.

The article covers the 2007 Women on Target safari we sponsored in South Africa. It is an excellent article and I encourage you to read it.

TJR

Friday, April 25, 2008

A bunch of great trophies!

One of the benefits of owning a safari booking agency is getting to see all the great photos and hear the wonderful stories our clients bring back with them from wherever their adventure was. This afternoon I was sitting here putting together the April newsletter and TJSC client Kevin Warner walked in with his photo album and some CD's of photos to show me. We spent about an hour just talking about the hunt and looking at his photos. I have posted some of them here for your enjoyment.

That really is so much of what safari hunting is all about, participating in a wonderful journey (which is what safari means in swahili) and then sharing the stories with friends and family. I am honored that Kevin both trusted The T Jeffrey Safari Company to arrange his safari and that he came in to share his memories with us.

The photos we take on safari are so important because they are the memento most likely to bring us right back to that place where we had such an enjoyable experience. Safari hunting is often about the "trophies" we take meaning the actual horns and hide of the animal we pursued. But those trophies may not be here for a number of months and it is certainly more difficult to take them to a meeting or dinner party to share with friends.

That is why it is so important to have a good quality camera and learn how to take good photos.

Congratulations to Kevin and thanks for sharing your trophies with us! - TJR

Gunsite Academy 2008

This was my second trip to Gunsite Training Academy. Last year I took the 270 General Rifle Course which starts out with the basics and gets you shooting well enough to hit a 9 inch kill zone at 400 yards. This year we asked Gunsite Master Instructor Il Ling New to come up with a custom class designed especially to suit our clients. The idea was to combine a basic rifle class with what Gunsite calls a Hunter Prep Class. So the 170 Rifle class was born! This is the general rifle (270) class reduced from 5 days to 3 days which gets you hitting 9 inch kill zones out to 200 yards consistently. Then we added a 3 day Hunter Prep Class right after the 170 class. Hunter Prep is set up to use "real world" hunting targets everything from flat targets to 3D animals. This includes turning targets, and a robot that is used to simulate an animal coming toward you, away from you and crossing in front of you. It is quite an experience!

A number of the target courses are set up to walk through so you experience targets in realistic hunting environments and at realistice ranges. This also includes targets with horns which require judging which trophy is the bigger animal. There is a little friendly competition involved as well as some timed shooting this helps to simulate the pressure you feel when you are hunting in the field. It's all designed to help you develop the skills you need to be a confident marksman while hunting. When you combine Gunsite's world class instructors with a very well thought out training program it's easy to see why those who take a class at Gunsite gain confidence in their shooting ability. We are planning to put together another TJSC class next Spring so keep your eye on this newsletter for an announcement, if you don't want to wait that long please call the Gunsite Academy at 928-636-4565 and sign up for the next class.

Labels: Gunsite 2008

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Leupold VX-7 Scope Review

Leupold VX-7 Scope Review

It's no secret that I am a big Leupold scope fan I mount one on every rifle I own. So when Leupold's Cindy Flannigan offered to send me one of their new VX-7 rifle scopes, I jumped at the chance to test it.

The VX-7 series is the pinacle of optics. From the time that they agreed to send it to me I knew this was more than the run of the mill rifle scope. I got an email from Leupold's custom shop asking me the details of the ammunition I would be using with the scope. This was in order to supply me with a Bullet Drop Compensating (BDC) custom elevation adjustment turrent made specifically to match the ballistics of the load I was using. With the BDC you can adjust the elevation of the point of impact quickly and easily.

When I unpacked the scope it was obvious that it had some features that were extremely well thought out. The adjustment knobs are a new design that Leupold calls "Speed Dial" you simply twist a bit until they pop up so you can make your adjustments. This system works extremely

well and the adjustments make a positive click for each 1/4 MOA increment. This system also prevents the dreaded "lost scope adjustment cap" syndrome I have suffered from many times because the caps remain attached to the scope.

Looking through the lenses it was obvious that the glass and coatings Leupold uses on the VX-7 line are superior. The image was crystal clear.

One of the features I really like but have some mixed feelings about are the Alumina flip up scope covers. These are an aluminum version of the flip up scope caps you see from after market suppliers Leupold has offered them for a while but I haven't used them until now. I really like the way they work once they are installed on the scope. They fit tight and flush and flip completely out of the way when you are ready to shoot. My only complaint is that the front cap cannot be installed on the scope once the scope is mounted on the rifle, and of course I didn't know that until the scope was mounted! So beware if you install one of these scopes put the Alumina caps on BEFORE you install the scope.

On the range the scope performed extremely well. One of the most important things I look for in a scope is long eye relief because on heavy recoiling dangerous game guns this is critcally important. While this scope was mounted on a Kimber 84M in .308 Winchester I still like long eye relief to prevent getting "scope bit". Quite often the European scopes which this series was designed to compete with have a much shorter eye relief which I really do not like. Also, I am not convinced that the European scopes are as durable as the Leupold's are.

Last year I had a Zeiss scope mounted on the same rifle and after about 50 or 60 rounds of shooting at Gunsite the reticle just snapped. This year I fired over 600 rounds with that rifle and

the VX-7 mounted on it there was absolutely no malfunction of the scope. It performed flawlessly.

In my experience Leupold scopes are extremely durable. I wasn't sure what to expect from this new premium line of scopes. Sometimes premium does not equal durable but based on a 600+ round test in the heat, dust and vigorous training at Gunsite I am convinced that the VX-7 line is an extremely high quality and durable product. Although they cost more than a standard Leupold scope they are worth the money when you consider what we demand from our optics. In the near future I will do a report on the custom BDC adjustment knob and how it works and I plan to do a report on the scope's perfomance while hunting. - TJR

Monday, February 4, 2008

US Dollar Strong vs South African Rand

Recently there was a report in another hunting publication regarding the sinking value of the US dollar vs. other currencies and the effect it has on the price of hunting. While the report was accurate regarding the Canadian Dolar, Australian Dollar and others. It was not accurate in it's discussion of the South African Rand and it's relationship to the US Dollar. The US Dollar is holding strong and is actually rising against the SA Rand!
As I write this the South African Rand is trading at 7.44 Rand per 1 US Dollar that is a better rate than it has been over the past 3 years!

In January of 2005 the dollar was trading at 5.6 Rand to 1 US Dollar there has been an increase in the US Dollar's value of almost two SA Rand (almost 30%) since then. The dollar is nearing it's 3 year high of 7.97 rand. See this detailed chart. And look at this one:

What does all this mean for the average American hunter? It means that this is an excellent time to hunt in South Africa or Namibia (the Namibian dollar is tied to the SA Rand) because the dollar is worth more in South Africa than it has been in the past three years and is approaching it's 5 year high of 8.02 Rand per US dollar.

Since 2006 most of our hunt package prices have remained the same. A couple of them went up a bit to cover rising fuel prices but trophy fees and daily rates have remained stable and the cost of incidentals, souvenirs, and other things you may buy while on safari are still very low.

When you compare African safari prices to other hunts in other countries it is still the "best bang for the buck" no doubt about it.

The bottom line? It's a GREAT time to go on safari in Africa!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Gotta Do Whatcha Gotta Do...

Photo By Todd J. Rathner Click photo to enlarge

Photo By Todd J. Rathner Click photo to enlarge

Venison to Go!
On a recent whitetail deer hunting trip to Oklahoma my friend Jon and I came across this rental car with 2 bucks strapped on the roof. Although Jon got a nice buck on this trip I struck out. But just seeing this car was worth the trip to Oklahoma!

Labels: Deer Car

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Shannon and The Women in the Wild!

By Shannon Irving

This year, we decided to team up with the NRA's Women on Target Program and host an all women's hunt in South Africa . We had 10 ladies (including me) participate. It was extremely successful! So successful in fact, that we have 2 more all women's hunts scheduled for next year. Awesome, Awesome!

First off, this was my first hunt... ever. I was a little apprehensive to hunt because I was still trying to perfect my shooting skills. Earlier in the year, I graduated from GunSite after 5 days and 400 rounds of shooting.

The flight to Africa wasn't too bad. Well, there was the fact that we missed our plane in Dulles because of weather delays and were re-routed through London. THANKFULLY, I had open seats next to me to London and then a whole row from London to Joburg open. All in all, it was pretty smooth.

We didn't really have any problems in Joburg. Gathering up 9 other ladies and their belongings was a sort of controlled chaos to deal with, but we got everyone through with no problems thanks to Riflepermits.com and we were on our way. We overnighted at Afton Guest House with Louie and Annelise who were great, as usual. The next morning, we got on our flight to Port Elizabeth. Our outfitter picked us up at the PE airport and off to camp we went.

DAY 1:
We started the morning off with sighting in our rifles. I had the privilege of borrowing a custom made .300 Winchester from NRA past President Sandra Froman. Since the rifle range was full with the other ladies, my PH Jaco, took me off to do our own sighting in. He set up a blank piece of paper with a black circle in the middle about 200 yards away. I loaded up my .300 with 180 grain Federal Triple Shocks. I let one round go and Jaco said, "You're good... let's go."

This was the day that we were going to try for Springbuck. We drove for about an hour when we were stopped by some neighboring farmers. A Blue Wildebeest was mingling with their cows and was being a nuisance. They gave us permission to take the Wildebeest because it was a cull animal. So, instead of Springbuck we were going to go for Wildebeest.

We got out to the area where the Wildebeest was roaming. They were right, it WAS mingling with the cows. I had to be extra careful not to take one of those instead of it! We stalked the Wildebeest all day. Everytime we got close enough, it ran. We finally got in a position to where I could get it in the scope. Mind you, this was my FIRST animal ever. I thought I was going to be so nervous, but after stalking this thing for hours on end, I was as calm and collected as ever, a definite surprise! I let one round go at the Wildebeest. DAMN! The shot was a little too far back and it took off! We circled around into a ravine area. We saw the beest standing up on a hill about 150 yards away. Jaco, me and the tracker leopard crawled up the litle ravine to get another shot off. I took 3 deep breaths and squeezed the trigger. DOWN!

My Blue Wildebeest.

That night was an interesting experience however! Because it was my first kill ever. I was the center of attention for about 10 minutes so I could partake in the custom of eating the raw liver of the first kill. A couple of Brandy's and Coke's help me swallow it down, but it was a fun experience.

Some of the ladies gathered outside during the braai.

Day 2:
Today we decided to try for Springbuck again. We set out bright and early to start another full day of hunting. We drove out to a grassy hill about 30-45 minutes from where our lodge was. There wasn't much to hide behind except one little bush, so we got set up to wait for a herd of springbuck to come by. We waited and waited.

Jaco even sent the tracker out to scout the area. For some reason, they just weren't around. However, a lonley Black Wildebeest was hanging out in a herd of Zebra. So we decided that today was going to be a Wildebeest day as well. I got set up on the sticks (sitting) and put my scope on the Wildebeest. I was just waiting for that perfect angle, facing broad side (about 125 yards away). I didn't take my eye off of him. He finally turned and I let one bullet go. DOWN! I was so happy it only took one shot.

My Black Wildebeest

Day 3:
It was really rainy and cold. We stayed in the lodge until late in the morning. I was getting restless so I told Jaco I wanted to hunt something, anything. We were going to try for Springbuck AGAIN. We drove quite a ways to get to an area Jaco thought some Springbuck were. We spotted a herd and started our stalk. We got about 200 yards away from them when Jaco said to me, "I don't think this is going to be our day for Springbuck either. They are all too young." Man, not our luck! All of a sudden we heard this noise, a strange little noise coming from behind us. "Reedbuck!," Jaco said to me. Change of plans, we were going for Mountain Reedbuck today. We stalking up and down this hill after this herd of Reedbuck. We got about 125 yards away from them. Jaco said, "This is not our luck! The male looks too young as well, but let's get a little closer." We got about 25 more yards closer. Jaco looked through his binos again and said, "Oh man! you BETTER shoot that guy!" His horns we curled so it made them look short and him young from a distance.

I sat down and put my rifle on the sticks. The wind was blowing me all over the place and I couldn't get comfortable. "Lay down, Lay down," Jaco said to me. So that's what I did. I layed downwards on a incline and aimed upwards towards the reedbuck. He was directly facing us. Jaco said to me, "Okay, he is facing us. You have to shoot him that way. See that bush that is right in front of him? (it came right under his chest) You have to shoot right above it." I aimed right above that bush and let one bullet go. DOWN! I couldn't believe it! One bullet again!

Breaker and I with my Mountain Reedbuck.

Day 4:
Today instead of Springbuck, we were going to go for Blesbuck. I was so pumped by now. I was doing absolutely fantastic. I now had this great confidence about myself. (I wasn't being cocky though!) We set out early as usual to get to our area. It was pretty cold and windy this day as well. We hiked up this mountain for Blesbuck. Just as we got to were we 'thought' they were going to be, they ran down the mountain; so down the mountain we went as well. We started after them again when Jaco said, "Wait, wait. There they are." The herd came around and ran right in front of us about 250 yards away. Our tracker was up the mountain still trying to scout the herd out. Jaco was on the radio with him to lay down because they were looking in his direction. We got set up on the sticks behind a bush/tree thing. We were a bit far away so Jaco told me to adjust my aim a little to the right. I let one bullet go. DOWN! "OH MAN! I cannot believe it!" Jaco said to me. The radio lit up and our tracker told Jaco the same thing. He thought I wouldn't hit it because I was laying down at a slight incline and the Blesbuck was far away. Both of them surely thought I was going to wound him and we were going to be out all day looking for him. Well they were wrong!

My Blesbuck

This same day, I had to experience was it was like to field dress an animal. My boss, Todd Rathner, had a discussion with Jaco the night before telling him I had to field dress at least one animal sometime during my hunt.

Since the shot was a great heart shot, the Blesbuck bled out. Jaco said to me, "This is the perfect day for it. The Blesbuck will be clean on the inside. Your shot was good enough to bleed him out."

After many, "I can't, I can't, I can'ts," here I am cutting my Blesbuck. Thankfully I had a handy little knife with me. Tim Wegner From BladeTech Knives donated field knives too each lady on the hunt. I used that sucker for EVERYTHING!

Day 5:
I only had two more animals left on my list, a Springbuck, which was part of the hunt package, and an Impala that I wanted to add. Today Jaco, me, fellow hunter Cyndi and her PH Andre took the day to explore the area. We went into the mountains where the outfitter has converted Oxwagons that they use as one night accomodations for clients. We played with spotting scopes, rifles, etc. etc. Andre showed us his amazing skills with the rifle. He can take any rifle, throw a rock into the air and hit it! It was amazing!!

Day 6:
Today was finally the day that we were going to try for Springbuck. This time, I had help. Since the majority of the ladies were done hunting, a couple of them and their PHs came along for "moral" support. Jaco and I hiked up this hill in the same area we had visited a few days prior when we tried for Springbuck. We got outselves set up behind a bush/tree. Cyndi and her PH, Andre went in one direction and Sue and her PH, Roebol went in the other direction. They were trying to keep the Springbuck herd in a certain area. If they went over the hill, we wouldn't have a shot at them. Jaco and I sat quietly and waited and watched as the herd ran back and and forth in front of us. We were just waiting for them to get in the clear area about 70 yards in front of us. I was sitting, with the my rifle on the sticks and my eye through the scope. Jaco said to me, "Okay, get ready, here they come." The Springbuck herd came running through the open area just as we wanted, but they were going too fast. "Oh no, I don't think they going to stop," Jaco said to me. "Wait, the male in the very back. He's nice, take him. He will stop." Just as Jaco predicted, the Springbuck stopped, broad side. I followed the brown strip to his shoulder and let one go. DOWN!

As usual, we had an amazing 4... er, 5... er, 6 (maybe??) course meal.

Day 7:
Today the entire group went to Addo Elephant Park. It was really nice to take a small break from hunting and spend time with the whole group. We looked at lots of elephants, saw lots of warthogs and other animals like zebra and ostrich.

I had a discusson with my PH about hunting an Impala. That was what we were going to try for on the last two days of my hunt. After dinner, Todd pulled me off to the side and asked what I still had to hunt. I told him that I was adding an Impala to my list. He said, "You can't hunt an Impala." "What?! Why not?," I said to him. "Because, you're going to hunt a Kudu. You have done so well this week, I think you earned it." I could NOT believe it. A Kudu?!? A Kudu?!? Holy Crap! A Kudu! I ran to Jaco immediately. He had already began calling around to see where we could go to get a nice Kudu. Todd had already told him!

Day 8:
We got up real early and went to the neighboring farm to hunt Kudu. The area was some-what new to Jaco so another PH, Roebol, came along to help out because he knew the area quite well.

We saw a couple of males, but nothing really worth going after. This day we basically spent the entire day getting to know the area and glassing. I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of a hunting day, but I wish I would have at least been able to see a Kudu that was worth looking at through my scope.

Day 9: (The last and BEST day)
We set out for the neighboring farm again at about six in the morning. We needed to get an early start, because this was my last day and if I wanted a Kudu, I had to work for him. Within 20 minutes of getting to the hunting area, our trackers spotted a herd of Kudu with a nice bull. Our stalk had begun however, we didn't just hike... we climbed up and down rocky mountains for over five hours. I did my best to keep up with Jaco, but I was dying. My knees were buckling and my thighs were burning. This was the toughest day I had the entire hunt!

At about 11, Jaco and I had a discussion about my Kudu. We only had another hour or so until it was too hot to hunt. We agreed that if we didn't get my Kudu by one in the afternoon, I would put it on my list for next year. We continued to climb up and down rocky hills. I could barely see the ground; the grass was up to my knees and thick. Every time we thought the Kudu were coming, we narrowly missed them! They would run right in front of us; we were 20 seconds too late every time. Finally, 1 o'clock came around and I said to my PH, "Well, that's it, he's on the list for next year!"

We both went back to our lodges to relax for the rest of the day. At about 4:30 in the afternoon Jaco comes to my lodge and says, "We have to go to these fields near here. Sometimes Kudu come down there." "How long are we going to be out there?" I asked him."Only for two hours," he replied to me. "All right," I said, "Let's go." We drove about 15 minutes to get to these fields that were near our lodge. "You have to be very quite," Jaco said to me. We set up shop behind these small, old cement walls and just waited and watched. After about an hour, a bunch of Kudu cows came out with their young so we got ready for the bull to show but, he never did! Then, something spooked the Kudu cows and they ran off.

"Let's go to the next field," Jaco said to me, "Maybe there will be some Kudu over there." By now the sun was starting to set, but it didn't matter, we kept going on. We were practically leopard crawling over to the next field when all of a sudden Jaco stopped ... there he was! I don't know if it was from lack of time and being exhausted or just seeing the Kudu bull that close to us, but for the first time the entire trip I got excited and nervous. I got BUCK FEVER!

The two fields were separated by a fence so I had to use the fence as my "sticks." I put my rifle through an opening, but I just couldn't get comfortable. The whole time I'm telling myself, "I have to shoot him! I have to shoot him!" But, I didn't! I couldn't! Jaco said to me, "We don't have a lot of time! You HAVE to calm down! They usually only stand once." Then the bull started to walk away!!! I pulled my rifle out of the fence hole, moved a little to the left and stuck it in another hole. Just then the Kudu stopped broad side and looked right at us! I took 3 deep breaths and squeezed the trigger...BAM...a perfect heart shot. He ran about 10 yards and DROPPED!!!!! Jaco and I both were jumping up and down yelling and screaming "We got him!!! We got him!!" He was a beauty, 43" and some-what wide. I just loved him.

So on the last day, at last light, I got -

MY KUDU!

Jaco and I were the last to arrive to dinner that night. Everyone knew we had been trying for Kudu for two days. Jaco and I got to the braai area and had blank looks on our faces. Everyone started asking me, "Did you get him? Did you get him." I looked at Jaco, Jaco looked at me and I said, "I don't know ask him." And I pointed to him. Then everyone started asking Jaco. "I don't know, ask her," he told them. I got a BIG smile on my face and said, "Of course I did ... and with only one shot!"

Each lady gave a little 'thank you' speech to their PH and we were given one back from the outfitter and our PHs. I was told that I did surprisingly better than anyone thought and everyone was truly proud of me. I was nicknamed "African Assassin" on this trip. Jaco told me that he would hunt next to me any day. I really felt honored.

I had such an amazing time and am absolutely hooked on hunting and Africa. I cannot wait to go on next year's hunts with new groups of ladies.

Thanks to SheSafari for donating outfits to the ladies (who will also be doing the same for next years hunts,) BladeTech for doanting knives, NRA's Women on Target program, RiflePermits.com and our outfitter in South Africa. You all truly made this hunt an amazing one.

P.S If you are interested in sending your spouse or you want to go (if you are a lady) please, please contact me for the details. Or, you can visit out website at http://www.tjsafari.com/ and click on the Women in the Wild Hunt in the packages section.

-Shannon Irving
The T. Jeffrey Safari Co.

Labels: Women In The Wild

Friday, December 7, 2007

Todd J Rathner

Monday, November 12, 2007

Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game

For over a century Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game has been the "go to" book of records for big game trophy hunters, especially African big game hunters. It is a comprehensive record of some of the most incredible trophies ever taken, or found in the wild.

The book differs a bit from SCI's record book as it does not rank the animals listed by class or numeric raking so there is no "award" system.

The Rowland ward measuring system differs depending on the species discussed. For instance horned animals are ranked in descending order according to the measurement of their longest horn. Other measurements such as circumference and tip to tip spread are also provided but only incidentally as they are not tallied as part of the animal's "overall score".

This measuring system is simple and very useful in the field. It is certainly easier to try to judge the overall length of a horn to determine an animal's maturity then it is to try to calculate the overall gross score. The book has the approximate height at the shoulder of each animal which assists in field judging horn length by allowing one to compare the horn to the size of the body. This measurement also can be very helpful in quickly calculating bullet drop at known distances. Especially since the measurement is at the shoulder.

I think the Rowland Ward system of measurement encourages the taking of mature male specimens of a given species, which is an integral part of wildlife conservation. We as sportsmen must regulate ourselves to take mature animals to ensure that they have already passed on their genes to the herd. Taking immature animals as trophies is antithetical to good conservation. The folks at Rowland Ward recognize this especially as it pertains to Cape Buffalo more properly known as "Southern Buffalo." The current scoring system ranks Cape Buffalo based on the width of the outside spread of it's horns. In my opinion and in the opinion of many others this has lead to the shooting of many immature soft bossed bulls. Because younger Cape Buffalo bulls will generally sport wider horns. As a buffalo ages the horns will drop and the overall width of the horns narrow

In order to encourage the taking of more mature bulls Rowland Ward sent out an email recently announcing they intend to change the way the minimum score is derived. This is from a recent email from Rowland Ward's Guild Of Field Sportsmen:

"The minimums for all recorded animals will include the longest horn or greatest outside spread as well as a composite measurement which will be derived from a combination of the outside spread or longest horn, as the case may be and the width of the biggest boss or the circumference of the longest horn, as the case may be, multiplied by two; "

This change will encourage the shooting of more mature bulls by including the width of the boss in the minimum measurement. This is an important step in encouraging hunters to shoot older bulls and I hope SCI will follow Rowland Ward's lead and adjust their scoring system as well. If we want to assure the future of healthy buffalo populations then we should embrace this change.

The book provides excellent descriptions of each species and how they differ from other species which are closely related. It also gives home ranges and countries where each species lives.

I also really like the classic style hand sketches of the animals in the book. The sketches remind me of the traditional naturalists who recorded their impressions of wildlife with a pencil. The "books" (because it is two volumes) are also very nicely bound and will look great on the shelf or on your coffee table.

To order Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game please visit their website at: Rowlandward.com or call them at (877) 423-3220

Todd J Rathner

Ultimate Ammunition Company

I have been hand loading ammunition for a number of years. I really enjoy it. There is just something about creating a load from scratch that works perfectly with you rifle and then using it to take a game animal.

Over the past couple of years I have become so busy with running a business and with our growing family that it has become very difficult to find the time to work up loads or even to load up some cartridges that I know work in a particular rifle.

Last year at the Dallas Safari Club show I met a fellow named Ricky Allen who owns a company called Ultimate Ammunition. I stopped at his booth to chat with him and realized pretty quickly that this guy knows what he is talking about when it comes to ammunition. We talked about the possibility of me sending him one of my rifles to see what he could do with it. Then a few months later one of my clients told me about some ammo he had Ricky work up for him and how well it shot in his rifle. He took a number of great trophies with it in Africa and suggested I keep in touch with Ricky. That was good advice.

This year about 3 weeks before going to Africa on my inspection trip I found myself with no time to put together my pet load for my 375 H&H. So I gave Ricky a call and asked if he was willing to try to match my load and see if I could test it before I left. He said he would do it and giving him the data a few days later I got some test cartridges from him.

I double checked the custom overall length I asked for and they were dead on and I pulled a bullet to check the powder charge and that to was dead on, so I was off to the range.

My 375 H&H is a custom pre-64 Winchester Model 70 and it can be a bit finicky so I was concerned that it may be difficult to make it shoot ammo I didn't load myself. That concern was dispelled after a few rounds at the range. Ricky was able to duplicate my pet load perfectly and the rifle shot just as well as if I had loaded the ammo myself.

I called Ricky and asked him to send me enough ammo for the trip and he got right on it. Unfortunately UPS was not nearly as efficient as Ricky and when the ammo was shipped UPS lost it! As the clock was ticking Ricky tried to have them find the package in time but as fate would have it UPS didn't find the package until I was well on my way to Africa with a few boxes of factory ammo to hunt with.

Luckily the factory stuff shot adequately in the rifle (but not nearly as accurate as Ricky's loads) and I had a great hunt. But I sure would have liked to use his ammo in the field. I have that ammo on my desk as I write this and will use it in the future. In the meantime I am sending my Kimber .308 Winchester to Ricky to see if he can work his magic with it before an Oklahoma deer hunt this year. You can bet we both agree that this time we will use FEDEX!

Visit their website at UltimateAmmunition.com or call (888) 235-3285.

African Safaris

North American Hunts

Previous Posts

Archives

Monday, April 28, 2008

TJSC in the News

Friday, April 25, 2008

A bunch of great trophies!

Gunsite Academy 2008

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Leupold VX-7 Scope Review

Monday, February 4, 2008

US Dollar Strong vs South African Rand

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Gotta Do Whatcha Gotta Do...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Shannon and The Women in the Wild!

Friday, December 7, 2007

Monday, November 12, 2007

Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game

Ultimate Ammunition Company

call us toll free (866)470-0470
in Arizona (520)887-2549

African Safaris

North American Hunts

Previous Posts

Archives

Monday, April 28, 2008

TJSC in the News

Friday, April 25, 2008

A bunch of great trophies!

Gunsite Academy 2008

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Leupold VX-7 Scope Review

Monday, February 4, 2008

US Dollar Strong vs South African Rand

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Gotta Do Whatcha Gotta Do...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Shannon and The Women in the Wild!

Friday, December 7, 2007

Monday, November 12, 2007

Rowland Ward's Records of Big Game

Ultimate Ammunition Company

call us toll free (866)470-0470 in Arizona (520)887-2549

call us toll free (866)470-0470
in Arizona (520)887-2549