Have a great safari, and don't forget to remove the firing pin from Walter's rifle.

George

quote:

Originally posted by GeorgeS:
Have a great safari, and don't forget to remove the firing pin from Walter's rifle.

George

I don't need to do that at all.

Walter works himself into a lather with my rifles all by himself.

He is the sort of person who does not like to listen to either me or Roy - despite the fact that we do sometimes tell him the truth!

One time we saw a warthog, which Walter wanted to shoot.

He was close by in the bush.

Walter gets out and I load the rifle for him. Roy puts the shooting stick up, so Walter can get ready for the pig to come out of the bush.

The pig came out, and stood looking back at us completely in the clear - he was about 200 yards away.

Walter "He is too far!"
Me "No he is not! Just aim in the middle of him!"

Walter "He is too far!"
Roy "Listen to Saeed and shoot that pig! He is not going to wait much longer!"

Walter fires, the bullet hitting about 6 inches above the warthog

Roy "You missed him! With that aim you would have hit him if he was 500 yards away!"

Walter "Isn't that how far he was? Anyway, this gun needs to be sighted again. I missed an impala with it yesterday"

Roy "There is nothing wrong with the gun. Saeed seems to hit anything with it!"

Walter "Saeed flinches too much. And this rifle is made for flinchers, not accurate shooters! I miss my Blaser. Saeed won't let me bring it!"

Me "I told you can bring it as long as you let me chamber a barrel for it for the 375/404. You can shoot anything with it then."

Walter "Bloody hell, Hoo, that will kick so hard even my whatsits would suffer, not just my shoulder and head!"

A few years ago I almost managed to persuaded him to buy a 375 caliber barrel, and I told him I will chamber it for our 375/404.

He was not too keen on that idea - his rifle has one of those utterly silly European stocks, which hit you in the face each time you pull the trigger.

He kept complaining that he would not be able to handle the recoil.

We thought we will try an experiment, as I have a 375H&H barrel for the Blaser.

Walter decided to try that on his rifle, but, he would load his own ammo, starting with very load velocity loads and working up.

He insisted he would load his own ammo - he did not trust me!

In preparation for this, I loaded 3 rounds of maximum loads in my Blaser, and kept them aside.

Walter arrived in the afternoon, and after getting himself comfortable and ready with an enormous piece of cake and ice cream - his favourite afternoon snack - and a cup of thyme tee which my wife makes especially for him - he started looking at the loading manuals.

He was looking for the load of least recoil.

He picked a charge that shows the least amount of powder, and reduced that by a further 10%!!

I don't think P O Ackley would have been very impressed with Walter's help in loading ammo!

I gave him the same bullets I used in my max loads, and he loaded 3 rounds - it took him about an hour to do that - food comes first with Walter!

As he was getting the shooting bench ready - he is left handed - I swapped the pipsqueak ammo he loaded with mine, and put them on the bench for him to shoot.

He fired the first shot.

"Aw, aw, aw, that bloody KICKS!"

I was laughing, and said "If you think THAT kicks, wait until you reach the level you have to load ammo for buffalo!" That load you are shooting is just good enough for spotted chickens!"

He got himself ready, and fired another shot.

"Aw Aw this kicks even MORE! I think I will use your gun. I am not shooting any more. This barrel kicks too much"

"It is not the barrel, it is that stupid Blaser stock designed by people who have no concept of what shooting is! The same people who designed that funny contraption as a rifle!"

"You have no taste! Just look at my beautiful Blaser. It is a work of art! Made in the most advanced factory us German's know to make. And look at YOUR rifle! Made by someone who has no qualification as a gunsmith. Lucky it even FIRES!"

"But, it works like a charm for the purpose it was designed for. When used by someone who knows what rifles are. How come you are the only one who complains about that rifle??"

"I like your rifle. Sometimes it even works for me. But I think you give me different ammo. Made especially to miss"

"When we get to camp. you can pick your own ammo. How about that?"

"Still won't work. You are bad enough, and when Roy and Alan are involved, it gets worse"

Saeed, This is the 4th safari I've had the privilege of virtually tagging along with you on. Thank you for doing this for AR and for Hunting.

Here's wishing you and Walter the absolute best of luck and safety. May the sun be at your back and the wind in your face!

Hooray!
The annual comedy-adventure show is about to begin! This is a unique category of entertainment.
And it takes a unique team to pull it off, Walter and Saeed, the Oddest Couple.

Have a great trip, Saeed. It's almost like watching reality TV following your (and Walter's) exploits. When will you bring Hessa along?

Saeed:

Walter loves shooting pigs and zebra. He is not too impressed about buffalo.

He says they make you walk a lot, and Walter is not too impressed about walking.

We hunted together in South Africa, and you could see the look of utter pleasure on his face when he was presented with a sand bag! to use on top of the truck!!

Afterwards he said it was the best hunt he has ever been on!!

Here is a story of him shooting a nyala.

We were driving along when we saw a nice nyala bull standing right on the road ahead of us, about 100 yards.

We were hunting with Peter Harris. We stopped the truck, and Walter got himself ready, resting his rifle on the provided sand bag on top of the truck, saying "Shall I shoot?"

I said "Wait for Peter to tell you if it is OK."

Walter was having none of this. He kept saying "Come on. Yes or no? I can TASTE that nya! Come on, hurry up! Yes or no?"

Peter said, Walter fired and the nyala dropped in his tracks!

We drove to him, and Walter was in so much hurry to get out of the truck to see his nyala, he missed one of the steps coming down the truck1

The result of which was him landing flat on his face. Sadly, Alan was already out of the truck, and was taking a video of the nyala!

Of course, everyone was laughing, including Walter once he managed to get all the sand and grass off his face!

The thing with Walter is, no matter what happens to him, he always gets the last laugh!

Again, in South Africa.

He shot an impala late in the afternoon, and wounded it.

It was quite thick there, and it got dark before we could find the impala.

We went back to camp, with a promise to go look for it early the next morning.

We had breakfast early and went looking for this impala.

Sure enough, we found less than 100 yards from where we had left off the night before.

But, being very cold, the impala was frozen.

He was lying down when he died.

Walter picked him, and stood him next to him.

The impala actually looked none the worse, and looked like he was standing next to Walter.

Walter said "Look, I am taking my impala for a walk!"

After all the crap we have been reading about anti-hunters, banning, airlines not taking firearms, cecil, etc etc, your trip and our chance to share it through the site, comes as a shot of relief and anticipation.

Have a great time

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

The thing with Walter is, no matter what happens to him, he always gets the last laugh!

Hilarious. Walter will be laughing all the way to the Happy Hunting Ground with bowl of cake and ice cream in hands.
But will Saint Hubert let Walter in?
Of course he will, and laugh about it too!








Annual heavy use on Safari since 1997 has finally broken in the barrels of the .375/404JS rifles.
Your groups are getting smaller, better stick with that load.

With the powder lot I am using this year, I am getting lower velocity??!!

It is about 80 fps slower, but, the accuracy is great, so I left it at that.

A couple of years ago I was checking my reloads for safari, and Walter was here.

He was looking through the spotting scope while I was shooting.

I fired the first shot, and it landed above the point of aim.

Walter "You missed."

I fired another shot, and it made the first bullet hole slightly bigger.

Walter "You missed again!"

I fired a third shot, and all three made a ragged hole.

Walter "Keep shooting. You need it. Alan is not going to be happy when you keep missing the buffalo at 300 yards!"

"You mean that group up there is not good enough?"

"The GROUP is good enough. Your SHOOTING is not good enough! Why do you keep missing the center of the target?"

Saeed Best of luck to you all.Stay safe and have fun!

Thank you all for your good wishes.

Enrique arrived here yesterday, and we had dinner with some friends.

Of course, Walter wasted no time in confusing everyone about our departure date!

Everyone knows we are going, but no one has the right date correct

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
With the powder lot I am using this year, I am getting lower velocity??!!

It is about 80 fps slower, but, the accuracy is great, so I left it at that.

A couple of years ago I was checking my reloads for safari, and Walter was here.

He was looking through the spotting scope while I was shooting.

I fired the first shot, and it landed above the point of aim.

Walter "You missed."

I fired another shot, and it made the first bullet hole slightly bigger.

Walter "You missed again!"

I fired a third shot, and all three made a ragged hole.

Walter "Keep shooting. You need it. Alan is not going to be happy when you keep missing the buffalo at 300 yards!"

"You mean that group up there is not good enough?"

"The GROUP is good enough. Your SHOOTING is not good enough! Why do you keep missing the center of the target?"

That's the pot calling the kettle black!

I would have thought Walter would have grasped the concept of group size by now........

Hunt safe, travel safe.

Have a safe and fun filled Safari. I enjoy reading your daily updates and will look forward for them.

Good hunting and look forward to the report.

All packed and ready.

Have fun mate. Looking forward to the live updates.

Good for you guys...

It's been a long wait for you, now get out there and start playing with Buffalo!

Best of luck, shoot straight, and stay safe.

Cheers
Jim & Joyce

Some killin' machines, Saeed!

Was asked what is in the rifle bag.

2 375/404 rifles, both built on a Dakota 76 action. The top one was built by my friend Dwight Scott, it has a Shilen barrel.

The bottom one I built myself, with a Dan Lilja barrel.

Top has a Nightforce scope, and the bottom has a Leupold scope.

Personally, I prefer the Leupold.

Underneath the foam lining there are two spare locks, paper targets for sighting in and the shooting competition at the end of the hunt, and a cleaning rod.

Ear plugs, assorted oils and grease and caliber specific cleaning cottons.

Might want to bubble wrap those bolts so they don't mar the barrels.

Have fun, looking forward to the reports.

What amazing feats of marksmansip will happen on the last day of this year's expedition at the closing-up-camp competition?
How many foreheads will be bloodied?
What prizes will be awarded to those who endeavor to persevere this year?



Love the Zebra camo paint job on the Shilen-barreled rifle, Ye Olde Number One. That is an early McMillan stock that started life painted solid black, is it not?




Rifle No. 2, Lilja-barreled by you: What brand of stock is that, that is "making do" so well?
I love the proud floor plate on it, and emulate it on my FN Mauser 500 Bateleur, with a standard Mauser M98 stock, Bell&Carlson Medalist,
Duane Wiebe bottom metal hanging out in the breeze.

The remnants of Walter's red fingernail polish in the flutes is good juju like the Bateleur flying overhead, says Walter the witchdoctor.

I bet some Hoppe's No. 9 would take that off in a jiffy.

Saeed did you remove that muzzle break thingy? It was a killer on the second shot.

Sir, wish you the best of luck, may you have a safe and fun filled safari! Looking forward for the live report.

quote:

Originally posted by Bakes:
Saeed did you remove that muzzle break thingy? It was a killer on the second shot.

Bakes,
I have a theory on that.
Rifle No. 1 started off with a muzzle brake, and got shot so much (in the last 18 years or so) that the 23-inch barrel is now a smoothbore.
So the muzzlebrake was replaced with some accessory, screw-on rifling.
That is not a mere muzzle weight on the rifle for accuracy sake.
It is like a paradox-rifled shotgun now.
Might do well with birdshot too, for guinea fowl or snake charming.



Early safari use with muzzle brake:

I just bought a new Orvis Helios 2 fly rod for steelhead and salmon, and the rod tube that the new fly rod came in looks suspicously similar to the condition of Saeed's stocks. They tell me that is the style nowadays-the well worn and well used look!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I just bought a new Orvis Helios 2 fly rod for steelhead and salmon, and the rod tube that the new fly rod came in looks suspicously similar to the condition of Saeed's stocks. They tell me that is the style nowadays-the well worn and well used look!

We had our 375/404, 30/404, and two versions of the 270/404 before Remington came up with their Ultras, so cannot see why no one else will imitate what we do

I dream that when I die, my rifles look as loved, worn, and "been-there-done-that" as Saeed's.

I cannot remember the name of the stock maker on the rifle I built.

The whole thing was put together in one day.

We normally have about 20 projects going on at any given time here, and as you can guess, things tend to get a bit messy - especially that all of us have to do our normal daily jobs as well.

I prepared the barrel, by cutting it to the required length and crowning it.

Cut the chamber rather tight.

Having taken the barrel out of the lathe and put the action on, it seems that the bolt would not close on an empty case.

I took the barrel off, put in a vice on the bench, and finished it by hand.

Back onto the action, and everything was just great.

Now came the part of choosing a stock.

I have some wood stocks I could have modified to fit, but I preferred a synthetic stock.

We had a big shipment from this manufacturer - I will post the name when I remember - and most of them were bloody awful1.

Anyway, we found this one that fits with a bit of modification, but the magazine was sticking out from the bottom.

This did not matter really.

I did not have any suitable pillars to bed the action, so made my own from brass stock, and bedded the action using Titanium bedding compound.

The rifle was left over night for the bedding to harden, and was shot the next day using the same loads we used in rifle number 1.

Walter was present throughout this, giving his usual advice - which he says goes through one ear to the other, as far as I am concerned.

He is right.

This is what I normally do when someone talks too much and does very little useful things.

He has given up doing any barrel work in our workshop, since I had asked him to center a barrel in the lathe for chambering.

We have made a 4 point holder that holds the barrel as it sticks from the end, and one has to tighten those four screws so that the barrel is centered straight in relations to the chuck.

He was using a micrometer that went 0.0000".

After working on one barrel for the whole afternoon - sweating about 5 gallons, swearing his head off, he gave up

quote:

We had a big shipment from this manufacturer - I will post the name when I remember - and most of them were bloody awful1

Something tells me it's an MPI.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:

quote:

We had a big shipment from this manufacturer - I will post the name when I remember - and most of them were bloody awful1

Something tells me it's an MPI.

Thank you.

Yep, you got that one right.

I have some stocks from them that are made to shoot around corners the way they are bent!

Yep MPI, is bloody awful, I have only one of them. Never again!

Neither of the wonderful stocks on the .375/404s are MPI. I am bloody sure of that!

"Bakes,
I have a theory on that.
Rifle No. 1 started off with a muzzle brake, and got shot so much (in the last 18 years or so) that the 23-inch barrel is now a smoothbore.
So the muzzlebrake was replaced with some accessory, screw-on rifling.
That is not a mere muzzle weight on the rifle for accuracy sake.
It is like a paradox-rifled shotgun now.
Might do well with birdshot too, for guinea fowl or snake charming."

So we can expect a new load? 375-404 loaded with BB's?

I am not too sure about this barrel wear out business.

Years ago we did shoot out the barrel of a Ruger M77 in 220 Swift.

The boys used to shoot it until the barrel was so hot no one can touch it!!

I have a 308 Winchester rifle we built ourselves, on a Remington 700 action and a Hart barrel.

It has been shot so many times, and the barrel looks like the skin of an elephant on the inside.

It does not shoot as accurately as it used to, but still will shoot a 1/2 inch group with the right load!!??

IN fact, it shoots better than so many brand new guns we get here!

No Walter antics?

Saeed,

Wishing you and your party a great safari. Looking forward to keeping up with your adventures with the photos you post here.

TT

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I just bought a new Orvis Helios 2 fly rod for steelhead and salmon, and the rod tube that the new fly rod came in looks suspicously similar to the condition of Saeed's stocks. They tell me that is the style nowadays-the well worn and well used look!

I just purchased the same rod. I can't wait to try it out on big browns.