I will be taking my first trip to Africa in July. I need to know a few things. First, and i know this is highly subjective, what are the best bullets to use for plains game, buffalo, and elephant - i can load several different kinds. I am using a 375 RUM and need to know best bullet and weight. I was thinking of using failsafes, but wanted the experts on this forum's opinion. The PH that my friends used last year and we will use again hated Barnes triple shocks and we will not be using them. I will not unfortunately be the primary shooter on the elephant and will probably be using a friend’s 500 Nitro for backup so don't be too concerned with the lack of horsepower from the 375.
Second, I need a good travel case for at least 3 rifles. Don't mind to spend some money as long as it is not ridiculous.
Third, any other suggestions that you deem necessary would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Clint,

Both these subjects have been discussed at length in the past (recently). Use the 'Find' feature to search the archives.

George

Clint,
First you need to check and see how many guns you can take per case, since you didn't say where you will be hunting....

That's a high velocity rifle so I would use the toughest bullets I could find..My choice is the the North Fork cup points and soft points for everything but elephant...Always use solids on Elephant, a good monolithic solid is your best bet, I like GS Customs flat points for elephant, Woodleighs, Speer Tungston, Barnes,ITTC, are all good solids.

My favored gun case is the tough case, I have had mine for 15 or so years I guess and its made at least that many trips to Africa and back without any damage, more than I can say for all the others I tried and you can get one from our own Mimms who posts here under the donor of harry hunter....

I wonder why the PH didn't like Triple Shocks. Too accurate?

BTW, Ray, it's a TuffPak... Who's been in the Makers Mark tonight? I'd buy one from Mims in a second (if I didn't already have one).

BTW, at a RUM's velocity, I'd use monolithics solids instead of "encapsulated" or whatever Hornady or Woodleigh uses. I had a Woodleigh slighty deform on an elephant this year. (Killed the snot out of the elephant, though). I believe that it was because I pushed it 150 fps faster than the recommended velocity. It riveted some and spit lead out of the tiny hole in the rear. (Still was up against the far skin.. not too bad.)

It'll be North Fork or Barnes solids for me in the future if I'm pushing beyond the upper part of the envelope.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JudgeG:
I wonder why the PH didn't like Triple Shocks. Too accurate?

Yeah Judge...maybe he has a touch of the Mark Sullivan syndrome and just wants to let Clint "piss em off" before he steps in an administers the touch of death! I would seriously question this so-called PH who has the balls and audacity to flat-out reject Barnes bulets.

Bull1

Swift A-Frames have always worked well in my .375 H&H. I have used Trophy Bonded Sledgehammer solids in both .375 and .416 with great success. Any premium bullet should work well. Pick the one that shoots the best out of your rifle. Spend more time practicing from field positions (off shooting sticks, off someone's shoulder, kneeling,etc.) and studying shot-placement for African animals than you do worrying about your bullet selection. Initial shot placement and rapid reloading and quick off-hand follow-up shots are more important than bullet selection (assuming you have selected a premium bullet).

Tuffpak from Mims Reed is an excellent choice in guncases.

Why do you need three guns? Many airlines limit a guncase to no more than two guns. South Africa only allows the import of two rifles.

Read my Tips & Packing List for other important information about your first safari.

Regards,

Terry

Clint, last summer was my first trip to Afrika and I borrowed my friends tuffpak. I was an excellent gun case. Just put your rifles in soft cases and and slide them in. Then you can put lots of other things around them. Secondly, if you are hunting in very thick vegetation, the .375 rum is almost too fast. If you are going to take it, back the velosity off a little. I killed 9 animals...all with Barnes XLC XBT and triple shocks. Every animal died with one shot apiece. Good luck...I wish I was going with you!!!

Here are a few Barnes x that my friends recoverd from kudu and other plains game. They ended up using the PH 338 mag with nosler partitions to finish the jop. I have worked up a load with barnes triple x in my 300 WSM that is sub 1/2 MOA. They are very accurate. However, if they tend to fail more than the failsafe, i will use the latter - which shoots right at 1/2 MOA in my gun.
We will be hunting in Zimbabwe flying Delta. I'm planing on taking three guns (500 Nitro, 373 RUM, and 300 WSM) due to the large variety of game we will be hunting - Elephant to warthog.
Thanks for the advice so far, anything else i need to know about this particular destination?

Delta doesn't fly to Zimbabwe. I assume you will be flying on South African Airways for the Atlanta (or New York) to Johannesburg leg.

You may be flying Delta for the local portion of your journey.

This from Delta's website:

"Rifles
One rifle case containing:
two or fewer rifles (with or without scopes)
one shooting mat
one small pistol tool kit
noise suppressers
11 lbs. (approx. 5kgs) of ammunition
Cases containing more than two rifles will be assessed an excess baggage charge."

This from SAA's website:

"Sporting firearms consisting of not more than:

One rifle case containing not more than two rifles, 5 Kg (10 LB) of ammunition, one shooting mat, noise suppressers and small rifle tools"

How many rifles are your friends taking? If one of them is taking just one rifle then he could transport your extra rifle for you.

Are you passing through South African Customs or just connecting to Zimbabwe? If you clear South African Customs, you are limited to two rifles.

Regards,

Terry

Clint,

From the picture you posted of recovered bullets...those do not look like Triple Shocks...at least to me. The Triple Shocks have grooves...those do not show any.

Never used Fail Safe but have heard they are a good bullet. I used Triple Shocks last year and they worked great....375 H&H on Zebra and Heartebeast no recovered bullet both one shot kills. On Buffalo 458 Lott 500 gr TSX only recovered one bullet that went length wise through the Buff and was perfectly expaned X weighing 499 grains. On side on shoulder shots... through the shoulder continuing on to parts unknown. The TSX work...and are very accurate.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jjs:
Clint,

From the picture you posted of recovered bullets...those do not look like Triple Shocks...at least to me. The Triple Shocks have grooves...those do not show any.(Quote)

I agree, no "triple" rings on the bullets. By the looks of them, they hit some big bones, so I would doubt that one would get the picture perfect bullet.

I've used TSX on game, and they were great. Going to use them again in 2005.

Sorry for any confusion, but they used both triple shocks and Barnes x cannulated. They are the same bullets minus a few groves.