Dear all,

I'm going on a safari to Zim in October. At present the plan is to take a couple of buffalo and perhaps one or two plains game animals, if time and finances permits. I plan to travel light and will only be taking my .375 H&H. My question is twofold:

1. How much ammo would be enough, considering more than one buffalo will be on the menu? My thoughts were thirty soft and twenty solid;

2. What are the restrictions on importing ammo into Zim? Can I, for instance, take along a couple of boxes of .375 to leave behind with the PH without getting myself in trouble?

Thanks!

Your 30 soft and 20 solids would be plenty, but
I'm not aware of any restrictions that would stop you taking another couple of boxes. I am sure that local Zim guys who post here will give you the exact figure if any. It is always a good idea to leave any spares with your PH. Hunters arriving minus some baggage are ever grateful for such thoughtfulness.
Have a great hunt and dont forget that it will be hot at that time of year.

Your soft/solid ratio is fine though all softs is fine if all goes well with the first shot on the buffalo. The solids are for a tenacious buffalo presenting a difficult angle or an unexpected elephant. Your ammo needs to be in factory or replacement packages so I would take 40 or 60 rounds so long as the 11 pound (5kg) limit is not exceeded. Ask your PH if he uses a 375, in which case leaving one box would probably not be noticed. You shot it up. If the ammo is not his preference US currency is always appreciated. Your ammo must be carried in your luggage in a "lockable" container.
Good luck on your hunt.

I don't know of any Zim restrictions on ammo your PH will have that info but the airlines limit you to 11 lbs of ammo per person.

Do yourself a favour, and if your rifle likes them, use only monolithic HP bullets. You won't need any solids if you use these.

Bullets like the Barnes X and North Fork and similar ones will do for all your hunting.

That is the type of bullet we have been using for many years.

We only use solids for elephants.

I am not aware of any restrictions, appart from the weight limit of 5Kgs by the airlines.

Have a great hunt.

Thanks for the replies, Saeed, et al.

Just to clarify, I live in SA and we will be driving in so not much in the way of weight restrictions.

I'm planning on using Swift A-frames along with Woodleigh solids - I have a load that shoots both to within an inch at 100 metres from my rifle at pretty much factory specs. Also, I've shot a great many animals with 300-grain Swifts and I trust them to work as advertised, every time. By the way, I have yet to see any North Fork bullet in the flesh over here.

Again, thanks for the advice. It is much appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by jvw375:
Thanks for the replies, Saeed, et al.

Just to clarify, I live in SA and we will be driving in so not much in the way of weight restrictions.

I'm planning on using Swift A-frames along with Woodleigh solids - I have a load that shoots both to within an inch at 100 metres from my rifle at pretty much factory specs. Also, I've shot a great many animals with 300-grain Swifts and I trust them to work as advertised, every time.

Perfect Buff bullets imo.

Good advice here.

I agree with Saeed that the TSX would be all that is needed.

But you should be well served by the Swifts and Woodleighs in your .375 H&H, and your ratio of softs to solids seems good.

Good luck!

You've selected the right bullets because those are the ones that shoot straight from your gun. But the quantity is too much. You said perhaps two buffalo and two plainsgame animals right?

Here's a potential breakdown of shots fired.

a) Range session upon arrival...2 bullets.
b) CBuff #1.....................2 bullets.
c) CBuff #2.....................2 bullets.
d) Plainsgame Species #1.........1 bullet.
e) Plainsgame Species #2.........1 bullet.

TOTAL...........................8 bullets.

Now JVW, let's throw in the possibility of a miss here and there giving you a plus factor of five. That now gives you a total of 13 bullets.

There's no reason to bring 50. That's way too much for the number of animals you plan on hunting, especially given the way you shoot as stated on 6/21 16:57 post above. Bring 20 cartridges max, no more than four solids.

Have a great safari and if you need a lifesize buffalo shooting target to warm up on, well we can help you out there too.

With respect to sabletrail: you can always bring back what you do not need; however, you cannot use what you don't have. Bring what you suggest-probably will not need it all- but you might.

IIRC 11 lbs of 375H&H loaded with 350gr Woodleighs gave me 80 rounds on my last trip. better to have extra than not enough

I do get your points. I'm just saying based on how the gent shoots, 20 cartridges seems like more than enough for only four animals.

I would bring more than 20. I have from time to time had my scope off when it came time to zero. It can take a few shots. There have also been times where for one reason or another that the rifle had to be zeroed a second time. You can't predict when this is going to occur.

I would take very few solids IF you are using high quality softs.

If you don't need them bring them back.

I'd take two full boxes (40). Fifteen solids and the rest in softs. In fact, that is what I'm doing in 16 days.

All good ideas above. If you need to re-zero your rifle, take along a collimator. It is the price of a box of 375 cartridges and can be used indefinitely.

You likely won't need more than ten solids, if that much, unless you have a chance at some of the little guys.

I have had absolutely superior performance with A Frames in both .375 and 7mm Rem.

Gentlemen, the poser of this question has indicated that he wants to give some of his ammunition to his PH.

So, having too much is not going to be a problem for him; it's going to be a solution!

Besides, as others have indicated, having too much is never a problem, as long as it's within any applicable weight and quantity limitations.

On the other hand, having too little can definitely be a problem!

On one of my safaris, I had a scope get knocked out of kilter, and completely out of commission, by the airline baggage mishandlers.

Being confident of my marksmanship abilities, I will confess that it took about five or six rounds of misses before I finally acquiesced in my PH's binocular-aided judgment that I was, in fact, missing!

Then there were the usual adjustments, bore-sighting, etc., and like and sundry other attempted cures.

Nothing worked and ten or twelve rounds had been expended before we realized that the scope was kaput and that I'd be using iron sights on that rifle for the duration.

Moral: Too much ammo is waaaaayyyyy better than too little.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Moral: Too much ammo is waaaaayyyyy better than too little.

Well said. I have learned this the hard way and now stick to it.

I think the saying is "better to look at it than to look for it".

quote:

Originally posted by Ahmed Sultan:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Moral: Too much ammo is waaaaayyyyy better than too little.

Well said. I have learned this the hard way and now stick to it.

Point taken.

On my last safari, I had to bring ammo for two guys, me and my partner, since he was traveling from Mexico and his guns were in the states.
He was doing a 21 day full bag and I a ten day buff.

He had a .375 and a .458 Win, and I had a .375, so I brought twenty A Frames for me and four solids. I was right at the weight limit.

I took five animals, including one buff. I expended one bullet on the buff.

I removed my little scope from the rifle and wrapped it heavily in bubble wrap and taped it to the inside of the case. It was right on zero when I installed it in TZ. Three softs and one solid to check zero.

Used one soft apiece on four animals and three on one. Left 10 softs and 3 solids for Paddy Curtis.

so the weight restriction is total for all ammo, not for each rifle? and you're allowed two? just making sure I understand it right. (I like my fantasies accurate!)

Red

And, keep in mind the 11 lbs (5 KG) includes the weight of your lockable container...

Emory

quote:

Originally posted by Dago Red:
so the weight restriction is total for all ammo, not for each rifle? and you're allowed two? just making sure I understand it right. (I like my fantasies accurate!)

Red

Yep. Depends on the country on how many rifles you can take, but since I had rifles for two guys, there were three licenses involved.

Also, the 5 kilo limit is all up.

I had .458 Win A Frames and Hornady solids for him, TSX's for his .375 and A Frames and tungsten cored Speer solids for me. I was right on 11 pounds, and we had enough to leave ammo behind, and he shot lion and leopard, as well as several head of plains game and an African wild cat. Come to think of it, I gave him one of my Speers for the little cat, so Paddy got two solids from my stash.

quote:

Originally posted by Emory:
And, keep in mind the 11 lbs (5 KG) includes the weight of your lockable container...

Emory

That depends on who's weighing the ammo that day. On my first two safaris, I had to scale the individual boxes and not the container. On the last trip, they didn't even check. I weighed the load on the scale at my neighborhood UPS store, so I wouldn't have any problems. In my limited experience, I've never had to include the weight of the container, which I use a plastic lockable pistol case. Your mileage may vary.

As has been said here many times before: Print out the baggage policy of each airline you are flying and take it with you. That way when some gate agent who is not familiar with their own rules gives you a hard time, you can show them their regulations. Also the 11 lb rule is per passenger so if you are flying with your spouse and have two rifles, as far as the airlines are concerned, your wife can also bring 11 lbs for "her" rifle.

This is all good stuff and very useful information. But just remember the topic starter, Johan, in his second post stated he's actually driving from South Africa to Zim. As long as he has all his licenses/documents in possession, he'll be fine.

In fact he should sail through all border crossings. I'm guessing don't even mention you are transporting guns and ammo, unless asked.
Atleast that's what my approach has always been.

Over the years I have got some pretty strange looks from the brothers at the border crossings; that tilted head look of perplexity as if to ask, "Who is this Black American driving a fully loaded LandCruiser with gun racks,with a Sable Trail logo on the doors, with a White Namibian (Kappie, my videographer) in the passenger front seat?" Priceless.

Johan, I can assure you, you won't get those looks at the crossings. By suggesting only twenty cartridges, I was just trying to save you a little fuel, with improved miles per liter, with less weight!

[QUOTE]
Over the years I have got some pretty strange looks from the brothers at the border crossings; that tilted head look of perplexity as if to ask, "Who is this Black American driving a fully loaded LandCruiser with gun racks,with a Sable Trail logo on the doors, with a White Namibian (Kappie, my videographer) in the passenger front seat?" Priceless./QUOTE]

...why don't you surreptitiously film some of these reactions to add as an anecdote to one of your films...

...sort of a new take on eddie muphy's older movies on a similar topic...

You know JHunter, I've wished that the cameras had been rolling, during so many of these incidents. I could have easily backed up the LandCruiser and had Kappie videotape the whole thing, but that would be staging, which I try to avoid. The reaction would never be the same the second time.

The hidden camera thing would be the only way it would work. It sure would have made for some good bloopers or a special feature on a DVD, that's for sure. Great idea.

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
You know JHunter, I've wished that the cameras had been rolling, during so many of these incidents. I could have easily backed up the LandCruiser and had Kappie videotape the whole thing, but that would be staging, which I try to avoid. The reaction would never be the same the second time.

The hidden camera thing would be the only way it would work. It sure would have made for some good bloopers or a special feature on a DVD, that's for sure. Great idea.

...it would be quite easy, imho, to produce a sub-genre for your dvds to exploit this concept...something like a take on "the gods' must be crazy - return to the homeland" or "tin tin in africa", but with an eddie murphy-type persona...perhaps with some fellow mates from the states...

...you can even subtly weave in some eco/preservation concepts, given the indigenous tribes' millennia of experience on natural living/balance and sustainable hunting (never mind the poachers, who are merely the african equivalent of the south american peasant cocoa growers, imho)...or perhaps focus on first world - third world aspects from a shooting sportsman’s point of view...

...and, disregarding politics, if someone from hawaii can go to the "mainland", make it big politically, and then return to the homeland to foster cultural awareness, then why can’t a great "indigenous" hunter from the states do likewise from a hunter's/naturalist's perspective?...sort of a modified “steve irwin” with a focus on ethical hunting and all the positives that the sport brings to preserve natural habitat in Africa and elsewhere…

Not to change the subject, but, my wife, Glenda is a little darker than your average white girl, and she gets a lot of curious looks when we are tooling around the bush, with her sitting up topside in her hunting garb and we pass through a village in the concession.

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
I do get your points. I'm just saying based on how the gent shoots, 20 cartridges seems like more than enough for only four animals.

You are right of course. Right up until Mr. Murphy shows up and your scope goes nuts, you manage to drop a handful of cartridges in the outhouse or take a dunking in a river. An extra box of ammunition would be good then.

I remember Jim Corbett telling a story of one of his early man eater hunts. He had a double rifle and figured he would only have a single chance at a shot. He loaded the rifle and stuck a spare in his pocket. Three shots later, he was alone in the dark with a wounded man eating tiger and an empty rifle. After that he carried more cartridges than he thought he would need.

Dea

Now you guys may recall Eddie Murphy is quite a "distinguished" hunter, as evidenced by this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24VA0tTTsvM

I had scope/bullet problems on the last trip and used up the better part of a box of bullets at the shooting range.

If everything goes well, 40 rounds is plenty. If gremlins sneak into your rifle case on the trip over - 40 ain't enough.

When there is that much time, money and preparation riding on the decision to take a few more bullets, that (to me) is a no-brainer.

Put yourself in a position to succeed in spite of problems.

quote:

Originally posted by SableTrail:
Now you guys may recall Eddie Murphy is quite a "distinguished" hunter, as evidenced by this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24VA0tTTsvM

Thanks for the reminder. Eddie Murphy is probably (IMO) the greatest comedian of the twentieth century, but there is nothing Hollywood can't screw up.

jvw375:

I would ask your outfitter for the PH's comments on buff. (My PH preferred me to be sighted in with solids for the first shot and it was a solid that I used on a shoulder shot at about 35 yards or so on my buff. Make sure to check what the points of impact difference are between SPs and solids before you leave for Africa. It could be several inches or more)

DO NOT leave ammo behind in Zim. This may prove to be the most expensive ammo in the world (as in "give me $500 or I will detain you here indefinitely while we arraign you".

This is becoming a "gotcha" upon departure. It has happened at BYO as well as VFW.

Russ,

Thanks for the warning but can you perhaps explain a bit more?

If I declare the amount of ammo I take into the country and afterwards declare what's left ("Shot the rest into a couple of buffalo, Officer"), why should there be a problem? That's exactly what a few people I know did in 2009 and they had no problems.