What are the most common 416 Rigby factory loads available in Africa? Thanks
Matt

Matt, "Commonly available" and "Africa" do not usually appear in the same sentence :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Matt, "Commonly available" and "Africa" do not usually appear in the same sentence :-)

I'm always surprised when I read something like this(I do understand that is was said somewhat tongue-in-cheek). It kinda reminds me Allen Day saying something to the effect of: Over there they are all wildcats.

The truth is that the larger cities have gunshops that stock ammo, and in the event that a gunshop is not close at hand there are usually local expats and PHs that would be able to sell enough ammo to keep your hunt on the rails.

With Matt taking a nonstandard 416 Rigby to Africa it makes sense that he should set it up to take the ammo that is locally available.

Matt, it would be worth mentioning which country you might hunt.

The only .416 Rigby I saw in a store over there was Federal Premium safari. One box of TBBC's.

Other calibers were more Norma or S&B. The ammo selection seemed pretty sparse compared to what we see in the states. (and very expensive comparatively.)

I think it depends on the store and what the last customer who ordered some there wanted.

South Africa does have a domestic ammo industry, but the other countries are pretty restrictive. SA may have some house brand.

If there is a country you are more interested in, state it, as there are some local folks from them who can give a much better perspective. As I recall, in the countries I hunted, they had to have a license to buy ammo, and the amounts and calibers that you could buy were restricted based on your license.

The most common loads available in Zambia are 400gr. I have seen them available in Norma Swift and Hornady DGS. I have also seen Norma 450gr African PH rounds. However the prices are very high. You are looking at roughly $400-$450 per box of 20.

South Africa, Namibia and Botswana are slightly cheaper and have more variety

Thank you.

ColoradoMatt

Zim = Federal 400g

Colorado Matt

I am not sure where you are coming from Matt.

How many rifles are you planing on taking on your safari?

You are allowed 11 pounds of ammo to take with you. And if need be you can take your ammo 1 box at a time to your local meat market and they will give you the exact weight. I have found the factory weight to be right on for factory ammo.

Example i was able to take 3 boxes of 225 gr 338 win mag ammo plus 3 boxes of 450 NE ammo and that was right at the 11 pounds limit. if you weight your ammo and find out that you have to take a round or 2 out just fill the slots with cotton balls as they want all ammo slots filled.

Now if you are just checking to see what is available and that you could purchase in case your luggage is lost. That will be good information to have. Or are you planning on traveling with a rifle and purchasing your ammo in Africa that is another. In that case have your PH find a spot that carries the ammo and plan on stopping there to pick so up before going on safari.

However what i do is fly and stay in South Africa or another country if that is where i am flying into for 1 or more days and nights to make sure my rifle(s) and luggage(s) is there or has a chance to arrive before i fly out into the bush. You know those special flight to bring your equipment in to camp can be pricey, so the extra days before hand do serve a purpose as far as i am concerned.

Sound like you are receiving many points of view...

quote:

Originally posted by ColoradoMatt:
What are the most common 416 Rigby factory loads available in Africa? Thanks
Matt

Quick question for Buzz Charlton- I see from your videos that you use a 416 Rigby. What grain bullets do you use. Have you used 450gr rounds on your close up elephant hunts. If so do they make any noteable difference compared to the normal 400gr which is the most common ammo that is available.