I recently got back from my Namibia hunt with Trophy Trackings and Danie Jenson vanVuuren. Had a wonderful time and got the kudu of a lifetime (58 1/2 inches). I will post pitures and stories a little later. I wanted to point out two things that I picked up from AR forums that really made the hunt. First, those SmartWool socks. An army and a hunter marches on it's feet. As an old backpacker, I don't know how I missed them. What a fantastic find! The other was direction back to good old Nosler bullets. I took my 30/06 with 180 Nosler Partitions. That rifle really likes those bullets (3/4 of an inch or less off the bench, all the time-clean or dirty barrel). I was only able to recover one bullet, the rest went completely through, including my big kudu. Lots of broken bones, good internal damage, good blood trails. Not all one shot kills, but they would have been, if I didn't believe in the 'keep shooting until they are down' philosophy. Thanks guys. Your advice made the trip.

Excellent, amigo !!! What an amazing kudu ! I can hardly wait to see the pictures and read of the adventures .. I don't always live vicariously .. but there is a time and place for everything ..

Wow, that's a big kudu. Other trophies?

I think everyone who goes on their first safari learns from this forum. I know I sure did.

58 1/2" WOW!! I can't wait to see the pictures.

Black Fly

I leave in 9 days. I struggled with the bullet thing. Upon the advice of many from this baord I have chosen 180 Partitions as well. I am glad to hear that they worked so well.

Great to hear you had a good trip and lok forward to hearing more.

Ian

I would never have any qualms about using the tried and true Nosler Partition. After all, they are the bullet that all others are compared to.

Sounds like a great trip Black Fly. When I lived in Alaska I used the Nosler Partitions, 180 grain in my 30-06 but now I'm "in love" with the Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, 165 grain. That's what I used in Africa last year and they worked great in the 30-06. Of course I can't say they kill anything deader than the Partitions did and the Noslers do shoot great out of my Remington. Can't wait to see the pics of that Kudu, sounds fantastic!

Looking forward to the pictures and details!

I tried Barnes, Trophy Bonded, Winchester Failsafes, and all he other premiums I could find, in 165 and 180 grains. I did the same with powders. I was really surprised when the 180 Noslers shot so well. They were wonderful from the start. All the rest were good 1.5 inch shooters in that rifle. That's not what I found in some of my other rifles! In fact I have a very similar rifle that hates Nosler 180's. It was great fun doing the load work up. It took a lot of trips to the range and a lot of evenings at the reloading bench, but we all have to endure these pleasures, too.