If I lived in SA and wanted Norma brass and good bullets like Nosler..Where would I be start searching?.

Thanks

Hi
Get a copy of Magnum
Normally I get good service from Camdix in Krugersdorp then there is Nicolas Yale in Johannesburg.

Hope that helps

Safari & Outdoor in Stellenbosch and Pretoria are the Nosler agents. They usually have Nosler brass in stock as well, although calibre might be an issue.

Jens,
If you plan to visit SA,

Why buy Noslers in SA, when you can buy Rhino for a fraction of the price? The Rand is down 40% compared to the Swedish Krona.

I visited S&O in Lynnwood Bridge a week ago, they had a decent stock of Rhinos then. Will come back in May and buy more!

Dont miss the excellent Fish restaurant next door to S&O in Lynnwood bridge

quote:

Originally posted by husky:
Why buy Noslers in SA, when you can buy Rhino for a fraction of the price?

Simple. The Noslers work as advertised and the Rhino's don't. At least not always. I tried the Rhino's. Never again. Give them to the deserving poor. And the Rhino's are by NO MEANS available at a fraction of the price, by the way. Do your maths again.

Components can be scarce at times, but the biggest challenge is powder. Somchem can be a pain to find an accurate load in many calibers.

quote:

Originally posted by jvw375:
Simple. The Noslers work as advertised and the Rhino's don't. At least not always. I tried the Rhino's. Never again. Give them to the deserving poor. And the Rhino's are by NO MEANS available at a fraction of the price, by the way. Do your maths again.

I think that's a bit unfair........ they make bloody good fishing weights!

More seriously, I also had trouble with them and would never use them again.

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:
If I lived in SA and wanted Norma brass and good bullets like Nosler..Where would I be start searching?.

Thanks

Sabi Rifles in Nelspruit carry a pretty good stock of quality reloading components. www.sabirifles.co.za

There are numerous gun shops in RSA with quite a few specialising in reloading components. One can almost buy anything that is available in the rest of the world. If you are in a rural area you can also buy online from some of the bigger suppliers.

quote:

Originally posted by jvw375:

quote:

Originally posted by husky:
Why buy Noslers in SA, when you can buy Rhino for a fraction of the price?

Simple. The Noslers work as advertised and the Rhino's don't. At least not always. I tried the Rhino's. Never again. Give them to the deserving poor. And the Rhino's are by NO MEANS available at a fraction of the price, by the way. Do your maths again.

I think the guy tried to say Rhino's are a fraction of a price in South Africa compared to what they pay for them in Scandinavia. I visit Scandinavia a lot (two weeks from now again) and I know they are actually loading Rhino bullets into factory cartridge form.

Some of my Swedish clients hunted with them.

Look, I had some of the best results out of my .308 with their 180gr. in Bushveld conditions, but I also had some my worst experiences with them. On a wounded Wildebeest Bull one time, I got him running away from me at about 70 yards. Bullet entered on the short rib on the right hand side and stopped under the skin on the opposite side in front of the shoulder. Total penetration and a fantastic controlled expansion. Retention weight was 95% if I recall.

About a year later I shot an Impala behind the shoulders (not to waste meat). No expansion, ZERO! It zipped through like a solid. This happened again. The long range capability of this bullet is legendary ZERO also. So, I still have about 200 of them sitting in their boxes here on my shelf. What do I shoot now? Long distance - 165gr Hornady SST's and short distance - 180gr. Bares TSX. Why the Hornady's over long distance? They are cheap, and Because I am a crap shot, and have to shoot a lot :-)

In Sweden they shoot a lot under 100 meters I believe, and therefore Rhino works for them....

My jury reckons it is not a good bullet if all things are considered.

quote:

Originally posted by jens poulsen:
If I lived in SA and wanted Norma brass and good bullets like Nosler..Where would I be start searching?.

Thanks

To answer your question:

Safari Outdoor like many said here. It is not just a shopping exercise, trust me.

You will pay more than any other of the retailers mentioned here, but man it is a fantastic shopping experience for a hunter.

quote:

Originally posted by jvw375:

quote:

Originally posted by husky:
Why buy Noslers in SA, when you can buy Rhino for a fraction of the price?

Simple. The Noslers work as advertised and the Rhino's don't. At least not always. I tried the Rhino's. Never again. Give them to the deserving poor. And the Rhino's are by NO MEANS available at a fraction of the price, by the way. Do your maths again.

Hi,

For 2-3 years ago the Rand and the Swedish krona was 1:1, now the Rand has dropped to only 60 Swedish Ore, means a 40% reduction in price for SA made stuff in SA for a simple Swede as myself.

However I find it very informative to hear that you are not happy with the Rhino bullets. I know that Kobus use 4 old lathes, there each late produce its own uniqe bullet ogive, that makes them almost impossible to load on commercial basis. Didn´t know that they also perform badly, with no or little expansion...

So is it only Swift A-frame and Northforks that are worth buying if one want a Premium bullet?

Else, I use local Swedish made Norma Oryx for all game up to and including Eland. The 9,3mm 325 grain Oryx is my favourite.

We are going a little off topic here , but I use Rhinos in my 9.3 x 62 and they perform flawlessly. I also load the Rhino monolithic solids in my 9.3 , and have recently achieved full penetration on a buffalo bull from front to back ( found it under the skin ). maybe just the 30 calibre bullets giving trouble ?

Hi Jan,

Thanks for the information.
I am interested in Rhino 250grain .358 bullets for my .358 Norma Magnum and 525 grainers for my Gibbs. The .358 is for longer ranges, but the .505 quite short distances.

Husky

I cannot comment on long range shooting with the Rhinos as most of our hunting is under 100 meters. I would expect them to do well on the 505 but I have no experience with Rhinos in that calibre.
A good friend of mine , also a PH , uses Rhino softs and solids in his 416 Rigby. He gets excellent results on Elephant , Buffalo and Hippo ( on land ) and refuses to use anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by Jan Dumon:
We are going a little off topic here , but I use Rhinos in my 9.3 x 62 and they perform flawlessly. I also load the Rhino monolithic solids in my 9.3 , and have recently achieved full penetration on a buffalo bull from front to back ( found it under the skin ). maybe just the 30 calibre bullets giving trouble ?

(FWIW) The problems I had with them were (admittedly) a long time ago and in .404 Jeffery calibre but their lack of interest in customer service pissed me off as much as the quality of the product.

They may well have improved since then but I'd never use them again.

Know lots of people who gave Rhino a fair chance. None of them - as in 0%- were willing to get bitten twice.

I also know Norma gave them a fair chance and decided to back out of it. I would have done the same.

I did my level best to provide feedback after my mishap. I'm still waiting. That was in 2006,and I've tried them twice again, just to satisfy my own curiosity.

"...4 old lathes..."; I'll believe that!

No Rhino bullet for me. Crucify away.

Thanks Guys

I will foreward this thread to Andrew McLaren

I've been aware of this thread for some time now.

Knowing my friend Jens he is sure to bring as "primary" rifle something very old, yet very desirable and in an obscure calibre for which reloading components are just about impossible to get!

But I'll try my best! Looking forward to guiding your son on a hunt for his first "real", African animal!

So Andrew,

What is your opinion about Rhino bullets?

quote:

Originally posted by husky:
So Andrew,

What is your opinion about Rhino bullets?

I have never fired a single Rhino bullet. So, whatever my opinion may be, it will all be based on hearsay!

Fired some other South African CNC-machine made monolithic solids - hollow points for plains game - at animals, almost invariably with very poor results.

I have also fired a lot of Nosler Partition bullets in a few different calibers at plains game animals - invariably with very good results - even if at time a lot of meat gets damaged.

My general opinion about so called "bullet performance" it that it plays a very secondary role to "hunter's marksmanship and bullet placement anatomy knowledge!

In good hunting.

I have never used Rhino bullets, nor have I seen them.

But, in my own experience of many years hunting in Africa, I have given up using any bullet with lead in it.

I have used the Trophy Bonded Bear Claws in several calibers, with great results.

I have used A-Frames in one caliber, they did work just fine, but, I always got worried after recovering some of the bullets, as the lead in the rear end has always got lost.

I have used Barnes X bullets for a number of years - in a 270 Ackley and a 375/404.

Bullets were the original X in 130 grain and 300 grains.

They all performed exceptionally well.

We then designed and made our own lathe turned bullets, our Walterhogs.

Many of us have been using these bullets on every animal we hunt for many years.

I would not use any bullet with lead in it if I had a choice.

From the Nosler page
http://www.nosler.com/international-dealers/

Safari and Outdoor Company
Devon Place Centre
PO Box 1338
Stellenbosch, 7599
SOUTH AFRICA
www.safariandoutdoor.co.za

They may be a wholesaler but could tell you retailers they ship to.

Mark

Thanks.

The search for .22-250 Brass is has begone

Bullet Central Africa often has good stocks - www.bulletcentral.co.za - but getting a copy of Magnum is good advice.

The shortage of components is more than just in SA and we (GSC in SA) are struggling to to cope with the demand. We manufacture only on order now and are running many weeks behind. At least we are mailing almost daily, albeit orders received some time back. The situation is somewhat better at the USA factory where the orders list is much shorter and the machines are faster.