What is the relative available of the various 40ish caliber magazine rifle cartridges in Africa? I'm thinking of eventually getting a 40ish caliber takedown turnbolt. While, regardless of cartridge, I plan on loading it to about 2170 fps with a 400 gr bullet, I want to be able to obtain replacement ammo should some of my luggage go astray. I assume that availability from most available to least available looks something like this, but want to here from those who have traveled to Africa recently:

1) .416 Remington Magnum
2) .416 Rigby
3) .404 Jeffery
4) .400 H&H

Is this order correct?
Am I leaving out any available cartridges?

Brazos_Jack

I would guess your pretty close, and it would depend on which African country your were in..Africa is a pretty darn big place geographically, so you can't just be that broad in your statement. These figures could change as you go North from RSA...

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I would not depend on finding ANY ammo in Africa except for what my, or nearby PH's or other hunters might have.

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I would not depend on finding ANY ammo in Africa except for what my, or nearby PH's or other hunters might have.

Ditto. If you are thinking about finding any ammo, you had better be a faster runner than the your PH.

Hence the .395 is fine as frog hair.

quote:

Originally posted by Will:

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I would not depend on finding ANY ammo in Africa except for what my, or nearby PH's or other hunters might have.

Ditto. If you are thinking about finding any ammo, you had better be a faster runner than the your PH.

Does this apply to ammo in general or only ammo over .400"?

most any ammo - and that will differ country to country. most common thing i've seen is 416 remmy's. but those guys usually come over here and bring the ammo back with them

Sounds like general ammo availability in Africa is so bad that it really doesn't matter which I chose. I like the ballistics of the original .404 Jeffery. They match the 450-400 3" that I hope to have some day. But all 40-ish magazine calibers are currently overloaded. So a downloaded .416 Rem makes good sense to me. I can get the 2170 fps I want with less powder / less ejecta / less recoil than any of the others save maybe the .400 H&H.

Any hunting I do in Africa before my retirement in a few years will be with a rifle rented or borrowed there. So it will likely be some well used .375 H&H. By the time I retire I hope to already have both 9.3x74R (hope to order later this year) and .450-.400 3" doubles. Plus maybe a takedown .338 Win Mag turnbolt for Stateside hunting anytime ranges exceed 9.3x74R double rifle capabilities (~200 yards). I thought it would be nice to also have a .40-ish takedown turnbolt with ballistics similar to the .450-.400 3"

Brazos Jack

Just a suggestion. Have you thought of having your ammo custom loaded in the country you intend to visit a few months before your departure? It can be done in a lot of cases, especialy in RSA the last I heard. Order extra to re-zero your scope and away you go...happy hunting.

Wouldn't this make the argument that the .375 Ruger is a bad choice for Africa because "what if your ammo gets lost" a moot point?

If your ammo gets lost, then you just use the PHs gun and ammo and pay him for it...

Most PH rifles I have seen are not the best of rifles, but that is not always the case..

All ammo is hard to come by in Africa, and that can vary in different countries as to availability...Tanzania is near void of ammo, but most PHs have a good supply of various ammo and a rifle or two..

If I were going to Africa I would take my own rifle, not rent or borrow another as I don't want to take that chance.

Getting custom ammo to you in time to still enjoy your hunt can be a problem, particularly with calibres a little obscure to Africa.
Therefore, order it just in case you lose yours and if you dont need it, give it to your PH. Or order it in advance and dont bring any with you if you dont want to travel with ammo. But dont expect custom ammo overnight if you lose yours although, some have been lucky in this regard.

quote:

If I were going to Africa I would take my own rifle, not rent or borrow another as I don't want to take that chance.

Ray,

I agree, but until I retire in a few years it simply is not an option. Any African hunt I do will be a side trip on my way to or from my annual repatriation leave to Texas from Saudi Arabia. So since I'll only be Stateside on one end of the trip, I have no way of taking personal guns with me. I do plan to build my African battery over the next few years so that once I do retire and am permanently stateside I will be able to take my own rifles. But I don't intend to pass on any chance to hunt Africa until then just because I'll have to borrow or rent a rifle.