Gary, Question on your Africa trip

there were only 2 tags to be given out. Plus it is pretty much just as well. I would have to fly to Joburg, fly charter to camp with the rest of the guys, then fly to Nigeria and a long drive to camp. The area where we would be hunting hasn't hunted elephant in many years and they are overrun and the tag would just be a tag to shoot one, whichever the game ranger tells me to shoot. Just shooting an elephant to kill it bothers me a bit. If it was a rogue elephant that was destroying villages and such would be a different matter, but this tag would be a tag to just kill an elephant and I really don't care for that. So I don't imagine I have been drawn as I would have heard by now. I think they draw December 20th. If I hear then my 416 GNR would be the cartridge of choice with a 400 grain solid in an Encore.

The main thing I am looking forward to is the replacement Cape Buffalo tag. Life Form Taxidermy lost my Cape Buffalo hide and horns from my buffalo from a year or so ago, so they are doing the right thing and paying for me another Cape Buffalo hunt. We will be hunting in a huge area that had a large herd of Cape Buffalo, at least 1600 of them. John Abraham, the head of Madubula Safaris and my friend on 14 safaris since 1992 said he will get me a cape Buff bigger than the one I got in 2018, so we'll see. My first one was #1 SCI for about a month before another fellow shot one about 3" larger than mine. So if I shoot one larger than my first one, that will be great. If not then it will still be good. A chance to hunt Africa again with a good friend. It doesn't get any better than that.

My handgun for the cape buffalo is the same Encore pistol I used on the first one chambered in 450 GNR. It will be using a 500 grain Hornady bullet and either the DGX (Dangerous Game Expanding) or the DGS (Dangerous Game Solid) whichever one John tells me to use. I used the DGX on the other Cape Buff and he went down in one shot.

I am also taking my 310 GNR in a G-2 for any plains game John badgers me into shooting. John was the one that got me on the record book kick. My first African animal, a Red Duiker, went #1 and stayed there for about 10 years before somebody else beat me. Somewhere at about the 3rd or 4th safari John and I agreed on taking no animal that wasn't at least #3 in the record book. That means I shoot a lot less animals but shoot older animals that are not in the breeding herd anymore which to me makes a lot of sense. At one time I had 19 animals in the SCI record book that ranked #1, and 30 in the top 10. So I have really been blessed in my African hunts. I could never ask for more.

Anyway Josh brooks and I will be heading down to Phoenix early in the morning to U.S. Customs to register our guns for the hunt coming up in mid May.