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I have been to Zimbabwe and have some dangerous game experience. I went on a PAC after jumbos and while nothing was taken, I spoke to men who had a lot of experience. One used a .460, another a .458. Neither owned a .375. There was a young assistant PH in training who was carrying a .375. I looked at his ammo belt and counted 8 different brands of ammo. He had but a few solids.

I am sending this young man a care package which includes dies, bullets, including solids, Imperial sizing lube, a case trimmer, a case annealing kit, a 6 inch caliper in Imperial, a priming tool, and load data. I put out a request for Somchem data for a .270, a .375, and a .458 Lott for this reason. The North American data does not even mention Somchem powders or primers.

The ubiquitous nature of the .375 makes it very attractive in nations like Zimbabwe where handloading is difficult, if not illegal. This young man has a Lott, but as he does not have access to the manuals we all take for granted, proper case forming dies, and bullets, it collects dust.

The day before I embarked on my lion hunt I got a newsflash of a former Zim PH who had just lost an arm and an eye. His client lost his right leg. The client made a decent shot with a .375 and a Barnes X. They went into the tall grass and things went sour. I am certain that the same shot with a Core-Lokt would have been more immediately fatal. My lion was taken with a .338 Win and it did not move after the first shot. My buffalo was felled with one shot from my .458 Win. In both instances the shooting was good and I used an appropriate bullet.

The two old pros I spoke about earlier had taken elephant and buffalo that numbered over 1000 animals. Both had been scared using .375's and went to the .45's. One had been tossed. The gentleman who had been tossed by a buffalo was using the wrong bullets but they were all he had. The Zim government cannot afford premium solids. He was the top man at Wanke.
He went on his own after almost a year in the hospital.

If you are going to Africa, always have few solids on hand. If for no other reason than to give to your hunter. It may save a life later on.

Edited by albertan (14/08/06 06:41 AM)

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