Wife's 6.5 Creed for Africa

[Khwela]

Have a great time in Africa, South Africa I presume. You will love it

 

[gillettehunter]

I'm sure you'll have a great time in RSA. Your wife's new rifle sounds pretty sweet. I'm going to suggest that the 85 gr bullet could be on the light side for a sable. They are pretty good sized animals...... The Nyala should be fine. I've been to Africa a few times and have taken 3 sable. The one I took this year went around 100 yds after a good hit from a 180 gr bullet from my 7 SAUM. He was dead, but just didn't know it . Took a while to find in the tall grass. A sable is the size of an elk for reference. I'd be cautious about a newer hunter shooting one with that setup. Your safari. Your money. Your call. Best of luck. Looking forward to hearing about your safari.
Bruce

 

[Rosebud]

They just can't help their selves can they? Everyone is a doubter until you see the results of Hammer bullets.

 

[adam32+P]

I always hear that Africa is cheaper than a western big game hunt...but is it still cheaper once you factor in airfare, tips, trophy fees and taxidermy? Especially if you're kinda tall everyone says you pretty much need to fly First Class to survive?

 

[Khwela]

I always hear that Africa is cheaper than a western big game hunt...but is it still cheaper once you factor in airfare, tips, trophy fees and taxidermy? Especially if you're kinda tall everyone says you pretty much need to fly First Class to survive?

I think it is. You can bag so many species in the same area.

 

[epoletna]

I don't want to second-guess you, but I'm wondering if the stock on your wife's rifle is a little too short in LOP? Looks like she's really scrunched up.

I took my wife on safari several times when we lived in East Africa (1970-73). She loved it. Sleeping in tents and listening to the lions coughing in the distance, eating game meat cooked over an open fire, drinking Johnnie Walker out of tin cup. Wonderful memories. Couldn't do any of that nowadays. She did not hunt, BTW, but it was nice to have her along to share the experience with me.

 

[hesse]

This is one piece of advice get the hides sent home before you leave. It cost my dad an extra 1800 over the agreed price. The government charged that to get it released from customs. Had him over a barrel. That and was not happy with the taxidermy . Also mark your horns before you box them to make sure you get the correct ones if you have them mounted over there

 

[dougduey]

They just can't help their selves can they? Everyone is a doubter until you see the results of Hammer bullets.

I don't think a bunch of responders realize Steve (one of the owners/ founders of Hamber bullets) has been to Africa multiple times and tried out many different calibers with Hammer bullets. I remember his post after the hunt talking about how skeptical the PH's were with the smaller calibers and lighter weight Hammer bullets. That didn't last long when the saw the terminal performance. Like he said in the post here, the PH's shoot Hammers now.
I'm really curious to see what they're taking over there this time.

 

[gillettehunter]

I always hear that Africa is cheaper than a western big game hunt...but is it still cheaper once you factor in airfare, tips, trophy fees and taxidermy? Especially if you're kinda tall everyone says you pretty much need to fly First Class to survive?

For example here is a 7 day hunt in So. Africa for 4 animals for $2780.
https://www.africahunting.com/threa...-mafojani-safaris-limpopo-south-africa.69225/
The above offer includes almost everything but your airfare. By the way I am not affiliated with the company quoted above in any way and have never hunted with them.
A little math:
7 day hunt w/ animals $2780
airfare I fly cattle class and the plus extra legroom $1900
Tip at 10% of hunt plus some extra for skinning $350
Taxidermy ?? Could be European mounts or
shoulder or full body or just pictures. Done in Africa or the
USA. 0 to $5000 depending on what you want. Total of above is
a whopping $5030 or about what I see some custom rifles selling for. Less I think than most western elk hunts. In addition you'll almost certainly kill all 4 animals unlike a western elk hunt. Many guided elk hunts have less than a 50% success ratio. So is it expensive? To some it is. For many it is attainable. I have gone essentially every 2 yrs for the last while. Perhaps a thread on actual costs might be fun.
Bruce

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I get the worries about the 6.5 Creed running an 85g Hammer Hunter being too small. I do it too! Some of what I choose to shoot when we go to Africa is for the testing that we can get done there on the sheer number of animals. Some of what I take is to prove a point, that you don't have to have heavy for caliber to have great results on game. Even big tough game. Sometimes it is to prove to myself what our bullets can do well. I have not shot the 6.5mm 85g Hammer Hunter on game. We have great reports from customers, but I need to see live animal testing myself. I think I said earlier in the thread that Trophy Game Safari use 70g Hammer Hunters in their house gun that is a 243win, for all but the biggest game. When we suggested that was the bullet to use, they were very skeptical. Now that they have used it on hundreds of animals over the last 4 years, they trust it.

I like the Stocky's stock. We did not have a lot of choice for the Vanguard action, so we took what we could find. I don't think it is too short for Jill as it is full length of pull. I will look at putting the scope farther forward and see if that looks better. She looks to me like she is too far away from the scope, but she tells me she has full field of view.

We will see how it goes with the little Creed with the little 85g Hammer Hunter. If it goes well I may use it to Hammer a trophy eland bull. We did it the first trip in 2018 with a 257 Wby running the 116g Shock Hammer. At that time I didn't think it was enough, but that eland had a different opinion than I did.

 

[Window]

Sounds like a great trip! The 120 Barnes ttsx would be a sold choice for 300 yds in if you ph wants a little
More bullet weight

Yep that'd be a great idea for the man who produced an improved version of monolithic bullets through his own blood sweat and tears. If your comment was sincere without that knowledge, my apologies and no pun intended If it was intended to be jab, have a little class.

 

[Rosebud]

My hunting buddies were all over me last year when I switched to light weight hammer hunters. One of them hates mono metal bullets of any flavor. But 16 deer later all one and done their minds are coming around. One of them has shot a bullet that starts at the letter H for over four decades is switching to hammer in one of his rifles. There may be hope for him after all. I think he's shot IMR 4064 for the same period. He's of if it works don't fix it. I'm about to get ugly responses from 4064 shooters. Its a great old powder. Its just that Varget is better.

 

[Tdubs]

I never dreamed that I would ever do something like hunting Africa. A trip to Africa all in with 6 animals and get treated like a king is less expensive than a guided western elk hunt.

It's not tough hunting like you are used to. The terrain is easy, other than thorns, and the PH's have done the heavy leg work ahead of time. I didn't know what to think the first time we went, and halfway through the trip we were talking about going again. I have been more excited about each trip than I was for the previous one. There is just nothing like it. This is who we go with. They are like family now.

Home

Botswana and South Africa Safaris est.1998 with 80% return clientele you are sure to get the best experience!

www.tgsafari.co.za

That's awesome Steve. Hope you have a great time. It's on my bucket list

 

[RockyMtnMT]

That's awesome Steve. Hope you have a great time. It's on my bucket list

They say once you go it creates an itch you can't scratch without going back. I have to say it is true. This will be my 4th time and I find myself looking more forward to each trip.