Guns

Choosing the rifle or rifles to take on an African safari is one of the great pleasures of the whole experience. Bringing the right rifle and load can help turn a good experience into a great one. We have put together a few guidelines that can help you decide what to bring along. An accurate, flat shooting rifle is a must for hunting plains game at Gras Hunting Ranch. Shots can come at distances anywhere from 30 yards to 400 yards.

Quality optics are a must. Rifles should be fitted with a quality scope that will hold it's adjustments. Brands such as Leopold, Bausch & Lomb, Swarovski, Zeiss, Burris and Leica are excellent. A 3x-9x variable or a fixed 4x is the most useful. Variables with higher magnifications are not needed, and often cause a rifle to be much more cumbersome. Low-powered variables such as the 1.5x-5x Leopold Vari-X III are an excellent choice, especially on a heavier caliber rifle. The low power and associated wide field of view can be very helpful when hunting in thicker brush, and the top power of 5x is suitable for shooting at any distance you are likely to shoot at. If the rifle is equipped with iron sights, please insure that they are sighted in, "just in case".

A quality pair of binoculars is also a must. Many hours will be spent glassing, so it is important to have binoculars which are clear, comfortable, and do not strain your eyes. 8x or 10x is all the magnification you will need. Binoculars with greater magnification are often heavy and will be provide an image which is too "shaky" to view for very long. "Compact" binoculars are handy, but a full-size pair is best for daily use. A spotting scope is not needed and will just take up extra space in your baggage.

Premium bullets should always be used, preferably in a "heavy-for-caliber" weight. Pick one bullet type and weight and stick with it. A springbok hunt becomes a kudu hunt in a blink of an eye, and it's best to be prepared for any eventuality. Nosler Partitions, Swift A-Frame, Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, Barnes X-Bullets, Speer Grand Slam, GS Custom, PMP Pro-Amm, or other premium makes are excellent choices. "Ballistic-tip" bullets will often fail to penetrate properly on heavy game when fired from lighter calibers or at very high velocities. Ballistic-tips in caliber .338 or greater are constructed with a heavier jacket and will perform well. Standard soft-point bullets such as the Remington core-lokt, Federal hi-shok, or Winchester power-point will usually perform well, however, considering the investment in a safari, it's wise to upgrade to a premium bullet.

A quality bolt-action rifle is the most commonly used rifle on safari. Single-shots and lever-actions occasionally show up, but a double rifle is probably not the best choice for the longer shooting often found at Gras. Deciding to bring one or two rifles is often a difficult choice. Below you will find some guidelines to help you make your decisions.

If you are planning on only bringing one rifle to Gras, the .264 Winchester Magnum or .270 Winchester are the logical minimum choices. Excellent choices include the 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-06, .300 H&H, Winchester, Weatherby, or Remington Ultra Mag, .338 Winchester Magnum, or .375 H&H. The table below contains the best bullet weights for the listed calibers for hunting at Gras.

Caliber	Preferred Bullet Weight
.264 Win Magnum	140-160 gr.
.270 Winchester	140-150 gr.
7mm Rem Magnum	160-175 gr.
.308 Winchester	165-180 gr.
.30-06 Springfield	165-180 gr.
.300 Magnum (Any make)	180-220 gr.
.338 Win Magnum	210-250 gr.
.375 H&H	260-300 gr.

Light bullets tend to open too rapidly and fail to penetrate a sufficient distance on shots taken from difficult angles. Additionally, lighter bullets are more susceptible to wind drift. The Winchester Fail Safe and Barnes X-bullets are exceptions, as these bullets tend to penetrate very well, even in the lighter weights, however they are still susceptible to wind drift.

Many hunters choose to bring two rifles to Gras. Some choose to bring a backup in the same caliber or a similar caliber in case of damage to one of their rifles. These hunters usually choose the same caliber as the hunter who only brings one rifle. Other hunters will bring a smaller or a larger caliber than what is considered adequate for a one-rifle safari. Some excellent choices to bring include a .223, .243, or a 6.5x55 Swede on the small end, or a .375 H&H or .416 Rigby or Remington on the larger end. Calibers such as the .223 or .243 are excellent for use on springbok or impala, in addition to jackals and baboons. The larger calibers, such as the .375 or .416 are excellent choices if a hunter is planning on taking an eland or a giraffe. We have seen excellent work done by the larger calibers on plains game, especially when using an aerodynamic bullet like the 260 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip in the .375 or the 300 gr. Barnes-X in the .416.

A 200-yard zero is the most logical distance to zero your rifle in at for hunting at Gras. Most suitable plains-game cartridges are flat-shooting enough, that with a 200-yard zero, 400-yard shots are feasible without an unreasonable amount of holdover. In addition to knowing the trajectory of your rifle, you should also know the amount of wind drift for 10, 20, and 30 MPH winds. A small chart taped to your rifle stock or stowed in your pocket would be useful in the field. Be sure to practice shooting your rifle from field positions at varying distances. A powerful magnum caliber does not and will not make up for poor shot placement. Remember that an animal that is wounded and not recovered is charged at the full trophy fee.

http://www.realguns.com has an excellent trajectory and ballistic calculator. Please visit their site and check it out.

Practice, practice, practice. Shoot as much as possible from every conceivable field position and during varying weather and wind conditions. An African safari is a substantial investment, and insuring that your chosen rifle and cartridge shoot the way you want them to will make your experience that much more enjoyable.