Guys, thanks a lot for the kind words. I gotta admit I'm being a bit selfish writing these reports up. I should be getting my gear all put away, catching up on the chores left undone for 2 weeks of travel plus the frantic week prior to travel that I spent getting ready to travel, but I've got a strong feeling I need to get these stories laid down before the memories start to fade.
A couple observations in response to questions/comments:
1. Jorge, ingwe, guys... you're right, I believe my Cape buffalo bull is a magnificent specimen. I downplayed him a bit just to be funnin' myself for y'all's benefit... but yes, he is truly a wonderful head.
2. EdM, re. your plan to use your .375 H&H on a big bear: I've studied the ballistics of this cartridge and its best bullets (as I'm sure you have as well), and IMHO you can pretty much use whatever softpoint/expanding bullet you want. Bear are not thick-skinned or heavy-boned game as buff are, so the deep bulldozer penetration of a 300 gr A-Frame really isn't required. You can easily launch a 270 gr bullet at 2700 fps, and that will give you trajectory similar to a 30-06 caliber 180 gr bullet, which means point-blank range out to 250 yards or so with a 200 yard zero (but you'll have 4400 lb-ft of impact energy rather than the 2900 lb-ft of the 30-06). Myself, I'm looking hard at developing a 240 gr bullet load for this caliber, which ballistically would be a monster and highly useful for game such as big hogs at night, or big bears next spring in Alberta.
3. Mule Deer, badger, knivesforme... guys, again thanks for your praises and kind words. Sorry it's taking so long to get this all down in pixels.
4. I have to confess I'm using you guys as guinea pigs. I'm planning to write this stuff up for a couple of gun rags, but I need to get some kind of drafts together and down on paper/pixels so I can organize my thoughts & narrative.
