What is the most important piece of equipment you will use on your African safari to determine the success of the hunt? Will it be the calibre, the rifle itself or your optical equipment? Actually none of those. According to me it is your choice of bullet for the specific application. The point where the bullet strikes the animal is of utmost importance. An inadequate bullet can turn a dream safari into an absolute nightmare. Been there, got the T-shirt! Spending days tracking a wounded animal is hardly ideal, especially not for the animal. And in the case of a dangerous animal, you will be putting your own life, as well that of your PH and tracker, at risk.
In this section of our AFRICA’S SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE we will be showing what happened, with real bullets recovered from real animals after a hunt. We will put the facts on the table, give credit where it is due and also highlight mistakes, weak points and failures. This is what it is all about – where the Metal meets the Meat …
Richard Kok from Mashambanzou Safaris in Mozambique guided a client in the Tete area on a leopard hunt. They came to within 37 yards of a leopard and the client used his .300 Win Mag. However, the leopard was wounded as the shot was way too far back. Richard, with his double rifle in .470 NE calibre shooting 500 gr Woodleigh softs, had to follow up on the wounded cat, which charged the moment he got sight of Richard. Fortunately, Richard got in a shot at the charging leopard at 10 yards and hit him in the face. The bullet was recovered in the rump underneath the skin right next to his tail. Great penetration and the bullet still held up pretty good if you take into consideration how much bone it went through. Weight retention was 80%.
