Headed back to Africa in 2016! <<Photos now posted starting P2>>

[Rob]

Well...  the day I send my package of permits to Africa, is the day I hear there is a postal strike in Johannesburg...  ugh.  so now I wait to see if the strike is resolved in the next few days and then decide if I need to resend via FedEx. My delays and the short runway to plan this trip makes this a potential issue for me as we are within a few weeks of the cut off to get my paperwork in.

Good times!  Heaven help me I love Africa!  It is a never ending lesson in problem solving, pop quizzes, and drama!  If one needs a lesson in patience and learning to "roll with it", go to Africa!

hakuna matata

[MLBowhunting]

Looking forward to the story and pics.   

[carpsniperg2]

Hopefully all that gets worked out and goes through smooth for ya. I am looking forward to pics to!

[Rob]

Ahhhh Africa....


Well, the day I mailed out my gun permit application via USPS Global priority, is the day the Jo-Berg post office goes on strike...  So my package has been sitting in Jo-Berg along with my dad's paperwork since the 17th of May.  Dad resent his paperwork via FedEx.  I held off hoping mine would get delivered, but I gave up this week and went ahead and resent a second set of paperwork on Monday via FedEx.  Should be delivered on Friday of this week.  We shall see!

I went to a Travel Nurse in Kirkland last week and updated my shots. 
My Hep A/B is valid (Twinrix)
My TDAP is still valid (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough))
My Typhoid is still valid
No need for Yellow Fever
I picked up my Malaria medication
I picked up my Cipro medication (for emergency use)
I picked up a prescription of Ambian for sleeping on the long flight to Jo-Berg.

So all in all, pretty easy.  no shots this time!

[Rob]

I applied for Global Entry to help streamline the customs process.  Will post back how that works.  I have my interview in about 2 weeks.

Also, I got the following info from my taxidermist (My dad popped by and chatted with him last week)
•   My dad will pick up and transport the laminated trophy tags
•   He has been to this part of the country and said we should have a great hunt:
        o   Along the river there should be many types of Plains Game & Elephants in addition to the Crocs & Hippos.
        o   Fishing for Tiger fish will be fun.  Tiger Fish are like Strippers with lots of sharp teeth.  10 to 15 # not unusual—get up to 30#.
•   For my Hippo
        o   If I want him to he will cast the tusks so I can have a Hippo Skull with Tusks & a separate Tusk Display.
        o   He thought your waste basket idea would be good.  Remember legs are short (2 ˝ ‘) & not large in diameter (12”). 
        o   Hippo leather makes wonderful accessories (Boots, jackets, gun cases, etc)
        o   He said if you want some leather just mark the area you select, have them cut it out and have them tan the leather there in Zimbabwe..  If you just Dip & Salt shipping cost  is prohibitive because of weight.  Salted skins can weigh in at several hundred pounds.  I may do the same thing with the Croc.
•   Dad wants a Sable if we see a good one.  Our Taxidermist said we might see some along the river but the Matetsi area, where we will hunt after the boat trip, has the reputation as one of the best Sable areas in Zimbabwe.

[farmin4u_98948]

Following.   

[UrbanTrapper]

What Malaria medication are you planning to use?  I recommend AGAINST using Lariam http://www.nbcnews.com/health/fda-strengthens-warnings-malaria-drug-6C10783686 and recommend that you do use Doxycycline instead.  Extra sensitivity to sunburn is a lot easier to work around than hallucinations, especially if you are carrying firearms.  Also use mosquito repellent with DEET and spray any mosquitoes inside your mosquito netting with DOOM every night before you turn out the light. 

[Rob]

My gun permit paperwork arrived today!  Amazing since I sent it via FedEx on Monday.  The stuff I sent to the post office is still in purgatory.

So I think that concludes all the long lead time items I need to do.  My list at this point would be:
-Create packing lists
-Purchase parts for my traveling medicine cabinet (over the counter stuff you can't get in Africa but would be nice to have if you start to feel ill)
-re-load ammo
-Practice shooting off sticks
-Pack!

I honestly think that is about it.  Only 7 more Saturdays will pass before I am on my way!  This has been a pretty easy trip to plan this time.



WRT malaria medication.  The travel nurse recommended against the stuff you linked as he said it can cause vivid nightmares.  To quote him "Like someone just stabbed you in the chest and you can feel the blood flowing down your body nightmares".  He said it happens to about 10% of users.

I used Doxycycline last time and it was fine.  This time I am using Malarone.  Pretty simple.  start it 1 day before you arrive, take it daily, and stop taking it 7 days after your return.

The Dr. recommended Deet in the 17-35% range as higher can cause burns and melt plastics.  I also plan on treating everything with permethian.  I may bring some for the netting too.

Have not heard of DOOM.  I will look into that.

[Rob]

I canceled a trip to the mountains this weekend so I could try one more time with the Swift A-Frames in my 7mm RM.  The more I read about Croc's, the less I like the idea of using Berger VLD's on such a thick skinned animal.  I really want to move up to something like a Swift A-Frame.

Today paid off. 

I had tried some 160 grain swifts in my rifle a while back, but the groups were so bad that I decided against them.  I have been thinking at since I have a 1:9 twist on my rifle, that moving to a longer bullet might give me better stabilization.  So I picked up a box of 175 grain A-Frames which have been sitting on the shelf for a couple months as I have not had time to experiment.

The table below shows results for three different bullets:  The Berger VLD Hunting, the Swift A-frame in 160 grains, and the Swift A-frame in 175 grains
•   Dark green are close to 1/5 inch MOA
•   Light green are between ˝ and less than One MOA
•   Yellow are between 1 and 2 MOA
•   Red is over 2 MOA.

The Berger VLD’s are the ones I have been using so far – I have taken a Pronghorn, Couple of deer and an elk with that load.
•   My preferred load is 57 grains of I-4831 with an OAL (to the ojive) of 2.588 (Note that I have 16 shot groups in that load with an average group size of 0.718)

You can see most of the groups with the 160 grain A-frames were between 1.5 and 2 MOA’s.  Pretty bad – almost double what I was getting with the Bergers.

Moving to the 175 grain bullets showed a major improvement – dropping the MOA to an average of 1.15 with the H4350, and .709 on the H4831SC.  This is close enough to the Berger results that I am satisfied.

I am going to load up with the 175 grainers, using 61 grains of the H4831SC.  I would like to use the higher load, but I worry about the pressures due to the start of primer craters I saw on the 61.5 Grain loads.

I have 3 more boxes of Swift’s on the way from Midway.  I need to make one more trip out to the range to get some Muzzle Velocity data.  Would like to sight it in for 50 yards, and then see what the differences are at 100, 200 and 300 yards.  If there is time I will get a Leupold turret dial made.  Probably not time for that though.  After all, only 5 more Saturdays left!

[carpsniperg2]

I think that is a great choice. I have seen and had bad luck with the bergers blowing up on close range shots and not getting the penetration. The swifts should do very well for you.

[Rob]

Thanks, the A-frame is a GREAT bullet, love the performance that my dad has seen in his rifles and looking forward to using them myself.  Was very disappointed in how the 160 grain bullets performed in my rifle, but thrilled with the 175's.

I always find it amazing how 15 grains in a bullet can cut a group size in half. 

[Rob]

Ten days left takeoff! 

Going to be a real scramble to get ready - work has been nuts, and I have had several personal events scheduled that have taken time away from planning.

In the next 10 days, I have a climb of Mount Shuksan planed as part of my Intermediate Glacier Climbing class (7/9 and 10) and a business trip to San Diego on the 13th.  Toss in a few other obligations and I only have 5 evenings left to get stuff done!

The good news (or bad news...) is the weather looks awful for next weekend so if that holds, then my Shuksan climb will be scrubbed giving me two extra days!

In other news, I picked up an InReach PLB that will allow my wife to watch where we are while we are gone, and allow some text messaging while in the field.  That will be fun.

Anyway, the short list of tasks left before lift off are:
-Treat clothing with Mosquito repellant (Permethrin)
-Pack
-Verify some pricing on taxidermy options with my taxidermist
-Call Leupold and see if I can get an expedite on some custom turrets I ordered
-Build my rifle dope cards for the 7MM
-Create the final version of my travel notebook (Notebook of critical docs, contacts, etc)


So really just the little stuff left.  Going to be on a plane before I know it!  I really need a break from work so the timing could not be better...

Here is a photo of some of the little soldiers that are smiling and ready to hit the road!

[lhrbull]

can't wait to see your photos I still have two years to wait have a great time and be safe

[Rob]

Back in Washington.  Great hunt!  Will give a better update later - I am pretty beat now!

[carpsniperg2]

Congrats on some dandy animals! Looking forward to stories and more pics