Recent content by Ryan

I've gained a few and lost a few in the past 20+ years. Current crew is a Lamy Safari, a Conklin Duragraph and a pair of Conklin All Americans. All useful, but I will admit, that Safari is close to bullet proof for a fountain pen. Each has converters and I have a few bottles of ink from...

I own two and love them both. A basic #1 in 30-06 I picked up brand new and one in 300 Win Mag I got used that has some interesting custom wood. Both weigh 9 pounds, 3 ounces with a scope and shoot quite well. If I didn't already own Ruger M77 in 375 Ruger I'd be inclined to get a #1 in 375 H&H...

L to R Thompson/Center Encore in 30-06, walnut stock by High Plains Gunstocks. Ruger #1, also in 30-06, standard. Ruger #1 in 300 Win Mag, custom wood with carving, checkering, and stippling.

While it's not very common, I have seen a couple sets of kudu horns with just the skull cap covered in felt or leather. I also recall a set of roan horns like that on wall in Namibia. I can't say if it's "frowned upon" but I can say it's not their call, it's yours. Heck, I've heard of folks...

30-06 with 168 grain Barnes TTSX. Doesn't get any more go-to, bread and butter to me than that. My first two trips to Namibia I dropped 8 animals from kudu and zebra down to springbok.

My 2 cents, for an all around cartridge I'd go with a 375 of your choice. I used a 375 Ruger for mine on a lower neck shot that my PH suggested. Honestly my 30-06 would have worked for that shot, but had I needed to take a normal heat/lung vitals shot the 375 was a much better choice. The hide...

My go to is the 125 gr Slick Trick Magnum. I used it on 515 gr total weight arrows out of a 70# draw bow last time for pass throughs on a nyala and blesbok. On my first hunt they soundly dropped my blue wildebeest with not quite a pass through, but the rig was a bit lighter. I actually used...

Around 20 years ago I was chatting with a guy about hunting Africa. He actually said to expect to wound and lose one animal a trip. He based that off of what others told him and is what he had done on his one and only trip to that point. I've managed to buck his stats, getting everything I hit...

I've been chased by a few cow moose here in Alaska. They don't seem dangerous, but when you seem like a threat to her calf, she most definitely is. Find a tree (or a van once) and keep it between you and her until she loses interest. My first two hunts in Africa were on a big farm in Namibia...

My first two hunts in Namibia were with a 30-06 with 168 TTSX bullets. Everything dropped within feet if not right there. Eight animals total with that rifle and ammo combo. The list went from springbok to zebra and two kudu. There isn't enough difference between a 30-06 and your .308 for any...

Actually the moral of the story to me is take whatever you want, but if funny things like this happen, be prepared to use the camp gun. I took my 375 Ruger to Namibia and South Africa. Even less chance of finding that ammo, so I made sure I knew what was in camp as a back up plan. Each time the...

@Heeler75 the 30-06 was based on the 30-03, and the 30-03 was based on the 7X57 Mauser. I love my two 30-06, but that is a basic historical fact. The US did not create the cartridge blindly. @Wiley64, Ruark had nothing to do with a 7mm-08, which didn't even exist when he died in 1965. He did...

Yes, if it were good quality but under $2K for a base model with possibilities for upgrades. I realize small production and under a grand is not realistic. Heck, $2K might not be either. My first centerfire rifle was a T/C Encore, and I'm up to two of them and two Ruger #1s. So I have no...

You're doing fine, I agree don't overthink it and practice off of sticks. I guarantee you your PH works with a wide variety of people so from how you present yourself I think you'll be fine. For what you're after I'd leave the 375 at home. A 30-06 with 165 gr monometal bullets like the CX...

Honestly this is just asking me to think like my grandparents or even myself in my 20s. Ruger 10/22 Thompson/Center Encore in 30-06 Remington 870 12 gauge. To be quite honest, the 12 gauge gets little use anymore, so I could switch that to a pistol.