Hello, My name is Brian. I started my rapid decent into big bore addiction, over a decade ago when I got into cape buffalo hunting and I have not drawn a sober breath since.
After a couple of cape buffalo hunts with with the .375 HH, I quickly realized that I needed a big bore. ( It didn't take me long to figure out what they really meant when they told me that the 375HH was a "marginal' cartridge for cape buffalo. Ya right! You shoot them at 40 yards and then they run like a scalded cat for 60 yards. I did the math.)
So the late Ed Hubbel and I made me a .577 NE for me out of an old H&R 10ga. break open shot gun. You have to start somewhere. I loaded up a pail full of hard cast 700grain bullets and with great pride and joy I took this weaponry to South Africa and hunted a few buffalo cows. I soon learned that cape buffalo, are not particular about where you they hit with a 700 grain .585 cal. bullet, they just expire right there, pretty much on the spot, in a very satisfying way.
When I got back home to BC, Canada I emailed Michael458 to tell him how clever I was. In his mannerly souther way, he rescued me from my own demise with a few gentle suggestions and introduced me to Cutting Edge Bullets and NorthFork bullets. His good pal, Sam Rose who worked with him on the original R&D of the above bullets , helped greatly in finding a perfect .577 NE load with CEB bullets. I was "good-to-go" and from there, able to keep my cape buffalo hunting mistakes to a minimum.
I was very fortunate to have met Michael, Sam and the people in the photo below and we had some good laughs at my way of doing things. I am booked for 6 more buffalo in April, 2025. Brian
Here I am, circa 2016, an Honest to God big bore man with my 577NE single shot, an old buffalo cow and three of the best dangerous game hunting guides you could ever ask for.
L-R, Lieutenant, Louis, and Kobus Kok.
