Dispatches from the field

Frank has finally put his 458 Lott Legend to use. Completed quite some time ago and taken on a number of safaris this rifle to date had always remained a brides maid never making it quite to the alter. On this Safari and using both the Swift 450gr A-Frames soft points and 450gr North Fork solids he finally broke the rifle in on this pair of West African buffalo bulls. This rifle has 3 sight systems at its disposal, seen below with a modern production Leupold 3X that came into use on this hunt it also was fitted with my receiver sight and Recknagel front ramp and sight. Then later on fit with a mount to hold a Trijicon RMR-06 red dot sight system on the front bridge. Frank likes to be prepared. Lets hope this rifle is deployed again soon.

LB has just returned from A Dall Sheep hunt in the Northwest Territories. He's weighing in a little lighter this week as it was a backpack hunt and was forced to donate pints of blood daily to the Canadian mosquito population.

Quite some time was devoted to sorting through his kit before the trip. Packing and re-packing again and again considering the actual real world use of deodorant when compared to its weight and amount of space it took up in his pack. Pondering if you honestly need a fork all that badly for 10 days? Is 15 rounds of ammo is enough, 10 would be lighter? Been there, done that and understand the process better than some. I must admit it was amusing to be included in some of these debates.

This is LB's third sheep hunt and likely not the last as the lure of where they live will draw you back a long as your able to climb and gut it out to the top of one more ridge line, into yet another valley floor and through one more glacial torrent.

The rifle used on this hunt was an early production Left Hand Stainless Steel Legend chambered for 280 Remington. As LB gets in a lot of trigger time the single shot he placed steeply uphill at 350 yards was not just sent on a wing and prayer. The ram died quickly without any drama. 

The final walk to a ram through the stone and grass is always a mixed bag of emotions, Until you've done it sounds like the same old song. I can assure you that it is so much more than the same old tune.

As I type this Ann is crossing the big blue on the return trip from Africa. She, her husband and Professional hunter Campbell Smith spent 10 days of effort on Ann's first Safari. There were a number of firsts on this trip, one was getting use to a new Left Hand 375 H&H Legend. Apprehension soon turned to confidence as the days of practice in the sand hills of Colorado began to pay off

When she and Cam hit the ground running I'm told the skinning crew was kept busy late into the night for most of the trip. Ann's other light rifle a well used Legend seen on this blog many times before chambered for 270 Winchester. I'm sure it was used with speed and precision when called upon to do so. There is zero loafing around when hunting with Smith, as every thing is done at a ground eating walk, you be sure of that.