On Hunting and Shooting
NOTES on RELOADING Dangerous Game Cartridges By Francois van Emmenes
A
lthough we are blessed with the remarkable comeback of dangerousgame rifles and cartridges since the 1990s, it has come at a price, literally. Today, more than ever in history, we have a smorgasbord of ammunition and component manufacturers catering for almost every dangerous-game cartridge that has ever seen the light of day. The problem, of course, for the owner of such a rifle is the cost of premium grade ammunition. Only the super-rich can afford to dispense with a couple of hundred “practice” rounds at up to $15 a pop… Enter the reloader. Reloading for your dangerous-game rifle is usually done at a fraction of the cost of factory ammo and, of course, provides you with the opportunity to tailor the ammo to your rifle and requirements. And - it is fun! Whereas competition and long-distance shooters primarily reload for ultimate accuracy, the dangerous-game hunter reloads, primarily, for reliability. Although there are some common grounds between the two approaches, there are also differences. 104
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The oft-repeated advice that the cases of any cartridge intended for use on dangerous game should be sized full length, will hold true forever. The reason is obvious – ultimate reliability in the field. This does not only apply when dangerous game is the intended quarry – it also applies to any form of hunting. I have witnessed, more than I can remember, opportunities lost to unreliable ammunition failing to feed or eject at a critical stage of the hunt. The most memorable was a wounded gemsbok bull departing over a dune in the Kalahari, never to be seen again. It fell at the first shot; the hunter was inexperienced and committed the ultimate sin – shooting a gemsbok in the neck. Only stunned, we warned the hunter to reload immediately, but the next round would not chamber and the opportunity to put the bull down when it got to its feet, was lost. A fully sized case is the best bet to ensure that the cartridge will feed and, equally important, testing every single round for feeding or proper insertion in the chamber for doubles and “falling block” designs. This is a critical step when
loading your own ammo. Case preparation and inspection should not be skimmed over. I tumble and then wash (in warm water with a teaspoon each of dishwash soap and tartaric acid) all my brass to ensure proper inspection is not hindered by a dirty case. Discard any case that is cracked or appears to be structurally unsound. I squash the neck with a pair of pliers, just to make sure the case does not end up in a batch again. Remember to check each tumbled case for tumbler media that got stuck in a flash hole before primer seating. A major risk for a dangerous-game hunter is case head separation, leaving a case stuck in the chamber and therefore leaving no way to load the next round. Incipient case head separation is not always visible from the outside – usually visible by a small ring around the whole, or even part, of the case just above the case head. The crack could have formed on the inside already and may be big enough to crack all the way through without showing on the outside. A simple tool, in the form of a metal paper clip can
