John F. Callahan
16609 E. 7th Ave.
Aurora, CO. 80011

(303) 364-5983

E-Mail: Hockerl@prodigy.net  

Sept. 24th, 2001 

Tim Sundles
Buffalo Bore Ammunition
P.O. Box 78
Carmen, ID 83462 

Dear Tim 

On Sept. 5th 1 returned from a three week safari in Zimbabwe with Touch Africa Safaris.

Per our conversation I am sending you the recovered bullets from the animals I took while in Africa. Also included are four photos, which are numbered 1 through 4 in the order taken. All of these were taken with your 350-grain bullet in 45-70 caliber. 

The first animal taken was a Wildebeest. After 45 minutes of crawling on our knees and then our bellies, my first shot was taken at approximately 90 yards. I shot it through the heart while it was facing me straight on. It dropped straight down, and as the Professional Hunter, the Tracker, and myself were running towards it, it came to its feet and started running from my right to left. The PH yelled, "Hit it again"! From a standing off-hand position at about 70 yards, my second shot took it through the left shoulder blade, through the top of the heart, and broke the right shoulder blade. 

When we took the animal in to the skinners we told them we wanted both bullets and to pay attention as to which bullet came from which location. Later both bullets were given to me. The first shot had gone through the heart and penetrated 34" into the chest cavity. The second shot broke both shoulder blades and also went through the top of the heart. This bullet was recovered under the skin of the right shoulder. The bullet that had broken the shoulder blades had a piece of the core broken off but was less than 1" from the main body of the bullet. (Extremely tough animal!) 

Next was a Kudu. The PH saw it standing about 75 yards away in some very thick mopane bush. It was standing with its right side towards us and appeared to be a very good trophy. He asked me if my bullet could penetrate the bush and still hit the target. I told him "no problem". I couldn't get a clear view of the entire animal, so I judged where I thought the heart was and pulled the trigger. The animal went about 10 yards into some very heavy mopane brush and dropped. As we were walking up on it, it jumped up and started to move off. The PH yelled to "hit it again!" Another off- hand shot at 20 yards took it through the lungs and it dropped again. As we ran up on it the PH was the first one on the scene. I heard him start to fret and apologize. We had only been able to see the right side of the Kudu. The left horn had 8" broken off. He said that they had been trying to cull this one out for two years. He said that even though the rack was huge, he wouldn't charge me for this one and let me take another. The first bullet had gone through heavy brush, gone straight through the heart and broken both shoulder blades in the process. It was recovered right under the skin. The second bullet was a through and through shot and no bullet was recovered. 

The second Kudu, listed as #3 on the back of the picture, was taken at about 70 yards as it walked from my right to left. One unobstructed shot from a kneeling position went straight through the top of the heart and also broke both shoulder blades. The bullet was recovered under the skin on the right side. 

The fourth and last animal was a Warthog. We stalked this animal an finally got a clear shot as it started up a hill going straight away from us at 100 yards. I stood up, cocked the hammer back and lined up on its spine. When I pulled the trigger there was a resounding "CLICK". I had forgotten to chamber a round. When I worked the lever to chamber a round the hog heard it and took off running. A quick snap shot at its spine missed and

hit it in the right rear leg just below the hip joint. It didn't just hit the leg, it blew it completely off. Our dog located the hog about 50 yards away, still alive and very angry. Once we were able to get the dog out of the way, a heart shot dispatched it instantly. Sadly, no bullets were recovered. 

The gun used was a Marlin 1895 Limited Edition with an octagon barrel and open factory sights. Ammunition used was your 350-grain 45-70 load. I chose this load out of all of your offerings because I was going to be hunting plains game only, and no dangerous game. I found this round to be flat shooting, accurate, light of recoil, and having more penetration than any other load (in this caliber) on the market today. 

My PH lamented the fact that I wasn't shooting a Cape Buffalo this trip. He was absolutely convinced that the 350-grain bullet would have taken a Buffalo with ease. I told him you offered a 500-grain solid which might be better suited to that task. He said that that was all right, but still believed that the 350-grain bullet had all of the penetration needed. He also said that he thought this rifle/bullet combo was perfect for lion hunting. By the time we had to leave I thought I was going to have to wrestle him to get my gun away from him.

Thanks for helping to create a memorable trip to Zimbabwe, Africa and a successful hunt.

 Sincerely

John Callahan