Embarking on the hunting trip of a lifetime with two unlikely companions: a 6.5 Creedmoor and a 7mm PRC.
With two teenage girls living under my roof, I get sucked into the occasional game of “would you rather?” It’s not an experience I’d wish upon any grown man, but because I do genuinely enjoy spending time with them (when they’re not trying to maim one another), I’ll play along now and again.
After admitting that I’d rather listen to Rihanna than Taylor Swift—both are forms of cruel and unusual punishment, by the way—I tossed one out to my girls: Would you rather lose an eye or lose a leg? The universal answer was that they’d rather give up a leg than an eye, and I couldn’t agree more: You can always buy a new leg, but seeing … well, seeing is everything. It’s the last of my senses that I’d ever want to part with.
I mention this seemingly pointless bit of information to highlight my perspective when choosing gear for epic hunts: Seeing is everything. And with my wife attending this trip, I wanted to ensure her visual experience was top-notch … with the selfish intention of her falling in love with Africa, thus making a return trip that much more likely when I present that inevitable sales pitch to her.
If the pictures in this article didn’t already spoil the punch line, I chose EOTech scopes for both rifles to make damned sure Mama was happy.
If you Google the company, the slug that pops up right there in the results reads “EOTech: Battle-Proven Optics for Military, Police and Professional Shooters.” They need to get one of their IT guys to get off their butt and update that, because it should read “ … and for hunters and shooters who demand perfection from their riflescopes.”
Yes, EOTech’s foundation is built upon the optics they developed for military and law-enforcement professionals, and it’s clear they learned a lot of cool sh*t along the way … and folded that knowledge into their hunting riflescopes. The viewing experience is exceptional, they track with perfection, and aside from using your rifle as a club to fend off a charging Cape buffalo, you can’t hardly break ’em.
On the Bergara 6.5 Creedmoor, I mounted up the 1-10x28mm Vudu FFP. At the risk of allowing my vanity to show a bit here, I was unsure how much I’d like this riflescope because of its straight-tube design: I once thought scopes without an objective bell always seemed to look … incomplete. And now … well, I gotta eat a pile of crow on this one, and it’s never tasted so sweet.
After 15 days afield with this scope—in terrain foul with gear-scratching rocks and red dust that seeps into cracks (on the gear on my body) that will never come out, the 1-10x28mm Vudu easily lands on my Top 5 list of favorite scopes … and I’ve shot a pile of ’em. There isn’t a single thing about it that I don’t like, and that includes the look.
I expected for the “modified circle-dot” reticle to take some getting used to, but my wife, Molly, easily picked up the rifle and quickly dropped her fallow stag. I might’ve teared up (just a little bit) when the Land Cruiser rolled into camp after her hunt. Unfortunately, not even I can make her smile like that.
I paired the Cascade 7mm PRC with a Vudu X 2-12x40mm EOTech. If I had to pick one to rule them all, the 2-12x configuration is my absolute favorite for all-around hunting: I’ve got an old Nikon on my slug gun (Nikon used to make some outstanding riflescope glass), one on my go-to muzzleloader, and one on a .300 Winchester Magnum—all in the 2-12x. And I like the Vudu X better than all of them.
I handed the rifle to Richard Mann, who writes for Gun Digest and a pile of other notable gun publications—and who came out of his mother’s womb a hard-core cynic. He looked over the scope, then looked through the scope, and said, “I need to get me one of those.”
Launched just within the past 18 months, the Vudu X is EOTech’s magical concoction that blends the company’s innovations with a price tag ($800-ish) that’s as easy to swallow as properly aged elk backstraps. Said another way: I’m not going to take any cheap shots at other brands here, but for what you get in regard to durability, functionality, and glass quality with the Vudu X, you’ll have to pay a minimum of $1,500 for elsewhere.
The scope’s style is best described as souped-up simplicity, with capped turrets and an illuminated duplex reticle—with and without holdover and windage striations.
Oh, yeah: It might sound trivial, but EOTech makes it standard practice to include throw levers on their riflescopes for fast zoom adjustments. I’d personally prefer to never go without one of those ever again.
PS: My philosophy worked, by the way. If I ever go back to Africa without my Molly, it’s unlikely that she’ll be at home when I return. She fell in love with the entire experience (well, minus the 15-hour flight between Atlanta and Johannesburg).
Safari Power
So, I did it: I took two chamberings specifically designed for long-range target work, and I traveled halfway around the world with them … to hunt.
For this trip, I shouldered a Bergara B14 Squared Crest Carbon, chambered in 6.5mm Creedmoor. With a Silencer Central suppressor, the shot experience was so exceptional that my wife genuinely enjoyed sending each round downrange, and she’s not a prolific shooter. The carbon fiber repels dings and scratches, the action seemed to laugh at the challenge of functioning flawlessly while constantly under barrage from red dust … and Bergara barrels are known for stacking bullets on top of one another.
I know it’s uncouth to not bring a wood-and-blued rifle to Africa, but some traditions are meant to be broken.
My bigger critter getter was a CVA Cascade Long Range Hunter 7mm PRC. All CVA firearms are fitted with Bergara barrels (read: outstanding accuracy), and the adjustable cheek piece is mandatory—I add a cheek pad, for elevation and not necessarily comfort—to every rifle without an adjustable comb height.
My only asterisk on the performance of this rifle is the weight. At about 8½ pounds naked, the gun is a little heavy; however, that added weight was definitely nice to have when sending a 170-grain bullet out of the muzzle at nearly 3,000 fps.
Also, it might be worth noting that I was consistently called “ungentlemanly” for running this rifle without a suppressor. But I suppose that’s more on me than the rifle, which does come factory threaded.
Effective Sleeping Pills
Here’s the phrase I use so much that everyone who’s heard it rolls their eyes, but I’m forced to keep using it because so many people don’t listen: The bullet in the chamber will forever be more important than the numbers that are stamped on the outside of the barrel. Read that again if you have to.
“What rifle ya got there, a .30-06? Oh, it’s a .270 Winchester [insert involuntary eye roll]?” Who cares?! You can kill more effectively with the right bullet in a .270 Win. than with the wrong bullet in a .30-06 … or even a .300 Win. Mag., for that matter.
With the right bullets, taking a 6.5 Creedmoor and a 7mm PRC to Africa is a picture-collecting adventure. With the wrong bullets, you’ll be paying for a lot of empty blood trails. Target shooters have the luxury of not needing to worry about terminal ballistics. But to hunters, terminal ballistics are as important as aerial ballistics.
Federal has had the Fusion bullet in their lineup for quite a while, and I’ll be the first to stand on an ammo crate and sing the praises of its terminal ballistic accolades. The bonded bullet is a killer, and it’s always shot very accurately. But to fully maximize the aerodynamic proficiencies of the 6.5 Creedmoor afforded by the cartridge’s long ogives, a polymer tip was added to the Fusion just this year, helping it maintain flight stability over longer distances. Plus, the tip helps control expansion upon contact. Think “consistency.”
The 140-grain Fusion Tipped ammunition helped me give truck rides to everything from tiny jackals to a 250-pound warthog … and most importantly, my wife’s fallow. The blood trails were short, and the smiles were big. And, as an aside, I’ve personally seen a moose fall to a 6.5 Creedmoor. Now, I wouldn’t recommend it, but with the right bullet put in the right location, the 6.5 Creed is a meat seeker.
Like the 6.5 Creedmoor, the 7mm PRC quickly set up its reputation as a long-range steel-smacker, but on paper, it’s not so different from the 7mm Remington Magnum, whose field accolades have long been established. But, shooter beware: While the aforementioned 6.5 Creed produces recoil even a lady can love, the recoil on the 7mm PRC has some teeth.
I fed my CVA Cascade 170-grain Terminal Ascent ammo exclusively while in Africa, and although it’s a bit of an oversimplification, it sure felt like all I had to do was point and shoot that setup at game, and it dropped.
A black wildebeest at 157 yards and blue wildebeest at 289 yards, both of which African PH’s refer to as “the poor man’s buffalo” because of their ability to soak up bullets? Both dropped. A giant 300-pound warthog, facing me at 130 yards? Never took a step. A running bull kudu at 100 yards, with a shot that was too far back? Lights out.
All hunting bullets are designed to have a sweet-spot range. For some, if shot into a target too close, they’ll come apart because the bullet is moving so fast. For others, they won’t expand at longer distances because the bullet has slowed down so much. Either situation is detrimental to effective and efficient killing.
Terminal Ascent ammunition was designed to be extremely versatile, holding together up close while still expanding at distance. I’ve seen diagrams promoting expansion out to nearly 1,000 yards: I cannot verify that because I haven’t tested it on animals at that distance, and I don’t ever plan to.
But I can verify, through personal testing between 60 and 450 yards, that these bullets do what the box says they’ll do. It’s great stuff (but it’s a pain in the ass to photograph because the bullets and the brass are nickel-plated).
So, don’t hesitate to take a “range cartridge” afield for your next meat-gathering adventure … but do leave that match ammo at home.
Friends from Afar
Because everyone’s personality is so different, and because I so often can’t stand many individuals whom others adore, I generally refrain from being a match-maker. Too risky.
But I’ll stick my neck out a bit and recommend that you call Geoffrey Wayland at Fort Richmond Safaris if a trip to the Dark Continent might be remotely on your radar. Go spend some time on a working cattle farm, listen to his kid’s amateur jokes, over-eat on his wife’s “holy sh*t that’s good” malva pudding … and fall in love with Africa. Find yourself a PH who will take selfies with your phone when you’re not looking.
It’s rare to spend an hour with someone and feel as though you’ve been sharing campfires your entire life. Imagine what that feels like after a 10-day safari.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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