Dakota arms Inc., Sturgis/South Dakota is a specialist in semi-custom-guns.  Since 1997 they have produced a "slimmer" repeater, which is easier to manufacture.   As the name of the repeater shows, it is a very accurate gun.  From all the different special-and standard-calibers I choose the .330 Dakota for the test-gun.

The heart of the gun is based on the Dakota-system 76, styled in a new look.  On the technical side you will find all the positive characteristics of the Mauser 98- and Winchester 70 pre-64-systems. On a big-game-rifle a long extractor should not be missing.   It stands for reliability because of the controlled round feeding.  The bolt sleeve is protected against wetness and dirt and has a safety which is easy to handle.   In the back position the hammer nose will be directly blocked.  For cleaning you can easily eject the bolt.  The strong firing spring pin guarantees reliable cartridge priming.  The gas ports in receiver heads and chamber, in direction of the magazine, are the same as on the Winchester model 70.   The manual extractor also provides for reliability.  The magazine holds 3 cartridges and is made of steel.  For unloading you can only discharge the cartridges over the ejection port.  For this reason the missing hinged floor plate guarantees excellent reliability, because the cartridge can't get lost.

Super Trigger
The easy and adjustable trigger in match grade quality is superb.  It is placed in a steel-case and is adjustable.  The trigger pull-weight is perfectly adjusted at about 600 gram.  Nobody wants more.

Lothar Walther from Germany provides the barrels for Dakota.  Only barrels in match-grade quality are used.  The barrels are inside and outside very well polished, honed and the chamber is well done.  The bedding is perfect and the 66-cm-barrel has a mate finish.  All parts are blued in a deep black color except the chamber.

The synthetic stock is made by H-S Precision.  It is a composite synthetic stock, made from fiberglass and graphite.  In military test they tried it a different temperatures between -45 and +° degrees C.

I mounted a Leupold scope Vari XIII 4 and 5-14x40.  Both were very successful in the test.  I often used the power of 14 for my hunt in Namibia.

I hunted with the Dakota .330 in Namibia as well as Germany.  It was a hard test in Namibia, because the transportation in a land rover through the bush is a very rough.  You have a lot of dust and dirt which covers the gun.   I hunted by stalking and bagged plains game and so on between a distance of 60 and more than 250 meters.  I bagged warthogs, Zebra, Hartebeest, Greater Kudu and Oryx.

The rifle has a very good balance and an excellent trigger.  During our stay we had no problems with the function.  Everything worked perfect.  The rifle has a weight of about 3.5 kilogram (with scope 4.05 Kilogram), a length of 119 cm and is very reliable and has good resistance of corrosion.

The Dakota .330 is very precise.  With Barnes X-bullets I had 34 millimeter of deviation and with Swift A-Farm 38 millimeters.  The groups were very close together.   With hand loads (250grs. Sierra Game King) I had 26 millimeters and 28 millimeters (225 grs. Barnes X-bullet).  This is excellent accuracy.

The handling of the gun is perfect.  You won't encounter any trouble while using a .330 Dakota.  The stock fits very good and it is a pleasure to shoot with it.   The length of the barrel is also perfect;  66 centimeter is much better for the efficiency of the bullet that is 61 centimeters.  The Dakota 76 "Long Range Hunter" is a high power rifle with a great reliability and accuracy for the hunter who is hard to please.  My Namibian Outfitter was so pleased that he   immediately ordered the same gun in the same caliber.  Representative for Germany is Messrs. Mainex in Würzbur (Importer: Messrs. Trigatti, Würzburg).    You can buy the rifle in the US from Dakota Arms Inc., HC 55 - Box 326, Sturgis, SD, 57754. Their phone number is 605-347-4686

.330 Dakota

After Holland and Holland  and Rigby Dakota was the next to create a cartridge line for their repeaters and falling block rifles.  The cartridges in 7mm, .300, .375 and .416 are based on the .404 Jeffery (Rimless). The .450 Dakota is an expanded .416 Rigby.   The cartridges are produced at Superior Ammunition ( Sturgis, South Dakota, USA) and A-Square and loaded with Swift A Frame, Winchester Fail Safe, Sierra, Nosler Partition or A-Square bullets.  They are all non belted which makes for a correct fit and precision.  Non belted cartridges are also very reliable for handling and it is easier to place them into the magazine than cartridges with a belt.  The case is big enough for a lot of powder.  A cartridge can admit 10 to 12 grains more powder than the .338 Win Mag.  The shoulder angle is 30°.  The .330 Dakota is a big  game caliber for strong animals like elk, red stag, big antelopes or the big bears.

You will find a straight trajectory as with the  7mm Remington Mag. (with heavy bullets) or the .300 Win. Mag. and nearly  the same energy as the .375 H&H Magnum.  the cartridge is 64.52  millimeters long and is used in standard systems.

I used the gun for a hunt in Namibia with fantastic results.  Game, which I shot within 60 to 250 meters dropped immediately.  I shot the Hartebeest with the Barnes-X bullet on the throat.  The bullet went through the body and was found in the pelvic joint.  All covered Barnes X bullets lost weight.  Barnes X bullets for high penetration.  The remaining weight of the bullets depends between 69 and 89%.

The Sierra bullets I used mushroomed to twice the caliber-diameter and the core   split from the jacket.  The remaining weight was between 33 and 40%.  It is very pleasant to shoot heavy game with the .330 Dakota. You can hit your target from a long distance and have enough energy (250 meter - 3900 Joule).

Namibia
If you read the books from Hemingway and Ruark or if you see the films like "Out of Africa" you wish you could go to Africa.  Classical African safaris where you stay in luxury tented camps are the dream of every African hunter.  You can still do such African safaris, but they are very expensive. A thousand dollars a day for such a safari.  You can get nearly the same feeling without the money in Namibia, "Safari-Jagd" or farm-hunting, and also in the north in the big game concession areas.

The easiest way to hunt is a farm-hunt.  You stay in the farm-house and live with the family.  The farmer (hunting guide) has the permission to hunt with a guest on his farm.  This is the easiest way and is also the same way Namibians do it.  If you would like more comfort you can go to a guest farm.  They must have at least 5 room to qualify.  The guest-farmer could be a professional hunter or he has a professional hunter who goes with the hunters.  These farms are very comfortable and have extra's  such as a tennis-court, swimming-pool, shooting - ranch or horse riding.  You also can book excursions. There are several guest hunting farms registered.  The government controls the rooms and counts the game. Five percent of the farms are fenced.

Big game hunting in Caprivi, Kavango or Damaraland are the classical hunts with tented camps.  You can hunt for elephant or lion and you have a good chance to bag a leopard.  For this you pay a high price.  Between the guest-farm and big-game hunting you will find the Safari-hunt.  Only 15 farmers do this form of hunting. Six of them operate in concession-areas.  Some of them used to hunt on farmland.   But you will stay in a tented camp.  The professional hunter has the permission from other farmers to hunt on their land.  The tented camps are movable.   You can shoot a Kudu or warthogs on a place where they have very good trophies and then you change the area and go for the Damaa Dik-Dik or others.  It is easy to drive to the area where the trophy size animals you want to shoot are and it is easy to pitch a tent in different areas.  The prices for such Safaris are a bit higher than for the hunting on guest-farms.  The average  daily rate is 400 Mark.

Nambia is one of the driest countries on the earth.  Along the coast you will find the Namibia-dessert.  In the east you will find a plateau, which has only  sparse vegetation.  Most of the rivers seldom have water.  The Caprivi-strip goes to Zambia and Zimbabwe.  You will find a lot of swampy areas their.  Windhuk lies 1650 m high (altitude).  The climate is dry, with mild winters and hot summers.   The summer temperatures reach from 25 to 30° C. In the winter you will have 22 °C, but it can also freeze at night.

In contrast to other African countries you will find no health problems.   Vaccinations for typhus, polio, tetanus, dipgteris and hepatitis A and B are standard.  In the south of Etoscha it is nearly impossible to find malaria which is the result of the low temperatures during the winter. But who wants to travel during the summer or in the north, so  you should take something to prevent malaria.

Typical game for the country is oryx,  kudu, springbok, hartebeest, zebra, mountain zebra, eland, duiker, warthog, steenbuck, oribi, black and blue wildebeest, giraffe, and so on.  In concession-areas you will also find elephant, buffalo, lion, hippo and crocodile.

On Safari
From Windhuk, we drove 220 Kilometers to the north of Namibia.  It was dryer than the country-site in Zimbabwe.  After leaving the road we drove some time through the bush, before we reached the tented camp.  A campfire and the oil-lamps were burning.   Two tents, for me, my wife and my daughter were prepared.  Toilette and showers were behind a stand of trees. The mess tent, kitchen tent and the tents for the crew completed the camp.  The country-side was very flat, covered with high grass and some thorn-bushes.  The area of the farms is 10,000 Hektar  with only a few fences for the cattle.

Sometimes we used the land-rover, normally we stalked our game.  On the first day we stalked some hours behind a herd of zebras, to find a fine zebra-stallion, but we were not very successful.  It was not possible for us to reach the heard.  I didn't believe I had a chance to shot a stallion, but the outfitter and the trackers were confident.  Suddenly we had the opportunity to see the herd, crossing our way.   I prepared myself to shoot with my Dakota .330 Dakota.  When the stallion appeared, I pulled the trigger.  The stallion dropped in its tracks.  It was a strong stallion with a beautiful skin.  Everybody was happy.  We had some problems getting the land-rover in the right position for loading.  The next morning we stalked through a area which had no footpath.  We stalked some time through the bush.  Suddenly I saw some groups of oryx, wildebeests, zebras and kudus on a clearing.  It was very difficult to stalk , I did shoot a kudu however.  A group of kudus stood about 250 meters in front of us.  It was grassland, but the big bull was behind some bushes.  So we had to wait.  It took some time, before I had the opportunity to shoot.  After the shot, the kudu turned over and died immediately.   It was more than a trophy to me because I like this way of hunting. It is as it use to be in the "good old days."  On the third day I bagged a warthog of a distance of 40 meters.  It was a very old one, with big teeth (30 centimeters).  When we stalked up to him he was sitting on his front legs feeding.  I bagged him with my 7mm Remington at about 40 meters.  The next day we struck our tents and went back to the Windhuk a mountainous region. Our outfitter had a very beautiful hunting-camp on a hill nearby a lake.  On this farm there were no cattle and therefore no fences.  It was only for hunting.  The kitchen was made from stone and also the toilettes and showers.   We lived in big tents, big enough for 5 persons.  The mess-tent was near the fireplace.

The next hunting-day we stalked for hartebeests.  After a short stalk I bagged a big bull and I was impressed of the energy of .330 Dakota.  I wasn't as fortunate with my springbok.  The first shot I messed him.  On this day it was very windy and the distance for shooting was about 200 meters.  But the second shot killed him immediately.  It was a very good trophy.  I had the same problem with my blebok. My first shot wounded him in the back, but the second killed. 

It was hard work to find and shoot a oryx. We tried it several times.  We stalked hours over hills and through dry rivers, but we couldn't find a good bull.  We also climbed up on a plateau.  On the foot of the plateau we saw a group of oryx, but did not have an opportunity shoot one. But then, after a short stalk, we saw a oryx-bull in a distance of about 200 meters.  It is a very magnificent animal and a good trophy. I bagged him with on heart-shot with my .330 Dakota rifle. 

On our last evening we talked around the campfire about all the different hunting possibilities in Africa.  All agreed for a successful hunt in Africa you need a tented camp, campfire, and game to stalk. Then you will have the right feeling in Africa.