Do 350 gr 0.458 bullet @ 2350 fps qualify for African.....

Did locate some Sabatti Big 5 double rifles they are half the price of the Merkel, are they good or i should steer away from those... JP.

In the states they were raving about these guns. For the $ they seemed very nice. Some of them have held up well and others have had issues. I heard a common complaint was the way they regulated with a dremmel tool on the ends of the barrels. If I could afford one I would love to try it but am scared with some of the stories on the net. Seems a step up to Merkel and Verney Carron is worth it. Now I must save for two lifetimes.:D
 
caramel

The Verney Carron suffer from the same affliction as the Kreigoff TOO light, nice guns as is the Chapuis but again the same problem too light. The Sabatti is not of the quality to bet your life on, neat toy not too pricey fun to play with but very sketchy history with a lot of relatively serious problems, some seem ok but others are plagued and it seems the larger bores are the worst. This is all heresay as I do not own one but the heresay is to me, at least, is from reliable sources well versed in doubles.

Douglas
 
With that trip i decide to do to make the big five i realise i will have to make research and read a lot, i know that my Steyr 450 will be part of it for smaller species but i definetly need a double NE, i did not survive 2 heart attack and one cancer to be squash to death by one angry elephant, i am a 308 and 44 mag man, that stuff is like going back to school for me, but sure is fun... You guys keep feeding me with info, you never have to much knowledge to make the right choice... Cheers. JP.
 
Stole this photo fair and square. Guide gun with 400gr bullets getting 40+ inches penetration. My 510 wells with woodliegh solids was only24" or there abouts. Bullet design is more important than weight. The 350gr size would work great also. Still digging for some data for that.

http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo276/michael458photos/Bullet Album/DSC08503.jpg

Very impressive. Another is the Belt Mountain Punch Solid (beltmountain.com/punch.htm). Don't know how you' get 'em here, though, unless someone like Henry at Budget Shooter Supply can bring them in through one of his sources.

:) Stuart
 
How would you rate th 375 Ruger as a potential big 5 rifle, the energy is close to the 450 NE... cheers JP.
 
How would you rate th 375 Ruger as a potential big 5 rifle, the energy is close to the 450 NE... cheers JP.

For the Big 5

Leopard = Overkill but will work fine
Lion = Perfect
Buffalo = Perfectly Acceptable
Elephant = Would work, but far lighter than I would want, 416 or 458 is way better
Rhino = Adequate but wouldn't be my first choice, see above
 
Caramel

I agree with BigUglyMan's assessment of the Ruger and the H+H is the same. As far as buff with the .375 bore use nothing but the best bullets. The boys I hunted with the last few times have gone away from solids on buff in favor of TSXs, A-frames, Woodleigh or. heavy partitions. They love the TSXs best of both worlds an expanding bullet that also acts like a solid.
Like I said before I consider the .375 to be light for eles and rhino under less than perfect conditions.
 
So if i get a Merkel 500 NE and a 375 Ruger and something happen and i can't use the double the 375 Ruger is up to the task, it's been 3 days now, i am reading and checking all i can, my plan is taking form... When you go in Africa how many rifles do you take... Thank for the infos...JP.
 
Africa

It's getting harder and harder to travel with firearms, last fall we were only allowed 5 Kgs of ammo and must be in a locking metal box. (airline rules). So you have to be real conservative on ammo, having said that, in a mixed bag hunt of plains game and big game 2 rifles is best.
I like a .300 for general hunting and have taken everthing up to Eland flawlessly with 200 gn A-frame and / or TSX. This will be your constant companion for everything from Stienbuck and Duiker to Eland and Roan and very likely leopard, croc and even lion depending on your PH and hunting style. For this gun you are going to want lots of ammo 100 rds min.
Then your heavy .416 and up for Buff, Rhino and Eles also carried when tracking in heavy bush for smaller stuff. For this rifle I like 50 rds but 20-30 is probably lots in reality.
I have taken a shotgun twice and had a blast but that was before ammo restictions. These you can usually rent there and buy the shells there. If you are a birder at all, take a couple of days for birds cause it really is fun, all the doves you can hammer and sand grouse, if you think you're real good with a shotgun these birds will give your ego a reality check.
This is some of the most fun of an African hunt is the planning. One more word of advice, plan your hunt, make your budget, add a little for incidentals and then DOUBLE it. There are always opportunities that pop up when you're there like a second buff or a cull or second Ele or an animal that isn't common to the region pops out and you can have it. Sometimes a bordering concession has a strike out on a buff or Ele or lion and you get the opportunity to add this to your bag.
I could go on "ad nauseum" but I won't

Douglas
 

Very goods articles 1899... More and more they put the emphasis on bullet contruction, a Steyr BB 450M and a Ruger 375 both loaded full trottle load with monolitic bullet according with the trend would be up to the task... Cheers. JP.
 
So if i get a Merkel 500 NE and a 375 Ruger and something happen and i can't use the double the 375 Ruger is up to the task, it's been 3 days now, i am reading and checking all i can, my plan is taking form... When you go in Africa how many rifles do you take... Thank for the infos...JP.

The 500 might be more than you will want or be able to handle. The 470 is plenty hefty (I did load development for mine so I feel confident in saying this) and the 500 often weighs the same or a few ounces less and that makes it more than most can handle. Maybe I missed you saying that you've shot a lot of doubles and If so I apologize. Compounding the difficulty with doubles is that most people have little or no experience shooting anything with double triggers. In cases like that and without at least a year and 500-1000 rounds to rewire your brain, I would recommend against a double in favour of the more famIliad bolt rifle. As Douglas points out, you may have to save your own life or the life of your PH or trackers. Were you saving my bacon I'd want you shooting something you could run in your sleep.
 
More and more leaning toward a 375 Ruger as after a couple of good reads it is point out that it would be adequate on the big 5, no i never shot a double except a sxs 12 shotgun but i shot 1000 and 1000 of 308 and 44 mag my 2 favorite rifle... The way i understand it, i maybe wrong is a good TSX 270 gr for all except the buffalo and the elephant an for those a 300 gr A-frame or Woodleigh 300 gr plus my Steyr BB 450Marlin will be with me to... Cheers.JP.
 
The 270 TSX will work just fine for the buffalo as well, the Brooks' have killed more than enough buffalo with that bullet to remove any doubt on that score.

The 300 grain A-Frame will be useless for elephant, you need solids for that. The A-frame is as good as it gets for buffalo though.
 
I would stick to one bullet weight per rifle...less chance of having the wrong stuff up the pipe when you happen upon something you want to shoot. On both of my trip I adhered to this rule and it's never let me down. I used 350gr Barnes X in my 416 Rigby on my first trip to RSA which was entirely for plains game. Shot everything from springbok to blue wildebeest with it. On my second trip to Zimbabwe I used 300gr DGS and DGX in the 375 Ruger. Used it on baboons up to buffalo.

Too much bullet will rarely hurt but too little or improper construction can be extremely bad.
 
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