African game rifles in Canada?
- Thread starter rci2950
- Start date
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Except for the trajectory making it less than ideal, it absolutely is. A .300 will beat it in North America, overall. That’s not to say it won’t cleanly kill everything on every continent.
Big bores have a homing device installed that draws them toward Africa. When you shoot one; one of two things happens. The first, is you might decide that you never want to hunt something that needs to be shot that hard. The other; vastly more interesting response is that you find you absolutely do need to square off with something that needs to be shot that hard.
The .375 is even worse, because it seems innoculous, harmless, sane and even dare I say reasonable at first. Surprisingly mild, versatile and practical. Then Kablamo; you get blindsided so completely that the next conscious moment you're on a 14 hour flight or in a dug-out canoe on the Zambezi River up your azz-crack in crocodiles. Some will even lie dormant for years waiting for a chance to pounce, but eventually they all turn on you.
I decided on the 9.3x62 for my big game gun because the rifles can be found for less than $500 and ammo is a lot cheaper than the 375 or bigger.
I had a Win M70 Stainless in 375 H&H rebarrelled to 404 Jeffery. Really nice shooter. I have a BRNO 602 in 375H&H, CZ 550 in 416 Rigby and CZ 550 in 450 Rigby. Had a BRNO 602 in 458 Lott but sold it. Much prefer the 404. Really classy round. Wouldn't hesitate to use on Deer, BB, Moose, etc. Nice big bullet soft point bullet going about 2200fps won't do much meat damage. Can't leave out the CZ 550FS in 9.3x62 either (I got one of them too!)
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Wish I had of caught the sale of your stainless .404.
Perhaps the most deviant of them all. One day I was predator calling with the new .375 in -20, then suddenly I was balls deep in Zimbabwe fifteen yards from a buffalo in thorns. I have no recollection of the times between or how I got there, just a slight headache and rush of adrenaline.
Perhaps the most deviant of them all. One day I was predator calling with the new .375 in -20, then suddenly I was balls deep in Zimbabwe fifteen yards from a buffalo in thorns. I have no recollection of the times between or how I got there, just a slight headache and rush of adrenaline.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Hugely variable, there are “real” ones, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Moz, Zambia, Kruger RSA, and “farm” ones (the majority), some of which will be close to real too in essence as they’re large free range private land, but admittedly they’re high fence. Anywhere from $6,000US to $30,000. If you budgeted high teens and shopped you can find a proper Buffalo hunt. The buffalo will all be comparable as the trophy quality can be bought if not out to break records or get in the mid 40s,, but the experience is where the difference will be. Oddly enough the less money you spend the safer and more comfortable, will likely even have AC. Spend more to be in a tent in the Zambezi.
That’s a hilarious image, Angus (the predator calling bit).
Shame about the stainless .404. That would be a lovely acquisition.
Yeah, trouble with a capital H&H. They're sneaky like that, and exist to get you into
trouble. The big ones are for getting you out.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I had gotten the big bore bug, and along with some 45-70 rifles, and a couple of Ruger #1 tropicals in .375 H&H and .458 Win , I ran across a trio of CZ 550 Safari American rifles down here in E. Texas. A Gander Mountain had 3, a 375 H&H, 416 Rigby and a .458 Lott. I went home and thought it over and decided I did not care for another straight cased 458, plus I was never going to Africa anyway. I checked on the cost of brass and bullets for the 416, along with dies and quickly discarded that idea. The wood on those two was rather plain and the 375 was a knockout so I called back and had them hold it for me. I rather think of it as a 30-06 on steroids, trajectory is about the same but bigger, heavier bullet and not too expensive to shoot. The gun is big enough and heavy enough to be very pleasant to shoot, actually recoiling less than my Win 70 featherweight 30-06. It's rather fun to go to the range a few weeks before deer season and see all the guys shooting their little short magnums and getting pounded, and I offer them a chance to try it and they decline it saying it would kick too hard!
