looking for a african rifle/bear killer
- Thread starter jcbruno
- Start date
People take all sorts of weird chambered rifles to hunt in Africa, not just 30-06's, 375 H&H's and 458 WM's.
Sure some lose ammo and/or gun. One is no good without the other.
I mentioned a couple of ways to make sure you have ammo, I am sure there are others. Basing a cartridge choice on "what if I lose my luggage" scenarios is pretty low on how I go about choosing a chambering.
#### happens. All the 375 H&H ammo in the world isn't going ot help you if your rifle disappears. Distributing your ammo throughout your luggage probably means that you have less chance of losing ammo than your single gun case going missing.
jcBruno, my opinion of the A-Bolts is not high. I'd prefer something else for a rugged hunting rifle.
Sure some lose ammo and/or gun. One is no good without the other.
I mentioned a couple of ways to make sure you have ammo, I am sure there are others. Basing a cartridge choice on "what if I lose my luggage" scenarios is pretty low on how I go about choosing a chambering.
#### happens. All the 375 H&H ammo in the world isn't going ot help you if your rifle disappears. Distributing your ammo throughout your luggage probably means that you have less chance of losing ammo than your single gun case going missing.
jcBruno, my opinion of the A-Bolts is not high. I'd prefer something else for a rugged hunting rifle.
I kinda agree with Gatehouse. Much ado is made over taking a rifle on a hunting trip involving air travel, for which ammo can be purchased locally. The bottom line is that if you lose anything at all, you will probably end up using a borrowed gun, and the chambering of the rifle/ammo you lost is irrelevent.
And yes, by now just about every rifle/cartridge/handgun/bow and arrow/sharp stick option has been taken to Africa, and used successfully.
And yes, by now just about every rifle/cartridge/handgun/bow and arrow/sharp stick option has been taken to Africa, and used successfully.
The .375 ruger is to the .375H&H MAG what the .40 S&W was to the 10 mil.
Not much to write home about. both will get the job done.
Just the 10 mil has a lot more range up or down with bullet weight!
A .375 in any case is a winner!
bob
Not much to write home about. both will get the job done.
Just the 10 mil has a lot more range up or down with bullet weight!
A .375 in any case is a winner!
bob
Except the 375 Ruger is more powerful than the 375 H&H, and te 40 S&W is lower than the 10mm..
Wild_Thing
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- In the thick of it!
As I don't often hunt the thickest bush for the biggest, meanest bears, I'd opt for the .375 Ruger Hawkeye in the 23" barreled "African" model. The only negative about that choice is that Hornady is involved. My experiences with them have been less than stellar, however Ruger has IMHO always produced a solid hunting rifle. I hope that other manufacturers hop on the .375 Ruger bandwagon and start producing brass and ammo.
Except the 375 Ruger is more powerful than the 375 H&H, ...
and the 378 Weatherby is more powerful than both!
Your point is....?
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
cant you rent a gun in Africa? seems easier than going through the hassle of shipping, possible loss/theft, etc.
im contemplating taking a rifle with me to Europe in September and already dreading it. i think i might just borrow one instead.
im contemplating taking a rifle with me to Europe in September and already dreading it. i think i might just borrow one instead.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The quality and type of rifle that you might end up with in Africa can be anywhere from great to miserable. According to the video, "Boddington on Buffalo" (lots of good information on that one by the way - even if you're like me and don't like Boddington) Chifuti Safaris in Zimbabwe use Dakota rifles with Swarovski scopes as their camp guns. This should not be taken as the norm, and often the camp guns are iron sighted and poorly maintained. When I realized that there was not enough time left to get the in-transit documents completed and would have to leave my rifle at home, Mark Sullivan arranged for me to use a fine .500 NE double rifle of British lineage.
The problem is that you, the client, have little control over the type, fit, or quality of firearm that you might end up with. Had I had only the double rifle, taking plains game would of been a problem, but the other client on the safari was very generous with the use of his scoped M-70 .375 H&H. The problem here was big Mark was about 7' tall (or so it seemed) and the length of pull of his Custom Shop M-70 was better than 3" longer than my own rifle. The result was that my shots were consistently hitting 4"-6" below my point of aim. Had I had the opportunity of putting the rifle on paper I would of realized this and compensated accordingly (one does not start messing about with the adjustments of a rifle loaned under such circumstances) but I had taken both my wildebeest and my buffalo before I caught on to how I should aim.
The double became a bit of a nightmare. I could shoot it alright, but the turn of the century recoil pad, (not the recent turn of the century) wasn't much softer than the wood of the stock, and the piece recoiled enthusiastically as it spit out 570 gr X bullets at 2150. I had some difficulty learning the technique of breaking the gun over the knee to get it to open. Express sights normally have a wide shallow V rear sight and a bead front. This rifle had a narrow rear sight with a very deep V and tended to cover up much of the target making it slower, at least for me, to use. My general opinion on the use of a double rifle for dangerous game has suffered as a result.
I have been shooting powerful rifles for quite some time, and I am not terribly squeamish when it comes to recoil. The fact is that 10, no make that 5 rounds fired in a short period of time required that I concentrate very hard on the mechanics of the shot to push the thought of recoil from my mind. By 10 shots, I was becoming indelicate on the trigger, and actually had the rifle double on me when I harped the triggers. The felt recoil was no worse when the piece doubled (the closely spaced the shots were still two separate events) although the muzzles rose higher. One can only wonder how a client who had less experience shooting powerful rifles and a less generous hunting partner might of made out. I suspect he would pay less for trophy fees.
The problem is that you, the client, have little control over the type, fit, or quality of firearm that you might end up with. Had I had only the double rifle, taking plains game would of been a problem, but the other client on the safari was very generous with the use of his scoped M-70 .375 H&H. The problem here was big Mark was about 7' tall (or so it seemed) and the length of pull of his Custom Shop M-70 was better than 3" longer than my own rifle. The result was that my shots were consistently hitting 4"-6" below my point of aim. Had I had the opportunity of putting the rifle on paper I would of realized this and compensated accordingly (one does not start messing about with the adjustments of a rifle loaned under such circumstances) but I had taken both my wildebeest and my buffalo before I caught on to how I should aim.
The double became a bit of a nightmare. I could shoot it alright, but the turn of the century recoil pad, (not the recent turn of the century) wasn't much softer than the wood of the stock, and the piece recoiled enthusiastically as it spit out 570 gr X bullets at 2150. I had some difficulty learning the technique of breaking the gun over the knee to get it to open. Express sights normally have a wide shallow V rear sight and a bead front. This rifle had a narrow rear sight with a very deep V and tended to cover up much of the target making it slower, at least for me, to use. My general opinion on the use of a double rifle for dangerous game has suffered as a result.
I have been shooting powerful rifles for quite some time, and I am not terribly squeamish when it comes to recoil. The fact is that 10, no make that 5 rounds fired in a short period of time required that I concentrate very hard on the mechanics of the shot to push the thought of recoil from my mind. By 10 shots, I was becoming indelicate on the trigger, and actually had the rifle double on me when I harped the triggers. The felt recoil was no worse when the piece doubled (the closely spaced the shots were still two separate events) although the muzzles rose higher. One can only wonder how a client who had less experience shooting powerful rifles and a less generous hunting partner might of made out. I suspect he would pay less for trophy fees.
Last edited:
I'd leave the rented rifles for a last ditch attempt to salvage your hunt if your rifle goes missing instead of a main plan. The stakes are too high. One lost and wounded trophy fee on a bigger ticket animal will buy between 2 to 4 average hunting rifles, depending where you are. Mess up on the real big items and the tab will equal 1 or 2 Dakota rifles or a 3 year year old 4X4, again depending on where you are. I'd be happier borrowing a friends rifle if you aren't hunting alone. You could get lucky, but planning on getting lucky isn't much of a plan.
