What about hunting plains game with a double? Only with a double? I guess for plains game most hunters will prefer repeating rifles. What is you guys opinion on this matter?

I have been on 6 African hunts. I hunted Buffalo and Plains game on one hunt and Leopard and plains game on another. The other 4 hunts were for Plains Game only. I only used my bold action rifles on all hunts.

I agree that hunting Elephant would be an exciting and traditional way of hunting Elephant, but I don't have a double rifle, nor will I ever think that I will hunt an Elephant.

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Originally posted by Sunshine:
What about hunting plains game with a double? Only with a double? I guess for plains game most hunters will prefer repeating rifles. What is you guys opinion on this matter?

Depending on the caliber, double rifles above .400 are not normally used for hunting plains game due to their ballistic deficiency as they were not designed for long-range shooting (over 100 meters).

Most hunters prefer magazine bolt-action rifles (not repeating) in calibers up to but not necessarily limited to .416 which from a ballistic point of view is probably the most versatile caliber in African hunting, capable of dealing with anything from Dik Dik to Elephant.

I've shot plains game with a .500 bpe, .450-400 nitro, .500 nitro, and a .600 nitro. There is something special about using a double.

On my safaris to Africa, I’m always hunting DG either buff or ele or both plus ancillary plains game.
I always travel with one double, my 500 or 600 plus my bolt repeater in 375 or 416.

I carry the double and one of the trackers the bolt gun.

It’s worked well for me !!!!

Ive shot PG with my doubles, mostly on a target of opertunity while hunting Buffalo, or for camp meat.

Hunting PG with a double is fun, but certainly not the best or rather the perfect tool for the job..

I shot an eland with a sxs 20ga Blisset paradox hammer gun once. Did the trick to the amazement of my PH. My go to is a Valmet 412 double in 375 JDJ, scoped and it's a MOA rifle from either or both barrels. I have also used a 16ga/8x57 drilling with a claw mount scope on mixed bird/pg hunts. Besides that, for PG I have used a 250 Savage on a Rem 600 action with partitions up to BWB, a 20ga Ball and Shot of my own design (w Brennekes), a 375 Steyr SB with an 8 round magazine, a 404 Jeffery on an Oberndorf Mauser, a contender carbine in 45 LC, another 375JDJ on a Marlin 336, and a 338 Win Mag Ruger 77 that kills like the hammer of Thor but dishes out a lot of punishment on the butt end as well. For that reason I sold that beotch a while back. Something about Ruger's stock profile and that hard red pad makes that thing kick out of proportion to the caliber.

I just built a 375 JDJ (rimless) on a Mauser 93 bolt that I hope to use on my next hunt if Covid ever lets up (I refuse to wear a mask for 18 hours). It has a bolt-mounted ghost ring of my own design that is also the safety.

I have a 375 Wby on a P14 that I built some years ago that needs to be blooded. I tried to take it to Zim once but United made me leave it at the airport. That was made specifically for extra long range sniping of baboons. Has a target turret on the vertical scope adjustment and it's zeroed at 300 where it bottoms out.

As you can see, I like stuff that's off the beaten track. I particularly like the 375 JDJ in a rifle, it can be loaded up quite a bit vs the factory spec, and in the faster twists a nice conventional 300gr cup and core is devastating on Eland/Giraffe and I would think Lion but I have never gone there. For a lighter bullet, or for lever action use, the Barnes Original is the ticket, 255 grainer flat point. Put one of those into a Sable which is now in my living room.

Will be interesting to see who uses a scope.

And whether side by side or over under.

I have a double; I take it with more often than not; but no, I have not taken the double on a plains game exclusive safari.

Never .

I have shot some PG with my 500NE. That was by chance . Happened to bump into the PG.

I bought a Gaucher sxs double in 9,3x74R recently...a french rifle for those not familiar with the make..mainly for hunting moose back home and the odd driven hunt..

However, this rifle is most accurate out to 100 meters and scoped with a Zeiss in a swing mount..

I yearn to use this in the bush for PG..

On my last Leopard hunt past August I used a scoped Heym 88B in 9.3x74R to take 7 impala and a warthog up to 150 yards for bait and a baboon at 200. Of course I took the Leopard with the 9.3x74R as well ranged at 53 yards.

To answer you, Saeed, used a Bailey Bradshaw rising bite 450-400 3-inch with a Leupold Vari-X III to take an old eland bull in August. First double in 1984 was a Gibbs 350 No. 2 that had the same make scope attached. It took gemsbok, kudu, hartebeeste, springbok. Never used a scope on my .303 H&H 'tho had the rib machined to be able to put a reflex sight on it.
The Bradshaw will shortly have a set of .300 H&H flanged magnum barrels and I'll use the same scope as was fitted to the 450-400 barrels.
NB All doubles are sxs.

Regards, Tim

On my last African hunt, I took my 450-400 and my 375 Flanged. I shot a giraffe and impala with the 375 Flanged to break it in. Loads of fun! And, my doubles will shoot iron sights, RMRs or scopes. Take your pick with what you want to use at the time. I also travel with a scope and an RMR that have been set up for each double rifle when hunting. Easy off-easy on.

UEG

Beautiful rifle and gear you've got there.

Why, thank you my friend!

quote:

Originally posted by tanks:
On my last Leopard hunt past August I used a scoped Heym 88B in 9.3x74R to take 7 impala and a warthog up to 150 yards for bait and a baboon at 200. Of course I took the Leopard with the 9.3x74R as well ranged at 53 yards.

But no mention of how many of the above you also shot at and missed. (Please take the aside in good humor.)

I mean no disrespect and anyone who wishes to hunt with a double rifle (or a handgun, bow, or slingshot) is welcome to do so as far as I'm concerned.

However, a double rifle by its very nature is rarely accurate -- especially when attempting to get both barrels to shoot to roughly the same place at more than the distance from your front yard to the back. As others have pointed out, doubles are designed for close range and an instant follow-up shot. I know, I know, someone will be irate about this and write to tell us how they use their double .470 NE for prairie dogs and ground squirrels at 500 yards, but everyone who walks around in the real world understands the limitations of the design of doubles.

It's not that you can't hunt plains game with a double, just that a scoped bolt action with a higher velocity, lower weight bullet that is accurate at longer ranges is preferable.

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Originally posted by Stonecreek:

quote:

Originally posted by tanks:
On my last Leopard hunt past August I used a scoped Heym 88B in 9.3x74R to take 7 impala and a warthog up to 150 yards for bait and a baboon at 200. Of course I took the Leopard with the 9.3x74R as well ranged at 53 yards.

But no mention of how many of the above you also shot at and missed. (Please take the aside in good humor.)

I mean no disrespect and anyone who wishes to hunt with a double rifle (or a handgun, bow, or slingshot) is welcome to do so as far as I'm concerned.

However, a double rifle by its very nature is rarely accurate -- especially when attempting to get both barrels to shoot to roughly the same place at more than the distance from your front yard to the back. As others have pointed out, doubles are designed for close range and an instant follow-up shot. I know, I know, someone will be irate about this and write to tell us how they use their double .470 NE for prairie dogs and ground squirrels at 500 yards, but everyone who walks around in the real world understands the limitations of the design of doubles.

It's not that you can't hunt plains game with a double, just that a scoped bolt action with a higher velocity, lower weight bullet that is accurate at longer ranges is preferable.

Well, my Krieghoff Classic Big Five in 9.3x74R is as accurate as any bolt rifle. It is very simple to regulate the barrels. And it has a telescope, a Zeiss 1.1-4x24. Whether the antelope is 100 m away or even further, no problem with my Krieghoff Classic.

As to PHs hunting with doubles, I do know that Charl van Rooyen uses a Merkel 470 NE double rifle.

I've done several safaris with 2 doubles, one heavy and one in my 9.3x74R.

I've shot quite a bit of plains game with my 9.3 double. In the past, it had a quick detach scope and I shot some with the scope and some without. I've posted several videos of those hunts here.

It took me some time and effort to get both barrels to shoot to the same point of impact with the scope on. Without the scope, no problem at all. But the scope was an issue to its regulation.

In the end, I took several animals in the 150 to 250 yard range. I love hunting with doubles. Currently, the 9.3 is sporting an RMR red dot. Haven't sighted it in yet but my next safari will once again be a double / double hunt.

Shot a few Warthogs with my 470.

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Well, my Krieghoff Classic Big Five in 9.3x74R is as accurate as any bolt rifle.

I'm sure that's true. Just look at how the doubles are taking over the benchrest sports. You see more and more of them in competition every day. Why, with a double-trigger model you can probably pull both triggers at the same time and both bullets will go through the same hole at 300 yards -- provided they don't run into one another as they go down range .

My apologies for the sarcasm and I'm not knocking double rifles. But as I said previously, they work well (better than anything else) within their design limitations. Accuracy beyond the range of charging dangerous game is not their strong suit and no one expects it to be.

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Originally posted by Stonecreek:

quote:

Well, my Krieghoff Classic Big Five in 9.3x74R is as accurate as any bolt rifle.

I'm sure that's true. Just look at how the doubles are taking over the benchrest sports. You see more and more of them in competition every day. Why, with a double-trigger model you can probably pull both triggers at the same time and both bullets will go through the same hole at 300 yards -- provided they don't run into one another as they go down range .

My apologies for the sarcasm and I'm not knocking double rifles. But as I said previously, they work well (better than anything else) within their design limitations. Accuracy beyond the range of charging dangerous game is not their strong suit and no one expects it to be.

Yet, they are plenty accurate for the job they were designed for ... hunting at typical hunting ranges.

Pardon my sarcasm as well, but I've not seen too many "bench rest" specific rifles in the hunting field either.

Suitability for plains game has more to do with the round than the type of action. I use my 375 Flanged Magnum for everything- just like Taylor said it could. One rifle for the world.

Last two trips I took a 45-70 double for my boys and they took many PG with it and not a single miss. 404 grain plus P loads. All out 125 y or less. I used .577 NE VC for three buffalo and one impala. Both with red dots and the 45-70 grouped 1” first round at 100 yd both grouped 2-3” both barrels. And by the way a solid punch 45-70 passes through a buffalo chest.

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Pardon my sarcasm as well, but I've not seen too many "bench rest" specific rifles in the hunting field either.

You haven't? Well, I've seen far too many yokels attempting to wag around their 17-lb rifles with 30X 56mm objective scopes with the intention of killing an elk or deer at 700 yards. Those contraptions are just as out of place in the field as would be a .470 double at a benchrest competition.

The sport of hunting "plains game" can vary tremendously depending on where you are. As the gentleman mentioned, he and his family took their plains game with doubles at ranges of less than 125 yards. That is probably typical in thick brush. Where I've hunted PG in wide open Southern Namibia the shots are rarely less than 200 yards and can be about as far as you feel capable of shooting. Carrying a double there would be a severe handicap -- unless you hunted from a baited hide, in which case a handgun or a bow would be sufficient.

Like I say, I have no problem with anyone hunting with the weapon of their choice, but for mostplains game hunting situations a double is somewhat limiting compared to a scoped bolt action.

Some double rifle plains game posted again for those interested:

https://studio.youtube.com/video/Xf4V1XXlY6A/edit


https://studio.youtube.com/video/InInjk2NCaw/edit

The cherry on the cake is a set of shotgun barrels on the same action ... no better way to get warmed up than to do a bird hunt prior to main safari. Excellent rock pigeon shooting in RSA. And in some cases, you can do some sand grouse shooting in the evenings or mid morning while on safari depending on time of year and where you are. Doves of course. Francolin ditto. Guineas are harder to hunt solo, you really need a group of guys with long legs for those.

quote:

Originally posted by Russ Gould:
The cherry on the cake is a set of shotgun barrels on the same action ... no better way to get warmed up than to do a bird hunt prior to main safari. Excellent rock pigeon shooting in RSA. And in some cases, you can do some sand grouse shooting in the evenings or mid morning while on safari depending on time of year and where you are. Doves of course. Francolin ditto. Guineas are harder to hunt solo, you really need a group of guys with long legs for those.

Yes!! Sand grouse at sundown is a great way to end the day. Last safari we each took a shotgun and one rifle.

I have hunted plains game in Namibia and South Africa with my Merkel 141 9.3x74R. It has a Leupold 1-4 VXR on it. I have no problem killing game out to 200 yards and have killed game a little further. Taken quite a few whitetail and even clipped the necks of a couple turkeys with it. No matter where or what I am hunting, I always try to get as close as I can and then get 10 yards closer so I don't see myself limited when I am using that rifle. I have missed with it once (whitetail) and it was all me.

All rifles, calibers, optics, ammunition and other kit have limitations. These limitations are often increased when you factor in other conditions such as terrain, weather, visibility and of course the biggest factor and limitation is the person pulling the trigger.

"A man's GOT to know his limitations." Harry Callahan, 1973

Unscoped bolt actions and doubles will be matched. With iron sights, I am accurate to about 100 yards. Many here shoot very well with scoped doubles and if the calibre is right then there is no problem pursuing PG with a double. It's a personal choice.

Years ago, while hunting the Zambezi Valley with my 450-400 Searcy double rifle, with PH Lance Nesbitt, I was unsure about the accuracy distance of my double, and expressed it to Lance. Lance was shooting a 470 NE Chapuis and told me that his double rifle was accurate out to over 200 yards with iron sights and not to worry. I subsequently shot one of my cape buffalo on that safari at over 150 yards.