Hey guys, just thought of something not capitalized on. When talking about batteries writers normally are thinking 3 guns, sometimes, like in one I am reading right now thanks to Nickudu, say 5. but I can't remember anybody ever saying 2 rifle battery. Yet when most of you talk about going to Africa you are not taking more than 2 rifles.

So why not an article on 2 rifle batteries? This would be easy, explain why 2 rifles, talk about the different types of hunts usually gone on and can go from there. The batter for a dangerous game only hunt would be different from plains game only etc.

Just a thought.

Red

I could easily get by with my .300 Winchester for all of the world's big game except for elephant, rhino, hippo, African buffalo, Asiatic buffalo, lion, and coastal brown bear, and I've actually used the .300 for cape buff' and lion already. For the balance, I'd go with my .416 Remington and call it good, and someday, I just might!



There you have it, a two-rifle battery comprised of a .300 Win. Mag. and a .416 Rem. Mag. If I sold-off all the rest of my rifles and was stayed with those two, I'd never look back.



Quite honestly, I think cartridge selection ends up getting a whole lot more complicated than it needs to be--sort of like a 'tidal-wave-in-a-tin-cup'. Fun, though!



"There is no shortage of all-purpose rifles--where are the all-purpose hunters?" - Jim Carmichel



AD

I suspect a lot us have many guns but only hunt with a couple, I pretty much hunt with two in recent times, I have a 300 wby and 375 H&H, the others pretty much just go off at the range.

I think a 300 mag of some type and a 416 of some type or 404 would be hard to beat.

Trying to figure out which is better in some cases is like picking fly poo poo out of the pepper.

Nothing wrong with having lots of guns, but a fella can only take two at a time for most hunts and for some Alaska hunts its only one.

This is a problem that confronts me right now. I have a 21 day full bag trip planned to Tanz for plains and dangerous game. Based upon prior experience, it is a daunting feeling to be wandering around where lions live with a medium bore in you hands. I know that it is where you put the bullet that counts, but when you are no longer at the top of the food chain, it makes a difference. With the number of guns in a case restricted to two, and the practical necessity of either of them being able to take care of the full bag is necessary, life gets real interesting.

You are stuck with 9.3 or larger bores, preferably something you can shoot at very small antelope out to 250 yds. It is a plus if you feel comfortable shooting them and they are easy to carry. My choices have narrowed to some combination of the 9.3x62, .375HH, 425 Express and 416 Howell.

The 9.3 is definitely in. I have never shot any rifle better than I am shooting this one right now. The 416 is showing unexplainable pressure problems again and it has a down check right now.

Shot the 425 this weekend and the scope mounts were not up to the task. Replaced those, and it requires additional checking. I really like the muzzle brake on this Savage. It has got to be able to group at 200yds with the 350 grain Barnes to make the cut though.

I was concerned that the .375 had set back because it was opening with difficulty; however, checking reveals it is a brass sizing problem. This is a nice package; the bigger brother to the 9.3. I am pleased enough with this rifle to have ordered a brake put on it after shooting a 30-338 with one this weekend. I could not believe the difference in recoil a brake makes, and it was accurate too. I'm sorry for bystanders, but with the arthritis in my neck, to heck with the noise.

If I could take a 3d rifle, I'd take the 9.3, the 375HH and one of the 40's or my 30-338. However, with three guns in one case a thing of the past today, the idea of a two gun battery is definitely worth discussing. Ku-dude

I have never taken more than two guns. 375 and a 30.06, and no problems. I have taken all the dangerous African Game short of rhino and elephant, no problems. I would have no problem with only one gun, 375, the 30.06 is just for fun.

Ku-Dude, I'm headed to Tanzania next year, and I'm taking a .338 Win. Mag. and handloaded ammo featuring 250 gr. Nosler Partitions, plus a .416 Remington with 400 gr. Trophy Bonded solids & softs. I feel as though I'll be well-covered with that tandem, no matter what situation develops.



Previously for Tanzania, I've teamed a .300 Win. with a .458 Win. and that combination also worked very well.



AD

Red,

Both Craig Boddington and Gregor Woods have written about various batteries, including two-gun. It is of course a great part of the fun of going hunting in Africa to yarn about the scenarios that would drive such caliber choices.

I usually take a .308 Win and a .375 (I have used the .376 Steyr as well as the .375 H&H).

Jeff Cooper is fond of saying "We don't need better cartridges, we need better rifles". Since I got my Steyr Scout in '98, I have used that rifle as my all-around rifle (less dangerous game). I have taken off the forward mount scope though, and I use a low-power variable mounted over the action as a more general purpose hunting sight.

I want to do some work with the .400 H&H, so that one will go next time in place of a .375. My wife brings a M70 .30-'06, so when we hunt together it is an '06 and something heavier that go in the TufPak.

jim dodd

While I agree with Allen that the 330/416 combo sounds ideal for all the world's game, I haven't made up my mind, especially on the light rifle side, leaning a bit more to the 33s in case It has to do "double duty." Allen's point that he took both lion and buff with the 300 is well taken though. Incidentally, for my upcoming buff/plains game(zebra, warthog,bushbuck,waterbuck,impala) hunt, I'm packing a 416 Rigby and a 300 H&H. How's THAT for being romantic! jorge

My two rifle batteri is my pre-64 in 375 H&H mag as a all round rifle and my .500 Jeffery for buffalo.
I am planning to go to either Zimbabwe or Tanzania and would like to have minimum 375 H&H in my hand if encountered with DG. I would proberly be carring my .500 all the time due to the love to this gun If I get close enough to the game I will be shooting everything with it

Cheers,

Andr�

I have hunted with the following combinations:

25-06 Remington and a 375 H&H
270 Ackley and a 416 Weatherby
270 Ackley and a 416 Rigby Improved
270/404 and a 375/404
270/7mm Dakota and a 375/404
7mm Lazzeroni Firehawk and a 375/404
338 Lazzeroni and a 375/404
375/404 and a 375/416 Rigby Improved

Finally, depending on what I wish to hunt, I have settled on one rifle for everything.

When elephant and buffalo are the intended game, I take my 375/404, which I use for everything. From duikers up.

When I am hunting just plains game, I use a 30/404.

These two rifles meet all my hunting requirements.