Recently there was a thread on lever guns and I have never really come across their use in the field.

On my last hunt this Royal Kafue Buffalo received 400 grains in the chest and put his head down and staggered a few meters to one side. A couple more bullets to send him quickly on his way and it was over.

I was very impressed.

Very nice bull

Nice bull, nice rifle!

I had thought about one for buff, but my eyes are just not good enough for open sights anymore.
Great buff!

Nice buff. Love the horns.


May I ask what is the Rifle and any chance of
a closer or close up photo of it.


Quite a few 405 Doubles exist over here.
God all round calibre.

Thanks

I should have realised !

Not being a US Cartridge buff !

A good example of at the end of the day,
it's a piece of lead at XXXX fps and the
animal doesn't know any difference.

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:
Thanks

I should have realised !

Not being a US Cartridge buff !

A good example of at the end of the day,
it's a piece of lead at XXXX fps and the
animal doesn't know any difference.

Absolutely. This buff was at some 40 paces and he never again raised his head. The Lyman peep sight however needs fortifying.

I have a friend who built his own double rifle in .405 and took a nice buff bull in Botswana with it. Apparently it works just fine.

Can I ask which bullets were used?

Accuracy does wonders. Teddy took the 405 to Africa at the turn of the century and he came back in one piece.

Mike

Gentlemen, 375 and up will kill all DG with right placement anytime anywhere.
Point is, all these different cartridges are fun and add to the African experience.
To be able to say I killed buff with 405 is pretty cool and that is why we all reveal in all different guns and cartridges.
It's almost like " I did it" and that makes it all of us proud of the accomplishment.
Go 405.
I just built 404 from old beat up Savage 110 for less then $ 900.
So elephants beware next year.

I took an original .405 to Zim in 1994 but didn't see a buff to use it on. It's a great cartridge and rifle, albeit a bit uncomfortable to carry one handed due to the magazine.
Jolly good show, Fairgame.
Cal

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:
Can I ask which bullets were used?

You will have to ask 505Gibbs as it is his rifle.

What I did like about the lever action is that you keep your gun on the target when cocking.

I was a bit dubious of the frontal shot but with open sights we had to get up very close which made for some very fine hunting indeed.

Per my name I have lugged my Gibbs around Africa for 7-8 years. I do not know what is worse, shooting it or carrying it. There is some novelty to it and some amount of "wow" factor, both for those in camp and the animals hit by it. However, that factor does come with some amount of cost physically and financially. I actually bought my first 1895 5-6 years ago, it was built in 1910 and the first time I shot it at the range wa actually shocked at its accuracy. I spoke to some in the know about it and they all agreed that I needed to be careful shooting modern rounds through the older rifle. I never really thought much more about it until my Brother bought a more modern version and took it to Zim last year. The PH's were up in arms about using it, confident it was like "taking a knife to a gunfight". As the consumate professionals, they had to find something positive to say and it did hold 4 in the box and 1 in the pipe. Also, It has an exposed hammer and a safety which rather than locking the trigger blocks the firing pin. This allowed you to keep one in the pipe with the hammer down and the safety on. Then after some amount of buffalo hunting there was some amount of arguement over who was going to carry the 1895 vs. the double gun due to the feeling of carrying a stick vs. a boat anchor. After the killing of the buffalo, the question began to arise as to why you would not prefer this weapon. This led all parties involved to be willing to shoot it, provided everyone agreed not to admit to it (apparently handling one of these lever actions by a PH is the equivelant of going to one of the native women to quench your manly needs). After everyone had the pleasure of taking her for a test ride and experiencing the lack of recoil, ease of shooting freehand and dead nuts accuracy there could be no denial that the only thing that stood between reality and admission that this was the consumate rifle for Africa, was pride. After absolutely hammering my buffalo with it, I concur and the Gibbs has been retired.

I built up some 300gr TSX, NF softs and solids@ 2250 fps I had planned to use on buffalo and I am convinced they would have been "enough gun" for the task. That is until Zim went NUTS with trophy fees...

Fairgame
You made mention of the reciever sight needing up grade or strengthening.
Would you elaborate?
I put Lymans on my 1886, 45-70 and my 95, 30-06 without issue.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by arkypete:
Fairgame
You made mention of the reciever sight needing up grade or strengthening.
Would you elaborate?
I put Lymans on my 1886, 45-70 and my 95, 30-06 without issue.

Jim

We had the retaining bolt come adrift and I just felt it could have been of more solid construction. Not sure why the peep could have not gone into the rear iron sight slot with one locking system for elevation?

I really like the 1895 but recall from a conversation here some years ago (Actually when I suggested the .405 on buffalo!) that SOME had concerns about bullet weight and construction. That is why I ask.

For several years now I have also considered buying an old Browning 1895 and re-barreling to 9,3x62. Not traditional at all...but probably very effective.

JudgeG had his milled out to accept 400gr bullets and replicate 450/400 NE performance. I believe with the 300 gr TSX or North Fork solids at 2250 fps, it's enough...just enough.

I have to agree with Andrew on the Lyman 66. During transport and handling (by those other than yourself), it is easy to bump or rub the exposed elevation and windage turrets. It is a temptation for those handling the gun who do not know better to mess with them as well. Also, a problem we had was that there is a set screw that sets the elevation so that the sight can be removed and replaced onto the base while maintaining the setting. Once when Andrew was carrying the rifle in front of me (because he had injured his back carrying around the Vernon Carrey. I noticed that I could see approx. an 1/8" of daylight between the set screw and the reciever, indicating that the sight had been moved. I stopped him and whent to adjust the elevation back to 0 and noticed that it actually was on 0 which means that sometime bumping along and vibrating in the truck, the set screw had backed out (presumably when the gun was placed upside down in the rack. These are all things that can be dealt with fairly easily, but they are stress I don't need when I expect my gun to be drilling tacks straight out of the bag. Also, when my brother took the gun to Africa, he left the sight on the gun during transport through the airport, whe he arrived home he discovered that either TSA or the baggage handlers had bent (considerably) the sight away from the base. If this had happened on the way, the rifle would have been unuseable on the hunt. I think that if I could get the same accuracy out of a traditional Iron sight, I would at least give that a try for comparison.

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
Accuracy does wonders. Teddy took the 405 to Africa at the turn of the century and he came back in one piece.

Mike

Teddy took a Mod 95 .405 Win with him to Africa in 1907, and quickly found it lacking on anything bigger than a lion. Of course that was with ammo that was available in 1907.

Teddy took most of his buffalo with a Springfield 30-03 (early name for the 30-06) and most of the bigger things with the H&H double rifle.

Today the 405 is a viable round in a modern rifle, and with good bullets and powder. However I would rather have it chambered in a light well made double rifle rather than a Mod 95 Winchester rifle with quality iron sights, and a quick detach Trijicon scope, or even a Ruger No1 single shot. With a modern rifle of any kind you can get what the .405 has to offer. It would turn in a better record than it did for Teddy and his son back in 1907!

.................................................................OPINION!

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
Accuracy does wonders. Teddy took the 405 to Africa at the turn of the century and he came back in one piece.

Mike

Teddy took a Mod 95 .405 Win with him to Africa in 1907, and quickly found it lacking on anything bigger than a lion. Of course that was with ammo that was available in 1907.

Teddy took most of his buffalo with a Springfield 30-03 (early name for the 30-06) and most of the bigger things with the H&H double rifle.

Today the 405 is a viable round in a modern rifle, and with good bullets and powder. However I would rather have it chambered in a light well made double rifle rather than a Mod 95 Winchester rifle with quality iron sights, and a quick detach Trijicon scope, or even a Ruger No1 single shot. With a modern rifle of any kind you can get what the .405 has to offer. It would turn in a better record than it did for Teddy and his son back in 1907!

.................................................................OPINION!

A double would change it back to a heavy two shot blunderbuss Mac. Enjoy your coffee mate.

When you coming to Zambia?

Cheers

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

A double would change it back to a heavy two shot blunderbuss Mac. Enjoy your coffee mate.

When you coming to Zambia?

Cheers

Andrew I'm still recovering from some health problems, but I'm seriously thinking about it! If I can swing it you'll be the first to know!

I've never hunted the Western part of Zambia, and though I love the Luangwa Valley, I've always wanted to hunt the west as well.

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