THE ACCURATERELOADING.COM AFRICAN HUNTING FORUM

Page 1 2 

Moderators: Saeed
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
2 Rifles for Africa
 Login/Join
 
new member
posted
What are your 2 favorite caliber rifles to take to Africa?
 
Posts: 9 | Location: Norman, NC | Registered: 27 February 2010Reply With Quote
new member
posted Hide Post
.300 Win Mag
.375 H&H
 
Posts: 14 | Registered: 03 November 2009Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
If I'm limited to 2....( I've always taken 4 in the past..)
They would be .375 H&H, and .458 Win Mag.

IF I could regain the handgun skill I had "back-in-the-day...I'd drop the .375 H&H for my old .375 JDJ in a14" bbl. Contender.
 
Posts: 953 | Location: Florida | Registered: 17 March 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of JudgeG
posted Hide Post
A double in a .45 caliber or larger is my first choice for elephants.

I also like to take a gun that can serve as a DG rifle if needed, but is scoped and flat shooting enough for plains game, i.e., this year I took a cheap Ruger .416 Alaskan with a 1.5-5x scope with QD mounts. It was during the rainy season and I'm not big on having an expensive double getting wet for severals hours of chasing elephants in a thunderstorm. The little Ruger with handloads and 350 grain bullets shoots flat enough for 200 yard shots on stuff to eat, btw... not to mention that a Hornady 400 grain DGS will shoot an elephant dramatically dead, particularly on a side brain shot. Big Grin



Yes... I'm writing a hunt report and will post it soon.....

A stainless .375 H&H Winchester would have been a good alternative, too, as the PG/back up DG rifle IMHO.

Whatever the second rifle is, I suggest you get good express sights on it and QD mounts, so if, push comes to shove, and you find yourself in the dinge jess after something and you don't have your "big gun", the secondary one will be ready to go.


JudgeG ... just counting time 'til I am again finding balm in Gilead chilled out somewhere in the Selous.
 
Posts: 7764 | Location: GA | Registered: 27 February 2001Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
A double in 45 cal (up) plus a 375H&H.

My double is in 458wm and has served well for elephant and buff.

A 375 is a great all 'rounder, DG capable and plenty flat shooting for PG.

JPK


Free 500grains
 
Posts: 4900 | Location: Chevy Chase, Md. | Registered: 16 November 2004Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
The two calibers I would choose would be entirely dependant upon what I was hunting. In September I will be taking a 375 H&H and a 300RUM to Namibia but that is because I will be chasing PG.

Jason
 
Posts: 144 | Location: sw Michigan | Registered: 19 February 2009Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
JudgeG, Can't wait for the hunt report. The way you write, it will be like I was right there with you! Oh, never mind, I was :-)
 
Posts: 20175 | Location: Very NW NJ up in the Mountains | Registered: 14 June 2009Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
My favorite rifle for Afica and most anywhere else is a 375 of some type. If I knew I'd have some long shots I'd probably take a 300 mag. and if elephant were on the menu a 458.

Mark


MARK H. YOUNG
MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES
7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110
Office 702-848-1693
Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED
E-mail markttc@msn.com
Website: myexclusiveadventures.com
Skype: markhyhunter
Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716
 
Posts: 13091 | Location: LAS VEGAS, NV USA | Registered: 04 August 2002Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Use Enough Gun
posted Hide Post
Overall, my two most effective and favorite ones so far have been the .300 WSM and the .375 H&H. Big Grin
 
Posts: 18581 | Registered: 04 April 2005Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of MacD37
posted Hide Post
In most cases, over the years, my pick was a big bore double rifle, and a Mauser actioned 375H&H. with irons sights and scope in QD bases. The 375 H&H is flat shooting to handle all plains game if you know your rifle, and is legal to finish the safari if your big bore is lost or broken.

I normally don’t care for plains game hunting at all. I usually will take two or three head of PG, but my main thing is Cape Buffalo. My pick today is a pair of Merkel double rifles! One is a 470NE Safari 140-2, and the other a 140E-1 9.3X74R. The little rifle is fine for the limited amount of PG hunting I do, and will take the place of the 470NE if the need arises.


....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1
DRSS Charter member
"If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982

Hands of Old Elmer Keith

 
Posts: 14634 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: 08 June 2000Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
With no ele on the menu, it would be 300 H & H and a 375 H & H. Both Trijicon scoped in QD mounts, softs and solids for the 75 and good quality softs for the 30. Nothing says Africa like Holland and Holland!! If only one gun allowed most likely a 9.3 X 62 equipped as above.

Larry Sellers
SCI Life Member
 
Posts: 3460 | Location: Jemez Mountains, New Mexico | Registered: 09 February 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by mbuyu:
.300 Win Mag
.375 H&H



Yep, that is all you need.
 
Posts: 10436 | Location: Texas... time to secede!! | Registered: 12 February 2004Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of bwanamrm
posted Hide Post
Two.... seriously! Just two rifles! Big Grin

.375 H&H and my sentimental favorite, my .416 Rigby.

Redundant, yes. Adequate for almost everything, hell yes.

Then again, there is my HCR in .404 Jeff that handled the Omay North like it was meant to... and my Weaver-built .375 Ruger that is just itching to shoot something nasty... seriously, two?


On the plains of hesitation lie the bleached bones of ten thousand, who on the dawn of victory lay down their weary heads resting, and there resting, died.

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch...
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
- Rudyard Kipling

Life grows grim without senseless indulgence.
 
Posts: 7568 | Location: Victoria, Texas | Registered: 30 March 2003Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Before my last hunt I would have said two pre 64 mod 70's 3006 and 375 H&H. However now I have to include the 404j. so now I say:

DG hunt: 404j plus 375 H&h
PG hunt: 376 H&H plus 3006
 
Posts: 1903 | Location: Greensburg, Pa. | Registered: 09 August 2002Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of L. David Keith
posted Hide Post
For plains game, Leopard/Crocodile only: .280 & the .223
For Buffalo, Lion, Elephant, Hippo and large PG, .375 & .416 Rigby.

Big guns won't make up for bad shooting~ BOOM
LDK


Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris
http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333
Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com
NRA Benefactor
DSC Professional Member
SCI Member
RMEF Life Member
NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor
NAHC Life Member
Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer
Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262
Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142
Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007
16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409
Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311
Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added
http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941
10 days in the Stormberg Mountains
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322
Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017
http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232

"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson

Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......

"If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you."
 
Posts: 6825 | Location: Tennessee | Registered: 18 December 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Ummmmmmmmmmmm, Johnsons Paste Wax seals them pretty well, clean the rifles and apply every evening.

I leave in 21 days, and I am taking my Searcy .470 NE and the new Chapuis 9,3x74R. A bit overkill, perhaps, but I'm insecure.

Rich
 
Posts: 23062 | Location: SW Idaho | Registered: 19 December 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of namibiahunter
posted Hide Post
.375 H&H and .338 WinMag



.
 
Posts: 665 | Location: Oregon or Namibia | Registered: 13 June 2007Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of ledvm
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by dogcat:
quote:
Originally posted by mbuyu:
.300 Win Mag
.375 H&H



Yep, that is all you need.


That is exactly what I used to take...after experience...moved up a little. Now the .375 H&H and a .458 WM.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
J. Lane Easter, DVM

A born Texan has instilled in his system a mind-set of no retreat or no surrender. I wish everyone the world over had the dominating spirit that motivates Texans.– Billy Clayton, Speaker of the Texas House

No state commands such fierce pride and loyalty. Lesser mortals are pitied for their misfortune in not being born in Texas.— Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Texas in May, 1991.
 
Posts: 38446 | Location: Gainesville, TX | Registered: 24 December 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
IMHO, a .270 and a .416 Rigby.
That's all folks!
Regards,


.
 
Posts: 60 | Location: Portugal | Registered: 07 December 2004Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
In the past I have always taken a 375H&H and a 458 Lott or a Double Rifle. I have a passion for Buffalo hunting and plains game is secondary. As such, always want two rifles capable of handling the biggest item on the menu.

In December 2010, I will be taking my 404 Jeffery (currently being built) and either a 375H&H or a 458 win. mag. both Browning Safari Rifles built in 1965. I really like the FN Browning Safaris, nice stuff.
 
Posts: 1999 | Location: Memphis, TN | Registered: 23 April 2004Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of MacD37
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by L. David Keith:
Big guns won't make up for bad shooting~ BOOM
LDK


Absolutely true! However a big gun WILL make up for what the little gun lacks in effectiveness, with the same placement! Wink


....Mac >>>===(x)===> MacD37, ...and DUGABOY1
DRSS Charter member
"If I die today, I've had a life well spent, for I've been to see the Elephant, and smelled the smoke of Africa!"~ME 1982

Hands of Old Elmer Keith

 
Posts: 14634 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: 08 June 2000Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of BigB
posted Hide Post
375 H&H with a lighted reticle scope and a 416 or 404 or 458.

BigB
 
Posts: 1401 | Location: Northwest Wyoming | Registered: 13 March 2001Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of ovny
posted Hide Post
My option:

Remington 700 BDL-338 Win Mag

Ceska 550 Safari Magnum-458 Lott

Bye

Oscar.


I am Spanish

My forum:www.armaslargasdecaza.com
 
Posts: 1131 | Location: Spain (Madrid) | Registered: 11 June 2008Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
375 H&H and a 458 Lott


The only easy day is yesterday!
 
Posts: 2758 | Location: Northern Minnesota | Registered: 22 September 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
416 Rigby
.375 Heym SxS


Elton Rambin
Mail/Ship: 1802 Horse Hollow Rd.
Barksdale, Texas 78828
Phone: 479 461 3656
Ranch: 830-234-4366
Check our Hunt & Class Schedule
at
www.ftwoutfitters.com

4 Rules of Gun Safety
1/ Treat all guns as though they are loaded.
2/ Never point the muzzle at anything you do not want to shoot.
3/ Do not put your finger on trigger until your sights are on target and you are ready to shoot.
4/ Be sure of your target and safe background.

 
Posts: 268 | Location: Western Arkansas/Barksdale,TX. USA | Registered: 18 February 2008Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
.416 Rigby and .338 RUM
 
Posts: 318 | Location: No. California | Registered: 19 April 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of 470Evans
posted Hide Post
I leave for elephant, buff and hippo in 40 days. I'm taking my 470 and a 375 H&H. I may take my Paradox if JJ finishes the stock in time.
 
Posts: 1311 | Location: Texas | Registered: 29 August 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Searcy 500 double and custom 9.3x66 Mauser-worked a treat last trip to Zim.


Australia
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!
 
Posts: 302 | Location: Australia | Registered: 09 February 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of ozhunter
posted Hide Post
No;1, Always have a 9.3x62 with me.
No 2; Big Rifle like 470, 450NE, 404 or similar.
 
Posts: 5886 | Location: Sydney,Australia  | Registered: 03 July 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Milo Shanghai
posted Hide Post
.375 H&H scoped bolt gun and a .470NE double.
 
Posts: 680 | Location: London | Registered: 03 September 2009Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
My .500 jeffery and the 9.3x62 Cool
or My 404 jeffery and the 300 Holland & Holland Big Grin
 
Posts: 896 | Location: Langwarrin,Australia | Registered: 06 September 2007Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of Palmer
posted Hide Post
404J and 450/400 3"


ALLEN W. JOHNSON - DRSS

Into my heart on air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?
That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

A. E. Housman
 
Posts: 2251 | Location: Mo, USA | Registered: 21 April 2002Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Double rifle (Heym) in 500N.E. and a scoped bolt rifle (M70) in 375 H&H.


"An individual with experience is never at the mercies of an individual with an argument"
 
Posts: 1827 | Location: Palmer AK & Prescott Valley AZ | Registered: 01 February 2005Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of JBoutfishn
posted Hide Post
416 Rem Mag and 470 NE.


Jim "Bwana Umfundi"
NRA



 
Posts: 3014 | Location: State Of Jefferson | Registered: 27 March 2002Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
My last two trips the two of us had a 338 and a 458 between us. Seems about perfect. About a hundred other combos would be just as good though.
 
Posts: 3174 | Location: Warren, PA | Registered: 08 August 2002Reply With Quote
new member
posted Hide Post
My choice: 375 H&H Sako (light rifle - this term is only used because of the rifle's actual weight) - 265 GS Custom HV (2650) & 270 GS FN (2600)

416 Rigby (custom- CZ 602) - 400 gr Swift A Frame (2350) & 380 GS FN (2400)

I used this combination on quite a few safaris, but in most cases ended up using the 416 for almost everything (maybe because I am a serious 416 fan)


Personally, I think the most important think is practice (actual hunting positions and not just shooting groups from the bench). A 375 can any day compete with a 300 for long range shooting, provided the shooter/hunter (you can decide which one you are) knows the bullet's trajectory.

Enjoy the weekend, I am going hunting and the above is my choice for this trip.
 
Posts: 8 | Registered: 31 May 2007Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of BOWHUNR
posted Hide Post
The two going with me for Leopard and Sable next month.

M70 7x57

M70 .375 H&H

Mike


NEVER BOOK A HUNT WITH JEFF BLAIR AT BLAIR WORLDWIDE HUNTING!
 
Posts: 636 | Location: Omaha, NE U.S.A. | Registered: 28 April 2001Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of citori
posted Hide Post
.375 H&H and .30-06. They've worked for 100 years and are better than ever with modern bullets.

I will admit that I would consider a .458 Lott if elephant was involved.


Tanzania in 2006! Had 141 posts on prior forum as citori3.
 
Posts: 266 | Location: Northern Illinois | Registered: 14 January 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of safari-lawyer
posted Hide Post
I've always thought the perfect two rifle combo was a 375HH and a 458WM or LOTT. I even carried this combo last June.

Now I am thinking a better two gun battery might be a 416 Rem/Rigby and a 338WM? The benefit being that a good shooting 416 is a good option for a single rifle safari.

The only 338 negative is that it is illegal for DG in most places. Before that was the case, my grandfather shot 5 buffalo with a 338 as well as two lions, a leopard, LD and EA eland, hippo, and every PG animal from the cape to Cameroon with the old 338. I've seen buff shot with the 338 and they didn't know it wasn't a 375, 416, or a 458.


Will J. Parks, III
 
Posts: 2989 | Location: Alabama USA | Registered: 09 July 2009Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Depending on what's on the license:

If I'm going low brow bolt trash a 300 win mag & 375 or 375 / 458 Lott

If I'm going high brow double a 9.3x74 & a 450/400. The 9.3 also has a set of 30.06 barrels to add to the fun.

;^)
 
Posts: 65 | Location: Pennsylvania, USA | Registered: 11 March 2007Reply With Quote
  Powered by Social Strata Page 1 2  
 


Copyright December 1997-2023 Accuratereloading.com


Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia

Since January 8 1998 you are visitor #: